Terry Gross

Hoblit's new made-for-TV movie dramatizes the groundbreaking Supreme Court case. The film has faced criticism from anti-abortion activists -- even though several have admitted to never having seen it. Hoblit is best known for producing television programs like Hill Street Blues, which broke conventions by relying heavily on hand-held cameras and degraded film, and pushing the boundaries of what kind of material was appropriate for broadcast.

Hoffman is one of the primary composers for the unusual ensemble The Ordinaires, which features rock instrumentation along with reeds and strings. The band formed in 1982 in New York City.

Johnson was part of the 1950s Beat community and had a relationship with Jack Kerouac. Her experience in the literary counterculture - and the peripheral place of women within it -- has influenced much of her work, including her memoir Minor Characters and her new novel, In the Night Cafe.

Shields went to speech therapy the same time he attended the Iowa Writers' Workshop. Like the author himself, the protagonist of his new novel, Dead Languages, has a stutter. Shields' writing explores the gap between his mastery of written language and his difficulties speaking.

O'Neil worked at NBC and CBS before starting his own independent network. He joins Fresh Air to discuss how football teams and networks have coordinated before games, the pros and cons of instant replays, and his new book, The Game Behind the Game.

The book Geek Love is about carnival performers who intentionally take drugs during pregnancy in order to give birth to deformed children. Author Katherine Dunn says she used deformity as a metaphor to make a larger point about body image and disability.

Anderson was a street performer and con artist before he was cast in the first season of Cheers. That part eventually led to his role in the show Night Court. Anderson has a new book called Games You Can't Lose: A Guide for Suckers.

At 65, Kuhn was forced to retire from her job solely because of her age. In 1969, she founded the Gray Panthers, which advocated for the rights and dignity of older people. Early on, the group also participated in the anti-war movement. Kuhn joins Fresh Air to talk about aging and the different expectations placed on people of her generation.

Each of Grafton's detective novels begin with a letter of the alphabet. Her newest book is called "F" Is for Fugitive. She says that, in order to bring authenticity to her stories, she studied up on forensics, visited a morgue, and learned to fire a gun.

Band leader and composer Mercer Ellington is the son of Duke Ellington, and leads the Duke Ellington Band. As a young man, Mercer Ellington played trombone, French horn and trumpet in his father's ensemble. Two recent Mercer Ellington albums have won wide acclaim: "Digital Duke" and "For Ellington," performed by the Modern Jazz Quartet.