Terry Gross

Newman worked in newspapers, radio and television. He joins Fresh Air to talk about the importance of language in journalism, the voice he adopted to report on tragedies and assassinations, and how he filled airtime when the copy ran out. A new collection of his columns is called I Must Say.

Ray has written twelve books of poetry. His lastest, Sam's Book, centers on memories of his son Sam, who was killed in a drinking accident.

The fiction writer sought adventure, so he followed the Equator around the world. His new book describes the different cultures, colonial vestiges, and natural phenomena of his various stops -- many of which the locals described as the "middle of nowhere."

The critically-acclaimed jazz artist is known for her use of electronics in her performances. She joins Fresh Air to discuss musical development and her experience as a woman in a male-dominated scene.

Brad Dourif has played several killers and disturbed people throughout his career. He won an Oscar for his portrayal of a mental patient in the movie One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. He voices a killer puppet in the new horror flick, Child's Play. Dourif says these kinds of roles pay the bills, but he keeps his eye out for other, more varied parts.

Fashion writer Samuel Coleridge visited sweatshops in India and South Korea to learn more about the hidden side of fashion design and clothing sales. His new book explores exploitative labor, licensing, and gender dynamics within the industry.

Jordan was a fiction writer before becoming a filmmaker. His early cinematic work was financed by the British network Channel 4. His newest movie, a supernatural comedy called High Sprits, is his first big-budget feature. Jordan made his mark with Mona Lisa, a noir about call girl and her driver.

Joe Franklin has been an enduring institution in the world of radio and television talk shows. Over the past 36 years, he's interviewed countless actors, comedians, and musicians. His show is a unique, low-budget operation; Franklin books all the guests himself.

The author came from a political family, which he says didn't groom him for life as a writer. Nonetheless, Vidal has continued to stay engaged in politics through his series of historical novels and a new essay collection, called At Home. He tells Fresh Air host Terry Gross about some of his early work, and how television helped bolster his celebrity.

Winters' stand-up comedy of the 1950s and '60s was often improvised, and featured a variety of different characters, all of whom he gave a different voice. He has a new book of paintings called Hang-Ups.