Terry Gross

Jazz guitarist Marty Grosz returns to Fresh Air to sing songs about cities where he's lived.

Science writer James Gleick's new book is about chaos theory, which informs all scientific disciplines. This concept can sometimes be difficult to understand; Gleick says that the unpredictability of the weather serves as an excellent example.

The former child actor dropped out of the film industry and later worked in real estate. He's recently made a comeback with movies like Married to the Mob and Blue Velvet. Stockwell tells Fresh Air guest host Sedge Thomson about the new perspective he's gained an adult.

Kay Mills, herself a journalist, found several magazine articles about the progress of women in the news business -- but no book-length study. She has since filled that gap with her book A Place in the News.

The author says his life -- and writing -- has been defined by struggle. He didn't read a novel until he was in his twenties. His first, controversial work, Last Exit to Brooklyn, documented its protagonist's violent, working class life. It's now being made into a film.

The luthier got his start making acoustic guitars for country and folk musicians. He later built instruments for rockers more accustomed to the feel of an electric guitar. Ferrington's custom designs are often asymmetrical, and incorporate the wants and needs of his clients.

Irwin Winkler is a film producer whose credits include the Rocky movies, The Last Temptation of Christ, The Right Stuff, and Round Midnight. His newest project, Betrayed, is directed by Costa-Gavras.

Novellist Don DeLillo doesn't like talking about his novels; but he says there's much to discuss about his newest book Libra, based on the assassination of John F. Kennedy. DeLillo sought to fill in the gaps of that story, including what motivated gunman Lee Harvey Oswald.

Samuel Delany's new memoir is called The Motion of Light in Water. Delany sees himself as part of newer, left-of-center generation of science fiction writers. He joins Fresh Air to talk about his position in the margins as a genre writer and a black gay man, his dyslexia, and his perspective on the AIDS epidemic.

Writer Sheila Ballantyne's newest collection of short stories explores mortality. She says her musings on death help her better appreciate the time she has right now.