Terry Gross

Morris's films include, "The Thin Blue Line," a movie credited with helping to free an innocent man from death row, and "Gates of Heaven." His latest film is "A Brief History of Time," about the work and life of physicist Stephen Hawking. Hawking has ALS, a muscle-wasting disease, which has taken away much of his ability to move. But his billiant mind has been untouched by the disease. Hawking wrote a book about the birth and fate of the universe that was a bestseller, "A Brief History of Time."

The Army Major was one of few women held P.O.W. during the Gulf War. She's a physician and was on a search-and-rescue mission when the helicopter she was in was shot down by Iraqis. Five crew members were killed in the crash. Cornum and three others survived and were immediately taken prisoner by Iraqi soldiers. Cornum broke both arms and was sexually molested by one of her captors.

Jose is one of the most celebrated writers in the Philippines. His new book is a novella, "Three Filipino Women." Since 1965, Jose has presided over a bookstore in Manila, a gathering place for intellectuals. He publishes "Solidarity," a forum for authors worldwide. He's also founder and secretary-general for the Philippines PEN Center. He talks about the need for a stronger national identity in Filipino writing.

Executive Director for the human rights group Asia Watch, Rakiya Omaar, will talk to Terry about the situation in Somalia where war and famine are killing thousands of people. Omaar has just returned from visits at refugee camps in Somalia and Ethiopia, where resources and services are scarce.

DiCillo's new film is a strange comedy about a untalented musician and housepainter with a ridiculously high pompadour, and a love for Ricky Nelson. Docillo created the character for a one-man show he performed in New York. Before that, he was cinematographer for two of Jim Jarmusch's early films, "Stranger Than Paradise," and "Permanent Vacation."

Feuer co-produced the original "Guys & Dolls" on Broadway, which is currently in revival. He also produced 11 other Broadway musicals with Ernest Martin, including "Can-Can," "The Boyfriend," and "Silk Stockings." They also produced the film versions of "Cabaret," and "A Chorus Line."

Journalist Andres Oppenheimer is the senior foreign correspondent for The Miami Herald. He spent more than five months in Cuba researching his new book, "Castro's Final Hour," which looks into how the country has been affected by the collapse of Soviet Union, which had provided ample material support to Castro's government.

When he was 3 years old, Roach was taken from his Aboriginal family and placed with a white family, as part of an Australian assimilation program intended to dilute the aboriginal population. The policy, common practice until 1964, was neither publicized nor explained. At 14, he ran away to find his natural family, and spent ten years on the streets, mostly in Melbourne. He sang first for friends, and then was invited to sing in clubs and on radio. "Charcoal Lane," his acclaimed debut album, has just been released.

When the hit rap song "The Message," by Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five, came out ten years ago, many rappers were inspired by its political message. Now "The New Message," an updated version has been released. Melle Mel was featured on both songs. He joins Fresh Air to talk about the direction of rap music today.

Since 1975, Rideau has been the editor-in-chief of "The Angolite," the prison newsmagazine of the Louisiana State Penitentiary, where he's serving a life sentence for murder. An eighth-grade dropout, he was convicted of murder in 1961 and spent eleven years on death row at Angola, where he taught himself to write. "The Angolite" has highlighted issues of execution and prison rape. For his writing, Rideau won the Sidney Hillman Award in 1981, the George Polk award in 1980, and the Robert F.