Terry Gross

Poet John Balaram has translated the poetry of an 18th century Vietnamese concubine in the new book, –Spring Essence: The Poetry of Ho Xuang Huong— (Copper Canyon Press) Ho Xuang Huong won acclaim for her poetry despite the fact that she was a woman and she challenged established conventions. Most of her poems also were double entendres: a hidden sexual meaning lay behind her words. Balaban was a conscientious objector during the Vietnam war, and went back to the country after the war to collect and preserve Vietnamese folk poetry.

Michael Cuscuna and Charlie Lourie are co-founders of Mosaic Records, a label committed to reissuing classic jazz recordings, many of them originally recorded by Blue Note. The two have also collaborated on the new book, "The Blue Note Years: The Jazz Photography of Francis Wolff," (Rizzoli International Publications). It includes 200 photographs taken by Francis Wolff from 1941-1965, who also co-founded the Blue Note label. Many of Wolff's photographs were used as Blue Note album covers.

In the late 1940s and early 1950s, as anti-communist sentiment gained ground in the United States, paranoia and persecution swept through Hollywood. The House Un-American Activities (HUAC) began interrogating some of the country's most talented filmmakers and actors, accusing them of being communists or communist sympathizers.

Author Mary Graham discusses the confidences that presidents keep. When it comes to President Trump, she says: "I think we're seeing that it's not possible to keep policies secret in the digital age."

In the 1960s she was a member of the girl group, The Ronettes. They were already making records with a different label when producer Phil Spector signed them and turned them into hit makers. Their songs include Be My Baby, Baby, I Love You, and Walking in the Rain. Ronnie married Phil Spector, but the marriage ended in divorce.

In the recent film, Moonlight, Mahershala Ali plays an unlikely father figure to a quiet young African-American boy named Chiron. At school, Chiron is bullied. At home, he is neglected by a mother who is addicted to crack. Ali's character, Juan, is a drug dealer who takes Chiron under his wing in an attempt to provide him with some stability.

Moore, who died Friday, was seen as a hero for his role in the first major land battle in Vietnam. He later co-authored the book, We Were Soldiers Once ... and Young. Originally broadcast in 1992.

ProPublica senior reporter Andrew Revkin discusses President Trump's possible cuts to the EPA, as well as the potential impact of pulling out of the Paris climate accord.

The late James Baldwin was one of the most influential African-American writers to emerge during the civil rights era. During the late 1950s and 1960s, he traveled through the South and addressed racial issues head on. Though Baldwin died in 1987 before that book could be written, the new Oscar-nominated documentary, I Am Not Your Negro, draws on his notes for the book, as well as from other of Baldwin's writings.

Historian Bernard Weissberger. He’s the author of “America Afire,” (William Morrow 2000). The book chronicles the political tumult surrounding the Presidential Election of 1800 between Adams and Jefferson. As in this election, a voting glitch caused confusion. Neither candidate was willing to concede. Weissberger compares the events then, at the birth of the Constitution, to the Gore v. Bush controversy now. He has written more than a dozen books and works on documentaries with Bill Moyers and Ken Burns.