Terry Gross

In his new book, The Devil We Know, former CIA operative Robert Baer argues that Iran is an up-and-coming — and often misunderstood — superpower, with strong influences throughout the Middle East.

In his new book, Wall Street: America's Dream Palace, Steve Fraser focuses on the lotus of the financial world, paying attention to four of its archetypal characters — the aristocrat, the confidence man, the hero and the immoralist.

Ex-journalist and Belief.net co-founder Steven Waldman talks about Bill Maher's new film Religulous, and about how faith is figuring in this political season — notably in the candidacy of vice-presidential hopeful Sarah Palin.