Terry Gross

Religion scholar Bart D. Ehrman, who chairs the Department of Religious Studies at the University of North Carolina, talks about his new book, Peter, Paul, and Mary Magdalene: The Followers of Jesus in History and Legend.

Director Paul Weitz's new film, American Dreamz, satirizes American Idol and stars Dennis Quaid as a dimwitted U.S. president who goes on the show in an effort to save his falling approval ratings. Weitz's other films include American Pie and About a Boy.

Psychologist and family therapist Dr. Dan Gottlieb's new book Letters to Sam is a collection of lessons on life he wrote to his grandson. Two decades ago, Gottlieb became a quadriplegic in an automobile accident. His grandson is autistic, and the letters have lessons about what it's like to be different.