Terry Gross

Hendra was the editor in chief of Spy magazine and an original editor of National Lampoon. He also played Ian Faith in the mockumentary, This is Spinal Tap. He has written an unlikely new memoir about his lifelong friendship with a Benedictine monk he was brought to when he was 14 years old, after getting caught in an affair with a married woman. Hendra writes in his new memoir Father Joe: "His was the wisdom I craved though it was never what I expected; his judgment alone I feared though never once did he pass judgment on me."

The great singer and pianist Ray Charles died Thursday, June 10, at the age of 73 (Rebroadcast from Oct. 19, 1998.)

Frank is the founding editor of the zine The Baffler, a cultural-criticism journal. He also writes frequently for Harper's, and The Nation. His new book is What's the Matter with Kansas? How Conservatives Won the Heart of America. He is also the author of One Market Under God, and The Conquest of Cool.