Monsignor Doug Doussan and Sister Kathleen Pittman discuss the status of their church and the surrounding neighborhood, one year after Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast. Doussan is pastor and Pitman is pastoral associate at St. Gabriel the Archangel Catholic Church in New Orleans.

The Butch Thompson Trio was a regular on Garrison Keillor's syndicated radio show. Thompson's specialty is classic jazz from 1890s to about 1940, including the music of Scott Joplin, Jelly Roll Morton, Fats Waller, Eubie Blake, and others. He has a new series of solo CDs entitled "Minnesota Wonder."

Four years ago, Eels founder Mark Oliver Everett decided to take a break. After 25 years of making music, he says, "I got to the point where if you do any one thing too much in your life, it catches up to you and makes it clear that you need to do something else."

Jazz pianist Keith Jarrett. Called one of the greatest improvisers in the history of jazz, Jarrett was famous for his wildly passionate solo recitals. In 1996, Jarrett came down with a mysterious illness—- an interstitial bacterial parasite-- that caused him to stop performing for about two and a half years. Jarrett has started performing and recording again, but he still keeps a low public profile, so his condition will not worsen again. His newest CD, Whisper Not (Universal Classics), will be released next month.

David Kertzer is the author of The Popes Against the Jews: The Vatican's Role in the Rise of Modern Anti-Semitism (Knopf). In the book he focuses on the time period from Napoleon to Hitler, and how "traditional" Catholic forms of dealing with Jews became transformed into modern anti-Semitism. Kertzer is Paul Dupee, Jr. University Professor of Social Science and a professor of anthropology and Italian Studies at Brown University.

Lester Brown is the president of the Worldwatch Institute. The organization's latest State of the World report looks into the greenhouse effect, deforestation, and rising sea levels, among other troubling trends. Brown joins Fresh Air to discuss the causes of these phenomena, whether they'll cause permanent changes, and how we can mitigate their effects.

Rock historian Ed Ward investigates the little known original versions of some of rock's most classic songs. Elvis Presley, Fats Domino, and Jerry Lee Lewis' covers are discussed.

Fred & Kim Goldman, father and and sister of the late Ron Goldman, who was murdered in June 1994. They were present throughout the criminal trial against O.J. Simpson, who was charged with the crime, and recently won their case against him at the civil trial. In a new book "His Name is Ron: Our Search for Justice," the family recounts their experiences at the criminal trial and shares their memories of Ron Goldman.

Emma Watson and Tom Hanks star in the remake of Dave Eggers' novel about a giant social media company. Critic David Edelstein says he found much of the acting overheated and the ending confusing.

Dern's new film follows a man named Woody who is starting to show signs of dementia. When Woody falls for one of those junk-mail sweepstakes come-ons, he becomes convinced that he's won $1 million and sets out on foot to collect the cash. Dern tells Fresh Air's Terry Gross, "[Nebraska] is the most personal movie I've ever done in my career."

Stephen Davis, whose new book Say Kids! What Time is it? recounts the history of the "Howdy Doody Show," TV's first hit kid's show. The book looks at the early days of television in New York, and the cast that made up Doodyville - Buffalo Bob, Princess Summerfall Winterspring, Clarabell and Chief Thunderthud.

New York Times reporter Jason DeParle. In a recent New York Times Magazine cover story, DeParle wrote about Wisconsin's reformed welfare system. This week, that state enters a new phase in its efforts to shift welfare recipients into the workforce. Cash assistance ends. In exchange, the state plans to provide more opportunities to get a job.

Veteran British journalists Peter Pringle and Philip Jacobson. Theyve just collaborated on the new book Those Are Real Bullets: Bloody Sunday, Derry 1972 (Grove Press) about the day thirty years ago when British paratroopers shot 27 unarmed Irish Catholic demonstrators in Derry, Northern Ireland, killing thirteen of them, wounding fourteen. Five were shot in the back. Since then the day has been known as –Bloody Sunday.— After a formal inquiry the British soldiers were exonerated. Pringle and Jacobson covered the massacre for the Sunday Times, conducting interviews in the days following.

Writer Thomas McGuane. McGuane's been called "Ernest Hemingway with a sense of humor ... (and) ... Franz Kafka journeying through Montana. He's the author of the acclaimed novels The Sporting Club, Ninety-Two In The Shade, and To Skin A Cat. McGuane's new novel is called Keep The Change. It follows a self-despising artist as he travels to Montana to try to make a new life for himself. McGuane himself runs a ranch in Montana.

Oliver Stone directed a film adaptation of Bogosian's play Talk Show, about a radio shock jock. Bogosian stars; he acts regularly in theater and television.

Film director and Tibetan Buddhist lama Khyentse Norbu. He's making his directorial debut with the new film "The Cup" about a group of Monk's who are soccer fans. The film was shot In a actual Monastery, and the cast is the Monks who live there. "The Cup" Is also the first feature-length movie shot In Bhutan. The film was shown at last year's The Cannes Film Festival.

Classical music critic Lloyd Schwartz tells us what music he most wants to remember from the 20th Century. His selections come from the new box set “Stravinsky REV: Conducting Stravinsky” (Sony), The Dvorak Cello Concerto with Pablo Casals (EMI Reference disc), Joseph Szigeti’s Prokofiev Concerto (Pearl), Artur Schnabel on a currently out-of-print Schubert CD (Arabesque). And Maria Callas’s recordings (EMI)

Watson, who died in 2012, was born in North Carolina went on to become widely regarded as the single greatest flat-picking guitar player in America. Originally broadcast in 1988 and 1989.

Fiction writer Claire Messud has twice been a finalist for the PEN/Faulkner award. Our book critic says Messud's just-published novel, The Emperor's Children, might just be the one to propel her out of the "finalist" category and win her the gold.