Graffin is the lead singer of the punk band Bad Religion. The group started 15 years ago and helped pioneer the hard rock/punk style of bands like Green Day and Offspring. Bad Religion's eighth recording is "Stranger Than Fiction," and it's their first on a major label. When Graffin isn't performing, he's spending time with his wife and child or working on his Ph.D. in Biology at Cornell.
Special correspondent Wilbert Rideau is editor-in-chief of the award winning prison magazine The Angolite. He's also an inmate of the Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola, serving a life term for murder. When the prison was under a state of emergency in 1990, warden John P. Whitely was hired. In his five year tenure, Whitely's management style helped turn the prison around garnering national and international attention. It also gained the attention of the inmates, who recently hosted a farewell dinner in honor of the departing warden.
William Greider is a political reporter for Rolling Stone Magazine. His most recent contribution is titled, "Why the Rich Get Richer." Greider speaks with Terry about his most recent article, the status of our economy, and the just announced interest rate hike. Greider is also author of two best-selling books "Secrets of the Temple" and "Who Will Tell the People: the Betrayal of American Democracy."
Steven Levy is an expert on computer technology, a Fellow of the Freedom Forum Media Studies Center in New York, and a columnist for the magazine "Macworld." His new book is "Insanely Great: The Life and Times of Macintosh, the Computer that Changed Everything."
Johnson was a member of The Johnson Family, which sang gospel and country music for two decades. President Franklin D. Roosevelt was a fan; the group was invited to sing at his memorial service. Johnson went solo in the late-1950s, and was a regular on Don McNeill's "Breakfast Club" and Jack Paar's TV show. After making a dozen records, she left show business to raise a family and earn a degree in drama at Dartmouth. She has since returned to her singing career, with a cabaret act at The Oak Room. Her new album is called "A Family Affair."
Roberts is author of eleven detective books featuring Cleveland private eye Milan Jacovich or L.A. actor/detective Saxon. The most recent novel, "The Lake Effect," is a Milan Jacovich mystery. Roberts also produced episodes of "The Lucy Show," "The Man From U.N.C.L.E.," and "The Andy Griffith Show," and was the first producer of "The Hollywood Squares."
"The New York Times Magazine" called Galdikas the "third angel" of Louis Leakey, who also taught Jane Goodall and DIan Fossey. Galdikas has been studying orangutans in Indonesia since 1971, when virtually nothing was known about the animals in the wild. Since then, there have been articles about her, and her research in "National Geographic" and other magazines. She has just written a new book about her work, "Reflections of Eden: My Years with the Orangutans of Borneo."
Chong is the author of "The Concubine's Children." It's a history of her family, beginning with her grandmother, May-Ying, a concubine brought to Canada by Chong's wealthy grandfather. May-Ying had two daughters in China, and Chong's mother in Canada -- three sisters who hadn't met until Chong persuaded her mother to take the trip to China when she was writing this book. "Publisher's Weekly" says "this superbly told saga of family loyalties and disaffections reads...like a novel."
Parker has been acting for most of her life, including playing Annie on Broadway, the young bimbo SanDeE* in "L.A. Story," and a fed-up fiancee in "Honeymoon in Vegas." She is now starring in the film "Miami Rhapsody," playing a woman having second thoughts about marriage as she learns that everyone in her family has had an affair.
Journalist Geraldine Brooks is the author of "Nine Parts of Desire: The Hidden World of Islamic Woman." While Brooks was Middle East correspondent for "The Wall Street Journal," she investigated the role of women in the Islamic societies where she lived and worked.
Rock critic Ken Tucker reviews two collections by country singer George Jones, plus a new release by Jones. The albums are "Cup of Loneliness: The Classic Mercury Years," "The Essential George Jones: The Spirit of Country," and "The Bradley Barn Sessions."
Rudnick wrote the movies "Jeffrey" and "Addams Family Values." His alter-ego is Libby Gelman-Waxner, "Premiere" magazine's film critic, who "The New York Times" described as "a guerrilla movie fan, happily throwing brickbats and valentines at the screen." Rudnick has published a new book of Libby's best columns, called "If You Ask Me."
It's been almost six years since the Ayatollah Khomeini issued a death sentence against the author. Since then, Rushdie has lived in hiding, continuing to write and making a few semi-public appearances. His book, "Haroun and the Sea of Stories," published in 1990, was a fairy tale written for his son. His new book is collection of stories about the line that divides East and West, called "East, West."
