Terry Gross

Mary Previte, superintendent of the Camden County (NJ) Youth Center. Previte, the great granddaughter of missionary pioneer Hudson Taylor, grew up in China with her missionary parents. During World War II, she and her fellow students and teachers spent three years in a Japanese concentration camp. Previte credits the structure her teachers' created with making the horrific experience bearable. For the past twenty years, Previte has run the youth center, a holding center for boys and girls charged with serious crimes.

Novelist Tim O'Brien. He was writing about Vietnam long before it became fashionable to do so. His Vietnam memoir, "If I die in a Combat Zone," was published in 1973. O'Brien's 1979 novel "Going After Cacciato" was praised for its depiction of the Vietnam War. It also was the surprise winner of the 1979 National Book Awards -- beating out books by John Irving and John Cheever.

Lt. Gen. Harold Moore and U.S. News and World Report Senior Writer Joseph Galloway. On November 14, 1965 they were together at the site of one of the first and bloodiest major land battle of the Vietnam War, Ia Drang. Moore was in command of the 1st battalion of the 7th Cavalry, and Galloway, then a UPI reporter, accompanied them. Moore and Galloway have written a book about their experiences in the Ia Drang valley, "We Were Soldiers Once...And Young."(HarperCollins). (Rebroadcast from 11/11/92).

Actor John Goodman, who now stars as Fred Flintstone in "The Flintstones". Goodman may be best known for his role as Dan Connor, a.k.a. Roseanne's husband, on the hit TV show "Roseanne." But he's been able to do what most cannot--carry on a successful film career and TV role at the same time. Goodman has appeared as a back-slapping traveling salesman who's also a demonic murderer in "Barton Fink," and as home run king Babe Ruth in "The Babe." (Rebroadcast from 3/26/93).

We rebroadcast a 1991 live concert with jazz pianist, singer, and lyricist Dave Frishberg. Frishberg's long been known for his satirical songs, such as "My Attorney Bernie," and "I'm Hip" (written with Bob Dorough), and the "I'm a Bill" segment for ABC's Schoolhouse Rock series. A record of his songs is "Quality Time" (Sterling Records), and a new record of standards (as pianist) with singer Rebecca Kilgore is "Looking At You." (PHD Music, Portland, Oregon). (Rebroadcast from (9/12/91).

Film Director John Dahl. His new film is a thriller called "Red Rock West." It takes place in a tough little town in Wyoming over a forty-eight hour period. It has a film noir feeling and plot that twists and turns. It stars Nicholas Cage, Dennis Hopper, Lara Flynn Boyle and J.T. Walsh.

Mystery writer Walter Mosley. He's written a new book in his series about gumshoe hero Easy Rawlins. It's called "Black Betty" (Norton). Betty's a shark of a woman who leaves dead men in her wake. Like the other books in the series, "Black Betty" has Easy in post-War, but pre-present South Central L.A.--this time the year is 1961. Mosley gained public attention when then-presidential candidate Bill Clinton said that Mosley was his favorite mystery writer.

Writer Mikal Gilmore, youngest brother of executed killer Gary Gilmore. Gilmore's 1977 death --at his own request-- by firing squad in Utah, was the first American execution in ten years. Brother Mikal finds seeds of his brother's two murders sown far back in Gilmore family history, and its Mormon roots.

Civil rights attorney and law professor Jack Greenberg. He was just out of law school--a white Jewish man from the Bronx when he joined the fledgling NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund (LDF). Greenberg took over the helm of the LDF from his mentor Thurgood Marshall when Marshall was appointed to the Federal Court of Appeals. During Greenberg's tenure there, the LDF litigated some of the watershed cases of the civil rights struggle. He has just published a memoir of his 35 years at the LDF.

Television correspondent Robert Krulwich. In a Frontline production (co-produced with the Center for Investigative Reporting) called "Public Lands, Private Profits" to be aired at 9 p.m. tonight on PBS (check local listings), Krulwich examines today's gold mining industry--the impact of mining activities and the current political battle for control of mineral resources on public lands. The Mining Law of 1872 was passed to encourage settlement and development in the West. It's still on the books.