Terry Gross

Comedian and actor Garry Shandling. He stars in HBO's parody of talk-shows, "The Larry Sanders Show." It features Shandling as a veteran talk-show host. His guests have included Robin Williams, Howard Stern, and, actual talk show host, David Letterman playing themselves. Shandling also starred in "It's Garry Shandling's Show" a few years back. Just this week,"The Larry Sanders Show" completed its second season with Larry quitting the show. (Rebroadcast of 12/03/1992)

Actor John Mahoney. He started out in Chicago's Steppenwolf Theater. His film roles include "Tin Men," "Eight Men Out," the randy professor in "Moonstruck," and the father in "Say Anything."... Mahoney now plays Frasier's (Kelsey Grammer) father in the "Cheers" spin-off "Frasier". (Rebroadcast of 05/15/1990)

Professor Patricia Turner, of the African American Studies department at University of California, Davis. Her new book "I Heard It Through the Grapevine" (U. of California Press) examines the historical and social ramifications of rumor in African American culture. From Ku Klux Klan-owned clothing and cigarette companies to a military conspiracy to infect Africans with AIDS, she looks at the role of legend and rumor, finding it has long been a feature of the community.

Novelist and Poet James Dickey. Now 70, the author of the famed novel "Deliverance" and many volumes of poetry has released his third work of fiction, "To the White Sea" (Houghton Mifflin): a taut tale told in bare language of one pilot's survival in the waning days of World War II.

Novelist Frank Conroy. At 57, he's just published his first novel, "Body & Soul" (Houghton & Mifflin). He is currently the director of the prestigious Iowa Writers Program, and this novel has been long awaited by fans of his 1967 autobiography "Stop Time". Conroy has one other book, a collection of short stories called "Midair"; he's worked as a jazz pianist in Greenwich Village and Nantucket for many years.

Columnist Rami Khouri. Khouri, a Palestinian Jordanian, is the former editor-in-chief of the Jordan Times newspaper and is now columnist there.

Actor Michael J. Fox. He got his start on the hit TV show "Family Ties." He went on to star in a number of films, including the "Back to the Future" series. He's also starred in "Casualties of War," and "Doc Hollywood." His latest project is called "For Love or Money," a comedy about a concierge who's trying to raise money to run his own luxury hotel.

Law Professor Catherine MacKinnon. She's well known for her feminist take on legal issues, and she's just written a new book called "Only Words." (Harvard University Press) She argues that as long as sexual harassment, pornography and hate speech are protected by the First Amendment, equality will only be a word, not a reality. MacKinnon pioneered the legal claim for sexual harassment as a form of sex discrimination. She now teaches at the University of Michigan Law School.

Terry talks with character actor Stanley Tucci. In the new movie, "Undercover Blues," Tucci plays an hilariously incompetent, yet vicious mugger named Muerte. He's also appeared in the movies "Prelude to a Kiss," "Beethoven" and "Billy Bathgate." Tucci's well-known for his role as crime boss Ricky Penzola in the tv series, Wiseguy" and has also appeared on television in "Equal Justice," "Thirtysomething," and "The Equalizer."

Terry talks with molecular geneticist Mary-Claire King. She is one of the scientists who's work is featured in the new PBS series, "The Secret of Life." For the past 17 years, her research has focused on finding the gene responsible for the type of breast cancer that is inherited. She believes she is now close to locating the gene.