Terry Gross

Craig Ferguson hosts CBS's Late Late Show, which should give him a fairly good vantage point from which to poke fun at pop culture and the entertainment industry. He has pounced on the opportunity with his novel, Between the Bridge and the River.

Filmmaker Liz Mermin's new documentary, The Beauty Academy of Kabul, is about a group of American hairdressers who open a beauty school in Afghanistan to teach local women how to cut hair and apply make-up, thus making them financially independent.

Drummer Paul Motian is celebrating over 50 years in music. He worked with Thelonious Monk in 1960. (Originally aired March 13, 2006)

Composer and pianist Joel Forrester, co-founder of the now defunct Microscopic Septet and composer of the Fresh Air theme, recalls meeting Thelonious Monk late in Monk's life. (Originally aired October 27, 1997)

Jessica Williams has been recording albums, both solo and with ensembles, since 1978. Her music is often featured between interview segments on the show. You can hear the influence of Monk on her playing. (Originally aired Nov. 26, 1997)

Actor and comedian John Leguizamo has a recurring role on NBC's ER. He can also be seen in Edward Burns' film The Groomsmen. This interview originally aired on July 18, 2005.

The late soprano saxophonist Steve Lacy, who died in 2004 at the age of 69, trained and performed with Thelonious Monk when he was in his mid-20s. He was also known as the "father of the modern soprano saxophone." (Originally aired Aug. 28, 1997)

Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-MA) talks about his new book, America Back on Track. In the book, Sen. Kennedy identifies what he sees as key challenges facing the United States now, and offers possible solutions.

Judges for the Pulitzer Prize Monday cited The Atlanta Journal-Constitution's Mike Luckovich "for his powerful cartoons on an array of issues, drawn with a simple but piercing style." It's a second prize for Luckovich, who was also honored in 1995.

Nicholas Wade, science reporter for The New York Times, examines what we've learned about our human ancestors using the latest techniques in DNA analysis in his new book, Before the Dawn: Recovering the Lost History of Our Ancestors.