Terry Gross

Musicians Harry Connick Jr. and Branford Marsalis, two New Orleans natives, have been friends for years — back to the days when Connick took piano lessons from Marsalis' father, Ellis

Mystery writer Ruth Rendell is known both for her more traditional Chief Inspector Reginald Wexford mysteries and for dark psychological thrillers. Her new book, 13 Steps Down, falls into the latter category.

Army National Guardsman Jason Christopher Hartley. While serving in Iraq, Hartley kept a blog of his experiences until his commanders forced him to shut it down. He’s now back from Iraq, and has a new memoir, “Just Another Soldier: A Year on the Ground in Iraq” (HarperCollins).

Filmmaker Noah Baumbach's new film is The Squid and the Whale. The post-college angst film Kicking and Screaming established Baumbach's directorial credentials in 1995; last year, he collaborated with Wes Anderson on The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou.

Rapper Emmanuel Jal was one of the "Lost Boys" — youths caught up in violence in Sudan. He later escaped to Kenya. Now he's making music about peace. His new CD is Ceasefire.

Singer Donovan Leitch is known best by his first name alone. He has a new box set, Try for the Sun: The Journey of Donovan. It's a remastered CD/DVD set which covers his work from 1964 to 2004.

Suketu Mehta's book, Maximum City: Bombay Lost and Found, is now out in paperback. It's an exploration of Mehta's hometown. He returned to his birthplace after a 21-year absence, and his book is an exploration of what he calls the city of the future. Bombay is the world's largest city.

Faced with a need for massive rebuilding in the Gulf Coast, President Bush has refused to estimate how much the effort might cost -- or to raise taxes to pay for it. To discuss the president's economic policy, we speak with columnist Paul Krugman and Stuart Butler of the Heritage Foundation.

Father Joseph Fessio. He is Provost of Ave Marie University and Editor-in-Chief of Ignatius Press. He is a longtime personal friend and former student of the Cardinal Ratzinger, now Pope Benedict.

A gay priest (who will go unnamed). His superiors have asked him not to give his name, though he has been given permission to speak about his work. He is in active ministry and works in a parish. In a few weeks the Vatican is expected to issue a ruling banning gay men from entering the seminary.