Terry Gross

Amy Sherman-Palladino is the creator and executive producer of Gilmore Girls, on the WB network. The show is about a single mother and her daughter who are best friends. Lauren Graham plays Lorelai Gilmore, the hip mom who does her best to keep teenage daughter Rory (Alexis Bledel) from repeating her own mistakes. Lorelai was a teenager herself when she became pregnant with her daughter. The popular show is now in its fifth season. Warner Brothers has just released season three on DVD.

McDermott, a reporter for The Los Angeles Times was skeptical of the way the Sept. 11 hijackers were portrayed. So he traveled to 22 countries to research their identities, motives and life circumstances. His new book is Perfect Soldiers: The Hijackers: Who They Were, Why They Did It.

From the trio Low, drummer Mimi Parker and singer-guitarist Alan Sparhawk. The two are husband and wife. The band made its debut in 1994 with the album I Could Live on Hope. Their most recent album The Great Destroyer (Sub Pop) is their seventh.

In the early 1990s, NPR journalist Scott Simon reported from war-torn Sarajevo. Those experiences formed the basis for his debut novel, Pretty Birds, the story of a 16-year-old girl who adapts to her violent times.

Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Linda Greenhouse has covered the Supreme Court for The New York Times since 1978. She won the Pulitzer in 1998 for her coverage of the court. Her new book is Becoming Justice Blackmun: Harry Blackmun's Supreme Court Journey.

Newhart has been a part of the American comedy landscape since 1961 comedy album The Button-Down Mind of Bob Newhart became a surprise hit. He's starred in three TV shows, including the Peabody-award winning The Bob Newhart Show. The first season of The Bob Newhart Show is now out on DVD.

Physicist David Albright is president of the Institute for Science and International Security in Washington, D.C. He's the co-author of a new report on A.Q. Khan, the father of Pakistan's nuclear weapons program, that was published in the Spring 2005 edition of The Washington Quarterly. Khan sold nuclear technology and information to Iran, Libya and North Korea. He was reportedly able to do this for the last 20 years, while eluding authorities and intelligence agencies. Albright says Khan's actions have had an impact on nuclear proliferation.

The U.S. Postal service has just issued a commemorative stamp honoring lyricist Yip Harburg. In addition to writing lyrics for the songs in The Wizard of Oz, Harburg wrote the lyrics for "Brother Can You Spare a Dime," "It's Only a Paper Moon," "Old Devil Moon," "April in Paris," and "Last Night When We Were Young." His long-time collaborator was Harold Arlen.

Dr. Chester Buckenmaier is chief of the Regional Anesthesia and Pain Management Initiative at Walter Reed Army Medical Center. He is developing a procedure known as regional anesthesia, to manage the severe pain that many wounded soldiers experience. Buckenmaier spent time in Iraq working in a battlefield hospital, where he pioneered the technique, and is using it at Walter Reed Army Medical Center.