Terry Gross

Aerospace consultant Nick Cook, author of the new book, The Hunt for Zero Point: Inside the Classified World of Antigravity Technology. (Broadway Books/ Random House) In the book, Cook tracks down the secret history of anti-gravity research. It*s technology that defies the laws of physics. Cook discovered that during WWII, the Nazis claimed to have been close to antigravity technology. The U.S. government allegedly conducted antigravity research in the 1950s and 60s. Cook is former Aviation Editor for the military affairs journal, Jane's Defense Weekly.

Evolutionary biologist and journalist Olivia Judson. In her new guide to the evolutionary biology of sex, Judson, explores the sex lives of animals and insects. Posing as Dr Tatiana, sex-advice columnist, she answers 'letters' posted by such creatures as the fairy wren, the stalk-eyed fly, and the African elephant. Her new book is Dr Tatianas Sex Advice to All Creation.. Judson has also written for The Economist,Nature, and Science.

Writer, explorer, and deep-sea diver Barry Clifford's new book is The Lost Fleet: The Discovery of a Sunken Armada from the Golden Age of Piracy (William Morrow). The lost fleet was a group of French ships that sank in 1678 on the reef of Las Aves island, 100 miles off the Venezuelan coast. The fleet, as well as a small pirate army, was shipwrecked. The event launched "the golden age of piracy" that plagued maritimers for 50 years. Clifford researched the disaster and was part of the team that located the armada. Clifford's previous book was Expedition Whydah.

Father James Martin is associate editor of America the national Catholic magazine. Hes written a new memoir,Searching for God at Ground Zero, (Sheed & Ward) about the days following the September 11th attacks when he abandoned his editing duties to go and be with the rescue workers at the site of the ruined World Trade Center. Hes also the author of a memoir about his spiritual journey from the corporate world to the priesthood: In Good Company: The Fast Track from the Corporate World to Poverty, Chastity and Obedience

Divine, the late leading lady of John Waters' films. Born Harris Glen Milstead, the 300-pound transvestite passed away in March of 1988, shortly after starring in John Waters' first big budget studio film, Hairspray. He was 42. Divine was an integral part of Waters' ensemble cast, appearing in all his earlier films except Desperate Living. Divine and Waters knew each other from childhood. It was Waters' movie Pink Flamingos that made Divine famous, because he ate dog feces (yes, real feces) at the end of the film.

Filmmaker John Waters. His 1988 film Hairspray (his first mainstream studio film) has been made into a musical. It stars Harvey Fierstein in the role originated by Divine. It's currently in previews and opens August 15th on Broadway. Waters' other films include Cecil B. Demented, about an underground filmmaker and his cult following who declare war on bad cinema by kidnapping a starlet and forcing her to star in their own film; Pecker, about a young amateur photographer who becomes the darling of the New York art world; Cry Baby, a juvenile delinquent love story set in the 1950s.

Another John Waters interview recorded in 2000 .

Former fire commissioner of New York City, Thomas Von Essen. He led the department through the Sept. 11 attacks and during rescue and early recovery efforts. During the attacks, the department lost 343 men, many of them Von Essen's friends and colleagues. Von Essen stepped down as fire commissioner on December 31, 2001. He's written a new memoir with Matt Murray, Strong of Heart: Life and Death in the Fire Department of New York.

Dennis McNally is the publicist for the Grateful Dead, and the band's official historian. He's also the author of the new book, A Long Strange Trip: The Inside History of the Grateful Dead. He is also author of the book, Desolate Angel: Jack Kerouac, the Beat Generation.

Writer Joelle Fraser. She's written a new memoir about growing up in mid-60s San Francisco, the daughter of a flower child and a surfer: The Territory of Men.