Terry Gross

Today marks the centennial of the birth of composer Richard Rodgers. He was born on June 28, 1902. Rodgers was one of Americas most prolific and best-loved composers. He collaborated with Lorenz Hart on the songs My Funny Valentine, The Lady is a Tramp, Blue Moon, and Bewitched. Later he went on to collaborate with Oscar Hammerstein on the musicals, Oklahoma!, Carousel, South Pacific, the King and I, and The Sound of Music. Well hear a concert of Rodgers songs performed by singer Rebecca Kilgore and pianist, singer, and composer Dave Frishberg.

Columnist Robert Wolke writes Food 101 for The Washington Post, a syndicated column that won the James Beard Foundation Award for best newspaper column. He's the author of the new book What Einstein Told His Cook: Kitchen Science Explained. Wolke is also professor emeritus of chemistry at the University of Pittsburgh.

Musician and actor Steve Van Zandt is a guitarist for Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band. He's also recorded solo and has produced a number of records and written songs for other musicians. He plays hitman Silvio Dante in the hit HBO series The Sopranos. He's also now a radio DJ. His syndicated show, Hard Rock Cafe Presents Little Steven's Underground Garage plays Sunday nights on a number of classic rock stations across the United States.

Terrorism expert Rohan Gunaratna. His new book is Inside Al Qaeda: Global Network of Terror. Gunaratna spent five years conducting interviews with al Qaeda members, doing field research and monitoring the group's infiltration in communities in North America and Europe. He is the author of six books on armed conflict and a research fellow at the Centre for the Study of Terrorism and Political Violence, University of St. Andrews, Scotland. He's lectured worldwide on terrorism and served as consultant to many governments.

Writer James Gavin has produced Deep in a Dream: The Long Night of Chet Baker. It's a biography of the jazz trumpeter and vocalist. Baker came from Oklahoma in the 1950s to become the "prince of cool jazz" on the West Coast. His death in Amsterdam in 1988 seems to have been drug-related. Gavin provides some answers to the riddle of his death. Gavin is a frequent contributor to The New York Times and other publications.

Cherry Jones is currently appearing in Lysistrata at the Prince Music Theater in Philadelphia. Jones is a founding member of the American Repertory Theatre and has appeared in 23 A.R.T. productions. Shes won Tony, Drama Desk, Outer Critics Circle and Drama League awards. Jones has starred or appeared in many Broadway and Off-Broadway productions. Her film appearances include The Perfect Storm, Cradle Will Rock and the upcoming Signs, directed by M. Night Shyamalan.

Boxer Laila Ali. Shes the only one of heavyweight champ Mohammed Alis nine children to choose a life in the ring. Her recent bout with Jacqui Frazier was the most highly publicized female boxing event ever. Shes written an autobiography called REACH! Finding Strength, Spirit and Personal Power.

A native of Mississippi, HANNAH has been writing short stories and novels set in the South for over thirty years. His writing is described as intensely personal, frenetic and comic. Truman Capote once called him "the maddest writer in the USA" His first book, the autobiographical novel "Geronimo Rex" (published in 1972) won the William Faulkner Prize for writing. He followed that with "Airships" a collection of short stories now considered a classic.

Pakistani dancer Sheema Kermani. Her performances are rare in Pakistan, and tightly controlled by the government. She practices Indian classical dance, a sensual form of movement that goes against Islamic fundamentalist attitudes toward women and their bodies. Kermani graduated from Croydon College of Art in London and started dancing in Karachi with the Ghanshyan's Dance Troupe. She then went to India to train under several masters of Indian classical dance. She has performed all over the world. She's choreographed two major works.

Arab-American stand-up comics Ahmed Ahmed and Maz Jobrani. They've changed their routines since Sept. 11, cracking jokes about attending flight school and the like. Both have had small parts as terrorists in action films. Jobrani was in a Chuck Norris film and Ahmed was Terrorist #4 in Executive Decision. They live in Los Angeles.