Terry Gross

The Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. is in the midst of a festival of Steven Sondheim musicals. Company, Sweeney Todd and Sunday in the Park with George have already been featured. Still to be staged are A Little Night Music, Merrily We Roll Along and Passion. We rebroadcast our interview with composer and lyricist Steven Sondheim. He discusses his work on West Side Story and Gypsy, for which he wrote the lyrics, and his own musical Sweeney Todd. Sondheim learned his craft from Oscar Hammerstein, who was a neighbor and surrogate father to him. This interview first aired Nov. 10, 1988.

Broadway music director Paul Gemingani. He's been the musical director of almost every Stephen Sondheim work over the last 30 years. His other productions include Kiss Me, Kate, Crazy for You and High Society. Last year he received a lifetime achievement award at the Tony Awards. This interview first aired May 30, 2001.

We speak with Clinton Lacy, a longtime program director of Friends of the Island Academy. FOIA was founded in 1989 by the first principal of the high school on Riker's Island. The program is designed to break the cycle of return to Riker's by providing education and counseling. Each year, FOIA works with 350 young people.

We speak with two people involved with "Youth Portraits," a radio skills training program for ex-offenders released from Riker's Island prison in New York City. Riker's Island is the biggest jail in North America. "Youth Portraits" is a joint project of Friends of the Island Academy and Sound Portraits Productions. First, we hear from Andre Vaughn, a 21-year-old ex-offender who was released from Riker's and became involved with the "Youth Portraits" program. He was caught stealing at the age of 17 and subsequently served three sentences.

Joss Whedon, the creator of the movie and TV series Buffy The Vampire Slayer. He is executive producer of Buffy and co-executive producer of the Buffy spinoff Angel. Before working on Buffy, Whedon wrote for the TV series Roseanne. He has worked on the screenplays for such films as Alien Resurrection, Twister, Toy Story, Speed and X-Men. This interview first aired May 9, 2000.

One of the most popular writers of the legal thriller genre, John Grisham, talks to Terry about writing and law. His new book is called The Summons. It's about two brothers, their recently deceased father, and a mysterious stash of $3 million. Grisham is the author of Skipping Christmas, A Painted House, The Brethren, The Testament, The Street Lawyer, The Partner, The Runaway Jury, The Rainmaker, The Chamber, The Client, The Pelican Brief, The Firm, and A Time to Kill. Rebroadcast from Feb. 27, 1997.

Rap vocalist Darryl McDaniels of Run-DMC, which is disbanding after the death of Jam Master Jay, the group's MC. McDaniels is the "DMC" of the group. Run-DMC was the first rap group to earn gold, platinum and multi-platinum albums. The group is credited with bringing new fashions, new dances and new language to popular culture. This interview first aired May 19, 1997.

Journalist Andrew Meldrum is the Guardian Zimbabwe correspondent. Currently, he covers the upcoming presidential election in Zimbabwe and the crackdown that the media faces as election time nears. In the past few weeks, he written a series of articles focusing on the bill President Mugabe signed, requiring all journalists working in Zimbabwe to have a license from the Minister of Information.

Activist Greg Mortenson is the founder and Executive Director of the Central Asia Institute. Since 1993, the organization has opened schools and provided an education for over 4000 girls in Pakistan and Afghanistan. The schools promote literacy, women vocational skills, public health and environmental awareness. Mortenson splits his time between Central Asia and Montana.