Terry Gross

Journalist Jeffrey Toobin. A staff writer for the New Yorker and senior analyst for television network ABC, he’s currently working on a book about the election controversy. He talks today about the election in retrospect, the U.S. Supreme Court decision that was handed down last night, and what the decision means for Bush and Gore.

Big Sandy is the lead singer of the Fly Rite Boys a band that combines rockabilly, western swing, and hillbilly boogie sounds. They are currently on tour and have a new album “Night Tide” (High Tone Records). With it, they’ve taken a darker more personal bent. Big Sandy and his Fly Rite Boys have been making music together since 1988 and have recorded seven albums all told, including BIG Sandy's solo do-wop tribute, “Dedicated to You.”

Dr. Esther Sternberg from the National Institute of Mental Health and National Institutes of Health. In her new book “The Balance Within: The Science Connecting Health and Emotions” she looks at how researchers have uncovered the connection between mind and body.

Singer/songwriter Paul Simon. In 1964 he and Art Garfunkle, as the duo Simon & Garfunkle, hit number one on the pop charts with the song “Sound of Silence.” They continued with 5 albums that all sold gold. After a split in 1970, Simon continued writing songs and took up a solo singing career. His albums include “Still Crazy After All These Years,” “Graceland,” and “Rhythm of the Saints.” His new album is “You’re The One.” (Warner Bros.)

Historian Jon Wiener spent 14 years fighting to gain access to the FBI’s secret files on John Lennon. Wiener's Freedom of Information case went all the way to the Supreme Court before the FBI decided to settle. His book “Gimme Some Truth” (University of California Press) outlines and reproduces the most important pages of the file, revealing that the Nixon administration plotted to deport Lennon in 1972 and silence him as a voice of the anti-war movement.

It’s the 20th anniversary of on former Beatle John Lennon’s death. We feature three interviews remembering him. We’ll speak with Cynthia Lennon, his first wife. (REBROADCAST FROM 8/6/85).

Artist and musician Yoko Ono. Before she met John Lennon, Ono was a sculptor. In fact, Lennon met her at an exhibition of her work in London in the late 60s. (REBROADCAST FROM 4/11/89)

Kenneth Kamler, MD is a surgeon who also climbs mountains. He was team doctor on three expeditions to the top of Mount Everest, including the disastrous 1996 trip during which 6 people died. Kamler is both storyteller and advisor in his book, “Doctor on Everest: Emergency Medicine at the Top of the World – A Personal Account including the 1996 Disaster.” (The Lyons Press) Blackened limbs due to severe frostbite were the least of his troubles. I-V fluids are frozen solid, and abrasions cannot heal at such high altitudes.

Serbian writer Jasmina Tesanovic. She’s just published a book called “The Diary of a Political Idiot,” (Midnight Editions 2000). The book, comprised of excerpts from her personal journal, narrates daily life in Belgrade during the political upheaval and bombings in Serbia. She is one of the founders of 94, the first feminist publishing house in Serbia. She lives and works in Belgrade.

Film director Ang Lee. His new movie is “Crouching Tiger, Killing Dragon,” starring Chow Yun-Fat and Michelle Yeow (“Yo”). He also co-produced the film. Lee is best known for his English-language dramas such as “Sense and Sensibility,” the Jane Austen novel adaptation, as well as the Chinese-American themed “Eat Drink Man Woman” and “The Wedding Banquet.” In “Crouching Tiger,” Lee brings an art-house sensibility to the Hong Kong martial arts genre.