Terry Gross

Voice and acting coach Patsy Rodenburg. (“ROH-den-burg”) She’s worked with some of the world’s leading English-speaking actors, including Judi Dench, Daniel Day-Lewis, Maggie Smith and Nicole Kidman. Her new book is “The Actor Speaks: Voice and the Performer.” (St. Martin’s Press) Rodenburg is the Director of Voice at London’s National Theatre and the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. “The Actor Speaks” is a complete vocal workshop for performers of every skill level.

Magician and trickster Teller of Penn and Teller. They've been performing for over twenty years, both on Broadway and around the world. The duo has also written several books: "How to Play in Traffic," "Cruel Tricks for Dear Friends" and "How to Play With Your Food." (Originally aired 10/22/97)

Susan Loesser daughter of Frank Loesser, who wrote the score for “Guys and Dolls.” He also composed the classic songs "Heart and Soul" and "Baby It's Cold Outside.” Loesser's 1993 memoir of her father is "A Most Happy Fella." (Originally Aired 6/18/93)

When Frank Loesser wrote his shows, he made demo recordings to demonstrate to the cast what the songs should sound like. Our second guest, music archivist Joseph Weiss, discovered those demos years later. He was the copyright manager of Paul McCartney’s publishing company, which acquired Loesser’s publishing company in 1979. Along with the acquisition came hundreds of unindexed tapes. In 1992 Weiss produced a CD of the demos. (Originally aired 12/4/92)

We feature a tribute to Hoagy Carmichael, originally part of our American Popular Song series. Carmichael wrote "Star Dust," "Heart and Soul," "The Nearness of You," "Skylark" and many more. We feature performances by singer Rebecca Kilgore and pianist Dave Frishberg. We'll also talk with Richard Sudhalter, who has written a forthcoming biography of Carmichael. And we talk with Carmichael's son, Hoagy Bix Carmichael who now manages his father's music catalogue. (ORIGINALLLY AIRED 11/22/99)

Singer Jerry Butler, aka The Iceman. His 1969 hit, “Only the Strong Survive,” is a rhythm and blues classic, and also the title of his new autobiography: “Only the Strong Survive: Memoirs of a Soul Survivor” (Indiana University Press) Butler founded the vocal group The Impressions as well as having a successful solo career. His awareness of civil rights led him to politics, and he is serving his fourth term on the Cook County Board of Commissioners in Chicago. The book was written with Earl Smith, Butler’s brother-in-law and a journalist.

Film editor Dede Allen. She edited such films as The Hustler, Bonnie And Clyde, Serpico, Dog Day Afternoon, and The Wonder Boys, which has just been re-released. Her Hollywood career began in the 1940’s as an apprentice editor. Today she’s arguably the highest paid and one of the top five film editors in the business. Allen’s been nominated twice for Academy awards.

Jazz clarinetist Andy Biskin. His latest CD is “Dogmental,” (GM Recordings) by the Andy Biskin Quintet. Biskin is also a composer. He grew up in San Antonio, Texas and is now based in Manhattan.

Political scientist Robert Pastor, Ph.D. joins us to talk about possible election reforms in the American system after this presidential vote. Pastor is a professor of Political Science at Emory University, and in his former role as a Carter Center Fellow, he helped create international election monitoring teams. He has monitored 20 foreign elections. Pastor is the author of 10 books on subjects such as U-S foreign policy, international trade and democratization.

Writer Ray Bradbury. He's just been awarded the Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters by the National Book Foundation. He is the author of over twenty-three books, including “I Sing the Body Electric,” “The Martian Chronicles” and “Fahrenheit 451,” all classics of science fiction. Bradbury created the scenario for the U.S. Pavilion at the 1964 New York World's Fair, and the concept for Spaceship Earth at EPCOT at Disney World.