Terry Gross

Actor Christopher Walken. He got his start in the business as a tap-dancing kid and went on to play some of the most menacingly evil characters around. His films include “At Close Range,” “The Comfort of Strangers,” “King of New York,” “The Dead Zone,” and “Annie Hall” (in which he played Annie’s creepy brother who had an impulse to drive his car into oncoming traffic.) His new film is “The Opportunists.”

National Correspondent for The New York Times, Nicholas Kristof. He’s written a series of biographical articles on George W. Bush, focusing on his early years. Kristof is former Tokyo Bureau Chief for The Times, and was co-recipient of the Pulitzer Prize for international reporting for his coverage of Tianamen Square. (THIS INTERVIEW CONTINUES INTO THE SECOND HALF OF THE SHOW)

Satirist Harry Shearer, the host of “Le Show,” and the voice behind several characters on "The Simpsons". Shearer is also the author of "It's the Stupidity, Stupid: Why (Some) People hate Clinton and Why the Rest of Us Have to Watch." This week he is in Philadelphia as part of the “Shadow Convention” an alternative to the Republican and Democratic conventions, which covers the issues it says the other conventions won’t touch like campaign finance reform, poverty in the midst of prosperity, and the drug war. (THIS INTERVIEW CONTINUES INTO THE END OF THE SHOW).

Filmmaker John Waters. His latest film is “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. Waters other movies include, "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 1950's, which brought together such performers as Patty Hearst, Johnny Depp, Ricki Lake, David Nelson, and Polly Bergen.

Composer and Broadway director Cy Coleman talks about working with Dorothy Fields in the 1960s and 70's with Dorothy Fields. They collaborated on the Broadway shows "Sweet Charity," and "Seesaw." Coleman is the composer and director of the current Broadway show, The Life. (Rebroadcast of 4/12/99)

As part of our encore presentation of our series on American popular son, we remember the late lyricist Dorothy Fields. Born in 1905, She was the only woman in the pre-rock era to sustain major critical and popular acclaim as a songwriter. First, We feature singer Becky Kilgore and pianist Dave Frishberg perform music by Dorothy Fields. (Rebroadcast of 4/12/99)

Philip Furia talks specifically about the lyrics Dorothy Fields wrote. Furia is Chairman of the English Department at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington. He is also author of "Poets of Tin Pan Alley." (Rebroadcast of 4/12/99)

Singer Becky Kilgore and pianist Dave Frishberg perform music by Dorothy Fields. (Rebroadcast of 4/12/99)

Singer Becky Kilgore and pianist Dave Frishberg perform music by Dorothy Fields. (Rebroadcast of 4/12/99)

Biographer Deborah Grace Winer talks about Fields life and music. Winer is author of "On the Sunny Side of the Street: The Life and Lyrics of Dorothy Fields." (Rebroadcast of 4/12/99)