Terry Gross

Character actor John C. Reilly. Reilly can currently be seen in the film “The Perfect Storm.” He's starred in all three of director/writer Paul Thomas Anderson's films. He played a small-time gambler In "Hard Eight," a porn star In "Boogie Nights," and a police officer In "Magnolia." “Magnolia” has just been released on video. Reilly has also worked with directors Brian DePalma ("Casualties of War") and Terrence Malik ("The Thin Red Line").

Biographer Howard Pollack is the author of “Aaron Copland: The Life and Work of an Uncommon Man” (University of Illinois Press). This year marks the 100th anniversary of Copland’s birth. Though Copland was Jewish, gay, and raised in Brooklyn, his work came to personify the American West, with such well known compositions as “Billy the Kid” and “Rodeo.” Copland also wrote “Appalachian Spring,” and “Fanfare for the Common Man.” Copland also wrote the film scores for “The Red Pony,” and “The Heiress.” Pollack is professor of music history and literature at the University of Houston.

Protestor Michael Morill is the organizer of Unity 2000 a coalition of groups which is staging a rally on Sunday, July 31st, to cover a range of issues. Morill and his organization sued the city to obtain a permit to protest. Also Amy Kwasnicki is a member of the Philadelphia Direct Action Group which is coordinating three days of protests and civil disobedience during the convention. The group was not given a permit to protest.

Staff writer for The Philadelphia Inquirer Thomas Ginsberg. He’s been covering how the city is preparing for the advent of protests during the Republican National Convention.

The Republican National Convention convenes in Philadelphia in a week. A talk with Frank Punzo, Sales Manager for Verizon Communications which is the official local telecommunications provider for the convention. Punzo is responsible for providing the infrastructure that supports telephone service, video conferencing, internet access and video streaming.

The 1957 musical “The Music Man” by Meredith Wilson is currently being revived on Broadway. A talk with two of the stars: Craig Bierko who plays the lead role of traveling salesman and conman Harold Hill originated by Robert Preston. This is Bierko’s first Broadway show. Also co-star Rebecca Luker who plays Marian the Librarian, the role originated by Barbara Cook. This is LUKER’s fourth Broadway role.

We continue our rebroadcast of our series on American Popular Song with a tribute to ragtime composer and performer Eubie Blake. He was born on February 7,1883 in Baltimore, Md. He wrote the songs for the Broadway hit Shuffle Along. African American ragtime musicians of the day sought out Eubie to write their songs. Two of Eubie Blake's best known songs are "I'm Just Wild About Harry" and  "Love Will Find A Way." Just over one hundred years after his life began, on February 12, 1983, Eubie Blake died in Brooklyn, New York.

Professor and writer Andre Aciman, author of "Out of Egypt: A Memoir." (Farrar, Straus & Giroux) The book follows Aciman's close-knit, flamboyant Jewish family through 50 years of residence in Alexandria. The family was forced to leave Egypt when Aciman was 14, during a long wave of Anti-Semitism and Arab nationalism. In “Out of Egypt,” Aciman explores the lives and relationships of his grandparents, parents, uncles and aunts, and finally his own emotions about leaving his idyllic childhood home.

Singer-songwriter Shelby Lynne. We will listen to her songs and talk to Lynne in studio. Her new CD, “I Am Shelby Lynne” (Universal/Island) is part country and part soul. This is the 6th album for this Alabama-born singer, but it is the first album in which Lynne writes most of the songs. Her other albums were products of the Nashville country music scene. With this new album, Lynne has won over critics and fans alike. Lynne is currently touring the US.