Terry Gross

Actor, comic, writer, director Albert Brooks. He stars in the new movie "The Muse". He's appeared in such films as "Taxi Driver," "Broadcast News," and "I'll Do Anything." and "Mother." and he wrote, directed and acted in are "Real Life," "Modern Romance," "Lost in America," and "Defending Your Life." (Originally aired 12/19/96).

Bill Siemering works for "The Open Society Institute," a group that promotes open and free societies. It is funded by the Soros Foundation. He talks about building up radio in third world countries to serve as a tool for democracy. Siemering wrote the mission and goals statement for National Public Radio and served there as its first program director. He also served as V.P. at WHYY-FM in Philadelphia.

Roy A. Loney was lead singer (1965-1971) of the San Francisco band "Flamin' Groovies." Buddha Records has re-issued their albums "Flamingo" and "Teenage Head" Both out-of-print cult classics. After Loney left the band, he recorded with "Phantom Movers" and currently performs with his new band "Fondellas."

Writer and director M. Night Shyamalan. He's the man behind the new #1 hit film, "The Sixth Sense" about a boy who sees the dead. The film stars Bruce Willis. Shyamalan made his film debut with "Praying with Anger" which was named Debut of the Year by the American Film Institute in Los Angeles.

Botanist Margaret Lowman. She's a pioneer in research on forest canopies, i.e, the treetops - their inhabitants, flowers, fruits and morality. Her new book is "Life in the Treetops: Adventures of a Woman in Field Biology" (Yale Book News). LOWMAN is director of research and conservation at the Marie Selby Botanical Gardens in Sarasota, Florida.

Writer and flight attendant Elliott Neal Hester. He writes the bimonthly column "Out of the Blue" for the online magazine, Salon. He's also working on an upcoming book about flying the "not so friendly skies."

U.S. Ambassador to Vietnam Pete Peterson. He's a former Florida congressman and a former P.O.W. during the Vietnam war. He spent almost seven years as a prisoner of war. Now everyday, living in Vietnam, he passes by the Hanoi Hilton, the building that held him. Peterson is the subject of a new PBS documentary, "Assignment Hanoi." (It airs on many PBS stations September 7th).

Assistant Curator in the Department of Architecture and Design at the New York's Museum of Modern Art, Christopher Mount. He's the curator of "Different Roads: Automobiles for the Next Century" thru September 21st. The exhibition presents nine contemporary automobiles which represent the next generation of cars.

Also one of the car's designers, Chuck Pelly. He is the President and CEO of Designworks/USA, international design consultants specializing in transportation and product design.

British standup comic Eddie Izzard (pronounced like "Lizzard"). The cross-dressing comic is a household name in England. He's currently starring in "Lenny" a stage play about the controversial standup comic, Lenny Bruce. Izzard plays Bruce. "Lenny" is playing at the Queens Theatre in London. Last year Izzard performed his one-man show "Dress to Kill" at New York's Westbeth Theater, in the West Village.