09/23/03, Tuesday

Terry Gross

Ms. Gross has been the host of Fresh Air since 1975; the daily program is now distributed to 406 stations. Over the years, Fresh Air has received numerous awards, including the prestigious Peabody Award and the Corporation of Public Broadcasting Award for “Best Live Radio Program.” Los Angeles Times calls Gross, “arguably one of the most thought-provoking interviewers working in media today—a working rival of Ted Koppel and Larry King.”

11/11/03, Tuesday

Dave Eggers

Idiosyncrasy has been a theme of Eggers’ career, says Time magazine. Mr. Eggers is the author of A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius, a memoir, and You Shall Know Our Velocity, a novel, as well as the publisher of McSweeney’s, an unorthodox literary journal. He also has founded a nonprofit tutoring center. Never mind that he’s just 33 years old.

02/23/04, Monday

Naomi Shihab Nye

Poet, essayist, children’s author, and songwriter, Ms. Nye’s writing attests to our shared humanity. She is the daughter of a Palestinian father and an American mother and grew up in St. Louis, Jerusalem and San Antonio. In her seven collections of poems, she enters her poetic territory like an explorer, eyes mapping landscapes, distinguishing details.

04/19/04, Monday

Oliver Sacks

As a physician and a writer, Dr. Sacks is concerned above all with the link between body and mind, ways in which the whole person adapts to neurological conditions. He is the author of seven books, including Awakenings, upon which a movie by the same name was based, and The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat. Visit Sacks' website for more information.