Terry Gross

"NYPD Blue" (Steven Bochco Productions) begins its new season on Tuesday. Co-creator, executive producer, and head writer of "NYPD Blue," David Milch, and Detective Bill Clark, a consultant to the show, talk about the real stories behind the drama. Clark is a former New York City homicide detective, and many of the story lines for the show come from cases he worked on. The two collaborated on the book, "True Blue: The Real Stories Behind NYPD Blue." (REBROADCAST FROM 11/1/95)

Actor James McDaniel returns to NYPD Blue in its season premiere this Tuesday. He plays Lieutenant Arthur Fancy. McDaniel has appeared in numerous television, film, and theater productions, including the films "Strictly Business," "Malcolm X," and "Alice." McDaniel has also acted on the television shows "Kate and Allie," "Hill Street Blues," "L.A. Law," and "Civil Wars." (REBROADCAST from 12/10/96)

Mahnaz Afkhami, executive director of the Sisterhood is Global Institute (SIGI), and Azar Nafisi, professor of English Literature at Tehran's Tabatabai University discuss this weekend's Sisterhood is Global conference in Washington D.C., a symposium addressing issues such as cross-cultural education and women's rights on a global scale. Afkhami has written a substantial manual for women's rights education in Muslim countries. Nafisi has conducted ongoing workshops in Iran, one of six SIGI world workshop sites, on women, their identities, and their rights.

Veteran rapper LL Cool J has written an autobiography, entitled "I Make My Own Rules" (St. Martin's). In it he talks about his evolving life, from violent beginnings to his entrancement with rhyme and rap in high school, an obsession that made him Def Jam records' first recording artist at age 15. Mostly recognized throughout his recording career as the one with the gold chains and floppy hat, LL is also a two-time Grammy winner, actor, husband, father of three, and role model for youth.

Will Friedwald has written a new encyclopedic guide to the music legacy of Frank Sinatra: "Sinatra! The Song is You: A Singer's Art" (Da Capo Press). The work chronicles Sinatra's five-decade career, drawing on interviews with his many collaborators, and interviews with Sinatra himself, and includes a discography of his well know, as well as little known recordings. Friedwald is also the author of "Jazz Singing."

Poet, editor, and novelist Seamus Deane. His first novel, Reading in the Dark," (Knopf) came out earlier this year, a chronicle of a boy growing up in Northern Ireland in the 1950's. Deane recounts the story of a family haunted by a missing uncle and his tie to the greater Troubles surrounding them all. "Reading in the Dark" was short-listed for the United Kingdom's esteemed literary prize, the Booker. Deane is the editor of the Norton "Field Day Anthology," the definitive collection of Irish literature.

Author and historian Joan Jacobs Brumberg. Her new book, "The Body Project," attempts to trace back through the century to discover why young women report unhappiness with their bodies now more than ever. Working with girls' diaries from the 1830's up to the present day, Brumberg outlines the shifting pressures that have altered the way females define themselves.

Our newest poet laureate Robert Pinsky. His latest book "The Figured Wheel: New and Collected Poems" is in paperback (Farrar Straus & Giroux).

Poet Jane Shore. Her new collection of poems "Music Minus One" (Picador) is out in paperback. It reads like a memoir of her youth growing up in the 1950s in New Jersey. She's won several prizes for her two previous volumes of poetry and is the recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship. (REBROADCAST from 4/16/97)

Actor Danny Aiello. He starred in "Moonstruck," and "Do the Right Thing." Also in "Ruby," about Jack Ruby, the man who shot Lee Harvey Oswald. He used to be an official with the New York transit union and quit it when he was 35 to take up acting. This Fall he stars in the CBS series "Dellaventura" (REBROADCAST from 3/19/92)