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This audio is like an informal writing clinic, as you listen to these writers talk about their lives, experiences and, of course, their writing. While you are listening, Terry Gross draws out from these great writers the answers to your questions, just as the query begins to form in your own head.

Though Fresh Air has been categorized as a "talk show", it hardly fits the mold. Its 1994 Peabody Award citation credits Fresh Air with "probing questions, revelatory interviews, and unusual insights." And a variety of top publications count Gross among the country's leading interviewers. The show gives interviews as much time as needed, and complements them with comments from well-known critics and commentators.

Cage, Keitel, Coppola, and 15 other stars of the stage and screen speak candidly with Fresh Air's Terry Gross in this compilation of classic interviews. Also available: Fresh Air: Laughs, featuring Pryor, Carey, Mason, and more.

Hear singer-songwriter Ray Davies on this edition of Fresh Air. Davies first became known as the leader of the band The Kinks, one of the great and enduring British bands to came out of the 60s. Davies' first solo record, Other People's Lives was released in 2006. While recording the album in New Orleans, he was shot in the leg by a man who stole his girlfriend's purse. His new album, Working Man's Cafe, was released this month.

In this special compilation, you'll hear exhilarating excerpts from classic interviews with 14 stars of comedy, including Tracey Ullman on her zany characters, Chris Rock on growing up small and black in a white neighborhood, Carol Leifer on the inspiration for her brand of cabaret comedy, and Henny Youngman on his famous line, "Take my wife, please."

A compilation of Fresh Air celebrity interviews with host Terry Gross.

Hear actor Mark Wahlberg, actor Colin Firth, and film critic David Edelstein on this edition of Fresh Air. Wahlberg was nominated for an academy award for best supporting actor for his role as a police sergeant in the film The Departed. Then, Colin Firth, who is probably best known for his role as Mr. Darcy in the BBC/A&E production of Pride & Prejudice. Finally, David Edelstein reviews the new documentary Taxi to the Dark Side.

Hear British scientist Richard Dawkins and geneticist Francis Collins on this edition of Fresh Air. Richard Dawkins is a professor of the public understanding of science at Oxford University. The New York Times has hailed him as a writer who "understands the issues so clearly that he forces his reader to understand them too". In his latest book, he writes about what he sees as the irrationality of a belief in God and sets down his arguments for atheism.

Hear rock and roll singer/songwriter Tom Petty and rock critic Ken Tucker, on this edition of Fresh Air. This weekend Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers will perform during halftime at the Superbowl. And this spring the band goes back on tour. Petty also has a recurring role in Fox TV's animated show King of the Hill.

Actress Cherry Jones and hip hop forefather Grand Master Flash on this edition of Fresh Air. Cherry Jones is currently appearing in Lysistrata at the Prince Music Theater in Philadelphia. Jones is a founding member of the American Repertory Theatre and has appeared in 23 A.R.T. productions. She's won Tony, Drama Desk, Outer Critics Circle and Drama League awards. Jones has starred or appeared in many Broadway and Off-Broadway productions.

Illustrator Marjane Satrapi and guitar legend Jimmy Page on this edition of Fresh Air. Marjane Satrapi is the author of the memoir, Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood. The book is in the form of an illustrated comic. Satrapi was born in 1969 in Iran, and grew up in Tehran during the Islamic Revolution.

Hear authors David and Nic Sheff, and critic at large John Powers, on this edition of Fresh Air. David Sheff and his son, Nic, have both written memoirs. David's new book is called Beautiful Boy: A Father's Journey Through His Son's Addiction. Nic's book is called Tweak. Nic became addicted to meth and was in and out of rehab. David and Nic join us to talk about doing drugs, getting over them, and the effect on family.

Composer and lyricist Stephen Sondheim and actor Greg Kinnear on this edition of Fresh Air. Sondheim was mentored by Oscar Hammerstein, and went on to revolutionize musical theatre. His first major success was writing lyrics for West Side Story. He also composed the music and wrote the lyrics for A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, Follies, and A Little Night Music to name a few.

Computer programmer Linus Torvalds on this edition of Fresh Air. He is the creator of Linux, a computer operating system intended to improve upon Unix. When Torvalds wrote the original code in 1991, he sent it out on the Internet to allow anyone to make changes and improvements.

Hear conservative William F. Buckley, musicians Stew and Heidi Rodewald, and jazz critic Kevin Whitehead, on this edition of Fresh Air. William F. Buckley died on Wednesday. Buckley is often cited with bringing conservative thought into the mainstream in liberal post-war America. He was the founder of the conservative magazine the National Review and for many years, the magazine's editor-in-chief. His popularity as a public intellectual increased through his television appearances, particularly as the host of the long-running television show Firing Line.

Writer Stephen King on this edition of Fresh Air. King has just received the Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters at this year's National Book Award ceremony. Author of several best sellers, he is credited with ushering in a whole new era of horror with his first novel, Carrie, published in 1974.

Singer, songwriter, musician, and arranger Barry Manilow is on this edition of Fresh Air.

Novelist Jay McInerney and actress Eva Marie Saint on this edition of Fresh Air. Jay McInerney broke onto the literary scene with his best selling novel Bright Lights, Big City, about the excesses of the a Manhattan yuppie in the 1980s. His new book is a collection of essays about the pleasure of wine. It's called Bacchus & Me: Adventures in the Wine Cellar.

Jazz pianist Keith Jarrett on this archival edition of Fresh Air.

Historian and civil rights activist Roger Wilkins and writer Vernor Vinge on this edition of Fresh Air. Wilkins has written a new book Jefferson's Pillow. He considers our founding fathers and their conflicting attitudes toward race and how it affects his own sense of patriotism. Wilkins is a professor of history at George Mason University, a Pulitzer-prize winner, and former Assistant Attorney General under President Johnson.