Terry Gross

Adam "MCA" Yauch, one of the group's founding members, died Friday after a lengthy battle with cancer. He was 47. Fresh Air remembers the raspy-voiced rapper with excerpts from a 2006 interview.

The creator and star of HBO's new series Girls addresses the growing backlash against the show, which follows four 20-somethings as they navigate the ups and downs of life in New York City.

William Dodd served four years as the ambassador to Germany before resigning -- after repeated clashes with both Nazi Party officials and the State Department. Erik Larson chronicles Dodd's time in Berlin in his new book, In the Garden of Beasts.

In Private Empire, investigative journalist Steve Coll explains how Exxon Mobil has used its money and power to wind significant influence in Washington, D.C., concerning issues like climate change.

Journalist Peter Bergen outlines the decade-long search for the al-Qaida leader in his new book Manhunt. Bergen is the only journalist to gain access to bin Laden's Abbottabad compound before it was razed by the Pakastani government.

The actress's film career has spanned more than four decades. She recounts some of her favorite memories from the sets of movies such as Coal Miner's Daughter, Badlands and Carrie in a new memoir, My Extraordinary Ordinary Life.

Historian Adam Hochschild traces the patriotic fervor that catapulted Great Britain into war during the summer of 1914 — as well as the small, but determined British pacifist movement — in his historical narrative To End All Wars: A Story of Loyalty and Rebellion, 1914-1918.

This interview was originally broadcast on August 11, 2011. To End All Wars is now available in paperback.

Americans generate more trash than anyone else on the planet: more than 7 pounds per person each day. Journalist Edward Humes explores how that happened in his new book Garbology: Our Dirty Love Affair with Trash.