Terry Gross

During the 1898-1904 pox epidemic, public health officials and policemen forced thousands of Americans to be vaccinated against their will. Historian Michael Willrich examines that epidemic's far-reaching implications for individual civil liberties in Pox: An American History.

On Thursday night, Mad Men creator Matt Weiner signed a new deal with AMC to create at least two more seasons of the Emmy-winning drama. On today's Fresh Air, actor Jon Hamm talks about playing the character Don Draper and details how he auditioned for the role.

Season four of 'Mad Men' has just been released on DVD. This interview was originally broadcast on Sept, 16, 2010.

Post-modern writer David Mitchell pulls off an old-fashioned yet action-packed tale in his fifth novel, The Thousand Autumns Of Jacob de Zoet. The story follows Jacob, a bookkeeper at an outpost of the Dutch East Indies Company, as he falls for a local midwife in early 19th century Japan.

The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet is now available in paperback. This interview was originally broadcast on Aug. 5, 2010.

Before the Fukushima disaster, nuclear power was being rebranded as a green form of energy. New York Times energy reporter Matt Wald explains how the situation in Japan is now raising questions about the safety and disposal of nuclear waste in the U.S.

African journalist Peter Godwin returned to his native Zimbabwe in 2008 to follow the presidential election. He writes about President Robert Mugabe's refusal to give up power -- and Mugabe's torture campaign against opposition supporters -- in The Fear.

Actor Timothy Olyphant stars in the FX series Justified as Deputy U.S. Marshal Raylan Givens, a present-day lawman with Wild West instincts. Elephant also starred in HBO's Deadwood as sheriff Seth Bullock.

Mark Wahlberg and David O. Russell talk about creating a movie based on the real-life boxer Micky Ward, who won a welterweight championship in 2000 after several years away from the boxing ring.

He has died at age 73. Wilson won the Pulitzer Prize for his play, "Talley's Folly." He wrote 17 full length plays and 30 one acts. Titles include "The Hot L Baltimore," "Burn This," "Fifth of July" and "Redwood Curtain," which had just come out when Terry spoke to Wilson in 1992. Wilson was one of the founders of The Circle Repertory Company in New York. He was nominated for Tony Awards for "Angels Fall," "Talley's Folly" and "Fifth of July." (REBROADCAST. ORIGINAL AIRDATE: 3/13/92)

Physician Kevin Patterson has treated patients in the Arctic, in Kandahar and on remote Pacific Islands. He says that Western ideas and effects of urbanization are making people everywhere in the world both fatter and sicker.

Twenty years ago, Italian food was regarded as cheap, peasant food. Now it's served on menus worldwide and considered to be one of the healthiest cuisines. Esquire Magazine's food critic John Mariani chronicles the story of pizza, macaroni and red sauce in How Italian Food Conquered the World.