Terry Gross

What does the Internet look like? Journalist Andrew Blum decided to find out. His new book, Tubes, is a journey into the Internet's physical infrastructure -- where our data is stored and transmitted.

The standards singer's solo album, Strictly Romancin', explores the ups and downs of love. Russell sings several tracks from the records during this interview and performance.

What if the rapture actually occurred? That's the plot of Tom Perrotta's new novel Te Leftovers, which examines the aftermath of an unexplained rapture like even in which millions of people around the globe inexplicably disappear into thin air.

You might not recognize the name Randall Poster, but you're likely familiar with his work. Poster picks out and licenses music used in commercials, TV and film. He worked closely with director Wes Anderson on films like Rushmore and Moonrise Kingdom.

The pianist's new album features some of the most difficult etudes ever written for solo piano by the Hungarian composer Gyorgy Ligeti. "Ligeti took the piano to places it had never been before," he says, "and makes demands of the pianist and the mind that had never been made before."

Have you thought about switching to barefoot running? New York Times exercise columnist Gretchen Reynolds did -- and promptly injured herself. She details what she did wrong -- and how to keep your own feet healthy -- in her new book, The First 20 Minutes.

Actor and writer Sacha Baron Cohen is famous for taking his characters — Ali G., Borat, Bruno — into the real world, interacting with people who have no idea that they're dealing with a fictional character. But his new movie, The Dictator, is a scripted comedy about a tyrant on the loose in New York.

Yemen is now considered to be "the greatest external threat facing the U.S. homeland in terms of terrorism," says investigative reporter Jeremy Scahill.