Terry Gross

Robert Wittman founded the FBI's Art Crime Team and tracked down more than $225 million worth of stolen art and cultural property — including a $36 million self-portrait by Rembrandt. He describes the heists in his memoir, Priceless: How I Went Undercover to Rescue the World's Stolen Treasures.

The Spanish actor received his third Academy Award nomination for his performance in Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu's film Biutiful. Bardem reflects on his role in Biutiful, as well as his performances in Before Night Falls and No Country for Old Men.

In his new book, The Compass of Pleasure, neuroscientist David Linden maps out the brain's relationship with pleasure and addiction. From junk food to sex to gambling, Linden explains that addictions are actually rooted in the brain's inability to feel pleasure.

The director's latest film follows a Mexican immigrant living illegally in Los Angeles who tries to evade immigration officials and the city's pervasive gang culture. It's a far cry from Weitz's earlier films, the blockbusters The Golden Compass and New Moon.

Illustrator Christoph Niemann's work ranges from whimsical children's books to poignant cover art for The New Yorker, but he's not interested in ending up in a museum. "I get a much bigger kick out of having my image seen like a million times for like 20 seconds," he says.

Marine Jess Goodell spent eight months recovering and processing the remains of fallen troops in the Mortuary Affairs unit. "I don't think I ever stopped smelling death when I was in Iraq," she says.

Nick Cave and his band The Bad Seeds are best known for their angry, twisted ballads. Four of Cave's studio albums, including The Boatman's Call and Murder Ballads, have just been reissued.

The West Bank has yet to see a democracy movement on the level of those sparking dramatic changes in Egypt, Tunisia and Libya. It could have a huge effect on the region, were it to happen, says conflict resolution expert Robert Malley.

Dr. David Ansell's experiences treating patients at Chicago's public hospital for 17 years turned him into a strong advocate for national health care reform. He details what it was like to work with Chicago's uninsured patient population in a new memoir and social history.

Romance comics flourished in the 1940s and '50s, with titles like Was I a Wicked Wife? and Kisses Came Second. Pop culture writer Michael Barson collects some of his favorites in the new anthology, Agonizing Love: The Golden Era of Romance Comics.