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Actor Spalding Gray, famous for his autobiographical monologues, was found dead on March 7 in New York's East River. He'd been missing for two months. In the first in a two-part series, Terry Gross speaks with people who knew Gray well, including his wife, Kathie Russo. The second features excerpts of Gray's Fresh Air interviews.

His new novel is Hard Revolution. It's set in Washington, D.C. in 1968, during the riots sparked by the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. Pelecanos is also the author of Right as Rain, Soul Circus, Hell to Pay, Sweet Forever, King Suckerman, The Big Blowdown, Down By the River Where Dead Men Go, Shoedog, Nick's Trip and A Firing Offense. (This interview was originally broadcast on Aug. 25, 1998.)

Illusionist David Blaine has suspended himself from a crane over London's Thames River, planning to endure starvation in a glass box for 44 days. But many Londoners express boredom with Blaine's latest stunt, deeming it unoriginal. Hear Sally Pook of London's Daily Telegraph.

NPR's Bob Mondello says similarities often emerge among movies sharing a season, and that is especially apparent this year. The most obvious are the 19th-century war movies (Master and Commander, The Last Samurai, and Cold Mountain) -- but there are more obscure trends, like films that include a dead child in their plots (Mystic River, In America, 21 Grams).

The Return of the King, the final installment in The Lord of the Rings trilogy, wins all 11 Oscars for which it was nominated, including best picture and best director. Best acting honors go to Charlize Theron for her transformation into a serial killer in Monster, and Sean Penn for his performance as the troubled father of a murdered child in Mystic River. Hear NPR's Renee Montagne.

He's written five novels featuring the working-class Boston private detective team of Patrick Kenzie and Angela Gennaro. They include A Drink Before the War, Darkness, Take My Hand, Sacred, Gone Baby Gone and Prayers for Rain. Lehane abandoned the duo for his book about the effect of an abduction on a group of boys. It's a thriller, Mystic River, and it's been made into a new film directed by Clint Eastwood.

More than a thousand protesters turned up in the Ohio River town of Steubenville over the weekend, spurred by a blogging and Twitter campaign that's focused on rape allegations involving high-school football players. Social media has taken the case well beyond the small eastern Ohio town, sparking international tension.

When considering what to give for gifts this Holiday season … think about a locally made treat.

The radical Sunni Muslim group has seized many towns and cities in both Syria and Iraq since last year. Here's an animated map showing its gains since the start of 2013.

TransAsia Flight 235 was carrying 58 people, 31 of them from China, when it crashed into the shallow Keelung River in Taipei shortly after takeoff on Wednesday.