Dave Davies

Stanley Tucci may be a star, but he's still got the protean gifts of a great character actor: He can transform himself for each new role he brings to the screen. You've seen him as a flamboyant art director in The Devil Wears Prada, a stereotypical Italian gangster in The Road To Perdition, a conniving politico in Swing Vote, the impish Puck in A Midsummer Night's Dream and a neurotic lover in Deconstructing Harry. And if a career like that suggests a certain versatility, Tucci's most recent films particularly highlight his ability to inhabit a range of personalities.

Despite the economic recession — or perhaps because of it — the kidnapping business is booming. In his recent New York Times Magazine article, journalist Nicholas Schmidle explores the international hostage market and its impact on workers.

Comedian Ed Helms came to attention of the comedy world as a correspondent on The Daily Show. Helms is now a regular on NBC's The Office and starred in the recent film The Hangover, which is now out of DVD.

This interview was originally broadcast June 9, 2009.

This month Woody Harrelson stars plays Capt. Tony Stone in a new movie about the costs of war. His character notifies the families of fallen soldiers. Harrelson's performance is already generating Oscar chatter.

A 2007 scandal involving NFL star Michael Vick exposed the world of illegal dogfighting. Now out of prison, Vick has pledged to help end the practice; Dave Davies talks about the campaign with John Goodwin, Humane Society manager of animal fighting issues, and former dogfighter Sean Moore.

One year after the collapse of Lehman Brothers, New York Times financial columnist Gretchen Morgenson reflects on what has — and has not — changed about the financial industry.

Puppies Behind Bars is a canine training program that enlists prison inmates to train puppies as bomb-sniffing dogs or as service animals. Many of the dogs are then paired with wounded or disabled veterans.

Investigative journalist Jane Mayer discusses a secret CIA counterterrorism program that was reportedly concealed from Congress under direct orders from then Vice President Dick Cheney.

Journalist and lawyer Adam Liptak covers the Supreme Court for The New York Times. He gives us a roundup of this year's most important decisions — some of which were left for the final hours before summer recess.

In "The Cost Conundrum," his latest article for The New Yorker, staff writer Dr. Atul Gawande reports from McAllen, Texas, a border-town with the dubious distinction of spending more per person on health care than almost any other market in America.