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Patrick Powers is a senior at the University of New Hampshire, majoring in mechanical engineering. He was one of the seven students who designed UNH's entry this year in NASA's annual "Great Moonbuggy Race." He was also one of the two drivers of the vehicle, which placed second among the competing teams. He talked with John about the buggy that the UNH team built, some of its unusual design elements, and the experience of racing it in the NASA competition.

Richard Herman is founder of The Interlocken Center for Experiential Learning. A former teacher, he started the camp to create educational experiences that public schools can't offer. Interloken's programs include the New England Traveling Minstrels, a commedia dell'arte troupe that tours Europe, and an experience built around "Random Acts of Kindness." Interloken maintains a web site at [http://www.Interloken.org].

Sergei Novikov is a Russian-born pianist and composer who now lives in Kittery, Maine. After his studies at the Moscow Conservatory, he made a professional detour and spent the next tour years touring Russia as a member of one of the country?s most successful pop bands. Then he moved to the United States, where he began studying American-style jazz. His myriad musical experiences can all be felt in his latest CD, a children?s CD called ?Jump Jump Jump.? Sergei talked with Nathan Irwin about the stages in his musical career, why he enjoys writing and performing for children, and the songs on his new CD.

M. Marguerite-Matthews and Greg Gathers are co-directors of Pontine Movement Theatre in Portsmouth. Their latest production, "Dearly Earned," began as an investigation into the history of their own building, and the history of Portsmouth's textile mills. The production draws on period newspapers, and the letters and memoirs of mill workers; it tells the story of the mills themselves, the people who worked in them, and the neighborhoods where they lived. "Dearly Earned" runs from April 27 to May 13 at the McDonough Street Studio in Portsmouth. [Also look for Kevin Gardner's review of the production.]

Ira Glass is the creator and host of public radio?s ?This American Life,? a program that?s now carried on hundreds of public radio stations nationwide [including NHPR?you can hear it at 2:00 p.m. on Saturdays, and again on Sundays at 6:00 p.m.]. He?ll be in New Hampshire on Wednesday, April 25th, when he appears at Keene?s Colonial Theatre to talk about his show, and how he and his staff put it together each week. Ira talked Nathan Irwin about the kinds of stories he tries to tell on his program, what he looks for in a story idea, and why he thinks are the stories on ?This American Life? are different from those you?ll find elsewhere in the media.