We all have our routines, and today we’ll look at the daily rituals of creative people like Jane Austen, Benjamin Franklin, and Twyla Tharp, and how they’ve influenced their work. Accordionist Rob Curto, who’s a member of the band Matuto, performs live in our studio! Michael Bacon, Nellie McKay, and Philippe Quint discuss recording the soundtrack to David Grubin’s film “Downtown Express.” And Monona Rossol talks about how to deal with mold damage from Sandy.

On today’s show: Wired magazine’s James Bamford fills us in on General Keith Alexander, the four-star general who leads the National Security Agency. We’ll look at the FISA courts and the efforts to make their rulings public. Ed Hardy on building a billion-dollar brand out of his love of tattoos. Lionel Shriver talks about her latest novel, Big Brother. Plus, we’ll find out how corporations are competing to get as much information as they can about their consumers.  

Vanity Fair’s Michael Joseph Gross explains how America’s bid to stop the 20th-century threat of nuclear proliferation may have unleashed a unexpected 21st century threat—cyber-war! Then the director “The Attack” talks about the film, about a Israeli-Palestinian surgeon whose life is shattered after he discovers secrets his wife has kept from him. Plus, a powerful documentary from the forbidden zone of Afghanistan. And how a new geopolitical order was hatched at Bretton Woods, when representatives of 44 nations gathered there in July 1944.

MSNBC host Chris Hayes talks about the push to pass immigration reform, the NSA scandal, and why so many Americans have lost trust in their government. Then, as the 150th anniversary of the battle approaches, we’ll look at Gettysburg and why it was a turning point in the Civil War. Tom Drury discusses his latest novel, Pacific. Plus, this week’s Please Explain is about pain and how the body responds to it in many different ways.

Cognitive psychologist Scott Barry Kaufman on why the ways we measure intelligence in children often fails to predict adult success. South African comedian Trevor Noah talks about his new one-man off-Broadway show “Born a Crime,” about growing up in Apartheid South Africa as a mixed-race child. We’ll find out why it took scholars 50 years to break a code that enabled them to read Europe’s earliest written records. Plus, we’ll get the latest on the Bradley Manning trial.

On today’s show: Dr. Geoffrey Tabin talks about cataract blindness in isolated and impoverished countries. Lauren Sandler—an only child and the parent of an only child—argues that there are benefits from growing up in a single-child household. Claire Messud discusses her latest novel, The Woman Upstairs. Plus, our gurus of how-to, Alvin and Lawrence Ubell, take your calls on home repair!

The Wall Street Journal’s Asia Editor talks about how the rape of a young woman in Delhi last year has touched off a national debate about women’s rights in India. Singers Darlene Love and Merry Clayton and director Morgan Neville discuss “Twenty Feet from Stardom,” a new documentary about backup singers. Historian Joseph J. Ellis looks at the events of the summer of 1776. Plus, we’ll find out about the pivotal role that Chicago has played in shaping American culture.

New York Times reporter Elisabeth Rosenthal explains why colonoscopies have gotten more expensive, despite their becoming more commonplace, and how that’s driven up healthcare costs. Alysia Abbott talks about growing up with her openly gay father in 1970s and 80s San Francisco. David Berg tells of growing up with a troubled father and the 1968 murder of his brother. Economist Jeffrey Sachs on the foreign policy triumphs during John F. Kennedy’s presidency.

Tom Vanderbilt discusses what science can tell us about why we like certain foods but not others. We’ll get a preview of this weekend’s Big Apple Barbecue Block Party with three great pitmasters. Director George C. Wolfe and actor Courtney B. Vance talk about bringing Nora Ephron’s play “Lucky Guy” to Broadway. This week’s Please Explain looks at the changes in the new fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistic Manual of Mental Disorders.

New York Times Dining section columnist Melissa Clark shares ideas about what to make for parties and picnics that can stand up to the summer heat. Then we’ll talk to the directors of a new documentary about Pussy Riot, the Russian group whose members were arrested and jailed for performing in a cathedral. We’ll find out about a re-discovered article by James Agee and photographer Walker Evans that was the basis of their celebrated book Let Us Now Praise Famous Men.

Weddings can come with all kinds of potential social disasters, and New York Times Social Q’s columnist Philip Galanes is here to answer your wedding etiquette questions! Anna Badkhen tells what kept drawing her back to Afghanistan after she covered the war there in 2001. Frederico Garcia Lorca’s niece Laura Garcia Lorca and editor Christopher Maurer discusses Poet in New York and the Lorca Festival going on now in New York. Plus, a look at the rise of Indian Americans to the top ranks of American business—and the fall of Galleon founder Raj Rajaratnam who was convicted of conspiracy and securities fraud in 2011.

On today’s show: Dwight Gooden talks about his years with the Mets, winning 3 World Series, pitching a no-hitter, and how he finally conquered his addictions on reality television. Larry Tye tells the history of Superman, one of popular culture’s most enduring heroes. Roxana Robinson discusses her new novel, Sparta. Jeremy Scahill and Richard Rowley discuss their new documentary “Dirty Wars.”

Securities analyst turned investigative reporter Barbara Dreyfus describes what led to the largest hedge fund collapse in history when Amaranth Advisors imploded. Jeanine Basinger charts the history of marriage in the movies. Colum McCann talks about his latest novel, TransAtlantic. And we’ll learn how reducing our dependence on oil could transform almost every aspect of American society.