Religion scholar Elaine Pagels lost her young son to terminal illness and her husband a year later in an accident. Her book, ‘Why Religion?,’ combines memoir and biblical scholarship to reflect on loss and faith. It’s now out in paperback.

Also, we remember late spiritual leader Ram Dass. In the ’60s and ’70s, Dass, along with Timothy Leary, became interested in the religious potential of LSD. He was a practitioner of Eastern-inspired philosophy, and was careful to distance himself from corruption and cult-like behavior of other gurus. Dass spoke with Terry Gross in 1990.

John Powers marks the 100th anniversary of Italian neorealist director Federico Fellini’s birth.