Showing results by narrator "Terry Gross" in All Categories

Reporter George Anastasia has been covering the Philadelphia mob scene for the Philadelphia Inquirer for 15 years. He'll discuss the recent trial of reputed mob boss Joseph "Skinny Joey" Merlino and his associates, which just wrapped up last week. The jury acquitted Merlino and his associates of the serious charges of murder, attempted murder, and drug trafficking but convicted them of racketeering. During the 15-week trial, 90 witnesses took the stand and 943 evidentiary exhibits were introduced.

Novelist David Leavitt and poet Yehuda Amichai on this archive edition of Fresh Air. David Leavitt's new book is Martin Bauman; or, a Sure Thing. It is a look at the Manhattan publishing scene as viewed through the eyes of 19-year-old Martin Bauman. Leavitt's own first book, Family Dancing, was published when he was just 23. Leavitt's other books include The Lost Language of Cranes, Equal Affections, and While England Sleeps.

New York Times reporters David Barstow and Don Van Natta, Jr., on this edition of Fresh Air. They went to Florida following the closest presidential election in history. During a six-month investigation, the two journalists found "under intense pressure from the Republicans, Florida officials accepted hundreds of overseas absentee ballots that failed to comply with state election laws."

Actor Vince Vaughn and photographer Jimmy McHugh on this edition of Fresh Air. Vaughn teams up again with Swingers co-star John Favreau in the new movie Made. The movie, written and directed by Favreau, follows two aspiring boxers who concoct a money-laundering scheme. Vaughn has appeared in several movies including Swingers, The Lost World, the remake of Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho, and The Cell.

New York Times reporter Steve Erlanger, on this edition of Fresh Air ,discusses the upcoming trial before the International War Crimes Tribunal of Slobodan Milosovec.

Writer and historian Jay Winik and a day in the life of journalist Andrew Kromah on this edition of Fresh Air. Winik's new book, a best seller, is April 1865. He writes that April 1865 is a month that "could have unraveled the American nation. Instead it saved it." During that month, the Civil War ended with Lee's surrender, Lincoln was assassinated, and the rebuilding of the nation began.

Icelandic film director Baltasar Kormakur and writer/editor Roger Angell on this edition of Fresh Air. Kormakur's been compared with Spanish film director Almodovar for his debut film, the offbeat comedy 101 Reykjavik. It's set (of course) in Iceland, and is the story of a 28-year-old slacker, his mother, and the flamenco teacher they both fall in love with. The film won the Discovery Award for Best First Film at the 2000 Toronto Film Festival.

Editor and writer Walter Kirn and casting director and actress Joanna Merlin on this edition of Fresh Air. Kirn's new novel Up in the Air is about 35-year-old Ryan Bingham, a well-traveled business man who has a goal of accumulating one million miles in his frequent flyer account. Kirn is the literary editor for GQ and a contributing editor to Time and Vanity Fair. His fiction and nonfiction work has appeared in The New Yorker and the New York Times Magazine.

Actor John Lithgow and Animation Director J.J. Sedelmaier on this edition of Fresh Air. John Lithgow is one of the stars of the animated hit movie Shrek. His comedy TV series Third Rock from the Sun just finished its run on NBC. Lithgow also writes children's books. He's just published the book Marsupial Sue, and he has released a new CD of music for children called Farkle and Friends. Lithgow is currently performing his children's material live in concert.

Poet and memoirist Mary Karr on this edition of Fresh Air. In a follow-up to Liar's Club, what critics call "a hard scrabble childhood," Karr returns to East Texas to detail her adolescence in Cherry. The author relates anecdotes of rebellion, self-doubt, and sexual coming of age. The recipient of several literary awards such as the Pushcart Prize and the Bunting Award, she has published two volumes of poetry. She is the Peck Professor of English Literature at Syracuse University.

Journalist Philip Taubman on this edition of Fresh Air. His new book is Secret Empire: Eisenhower, the CIA, and the Hidden Story of America's Space Espionage. During the Cold War, a small group of scientists, engineers, businessmen and government officials developed spy planes and spy satellites to collect information about Soviet arms. Taubman is the deputy editorial page editor of The New York Times.

Former fighter pilot Keith Rosenkranz and poet Sam Hammill on this edition of Fresh Air. During the first Gulf War, Keith Rosenkranz flew thirty combat missions in his F-16. He wrote about the experience in his book, Vipers in the Storm: Diary of a Gulf War Fighter Pilot. In January, Sam Hamill was invited by First Lady Laura Bush to the White House for a symposium on poetry.

Two reports from Iraq on today's Fresh Air with National Security Correspondent Jon Landay and The New York Times' John Burns. Jon Landay works for the Knight Ridder Newspapers. At the time of the conversation he was about 30 miles from the city of Kirkuk in Northern Iraq. But he's not one of the embedded reporters.

Pulitzer-prize winning journalist Roy Gutman on this edition of Fresh Air. Roy Gutman is currently Senior Fellow at the U.S. Institute of Peace where he is on leave from his position as Newsweek Magazine's chief diplomatic correspondent. He is also director of American University's Crimes of War Project. Gutman won the Pulitzer Prize in 1993 for his coverage of the war in Bosnia-Herzegovina, where he provided the first documented reports of concentration camps.

Non-proliferation expert Joseph Cirincione and The Weekly Standard's William Kristol on this edition of Fresh Air. He specializes in defense and proliferation issues at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. He is senior associate and director of the Non-Proliferation Project. He will discuss the evolution of the Bush administration's policy toward Iraq.

Foreign correspondent Charles Sennott speaks with host Terry Gross from Northern Iraq on this edition of Fresh Air. Charles Sennott writes for The Boston Globe and he's currently traveling in Northern Iraq independently with a group of journalists. In a report filed today for the Globe, he writes about U.S. special forces finding "preliminary evidence" that Islamic militants in the area were intending to develop chemical and biological weapons.

Historian and journalist Hampton Sides on this edition of Fresh Air. Sides is reporting from Centcom in Qatar. Last week he wrote a piece in the New Yorker about his decision not to become "imbedded" with troops.

Abstract painter Frank Stella and remembering musician Juan Garcia Esquivel on this edition of Fresh Air. Frank Stella was first well known in the late 1950s for his Black Paintings series - striped monochrome works that helped touch off the minimalism movement. Over the years his work evolved from the canvas to colorful geometrical configurations of sculpture and architectural dimension.

Foreign correspondent Anthony Shadid and poet Harvey Shapiro on this edition of Fresh Air. Anthony Shadid is a foreign correspondent for The Washington Post. Before working for the Post, he was a correspondent at The Boston Globe's Washington bureau. He spent nine years with Associated Press, five of them in Cairo.

Writer James Tobin on this edition of Fresh Air. He's the author of a biography of World War Two correspondent, Ernie Pyle who was beloved by the public, the G.I.'s and the Generals alike. He witnessed the great American campaigns of the war - North Africa, Sicily, Italy, D-Day, Normandy, the liberation of Paris, and Okinawa. Eleanor Roosevelt was a fan of his work.