Showing results by author "Terry Gross" in All Categories

Fresh Air, Sissy Spacek and David Atkins

Hear British scientist Richard Dawkins and geneticist Francis Collins on this edition of Fresh Air. Richard Dawkins is a professor of the public understanding of science at Oxford University. The New York Times has hailed him as a writer who "understands the issues so clearly that he forces his reader to understand them too". In his latest book, he writes about what he sees as the irrationality of a belief in God and sets down his arguments for atheism.

Audible presents a special collection of recent Fresh Air interviews with actors Matt Damon, Jodie Foster, Nicolas Cage, and Cherry Jones, as well as Navajo code talker Rev. Roy Hawthorne, screenwriter John Ridley, directors Paul and Chris Weitz, and cartoonist Stan Lee.

Historian Avi Shlaim and remembering Robert Ludlum on this edition of Fresh Air. Avi Shlaim is the author of the new book, The Iron Wall: Israel and the Arab World. Shlaim's book is a revisionist interpretation of Isreal's policy toward the Arab world, based on newly released documents, and on interviews with policymakers and participants in events. Writer Robert Ludlum died yesterday of a heart attack, at age 73. His string of best sellers, such as The Bourne Identity, The Osterman Weekend, and The Icarus Agenda, established him as one of literature's most...

Children's TV host Fred Rogers on this edition of Fresh Air. Rogers died of stomach cancer on February 27, 2003, at the age of 74. His popular show, Mister Rogers' Neighborhood, was the longest-running program on public television. It ended in 2001 after 33 years on the air. Last year, Rogers was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian honor the nation can bestow. (Original Broadcast Date: November 13, 2002)

Evolutionary biologist Olivia Judson and explorer Barry Clifford on this archive episode of Fresh Air. Olivia Judson, in her guide to the evolutionary biology of sex, explores the sex lives of animals and insects. Posing as Dr. Tatiana, sex-advice columnist, she answers "letters" posted by such creatures as the fairy wren, the stalk-eyed fly, and the African elephant. Her new book is Dr. Tatiana's Sex Advice to All Creation. Judson has also written for The Economist, Nature, and Science.

Writer, explorer, and deep-sea diver Barry Clifford's new book is...

Journalist Floyd Norris and actor Michael Chiklis on this edition of Fresh Air. Floyd Norris is chief financial correspondent for The New York Times. He'll discuss the Bush administration's economic plan, including the tax break on stock dividends. Michael Chiklis stars as maverick cop Del Vik Mackey in the FX channel drama series The Shield. Last year, in the first year of the series, Chiklis won an Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series. The Shield is a major departure from the sunnier roles Chiklis had in his past TV shows The Commish and...

Journalist James Bennet of The New York Times. He's the paper's Jerusalem Bureau Chief. He's been in the Middle East covering how the crisis there is affecting both Israelis and Palestinians. (Broadcast Date: December 19, 2002)

Novelist Tim LaHaye and journalist Gershon Gorenberg on this edition of Fresh Air. Tim LeHaye is the co-author of the phenomenally popular Left Behind series. The books are apocalyptic Christian thrillers. The tenth and latest book is The Remnant, which debuted at the top of the New York Times best seller list. LeHaye is also the former co-chairman of Jack Kemp's presidential campaign, was on the original board of directors of the Moral Majority and an organizer of the Council for National Policy which has been called "the most powerful conservative organization in...

Salman Rushdie on this archive edition of Fresh Air. At the time of this interview, it had been more than six years since the Ayatollah Khomeini issued a death sentence against writer Salman Rushdie. Rushdie lived in hiding, continued to write and to make a few semi-public appearances. His book, Haroun and the Sea of Stories, published in 1990 was a fairy tale written for his son. His 1995 book East, West is a collection of stories about the line that divides East and West, migrancy, exile, and the notion of home. (Original broadcast date: January 25, 1995)

Jon Stewart, co-producer and anchorman of Comedy Central's The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, and Jim DeRogatis, author of Let it Blurt: The Life and Times of Lester Bangs, America's Greatest Rock Critic, on this edition of Fresh Air. Stewart's show is an alternative take on the news.

Singer songwriter John Fogerty, TV critic Tom Shales and author James Andrew Miller on this edition of Fresh Air. John Fogerty's new album is a double CD concert album Premonition. Featured on the recording is many of his biggest hits with Creedence Clearwater Revival: "Who'll Stop the Rain," "Down on the Corner," "Bad Moon Rising," and "Proud Mary." Fogerty won a Grammy Award in 1997 for his album Blue Moon, Swamp. Tom Shales and James Andrew Miller are the authors of the new book, Live from New York: An Uncensored History of Saturday Night Live. The book is a history of...

The Car Talk guys, Tom and Ray Magliozzi on this archive edition of Fresh Air. Tom and Ray talk with Host Terry Gross about their first garage and more.

Singer and Songwriter Tom Waits on this edition of Fresh Air. Since the 1973 release of his first album, Closing Time, Waits has won over fans with his original songwriting and distinctive, gravely vocal style. One reviewer calls Waits "the Ultimate hobo boho, a Jack-in-the-box cum storyteller." Musicians including Johnny Cash, Bruce Springsteen, and Rod Stewart have recorded covers of his songs.

Father Donald Cozzens on this edition of Fresh Air. He is the author of The Changing Face of the Priesthood: A Reflection on the Priest's Crisis of Soul. Father Cozzens is president-rector and professor of pastoral theology at Saint Mary Seminary and Graduate School of Theology in Cleveland. He is also the editor of The Spirituality of the Diocesan Priest. Father Cozzens will talk about the church's current sexual abuse scandals, and other crises facing the priesthood. (Broadcast Date: March 12, 2002)

Olympic snowboarder Chris Klug and jazz trombonist and composer Roswell Rudd on this edition of Fresh Air. He's considered the top American male alpine snowboarder. In July 2000, he underwent a liver transplant to cure a serious and rare degenerative liver ailment. Klug was back on the slopes within months, competing in the World Cup races. Snowboarding made its Olympic debut at the 1998 Nagano games. Klug began skiing at the age of two. He was born and lives in Colorado. Jazz trombonist and composer Roswell Rudd is known for his work with groundbreaking groups and musicians like...

Satirist and host of the public radio program Le Show, Harry Shearer, on how he's been dealing with the aftermath of the terrorist attacks on his show. Will Ferrell is a regular cast member of Saturday Night Live. Last weekend the show began the new season in a somber tone, opening the show with Mayor Guilliani surrounded by a group of New York fire fighters, police and EMT workers. Ferrell has portrayed President George Bush on the show as well as Janet Reno, Alex Trebek and Robert Goulet; his other send-ups include musical middle school teacher Marty Culp, and Spartan...

Writer Mary Karr on this edition of Fresh Air. Mary Karr, author of the best-selling memoir The Liar's Club. Her new memoir Cherry which chronicles her teen age years is now out in paperback. In a follow up to what critics call "a hard scrabble childhood," she returns to East Texas to detail her adolescence. Karr 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...

Sinatra experts, columnist and editor Tom Kuntz and Wall Street Journal staff reporter Phil Kuntz, and Chinese independent filmmaker Peter Loehr, on this edition of Fresh Air. The Kuntz brothers' new book The Sinatra Files: The Life of an American Icon Under Government Surveillance excerpts and analyzes portions of the FBI's massive file on Frank Sinatra, begun in the mid-1940s up through 1972. Tom Kuntz is the editor of "Word for Word," a column in The New York Times' " Week in Review" section. Native New Yorker Peter Loehr has become China's first independent...

Remembering former publisher of The Washington Post, Katherine Graham and jazz critic Kevin Whitehead on this edition of Fresh Air. Graham died on July 17, at the age of 84. Graham's father owned The Washington Post in 1933 and later her husband, Phil Graham, took over. Following her husband's suicide in 1963, Graham became publisher, knowing little about the managerial or journalistic aspects of the job. But, learning while she worked, she transformed the paper into one of the country's most respected newspapers. The paper broke the Watergate scandal and published the...