Showing results by author "Terry Gross" in All Categories

Musician Ravi Shankar, actors Vince Vaughn and Gene Hackman on this edition of Fresh Air. Today, we learned that former Beatle George Harrison has died.

Singers Teddy Pendergrass and Al Green on this edition of Fresh Air Teddy Pendergrass was a popular soul singer in the group "Harold Melvin and The Blue Notes.

Author Martin Amis on this edition of Fresh Air. Amis is considered one of the leading British writers of the late twentieth century and one of the most controversial.

Military affairs correspondent for The New York Times, Michael Gordon on this edition of Fresh Air. He's former Moscow bureau chief for the paper. He covered the war in Chechnya when The Times was one of only two Western news organizations allowed in Chechnya by the Russian military. Gordon also covered the Gulf War and the war in Kosovo, and is co-author of the book The Generals' War about the Gulf War.

Beth Wictum is lab director of the Veterinary Genetics Laboratory (VGL) at the University of California at Davis. It's a forensics lab that helps investigators solve crimes using animal DNA. For instance: a key clue in a sexual-assault conviction was dog urine. The victim was unable to identify the suspect but her dog had relieved himself on his truck during the assault.

The host of NPR's Weekend Edition Saturday, Scott Simon and remembering dancer Gwen Verdon on this edition of Fresh Air. Simon's written a memoir, Home & Away: Memoir of a Fan. Fresh Air remembers dancer Gwen Verdon. She died today at the age of 75. She became an overnight Broadway sensation in 1953 as a dancer in Can Can, for which she won her first Tony Award.

White House Correspondent for The Washington Post Dana Milbank on this Fresh Air. He covered the recent presidential campaign and the aftermath. He's written a new book about it, Smashmouth: Two years in the Gutter with Al Gore and George W. Bush.

Former Washington deputy bureau chief for ABC News and award winning producer A'Lelia Bundles on this edition of Fresh Air. Her new book is a biography of her great-great-grandmother Madam C.J. Walker, On Her Own Ground: The Life and Times of Madam C.J. Walker. Walker was the daughter of slaves, and a widow at the age of 20.

From the Library of Congress, Recording Sound Specialist, Samuel Brylawski and acquisition specialist Cooper Graham and former White House press secretary Marlin Fitzwater on this edition of Fresh Air. The two compiled a collection of presidential speeches dating back 85 years Historic Presidential Speeches (1908-1993).

Journalist Sam Quinones on Mexico and trumpeter Chico O'Farrill on this edition of Fresh Air. This Friday, George W. Bush embarks on his first presidential trip outside the US. He will travel to Mexico to meet the new president of Mexico, Vincente Fox. We talk about Mexico with Journalist Sam Quinones. He has been covering Mexico for 7 years.

Two of the most popular shows on television are U.S. versions of shows originated in Britain. Fresh Air's Terry Gross talks with the people behind them on this edition. David Briggs is the creator of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?, which premiered on British television in September 1998 and thereby set the phrase (or its translation) "Is that your final answer?" into orbit.

Record producer and musician Don Was on this archive edition of Fresh Air. Was co-founded the funk rock group, "Was (Not) Was." In 1995, he won a Grammy for Producer of the Year. In addition, he's produced a number of albums for Bonnie Raitt, including her Nick of Time album which revived her career, Rolling Stones, Lyle Lovett, Al Green, Iggy Pop, and the B-52's.

Filmmaker John Waters on this edition of Fresh Air. His film Cecil B. Demented has just been released on video and DVD. It's about an underground filmmaker and his cult following who declare war on bad cinema by kidnapping a starlet and forcing her to star in their own film.

Soviet born journalist Masha Gessen and poet Li-Young Lee on this archive edition of Fresh Air. Masha Gessen edited a collection of post-Soviet fiction by women, Half a Revolution: Contemporary Fiction by Russian Women. Gessen says that most of the writers in the collection belong to the "mute generation" that came of age under Brezhnev.

Jazz critic and writer Gary Giddins on this edition of Fresh Air. Gary Giddins new biography of Bing Crosby is called, Bing Crosby: A Pocketful of Dreams - The Early Years, 1903-1940. From 1930s to the 50s, Crosby was a pop culture icon, dominating American entertainment with his hit records and movies. In this first volume of the biography, Giddins chronicles the rise of Crosby's career.

Historian Clayborne Carson, Maxwell Taylor Kennedy, and Rhythm and Blues musician Barbara Lynn on this edition of Fresh Air Clayborne Carson is director of Stanford University's King Papers Project, dedicated to editing and publishing all the papers of Martin Luther King, Jr. Carson is the co-editor of the new book A Call to Conscience: The Landmark Speeches of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr a collection of eleven speeches delivered at turning points in the civil rights movement.

Host Terry Gross talks to two past transition directors who helped presidents move into the White House and satirist Harry Shearer on this edition of Fresh Air. Mark Gearan, now the head of the Peace Corps, he served on President Clinton's transition team as Deputy Director in 1992.

Former presidential candidate and U.S. Senator Bill Bradley and Doctor Muriel Gillick on this edition of Fresh Air. Bill Bradley discusses the state of politics today. He published his memoir, Time Present, Time Past in 1996. In addition to his political career, Bradley was also a star basketball player with the New York Knicks. His latest book is called The Journey from Here. Doctor Muriel Gillick talks about the problems associated with care for the elderly.

Former Clinton White House Press Secretaries Michael McCurry and Joe Lockhart on this edition of Fresh Air. From 1995-1998, Michael McCurry was press secretary when the Monica Lewinsky story first broke. Joe Lockhart was White House Press Secretary from 1998 to October 2000, during Clinton's impeachment trial.

Psychologist Judith Wallerstein and journalist Fred Schulte on this archive edition of Fresh Air. Judith Wallerstein interviewed over 50 couples about how and why their relationships work. She summaries her findings in her book The Good Marriage: How and Why Love Lasts. Fred Schulte writes for the Ft. Lauderdale South Florida Sun Sentinel. He investigated the telemarketing industry for his latest book, Fleeced! Telemarketing Rip-Offs and How to Avoid Them.