Showing results by narrator "Terry Gross" in All Categories

Professor Eric Klinenberg and comedian Dave Attell on this edition of Fresh Air. Professor Klinenberg's new book is Heat Wave: A Social Autopsy of Disaster in Chicago. It's about a 1995 heat wave in that city which proved to be an insidious natural disaster. Streets buckled, electric power blew, and over 700 people died. Klinenberg is an associate professor of Sociology at New York University.

Comedian Dave Attell is the host of Comedy Central's Insomniac with Dave Attell.

Computer programmer Linus Torvalds on this edition of Fresh Air. He is the creator of Linux, a computer operating system intended to improve upon Unix. When Torvalds wrote the original code in 1991, he sent it out on the Internet to allow anyone to make changes and improvements.

Actor Christopher Walken, Reverend Louis Sheldon and Winnie Stachelberg, political director of the Human Rights Campaign on this edition of Fresh Air.

Actors Morgan Freeman and Tim Roth on this archive edition of Fresh Air. Morgan Freeman is one of the stage and screen's most acclaimed actors for his ability to immerse himself in different roles. He originated the role of the chauffeur in the Broadway production of Driving Miss Daisy. Later he revived the role in the movie version, for which he was nominated for an Academy Award.

Paintings have been falling off of walls, a loud and loyal dog has gone missing, a gurgled message is being transmitted by walkie-talkie - strange things are happening all over the town of Stain'd-by-the-Sea. Called upon to investigate these suspicious incidents, young Lemony Snicket collects clues, questions witnesses, and cracks every case. .

Hear music-comedy duo Jemaine Clement and Bret McKenzie, singer songwriter Nellie McKay, and musical group Los Straitjackets. Emaine Clement and Bret McKenzie are with the group Flight of the Conchords. They join us in the studio for a concert. Clement and McKenzie hail from New Zealand and were named Best Alternative comedy Act at the 2005 U.S. Comedy Arts Festival. They star in the HBO series Flight of the Conchords, which begins its second season in 2008.

Cartoonist Daniel Clowes and Producer/Director Terry Zwigoff on this edition of Fresh Air. Drawn in 1950s pop culture style, his comics are darkly humorous satires.

Harvard Law professor Randall Kennedy and composer Jerry Goldsmith on this edition of Fresh Air. Randall Kennedy's new book, Nigger: The Strange Career of a Troublesome Word is based on a series of classroom lectures he prepared exploring the history and use of the word nigger. He found the word in literature, political debates, cartoons, and songs. And he explores the use of the word from a hateful slur to a term of endearment.

Jazz pianist Keith Jarrett on this archival edition of Fresh Air.

Middle East historian David Fromkin on this edition of Fresh Air. David Fromkin is a professor of International Relations, International Law, and Middle Eastern Politics at Boston University. He's also the author of the best selling book, A Peace to End All Peace: Creating the Modern Middle East 1914-1922.

Singer Tom Jones on this edition of Fresh Air. The pop icon first gained fame with the 1960s hits "It's Not Unusual", "Delilah", and "What's New Pussycat". In the last 40 years of his career, he has released over 30 hit singles and several gold and multi-platinum records.

Hear director and choreographer Adam Shankman and filmmaker John Waters on this edition of Fresh Air. Adam Shankman's newest work is Hairspray, the film version of the Broadway musical. Hairspray was originally a John Waters film before its adaptation to the stage. Shankman's previous directing credits include Cheaper By the Dozen 2 and The Wedding Planner.

Hear singer and songwriter Sheryl Crow, and book critic Maureen Corrigan, on this edition of Fresh Air. Sheryl Crow performs in the studio solo, and with her band. Her new album, Detours, is her sixth studio album. It's also the most politically and personally outspoken record of her career. The first single from the album is "Shine over Babylon", which she describes as a "battle song in the face of fear" over our complicated and troubled times.

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...

Actor Michael C. Hall and director and screenwriter Hal Hartley on this edition of Fresh Air. Michael C. Hall plays David Fisher, the gay brother who co-runs a funeral home on the HBO hit Six Feet Under. The American Film Institute has nominated Hall for Best Male TV Actor-Drama for his role in the series. Hall comes to TV from the stage. Most recently, he was on Broadway as the emcee in Cabaret. Prior to that role, he was in a number of off-Broadway productions.

Director Ridley Scott and journalist Martin Meredith on this edition of Fresh Air. Ridley Scott has received an Academy Award nomination.

Senator and former presidential candidate John McCain on this edition of Fresh Air. He'll discuss his years as a POW, his bid for the presidency, and his endorsement of George W. Bush. McCain's book is Faith of My Fathers: A Family Memoir.

Retired Astronaut and former test pilot Alan Shepard and former NASA flight director Chris Kraft on this edition of Fresh Air. Alan Shepard was America's first man in space in 1961; the voyage covered 302 miles and lasted 15 minutes. Ten years later with Apollo 14, he made it to the moon, playing golf on the moon's surface.

Fresh Air guest host Barbara Bogaev talks with actor Michael C. Hall from HBO's Six Feet Under. He plays David Fisher, the gay brother who co-runs a funeral home on the show. He's currently starring as Billy Flynn, an oily attorney in the Broadway revival of Chicago. James Earl Jones, of the astounding voice, talks about his memoir. And you'll hear a review of the foreign film Mostly Martha.

An expert in climate change research, Paul Mayewski and science fiction writer Sheri S. Tepper on this edition of Fresh Air.