Showing results by narrator "Terry Gross" in All Categories

Writer David Sedaris and actor Alan Cumming, on this edition of Fresh Air. Sedaris is best known for his contributing work with public radio's This American Life. He's written three books of essays, Barrel Fever, Naked, and his newest Me Talk Pretty One Day which was just released in paperback. Scottish actor Alan Cumming co-wrote, co-directed, and is co-starring in the new film The Anniversary Party, along with Jennifer Jason Leigh.

On this edition of Fresh Air, we remember stage actress and acting teacher Uta Hagen. She died on Wednesday at the age of 84. She taught acting for more than 40 years, teaching such actors as Jack Lemmon, Sigourney Weaver, Matthew Broderick, and the late Geraldine Page.

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.

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)

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...

The host and creator of This American Life Ira Glass on this edition of Fresh Air. His show can be heard on 350 public radio stations nationwide. Glass will talk about how he came to develop the style that defines the show and you'll hear some classic This American Life moments. There's a new double CD of the best shows called Lies, Sissies, & Fiascoes.

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.

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)

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)

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.

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...

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)

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.

Authors Dalton Conley and Niall Ferguson on this edition of Fresh Air. Dalton Conley is the author of the memoir, Honky, about growing up white in a predominately African American.

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...

Religion scholar Karen Armstrong on Islamic fundamentalism on this edition of Fresh Air. She's the author of the best selling books The Battle for God, Jerusalem, and The History of God. She's also the author of Islam: A Short History. (Broadcast Date: October 17, 2001)

Historian David McCullough and LA Times food editor Russ Parsons on this edition of Fresh Air McCullough is the Pulitzer-Prize winning author of Truman. His new book is the biography of founding father and second President of the United States. The book is John Adams. Food Editor for The Los Angeles Times, Russ Parsons, examines the science of cooking in his new book, How to Read a French Fry: and other Stories of Intriguing Kitchen Science.

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...