Showing results by author "Terry Gross" in All Categories

In this special compilation, you'll hear exhilarating excerpts from classic interviews with 14 stars of comedy, including Tracey Ullman on her zany characters, Chris Rock on growing up small and black in a white neighborhood, Carol Leifer on the inspiration for her brand of cabaret comedy, and Henny Youngman on his famous line, "Take my wife, please."

This audio is like an informal writing clinic, as you listen to these writers talk about their lives, experiences and, of course, their writing. While you are listening, Terry Gross draws out from these great writers the answers to your questions, just as the query begins to form in your own head.

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.

Actress Jodie Foster on this edition of Fresh Air. Jodie Foster produced and acts in the new film The Dangerous Lives of Altar Boys. Foster has won two Oscars for performances in The Silence of the Lambs and The Accused. She was also nominated for her work in Taxi Driver and Nell. She's also served as producer or director on numerous films. (Broadcast Date: June 17, 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.

Hear singer-songwriter Ray Davies on this edition of Fresh Air. Davies first became known as the leader of the band The Kinks, one of the great and enduring British bands to came out of the 60s. Davies' first solo record, Other People's Lives was released in 2006. While recording the album in New Orleans, he was shot in the leg by a man who stole his girlfriend's purse. His new album, Working Man's Cafe, was released this month.

Hear rock and roll singer/songwriter Tom Petty and rock critic Ken Tucker, on this edition of Fresh Air. This weekend Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers will perform during halftime at the Superbowl. And this spring the band goes back on tour. Petty also has a recurring role in Fox TV's animated show King of the Hill.

Singer/songwriters Barry Manilow and Tom Waits on this edition of Fresh Air. Barry Manilow made the pop charts in the 1970s and early 80s with love ballads such as "Mandy," "Looks Like We Made It," "I Write the Songs" and "Copacabana (At the Copa)." Before becoming a singer he was Bette Midler's accompanist and arranger.

Though Fresh Air has been categorized as a "talk show", it hardly fits the mold. Its 1994 Peabody Award citation credits Fresh Air with "probing questions, revelatory interviews, and unusual insights." And a variety of top publications count Gross among the country's leading interviewers. The show gives interviews as much time as needed, and complements them with comments from well-known critics and commentators.

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.

Tammy Faye Messner and record executive Simon Cowell on this edition of Fresh Air. Tammy Faye Messner, along with her ex-husband Jim Bakker, built the Praise the Lord televangelist network. Record executive Simon Cowell is one of the judges on the talent show, American Idol, a spin-off of the show he co-created in Britian, Pop Idol.

Husband and wife songwriting team, Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil, and pop singer Bobby Vee on this special edition of Fresh Air's "'60s Music Week." Barry Mann and Cynthai Weil are the duo responsible for such songs as "You've Lost that Loving Feeling," "On Broadway," "We Gotta Get Out of This Place," "Here You Come Again," "Don't Know Much," and more. The two met when they were both working in the famous songwriting landmark, the Brill Building - Mann as a composer and Weil as a lyricist.

Writer David Sedaris 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 latest Me Talk Pretty One Day.

Religious scholar Elaine Pagels talks about the Gospel of Thomas and Middle East energy expert Youssef M. Ibrahim on this edition of Fresh Air. Elaine Pagels latest book, Beyond Belief: The Secret Gospel of Thomas, is about a religious text that is little known - the secret Gospel of Thomas, rediscovered in Egypt in 1945. She will explain why it was suppressed by the church and kept out of the cannon.

A compilation of Fresh Air celebrity interviews with host Terry Gross.

Professor of Religion Elaine Pagels and film writer and director Rusty Cundieff on this archive edition of Fresh Air. Pagels has written four books, including The Gnostic Gospels (which won both the National Book Award and the National Book Critics Circle Award). She has a new book called The Origin of Satan. Cundieff has a new horror flick called Tales from the Hood.

Journalists Lou Michel and Dan Herbeck and veteran broadcaster and executive producer of 60 Minutes, Don Hewitt, on this edition of Fresh Air. Michel and Herbeck are staff writers for The Buffalo News. The two have collaborated on the new book American Terrorist: Timothy McVeigh & the Oklahoma City Bombing. Michel lived 20 minutes away from McVeigh's father, and over time, he developed a relationship with the elder McVeigh, which in turn helped him gain access to his son.

Actress and model Isabella Rossellini on this archive edition of Fresh Air. Rosellini talks about her famous parents, actress Ingrid Bergman and filmmaker Roberto Rossellini, and her own career. She stars in the new film Left Luggage with Maximillian Schell. It opens this weekend. She has acted in numerous T-V shows, and her film credits include Blue Velvet, The Impostors, and Big Night. She is also the spokesmodel for Lancome cosmetics.

Hear Pulitzer-prize-winning journalist David Halberstam and music critic Milo Miles on this edition of Fresh Air. Halberstam died yesterday from injuries received in a car crash. He was 73. We listen to his interviews on Fresh Air, from 1985 and from June 3, 1993, and January 21, 1999. Halberstam was part of the 1964 Pulitzer-prize winning team that covered the emerging war in Vietnam for The New York Times.

Actor Jeff Bridges and singer and songwriter Joe Pernice on this edition of Fresh Air. Jeff Bridges has starred in The Last Picture Show, The Fabulous Baker Boys, Tucker, The Big Lebowski, Seabiscuit and other films. On each of his movie sets he's photographed the action behind the scenes.