Showing results by author "Terry Gross" in All Categories

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...

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.

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.

Palestinian laywer and writer Raja Shehadeh and Isreali correspondent Yossi Klein Halevi on this edition of Fresh Air. Raja Shehadeh's latest book is.

Hear writer/director Judd Apatow, actor Seth Rogan, rock critic Ken Tucker, and book critic Maureen Corrigan, on this edition of Fresh Air. Judd Apatow wrote and directed the new comedy Knocked Up, and Seth Rogan stars in it as a slacker who becomes a father after a one-night stand.

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."

Humorist Fran Lebowitz and writer Anne Lamott on this archive edition of Fresh Air. The Washington Post called Fran Lebowitz "The funniest woman in America." Humorist Lebowitz has come out with her first children's book, Mr. Chas and Lisa Sue Meet The Pandas. In 1978, she wrote the critically acclaimed book Metropolitan Life a collection of witty essays on life. Writer Anne Lamott's new book is Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life.

Comic book artist and writer Frank Miller and keyboard player and record producer Ray Manzarek on this edition of Fresh Air. Frank Miller transformed Batman into a brooding, tortured vigilante in his remakes of the classic Batman comic: The Dark Knight Returns and The Dark Knight Strikes Again.

Hear religion scholar Bart D. Ehrman on this edition of Fresh Air. Ehrman chairs the Department of Religious Studies at UNC-Chapel Hill. His new book is God's Problem: How the Bible Fails to Answer Our Most Important Question - Why We Suffer. He is the author of the best seller Misquoting Jesus: The Story Behind Who Changed the Bible and Why.

Writer Stephen King on this edition of Fresh Air. King has just received the Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters at this year's National Book Award ceremony. Author of several best sellers, he is credited with ushering in a whole new era of horror with his first novel, Carrie, published in 1974.

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.

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.

Novelist Stephen King on this edition of Fresh Air. In 1999, the prolific and popular horror writer experienced something that could have come out of one of his books: he was struck by a car while walking along a rural road in Maine and nearly killed. Six operations and a long recovery followed. Five weeks after the accident, King started writing again and published the novella, The Plant over the Internet. His latest book is On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft.

Voice and acting coach Patsy Rodenburg on this edition of Fresh Air. She's worked with some of the world's leading English-speaking actors, including Dame Judi Dench, Daniel Day-Lewis, Maggie Smith and Nicole Kidman. Her new book is The Actor Speaks: Voice and the Performer. Rodenburg is the Director of Voice at London's National Theatre and the Guildhall School of Music and Drama.

Pop star Boy George and photographer Marion Ettlinger on this archive edition of Fresh Air. In 1982, Boy George and his band Culture Club first hit the charts with "Do You Really Want to Hurt Me?" and that was the beginning of his rise to gender-bending pop icon.

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.

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.

Comedian and political satirist Al Franken and actor Benicio Del Toro on this edition of Fresh Air. In December, Franken was part of a USO tour performing for troops in Iraq, Afghanistan, Uzbekistan, and Kuwait. The tour lasted eight days, and he returned Christmas Day. He'll talk about the tour and do some of his routine from it. Franken's books include Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them: A Fair and Balanced Look at the Right and Rush Limbaugh Is a Big Fat Idiot.

Hear all about actor John Cusack's prolific acting career on this edition of Fresh Air.

Filmmaker Errol Morris on this edition of Fresh Air. His new documentary, The Fog of War, is a profile of the man many considered to be the architect of the Vietnam conflict, Robert McNamara. Taken from a series of interviews Morris conducted with McNamara, it yields new insights into the mind of the former Secretary of Defense.