Terry Gross

Host, Fresh Air

Terry Gross appears in the following:

Remembering Max Cleland, former Georgia senator and Vietnam veteran

Friday, November 12, 2021

Cleland was a decorated Army veteran who lost three limbs while serving in Vietnam. After the the war, he dedicated his life to public service. He died Nov. 9. Originally broadcast in 2009.

Comment

A Marine veteran says the contradictions of war can make you feel insane

Thursday, November 11, 2021

Elliot Ackerman served five tours in Iraq and Afghanistan, during which time, he says, he witnessed the absolute worst — as well as the absolute best — that human beings are capable of.

Comment

Andie MacDowell draws from the chaos and darkness of her childhood for 'Maid'

Monday, November 08, 2021

MacDowell grew up with a mother who was mentally ill and addicted to alcohol. "Understanding the complexity of mental illness was something that I'm versed in," she says.

Comment

British actor Terence Stamp reflects on London in the swinging '60s

Friday, November 05, 2021

Stamp is currently playing the Silver Haired Gentleman in the film Last Night in Soho, which is partly set in 1960s London. It's a period he knows well. Originally broadcast in 2002.

Comment

Investigation finds federal agencies dismissed threats ahead of the Jan. 6 attack

Thursday, November 04, 2021

Washington Post reporter Carol Leonnig says President Trump froze key federal agencies, including the FBI and Dept. of Defense, whose job it was to investigate and stop threats to national security.

Comment

Paul McCartney knew he'd never top The Beatles — and that's just fine with him

Wednesday, November 03, 2021

The forthcoming documentary Get Back revisits The Beatles' final days together. McCartney says he took the band's breakup hard: "It was quite difficult, because I didn't know what to do at all."

Comment

Remembering 'Bosom Buddies' and 'Girls' actor Peter Scolari

Friday, October 29, 2021

Scolari, who died Oct. 22, played opposite Tom Hanks in the ABC sitcom Bosom Buddies, and later co-starred in Newhart. He won an Emmy for his role on Girls. Originally broadcast in 1988.

Comment

'Fresh Air' celebrates master magician Ricky Jay

Friday, October 29, 2021

The noted sleight-of-hand artist, who died in 2018, was also a scholar of con games and oddities. This week, Sotheby's auctioned off part of Jay's 10,000-item collection. Originally broadcast in 1998.

Comment

Trump's strategy to overturn the 2020 election didn't work. Next time it might

Thursday, October 28, 2021

Robert Costa's book Peril, which he co-wrote with Bob Woodward, goes inside Trump's war room on the eve of the Jan. 6 insurrection. Costa says the 2024 election could trigger a constitutional crisis.

Comment

After years of trying to be likable, Katie Couric is letting that go

Tuesday, October 26, 2021

The former Today co-host recently bought a T-shirt that says, "I'm not for everyone." Her new memoir, Going There, is a candid look at the successes and setbacks she's experienced as a journalist.

Comment

For Oscar Isaac, life — and acting — is all about impermanence

Thursday, October 21, 2021

Isaac says the bonds he makes on set are both meaningful and transient: "You have these really intense months ... and then it goes away." He stars in Dune, The Card Counter and Scenes from a Marriage.

Comment

Remembering Gary Paulsen, author of 'Dogsled' and 'Hatchet'

Wednesday, October 20, 2021

The Newbery award-winning author, who died Oct. 13, wrote over 200 books, many of which were tales of adventure aimed at young adults. In 1994, Paulsen talked about Alaska's Iditarod dog sled race.

Comment

Billy Porter makes peace with himself: 'I set myself free, honey. No more secrets'

Tuesday, October 19, 2021

Fourteen years after his initial diagnosis, the Pose actor revealed publicly that he is HIV-positive. Porter says being open about his health status felt like a rebirth. His new memoir is Unprotected.

Comment

'Genius' actor Cynthia Erivo opens up her voice on 'Ch. 1 Vs. 1'

Monday, October 18, 2021

The British actor and singer played abolitionist Harriet Tubman in Harriet, and Aretha Franklin in Genius: Aretha. Now Erivo has a debut album. "I sing often with a bit of a smile," she says.

Comment

'Fresh Air' remembers Colin Powell, former secretary of state

Monday, October 18, 2021

The U.S.'s first Black national security advisor, chairman of the Joint Chiefs and secretary of state died on Oct. 18. Powell spoke to Fresh Air in 1995 about how the army had shaped his life.

Comment

In 'Maid,' a single mother struggles to make it on minimum wage

Friday, October 15, 2021

While raising her young daughter, Stephanie Land cleaned houses to scrape by. It was back-aching work for low pay. Her memoir inspired the Netflix series, Maid. Originally broadcast Jan. 29, 2019.

Comment

The 'Pandora Papers' expose the secret financial dealings of the global elite

Thursday, October 14, 2021

Greg Miller of The Washington Post is part of the team that sifted through millions of documents to reveal how dictators, oligarchs, drug dealers and others hide assets in secret accounts.

Comment

Questlove spins the soundtrack of his life in 'Music is History'

Tuesday, October 12, 2021

In his new book, Roots co-founder Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson starts in 1971 and moves year-by-year through his life, writing about memories, turning points and the songs he listened to.

Comment

'Fresh Air' listens back to Nick Lowe's 2001 album, 'The Convincer'

Friday, October 08, 2021

British singer, songwriter and guitarist Lowe got his start in the '70s pub-rock era. His 2001 album, The Convincer, has been newly remastered and reissued. Originally broadcast in 2001 and 2011.

Comment

A more moderate Taliban? An Afghan journalist says nothing has changed

Thursday, October 07, 2021

Reporting from Kabul, Najibullah Quraishi says the Taliban's vice and virtue squads have reinstituted harsh punishments, including whipping, chopping off hands and even hanging people from cranes.

Comment