Showing results by narrator "Terry Gross" in All Categories

Singers Teddy Pendergrass and Al Green on this edition of Fresh Air Teddy Pendergrass was a popular soul singer in the group "Harold Melvin and The Blue Notes.

Fifth Beatle Pete Best on this edition of Fresh Air. He was the drummer for the Beatles in their early days in Liverpool and Hamburg. His mother, Mona Best, was the owner of The Casbah Coffee Club in Liverpool.

Writer Benson Bobrick on this edition of Fresh Air. He's the author of the recently published Wide as the Waters: The Story of the English Bible and the Revolution It Inspired. The book chronicles the difficulties scholars had in translating the Bible into English - efforts that culminated in the King James Version.

Comedian and political commentator Al Franken on this edition of Fresh Air. His new book is Lies and the Lying Liars who Tell Them: A Fair and Balanced Look at the Right. Franken recently made headlines when the Fox News Channel tried to sue him over the phrase "fair and balanced," which Fox claimed as its own. Fox lost, and Franken got lots of publicity for the book, and it is now a best seller.

Former Beatle Paul McCartney on this edition of Fresh Air. His song lyrics include "When I'm Sixty-Four," "Yesterday," "Fool on the Hill," "Paperback writer" and many more. They are collected along with his poems in a recent volume, Blackbird Singing: Poems and Lyrics 1965-1999.

Religion scholar Karen Armstrong on this edition of Fresh Air. The best-selling author of The History of God and The Battle for God, has a new book, Budda, about the life of Sidhatta Gotam. From North India, Sidhatta Gotama renounced normal life, leaving his wife and child to live alone and attain enlightenment.

Fresh Air celebrates the life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., by talking with Shirley Ann Barnhard, Clayborne Carson, and James Farmer. Shirley Ann Barnhard is a staff member and tour guide at the Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, GA, where Martin Luther King, Jr., was once co-pastor with his father. Clayborne Carson is founding director of the King Papers Project. James Farmer is the co-founder of CORE, the Congress On Racial Equality.

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.

Presidential historian Michael Beschloss on this edition of Fresh Air. His book Reaching for Glory: The Secret Lyndon Johnson Tapes, 1964-1965 is now out in paperback. It is Beschloss's second volume on the LBJ tapes. Beschloss will talk about the tapes, and we will hear excerpts, including some recordings of conversations about Vietnam, Civil Rights, and with Jackie Kennedy.

British actress Charlotte Rampling and actor Chris Cooper on this edition of Fresh Air. Charlotte Rampling is known for her great beauty. She was a model before beginning her film career in the sixties with hits such as Georgy Girl and The Damned.

Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter on this edition of Fresh Air. He's written eight books since his presidency, including several memoirs. His newest book is a collection of his poems, Always a Reckoning. Terry will talk with him about his poetry, and about his diplomacy work, most recently, negotiating agreements in Bosnia and Haiti.

Musicians Ray Davis, Marianne Faithfull, Pete Townsend, and Colin Blunstone on this special edition of Fresh Air, "The British Invasion." Ray Davies started The Kinks in 1964 with his brother. They are said to be the pioneers of the rowdy garage band genre of rock music. Their many hits included: "You Really Got Me," "Lola," "All Day and All of the Night," and "Tired of Waiting for you."

Film director Ang Lee and actress Michelle Yeow on this edition of Fresh Air. Ang Lee's new movie is Crouching Tiger, Killing Dragon, starring Chow Yun-Fat and Michelle Yeow. He also co-produced the film. Lee is best known for his English-language dramas such as Sense and Sensibility, the Jane Austen novel adaptation, as well as the Chinese-American themed Eat Drink Man Woman and The Wedding Banquet.

Writer Deirdre Bair on this edition of Fresh Air. Her new book is Jung: A Biography. Bair chronicles the life and work of the influential Swiss psychologist Carl Jung. Bair won the National Book Award for her biography of Samuel Beckett, and she's also written books about the lives of Anais Nin and Simone de Beauvoir.

Actor Michael Caine on this edition of Fresh Air. Caine has made over 70 films, from Alfie to Sleuth to Dirty Rotten Scoundrels and Hannah and Her Sisters. He has worked with such esteemed directors as Brian DePalma, John Huston, and Woody Allen.

Actress Sarah Jessica Parker on this edition of Fresh Air.

Alan Ball is the creator of the HBO series Six Feet Under which premiered last summer to critical acclaim.

Hall of Fame jockey Gary Stevens and remembering dancer and actor Gregory Hines on this edition of Fresh Air. Gary Stevens has won three Kentucky Derbys, two Preakness Stakes and three Belmont Stakes. Now 40 years old, he's been riding professionally since he was sixteen years old.

Psychologist Robert Jay Lifton, poet Sekou Sundiata, singer/songwriter Richard Thompson, WTC survivor Laura Manning and her husband Greg, and jazz guitarist John Pizzarelli on this special 9/11 edition of Fresh Air. Robert Jay Lifton is a professor of Psychiatry and Psychology at the Graduate School University Center and Director of The Center on Violence and Human Survival at John Jay College of Criminal Justice at The City University of New York.

Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter and playwright, actor and director Sam Shepard on this edition of Fresh Air. Jimmy Carter received the Nobel Peace Prize this week, and was only the third President to do so. We listen back to several of his interviews: in which he talks about his work as a mediator his life in the Whitehouse and his spiritual life. Sam Shepard won a Pulitzer for his play Buried Child and was nominated for an Academy Award for his role as Chuck Yeager in The Right Stuff.