Showing results by narrator "Terry Gross" in All Categories

Author John Grisham and actress Elaine Stritch on this archive edition of Fresh Air. John Grisham is one of the most popular writers of the legal thriller genre. His most recent book is called The Summons. It's marked a return to the thriller after his novel, A Painted House. The Summons is about two brothers, their recently deceased father, and a mysterious stash of three million dollars.

Psychologist Kay Redfield Jamison and an archive interview with actor David Paymer on this edition of Fresh Air. Jamison is an authority on manic-depression and suicide. Her book, Night Falls Fast: Understanding Suicide is now out in paperback. She's also the author of Touched with Fire: Manic-Depressive Illness and the Artistic Temperament.

Hear Haitian-born writer Edwidge Danticat, jazz critic Kevin Whitehead, and critic-at-large John Powers on this edition of Fresh Air. Edwidge Danticat was raised in Haiti by her uncle until the age of 12, when she came to New York to live with her parents who had immigrated to the US She's the author of a number of novels, including Breath, Eyes, Memory, The Farming of Bones, and The Dew Breaker, as well as the short-story collection Krik? Krak!.

Our series on hard rock and heavy metal continues with Robert Plant, the former lead singer of the band Led Zeppelin on this edition of Fresh Air. Robert Plant is an influential pioneer of heavy metal music. Plant co-wrote (with Jimmy Page) one of the most popular and parodied hard rock ballads, "Stairway to Heaven". Led Zeppelin formed in 1968 and broke up in 1980.

Writer/producer Judd Apatow and novelist, screenwriter and biographer, A.E. Hotchner on this edition of Fresh Air. Judd Apatow's new series for FOX is called Undeclared. He's billed as the creator/executive producer. It's about a group of geeky college freshmen. Apatow also worked on the Emmy award winners Freaks and Geeks and The Ben Stiller Show.

Doctor Peter Piot on this archive edition of Fresh Air. Since 1994, he's been the director of the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS and the executive director of UN AIDS, the UN agency coordinating the fight against the disease. He also co-discovered the Ebola virus. He's considered the UN's top AIDS official. He says Asian countries need to take AIDS prevention and treatment more seriously, as they are only at the beginning of the epidemic. Countries most affected are Thailand, Myanmar and Cambodia.

Khaled Hosseini's new novel is A Thousand Splendid Suns, and it is currently at the top of the New York Times best seller list. His debut novel, The Kite Runner, about a young man who returns to Afghanistan after a long absence, has been on the best seller list for two years, as both a hardcover and paperback.

Hear German filmmaker Werner Herzog and critic Milo Miles on this edition of Fresh Air. Werner Herzog's new film is Rescue Dawn, based on his 1997 documentary Little Dieter Needs to Fly. It's the true story of Dieter Dengler, the only U.S. pilot to have sucessfully escaped from a North Vietnamese-controlled prison.

Former White House adviser David Gergen on this edition of Fresh Air. Gergen worked with Presidents Nixon, Ford, Reagan, and Clinton. He left politics and become a regular analyst on The Newshour with Jim Lehrer and Nightline. He is also editor-at-large at U.S. News & World Report. His new book is Eyewitness to Power: The Essence of Leadership.

Writer and radio host Garrison Keillor and writer Jhumpa Lahiri on this edition of Fresh Air. Garrison Keillor's new book is Love Me: A Novel. It's about the ambitions of a frustrated writer who publishes a piece in the New Yorker, writes a disappointing debut novel, and ends up penning an advice column in the local newspaper.

Retired General Wesley K. Clark on this edition of Fresh Air. He commanded the NATO troops during the Kosovo conflict, the first and only NATO war. His new memoir is Waging Modern War. (Broadcast Date: May 23, 2001)

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...

Peter Fonda is the son of actor Henry Fonda and is best known for his role in the cult classic Easy Rider. His new film, 3:10 to Yuma, is a Western and a remake of the 1957 film of the same name. It's also based on a 1953 Elmore Leonard short story. The film also stars Russell Crowe and Christian Bale. Fonda is also the author of the memoir, Don't Tell Dad.

Country and bluegrass musician Ricky Skaggs and Khmer Rouge survivor Arn Chorn-Pond on this edition of Fresh Air. Ricky Skaggs has a new album out called The Three Pickers, and it features Skaggs playing along with Earl Scruggs and Doc Watson.

Composer and lyricist Stephen Sondheim and actor Greg Kinnear on this edition of Fresh Air. Sondheim was mentored by Oscar Hammerstein, and went on to revolutionize musical theatre. His first major success was writing lyrics for West Side Story. He also composed the music and wrote the lyrics for A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, Follies, and A Little Night Music to name a few.

Rockabilly singer Wanda Jackson and actor Robert Forster on this edition of Fresh Air. Wanda Jackson had several hits in the late 50s and early 60s, including "Mean Mean Man". "Let's Have a Party" and "Fujiyama Mama".

Professor and writer Azar Nafisi on this edition of Fresh Air. Nafisi taught English literature at the University of Tehran and Free Islamic University and Allameh Tabatabai University in Iran. She was expelled from the University of Tehran for refusing to wear the veil. She left Iran in 1997 and is now a professor at Johns Hopkins University.

Film director Martin Scorsese and historian Tyler Anbinder on this edition of Fresh Air. Martin Scorsese discusses his new film Gangs of New York set in pre-civil war New York City about the street warfare between immigrant groups. It's inspired by the book The Gangs of New York published in 1927 by journalist Herbert Asbury. Tyler Anbinder has written about the Five Points neighborhood in Lower Manhattan which is the setting for Martin Scorsese's new film.

Hear Washington Post reporters Kevin Merida and Michael Fletcher, and psychologist Philip Zimbardo on this edition of Fresh Air. Kevin Merida and Michael Fletcher's new book is Supreme Discomfort: The Divided Soul of Clarence Thomas. The book grew out of their article for the Post, "The Lonely Stand of Clarence Thomas".

Hear authors Stephen Walt and Abraham Foxman, and beer expert Michael Jackson, on this edition of Fresh Air. Stephen Walt is the co-author (along with John Mearsheimer) of the book The Israel Lobby. The book grew out of their controversial article, which was published in the London Review of Books in March 2006. The two examine the impact of the Israel lobby on U.S. foreign policy and argue that support for Israel cannot be fully explained on either strategic or moral grounds.