Showing results by author "Terry Gross" in All Categories

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 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".

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.

Hear filmmaker Jeffrey Blitz and law professor Elyn Saks on this edition of Fresh Air. Jeffrey Blitz wrote and directed the new film Rocket Science. It's a partly autobiographical coming-of-age tale about a teenage boy who joins the high-school debate team. Blitz won the Dramatic Directing Award at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival.

Hear former undercover CIA agent Valerie Plame Wilson, on this edition of Fresh Air. Valerie Plame Wilson's new memoir is Fair Game: My Life as a Spy, My Betrayal by the White House. She was outed as an undercover agent by columnist Robert Novak in 2003. This was shortly after her husband, former ambassador Joseph Wilson, had written an op-ed piece contradicting President Bush's contention that Saddam Hussein had tried to procure yellowcake uranium from Niger.

Journalist David Remnick and former two-time heavyweight champion of the world George Foreman on this edition of Fresh Air. David Remnick is the author of the book King of the World, about heavyweight champion Muhammad Ali. Remnick is editor of The New Yorker Magazine and is also the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Lenin's Tomb. In 1974, in what was called the "Rumble in the Jungle", Foreman took on Muhammad Ali in Zaire for the world heavyweight title.

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!.

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.

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.

Satirist Al Franken and screenwriter and novelist Richard Price on this archive edition of Fresh Air.

On this edition of Fresh Air, host Terry Gross speaks with screen writer and director Chris Nolan. Nolan's latest film is Memento, about a man set on avenging his wife's murder. Plus, reviews of a new CD set from Buffalo Springfield and of Woody Allen's latest.

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.

Hear baseball enthusiast Zack Hample and journalist Malcolm MacPherson on this edition of Fresh Air. Zack Hample's new book is entitled Watching Baseball Smarter: A Professional Fan's Guide for Beginners, Semi-Experts, and Deeply Serious Geeks. Hample is an obsessive baseball fan who has turned his devotion into a career, giving tours of stadiums, appearing on TV and radio, and writing books.

On this edition, Fresh Air pays tribute to Sam Phillips, the founder of Sun Records who died Wednesday at the age of 80. Terry Gross speaks with music writer Peter Guralnick and songwriter and singers Carl Perkins and Johnny Cash. Peter Guralnick is the author of a two volume biography of Elvis Presley: Last Train to Memphis and Careless Love.

Actress Jodie Foster and radio personality Garrison Keillor on this edition of Fresh Air. Jodie Foster's film Panic Room is now on video and DVD. Recently she produced and acted in the 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.

Carlo Bonini, of La Repubblica newspaper in Rome, broke the story about the Italian intelligence agency SISMI's involvement in forging and planting documents that stated that Iraq had secured uranium from Niger. Those documents helped President Bush make the case for invading Iraq. Bonini's new book (with Giuseppe D'Avanzo) is Collusion: International Espionage and the War on Terror.

Hear actor John C. Reilly, director Jake Kasdan, and film critic Ed Ward, on this edition of Fresh Air. John C. Reilly and Jake Kasdan talk about their new film Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story. Jake Kasdan woke up in the middle of the night a couple years ago and had an idea that his next film would be a fake music biopic called Walk Hard.

Hear New York Times reporter Andrea Elliott, entrepreneur Joel Hafvenstein, and jazz critic Kevin Whitehead on this edition of Fresh Air. Andrea Elliott talks about her recent New York Times Magazine cover story. She explains how the small Moroccan neighborhood of Jamaa Mezuak has bred terrorists responsible for a number of recent high-profile attacks.

Hear actor Samuel L. Jackson and music critic Milo Miles on this edition of Fresh Air. In his new film Resurrecting the Champ, Samuel L. Jackson plays a homeless, broken-down former heavyweight-contending boxer. It's based on the true story of Battling Bob Satterfield.