Showing results by author "Terry Gross" in All Categories

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.

Former Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara and actor Peter Gallagher on this archival edition of Fresh Air. McNamara is the author of In Retrospect: The Tragedy and Lessons of Vietnam which contains the long awaited admission that McNamara felt the U.S. policy in Vietnam was wrong and the war was unwinnable.

Singapore's first Prime Minister and its current Senior Minister Lee Kuan Yew and journalist Stan Sesser on this edition of Fresh Air. A very controversial figure, Lee Kuan Yew formed the People's Action Party and won the first Singapore general election in 1959. Since it was granted independence in 1965, Singapore has gone from British colony to Asian economic powerhouse.

Congressmen Tom Cole and Rahm Emanuel, on this edition of Fresh Air. Congressman Tom Cole of Oklahoma's Fourth District was recently sworn in as Chair of the National Republican Congressional Committee.

Professor Charles Kupchan and TV host and writer Ruby Wax on this edition of Fresh Air. Charles Kupchan's new book, "The End of the American Era: U.S. Foreign Policy and the Geopolitics of the Twenty-First Century, Kupchan argues that the era of American dominance may be coming to an end; this demise will not be brought on by the Islamic world or China but from an integrated Europe.

Actor Christopher Walken, Reverend Louis Sheldon and Winnie Stachelberg, political director of the Human Rights Campaign on this edition of Fresh Air.

Novelist David Benioff and actor Edward Norton on this edition of Fresh Air. David Benioff is the author of 25th Hour. It's about a drug dealer who has one day left on the outside before beginning his seven-year prison sentence. It's the basis of the Spike Lee film of the same name. Edward Norton stars. 25th Hour is just out on video. Edward Norton's new film is The Italian Job. Norton has played Larry Flynt's lawyer in The People Vs. Larry Flynt, and received an Academy Award nomination for his role as a skin head in American History X.

Former Commissioner of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration David Kessler on this edition of Fresh Air. As head of the FDA, Kessler took on one of the country's most powerful foes: the tobacco industry. He led an investigation of tobacco makers to determine whether nicotine was a drug, and if so, how it should be regulated by the FDA. Kessler's book is A Question of Intent: A Great American Battle with a Deadly Industry.

Photographer Joel Meyerowitz on this edition of Fresh Air. He took three portraits of the World Trade Center Towers in 1981.

Chris Carter, creator of the popular Fox TV series, The X-Files, and novelist Alan Furst on this archive edition of Fresh Air. The X-Files - a series about a team of FBI agents investigating paranormal activity like alien abductions, telepathy, and the occult - has a cult following. This was its eighth and final season. Carter also created the series, The Lone Gunman, a spinoff of The X-Files featuring three computer-savvy conspiracy geeks.

Scottish actor Alan Cumming on this archive edition of Fresh Air.

Joey Ramone, the lead singer of the punk band the Ramones, died earlier this month. He had lymphoma. From their start in 1974, the Ramones combined fast, deafening guitar with precise drumming to create a hurricane of sound. Their songs had titles like "Beat on the Brat," "Gimme Gimme Shock Treatment" and "Now I Wanna Sniff Some Glue." This edition of Fresh Air features an archive interview with Ramone from 1988.

Actors Christopher Reeve and Martin Donovan on this edition of Fresh Air. A 1995 horseback riding accident left Christopher Reeve paralyzed from the neck down. Recently, with intensive physical therapy, Reeve announced that he has regained motion and feeling in his fingers and in other parts of his body. This is incredible news to scientists, who assumed he would never move again. Reeve was totally paralyzed for five years. Then, one morning two years ago, he found he could move one finger.

Actors Peter Falk and J.K. Simmons on this edition of Fresh Air. Falk is best known for his role as a rumpled L.A. detective in the 1970s TV series Columbo, where he garnered three Emmy awards. Simmons is a regular on HBO's OZ the graphic and disturbing drama of life in a maximum security prison. Simmons plays convict and neo-nazi Vernon Schillinger. And he has a recurring role in Law & Order.

Singer and songwriter Neil Diamond and actress Angie Dickinson.

Keyboard player and record producer Ray Manzarek and record executive Jac Holzman on this edition of Fresh Air. Ray Manzarek was part of the rock band the Doors, which broke up after the death of lead singer Jim Morrison. This month marks the 40th anniversary of the band's formation. There's a new book out next month called The Doors. It's an inside look at the band and includes interviews with the three surviving members. Never before seen photos and previously untold stories are revealed.

Turkish novelist Elif Shafak and author Dr. Michael Stein, on this edition of Fresh Air. Elif Shafak is the bestselling author in Turkey.

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.

Comic Bob Newhart on this archive edition of Fresh Air. He's been a part of the American comedy landscape since 1961 when his debut comedy album The Button-Down Mind of Bob Newhart became a surprise hit. Since then he's starred in three TV shows, including the Peabody award winning original The Bob Newhart Show, and appeared in numerous films. There's a new Rhino anthology of his classic routines, Something Like This...The Bob Newhart Anthology.

Dr. Jerome Groopman and Saudi Arabian-born journalist Faiza Saleh Ambah on this edition of Fresh Air. Dr. Groopman is a Harvard Medical School Chair and is Chief of Experimental Medicine at the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston.