Showing results by author "Terry Gross" in All Categories

Hear conservative William F. Buckley, musicians Stew and Heidi Rodewald, and jazz critic Kevin Whitehead, on this edition of Fresh Air. William F. Buckley died on Wednesday. Buckley is often cited with bringing conservative thought into the mainstream in liberal post-war America. He was the founder of the conservative magazine the National Review and for many years, the magazine's editor-in-chief. His popularity as a public intellectual increased through his television appearances, particularly as the host of the long-running television show Firing Line.

Historian Avi Shlaim and remembering Robert Ludlum on this edition of Fresh Air. Avi Shlaim is the author of the new book, The Iron Wall: Israel and the Arab World. Shlaim's book is a revisionist interpretation of Isreal's policy toward the Arab world, based on newly released documents, and on interviews with policymakers and participants in events. Writer Robert Ludlum died yesterday of a heart attack, at age 73. His string of best sellers, such as The Bourne Identity, The Osterman Weekend, and The Icarus Agenda, established him as one of literature's most...

Hear singer-songwriter Ray Davies on this edition of Fresh Air. Davies first became known as the leader of the band The Kinks, one of the great and enduring British bands to came out of the 60s. Davies' first solo record, Other People's Lives was released in 2006. While recording the album in New Orleans, he was shot in the leg by a man who stole his girlfriend's purse. His new album, Working Man's Cafe, was released this month.

Cage, Keitel, Coppola, and 15 other stars of the stage and screen speak candidly with Fresh Air's Terry Gross in this compilation of classic interviews. Also available: Fresh Air: Laughs, featuring Pryor, Carey, Mason, and more.

Hear British scientist Richard Dawkins and geneticist Francis Collins on this edition of Fresh Air. Richard Dawkins is a professor of the public understanding of science at Oxford University. The New York Times has hailed him as a writer who "understands the issues so clearly that he forces his reader to understand them too". In his latest book, he writes about what he sees as the irrationality of a belief in God and sets down his arguments for atheism.

Hear authors David and Nic Sheff, and critic at large John Powers, on this edition of Fresh Air. David Sheff and his son, Nic, have both written memoirs. David's new book is called Beautiful Boy: A Father's Journey Through His Son's Addiction. Nic's book is called Tweak. Nic became addicted to meth and was in and out of rehab. David and Nic join us to talk about doing drugs, getting over them, and the effect on family.

Hear religion scholar Bart D. Ehrman on this edition of Fresh Air. Ehrman chairs the Department of Religious Studies at UNC-Chapel Hill. His new book is God's Problem: How the Bible Fails to Answer Our Most Important Question - Why We Suffer. He is the author of the best seller Misquoting Jesus: The Story Behind Who Changed the Bible and Why.

Hear investigative reporter for The New York Times Philip Shenon and the first director of the White House Office of Faith Based and Community Initiatives, John DiIulio, Jr. In his new book, Philip Shenon looks into the missed evidence and the ignored clues as well as the political considerations that interfered with the 9/11 Commission's work. His book is The Commission: The Uncensored History of the 9/11 Investigation.

Hear journalist Fred Kaplan, actor Bryan Cranston, and classical-music critic Lloyd Schwartz on this edition of Fresh Air. Fred Kaplan is the "war stories" columnist for Slate, where he covers military issues. In his new book, he looks at the loss of prestige and power of the U.S. abroad and what went wrong and why. It is entitled Daydream Believers: How a Few Grand Ideas Wrecked American Power.

Hear Combatants for Peace co-founders Bassam Aramin and Zohar Shapira, and conductor/composer Lorin Maazel, on this edition of Fresh Air. Bassim Aramin and Zohar Shapira are the cofounders of the Combatants for Peace, a group of Israeli and Palestinian individuals who were once involved in the cycle of violence in their area. Aramin was a member of the Fattah movement, and at the age of 17 began a seven-year sentence in an Israeli prison.

Hear author Steven Waldman and rock critic Ken Tucker on this edition of Fresh Air. Waldman's new book is called Founding Faith: Providence, Politics and the Birth of Religious Freedom in America. He explores the roots of free worship in the United States by looking at the religious views of five founders and the development of a religious philosophy for the nation. Waldman is editor in chief of the website Beliefnet.com.

Hear professor Linda J. Bilmes, economist Joseph Stiglitz, and rock critic Ken Tucker on this edition of Fresh Air. Linda J. Bilmes is professor of public finance at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government. She has collaborated on a new book with Joseph E. Stiglitz, a Nobel Prize winning economist who teaches at Columbia University: The Three Trillion Dollar War: The True Cost of the Iraq Conflict.

Hear novelist and screenwriter Richard Price and book critic Maureen Corrigan on this edition of Fresh Air. Richard Price's new novel is Lush Life, about the repercussions of a shooting on the Lower East side. Price has also written for HBO's The Wire, which ends a five-year run on Sunday.

Hear The Wire creator and executive producer David Simon and jazz critic Kevin Whitehead on this edition of Fresh Air. David Simon is the creator and executive producer of HBO's acclaimed series The Wire. He also wrote many of the episodes. The series finale airs on Sunday.

Hear New York Times correspondent David Kirkpatrick and TV critic David Bianculli on this edition of Fresh Air. David Kirkpatrick is a correspondent in the Washington bureau for The New York Times. He covered the conservative Christian movement in the 2004 election and has been following the Huckabee presidential campaign. He'll discuss the conservative response to Romney's exit from the race and McCain's emergence as the probable Republican nominee.

Hear musicians Zac and Ethan Holtzman, TV critic David Bianculli, and book critic Maureen Corrigan on this edition of Fresh Air. The Holtzman's band is Dengue Fever. They have a new album, Venus on Earth. Their music is inspired by Cambodian pop of the sixties and seventies, which itself was inspired by American pop played over U-S Armed Forces Radio during the Vietnam War.

Hear author Martha Weinman Lear and authors Scott Bittle and Jean Johnson on this edition of Fresh Air. Martha Weinman Lear's new book is called Where Did I Leave My Glasses? The What, When and Why of Normal Memory Loss. She explores the increasingly common phenomenon among baby boomers of memory loss associated with aging. She is also the author of the best-selling memoir Heartsounds.

Hear film director Milos Forman, film critic David Edelstein, and TV critic David Bianculli on this edition of Fresh Air. The Museum of Modern Art in Manhattan is presenting a two-week complete retrospective of Milos Forman's films from 1963 to the present, including One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, Amadeus, and Ragtime. Forman grew up in Czechoslovakia, where he helped to create Czech New Wave cinema before emigrating to the United States in 1969.

Hear business columnist Gretchen Morgenson and classical-music critic Lloyd Schwartz on this edition of Fresh Air. Gretchen Morgenson has covered the financial markets for The New York Times since 1988. She won the Pulitzer Prize in 2002 for her "trenchant and incisive" coverage of Wall Street.

Hear actor Mark Wahlberg, actor Colin Firth, and film critic David Edelstein on this edition of Fresh Air. Wahlberg was nominated for an academy award for best supporting actor for his role as a police sergeant in the film The Departed. Then, Colin Firth, who is probably best known for his role as Mr. Darcy in the BBC/A&E production of Pride & Prejudice. Finally, David Edelstein reviews the new documentary Taxi to the Dark Side.