Terry Gross

Host, Fresh Air

Terry Gross appears in the following:

Tom Waits says some songs just demand to be sung in a particular way

Friday, October 07, 2022

Wait's two lyrical concept albums, Blood Money and Alice, are being reissued on vinyl for their 20th Anniversary. We listen back to archival interviews with the musician, broadcast in 2002 and 2011.

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'Fresh Air' remembers country superstar Loretta Lynn

Wednesday, October 05, 2022

Lynn, who died Oct. 4, grew up in poverty in eastern Kentucky and went on to have 16 No. 1 hits. Her life story was portrayed in the 1980 film Coal Miner's Daughter. Originally broadcast in 2010.

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Remembering Sue Graham Mingus, widow of composer and bassist Charles Mingus

Wednesday, October 05, 2022

After her husband's death in 1979, Sue Graham Mingus worked to keep his legacy alive, forming a repertory ensemble devoted to playing his compositions. She died Sept. 24. Originally broadcast in 2002.

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Remembering Hilary Mantel, Booker Prize-winning author of the 'Wolf Hall' saga

Wednesday, September 28, 2022

The British writer, who died Sept. 22, wrote a trilogy of critically acclaimed historical novels on the life of Thomas Cromwell, one of Henry VIII's most trusted advisors. Originally broadcast in '12.

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Extreme heat, flooding and wildfires: How climate change supercharged the weather

Thursday, September 22, 2022

Washington Post reporter Brady Dennis warns our aging infrastructure systems weren't built to withstand the stresses of climate change: "There is a certain amount of suffering that we can't avoid."

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How Trump's DOJ pressured the Southern District of NY to aid the White House

Tuesday, September 20, 2022

Geoffrey Berman served as U.S. Attorney in the Southern District. In his memoir, Holding the Line, he describes how the Dept. of Justice demanded he use his office to aid the Trump administration.

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'Reservation Dogs' co-creator says the show gives audiences permission to laugh

Monday, September 19, 2022

Sterlin Harjo says there's a tendency to be "very precious with Native people ... that's kind of how the world is trained to view us." The irreverent series follows four teens on a reservation.

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Nina Totenberg looks back on her decades-long friendship with Ruth Bader Ginsburg

Wednesday, September 14, 2022

The NPR legal affairs correspondent met the future SCOTUS justice in the early '70s, when Totenberg interviewed Ruth Bader Ginsburg for a story about a decision pertaining to women's rights.

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How lawyers from one giant DC firm influenced Trump's Supreme Court picks

Tuesday, September 13, 2022

Servants of the Damned author David Enrich says lawyers from the firm of Jones Day were deeply embedded in the Trump White House — and helped create policy designed to limit the federal government.

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From 'Dreamgirls' to 'Abbott Elementary,' Sheryl Lee Ralph forged her own path

Monday, September 12, 2022

Ralph won an Emmy for her role as a no-nonsense kindergarten teacher on Abbott Elementary. She says classroom management is about "letting [kids] know that boundaries are there for a reason."

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Remembering NPR international correspondent Anne Garrels

Friday, September 09, 2022

Garrels, who died Sept. 7, reported on conflicts from the U.S.S.R., China, Bosnia and Afghanistan. Her most heralded dispatches were from the 2003 Iraq war. Originally broadcast in 2003.

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Amanda Shires examines the fault lines in her marriage on her new album

Wednesday, September 07, 2022

Shires' album, Take it Like a Man, includes songs she wrote during a difficult period in her marriage to musician Jason Isbell. She sings and plays fiddle throughout this interview.

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Fresh Air's summer music interviews: Pete Seeger

Monday, September 05, 2022

The folk singer, who died in 2014, was famous for his songs about working people, unions and social justice. In this 1984 interview, Seeger cited Woody Guthrie as one his most important influences.

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Fresh Air's summer music interviews: Bruce Springsteen

Monday, September 05, 2022

In 2016, Springsteen spoke about New Jersey, masculinity and wishing to be his stage persona: "People see you onstage and, yeah, I'd want to be that guy. ... I want to be that guy myself very often."

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Fresh Air's summer music interviews: Motown legend Smokey Robinson

Friday, September 02, 2022

In addition to writing and producing most of his own records, Robinson also wrote for other Motown acts, including the Temptations, the Marvellettes and Marvin Gaye. Originally broadcast in 2006.

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Fresh Air's summer music interviews: Isaac Hayes

Friday, September 02, 2022

Hayes helped shape the sound of Memphis soul in the 1960s, and later co-wrote hits for Sam & Dave and Carla Thomas before making albums of his own. Originally broadcast in 1994.

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Fresh Air's summer music interviews: Singer-songwriter Rosanne Cash

Thursday, September 01, 2022

Cash was 18 when her dad, Johnny Cash, gave her a list of 100 essential country songs to help her better understand the music that came before her. Originally broadcast in 2009.

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Fresh Air's summer music interviews: Lizzo

Wednesday, August 31, 2022

A self-described "showgirl at its finest," Lizzo initially thought she'd be a classical flautist. Though rap and pop won out, she still brings the flute into her music. Originally broadcast in 2019.

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Fresh Air's summer music interviews: Rap icon Jay-Z

Wednesday, August 31, 2022

In 2010, Jay-Z reflected on growing up in Brooklyn surrounded by drugs and violence. "One day, your best friend could be killed. The day before, you could be celebrating him getting a brand-new bike."

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Fresh Air's summer music interviews: Jazz great Charlie Haden

Tuesday, August 30, 2022

Haden grew up singing in his family's country music radio shows but turned to the bass when polio damaged his vocal cords. He died in 2014. Originally broadcast between 1983 and 2008.

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