Terry Gross

Host, Fresh Air

Terry Gross appears in the following:

Pamela Adlon says 'Better Things' has been an exaggerated version of her life

Friday, May 06, 2022

Adlon's FX series, which just wrapped up its final season, centers on a single mom of three who's also trying to help her elderly mother and keep her acting career alive. Originally broadcast in 2019.

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Journalist says Britain has become a safe deposit box for oligarchs' ill-gotten gains

Thursday, May 05, 2022

Butler to the Word author Oliver Bullough says the UK has developed a system of bankers, lawyers, accountants and PR managers who work to help Russian kleptocrats hide their wealth.

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Alexander Skarsgård lost his voice — and found catharsis — as a Viking berserker

Wednesday, May 04, 2022

The Swedish actor describes himself as "quite a mellow guy." Playing a Viking warrior in the film The Northman gave Skarsgård a chance to tap into his animalistic nature.

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Republicans suggested invoking the 25th Amendment after Jan. 6 — but failed to act

Tuesday, May 03, 2022

In their book, This Will Not Pass, NYT journalists Jonathan Martin and Alexander Burns reveal that GOP leaders, including Rep. Kevin McCarthy, privately discussed removing Trump from office.

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How social-emotional learning became a target for Ron DeSantis and conservatives

Thursday, April 28, 2022

Florida officials recently rejected a slew of math textbooks, claiming they included "prohibited topics." Journalist Dana Goldstein theorizes the objections related to social-emotional learning.

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Comedy writer Jessi Klein reflects on the disorienting experience of new motherhood

Wednesday, April 27, 2022

Having a baby changes everything: "There's just no way to comprehend how completely your old identity vanishes," Klein says. Her new book is I'll Show Myself Out: Essays on Midlife & Motherhood.

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For classical pianist Jeremy Denk, life is like a series of music lessons

Friday, April 22, 2022

Denk talks about what he learned from his teachers, and his failures, frustrations and pivotal moments as an artist. His new memoir is Every Good Boy Does Fine. Originally broadcast March 21, 2022.

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In the Murdoch family succession battle, Fox News and democracy hang in the balance

Thursday, April 21, 2022

The new CNN+ docuseries The Murdochs looks inside the Fox media empire and the family's behind-the-scenes in-fighting. Journalist Jim Rutenberg says the real-life drama rivals HBO's Succession.

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Fairport Convention band cofounder Richard Thompson looks back on his life in music

Wednesday, April 20, 2022

The British singer/guitarist talks about his formative years, and about pioneering a new musical genre that blended rock with traditional music of the British isles. Thompson's new memoir is Beeswing.

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Comic Jerrod Carmichael bares his secrets in 'Rothaniel'

Monday, April 18, 2022

The comic, actor and writer opens up about his name, his family tree and his sexual orientation in a new HBO special. "The more honest I am, the freer I am," Carmichael says.

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Fresh Air Weekend: Molly Shannon, Wet Leg and Delia Ephron

Saturday, April 16, 2022

Molly Shannon talks about life after tragedy. Ken Tucker reviews Wet Leg. Delia Ephron remembers how she fell back in love at 72.

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Remembering jazz pianist and composer Jessica Williams

Friday, April 15, 2022

Williams was a dazzling player and a favorite at Fresh Air. She died March 10 at 73. We'll listen back to her 1997 performance and interview.

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The midterm elections will show if Trump is still a 'kingmaker'

Thursday, April 14, 2022

NYT's Shane Goldmacher says Trump doles out endorsements to Republican candidates to elevate allies, punish enemies and make the 'Big Lie', that the 2020 election was stolen, into a party litmus test.

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Remembering comic Gilbert Gottfried

Thursday, April 14, 2022

Gottfried was known for his unusual voice and cranky stage persona — which made him a perfect fit to play the evil parrot Iago in Disney's Aladdin. He spoke with Fresh Air in 1992.

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Delia Ephron on surviving cancer and the defiance of falling in love in your 70s

Wednesday, April 13, 2022

In her new memoir Left on Tenth: A Second Chance at Life, Delia Ephron writes about losing her first husband, finding new love, and how surviving cancer has changed her outlook on life.

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How 'SNL' alum Molly Shannon found profound healing after childhood tragedy

Monday, April 11, 2022

Shannon's new memoir, Hello, Molly! opens with the car crash that killed her mother and sister when Shannon was 4. She says, for a long time, she was motivated by a desire to make her mom proud.

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Kazuo Ishiguro draws on his songwriting past to write novels about the future

Friday, April 08, 2022

The Nobel Prize-winning novelist explains how he honed his craft earlier in his career. His book, Klara and the Sun, is set in the future and has an A.I. narrator. Originally published March 17, 2021.

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How the abortion underground is prepping for a post-Roe v. Wade world

Thursday, April 07, 2022

Nomadland author and Atlantic journalist Jessica Bruder explains how health advocates and activists are preparing ways to provide abortions if Roe is either overturned or weakened by the SCOTUS.

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Conductor Marin Alsop talks about the joys and challenges of leading an orchestra

Monday, April 04, 2022

Alsop talks about the rejection she faced on the way to becoming the first woman to lead a major American orchestra, the Baltimore Symphony. She's now the subject of a new documentary, The Conductor.

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Remembering Madeleine Albright, the first woman to serve as secretary of state

Friday, March 25, 2022

Appointed by President Clinton in 1997, Albright advocated for the expansion of NATO into the former Soviet bloc countries of Eastern Europe. She died March 23. Originally broadcast in 2003 and 2018.

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