Showing results by narrator "Terry Gross" in All Categories

On this edition of Fresh Air, host Terry Gross talks with Iranian born novelist Salar Abdoh, author of The Poet Game. It's a fictitious account of an Iranian secret agent sent to New York City to investigate rumored terrorist plots, in the wake of the 1993 World Trade Center bombing. Plus, FBI special agent Christopher Whitcomb. He was part of the bureau's hostage rescue team. Whitcomb participated in the missions at Waco, Ruby Ridge and Kosovo.

The host of NPR's Weekend Edition Saturday, Scott Simon and remembering dancer Gwen Verdon on this edition of Fresh Air. Simon's written a memoir, Home & Away: Memoir of a Fan. Fresh Air remembers dancer Gwen Verdon. She died today at the age of 75. She became an overnight Broadway sensation in 1953 as a dancer in Can Can, for which she won her first Tony Award.

British actor Colin Firth on this edition of Fresh Air. Firth is co-starring in the new romantic comedy/holiday feel-good film, Love Actually. Firth is probably best known for his role as Mr. Darcy in the BBC/A&E production of Pride and Prejudice. The film turned him into a heartthrob.

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.

The Shield creator Shawn Ryan, actress C.C.H. Pounder, and film critic David Edelstein are the guests on this edition of Fresh Air. Shawn Ryan is the creator and writer for the critically acclaimed FX drama The Shield. It just began it's sixth season. (Original Airdate: 3/14/06)

Actors Paul Giamatti and Mark Webber on this edition of Fresh Air. Paul Giamatti stars in the Todd Solondz film Storytelling. He plays an aspiring filmmaker who sets out to document the empty life of a New Jersey high school senior and his well-to-do parents. Giamatti's film credits include Planet of the Apes, Big Momma's House, Saving Private Ryan, and The Truman Show. Mark Webber, 21, is Giamatti's costar in Storytelling.

Journalist Scott Anderson on this edition of Fresh Air. Anderson traveled with a platoon of elite Israeli commandos into the West Bank and wrote about it in the article "An Impossible Occupation" which was the cover story of last Sunday's New York Times Magazine. (Broadcast Date: May 16, 2002)

South African actor and playwright John Kani on this edition of Fresh Air. Kani is best known for his apartheid-era politically-charged collaborations with playwright Athol Fugard. His new play, and his first as a solo playwright, is Nothing But the Truth.

Voice and acting coach Patsy Rodenburg and fashion journalists Trinny Woodall and Susannah Constantine on this edition of Fresh Air. Rodenburg has worked with some of the world's leading English-speaking actors, including Judi Dench, Daniel Day-Lewis, Maggie Smith, and Nicole Kidman.

Journalist Andrew Meldrum and journalist, lecturer, human rights activist Samantha Powers on this edition of Fresh Air. Andrew Meldrum was recently abducted and expelled from Zimbabwe by government authorities. He had been the Guardian's Zimbabwe correspondent, and was the last foreign journalist allowed to file from the country. Samantha Power was the founding executive director of the Harvard University Carr Center for Human Rights Policy.

Son of televangelists Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker, Jay Bakker and remembering code breaker Leo Marks on this edition of Fresh Air. In 1989 Jay Bakker's father, Jimmy, was convicted of defrauding his followers at the Praise The Lord ministry, and sent to prison. Then his parents divorced. Bakker was 13 years old at the time.

Singer and Songwriter Tom Waits on this archive edition of Fresh Air. Since the 1973 release of his first album, Closing Time, Waits has won over fans with his original songwriting and distinctive, gravely vocal style. One reviewer calls Waits "the Ultimate hobo boho, a Jack-in-the-box cum storyteller." Musicians including Johnny Cash, Bruce Springsteen, and Rod Stewart have recorded covers of his songs.

Associate curator at The Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles, Russell Ferguson on this edition of Fresh Air. Ferguson curated the exhibit "In Memory of My Feelings: Frank O'Hara and American Art." Frank O'Hara was part of a small group of poets in New York City in the 1950s and 60s, influenced by the Abstract Expressionist painters of that time, including Jackson Pollock and Willem de Kooning. O'Hara died in 1966 after being struck by a jeep.

Journalist Naomi Klein and American Film Institute founder George Stevens, Jr. on this edition of Fresh Air. Klein, author of No Logo: Taking Aim at the Brand Bullies, takes a look at the global reach of multinational corporations, their pervasive use of branding to sell a concept, the impact on culture and society, and the protest movement that's resulted. Stevens was a production assistant on the 1952 classic western Shane, directed by his father George Stevens.

Former Beatle Paul McCartney on this edition of Fresh Air. His song lyrics include "When I'm Sixty-Four," "Yesterday," "Fool on the Hill," "Paperback writer" and many more. They are collected along with his poems in a recent volume, Blackbird Singing: Poems and Lyrics 1965-1999.

Veteran CBS 60 Minutes and 60 Minutes II producer George Crile and retired congressman Charlie Wilson on this edition of Fresh Air. George Crile is the author of the new book, Charlie Wilson's War: The Extraordinary Story of the Largest Covert Operation in History. It's about the CIA's secret war in Afghanistan, and their support of the Afghan mujahideen against the Soviet Union.

Journalist Robert Kaplan and Peter W. Galbraith, former U.S. amassador to Croatia, on this edition of Fresh Air. Robert Kaplan is a correspondent for The Atlantic Monthly. His story in the April edition of magazine is "A Tale of Two Colonies." Kaplan traveled to Yemen and Eritrea to investigate how the war on terrorism is forcing the U.S. to be involved with each. Yemen is believed to have the largest Al-Qaeda presence outside of the Afghanistan-Pakistan region.

Conductor of the Boston Philharmonic Orchestra Benjamin Zander and British actress Brenda Blethyn, on this edition of Fresh Air.

Writer Alec Wilkinson and an archive interview with William Maxwell on this edition of Fresh Air. Alec Wilkinson remembers his friend and mentor William Maxwell, who died Monday at the age of 91. Wilkinson is a staff writer for The New Yorker, and has been there since 1980.

Writer David Sedaris on this edition of Fresh Air. Sedaris is best known for his contributing work with Public Radio's This American Life. He's written three books of essays, Barrel Fever, Naked, and his latest Me Talk Pretty One Day.