Terry Gross appears in the following:
What's next for Fox News now that Rupert Murdoch has stepped down?
Tuesday, November 14, 2023
In Network of Lies, author Brian Stelter describes behind-the-scenes turmoil at Fox News following the 2020 election, and speaks to the network's future under the leadership of Rupert's son Lachlan.
A Marine veteran says the contradictions of war can make you feel insane
Friday, November 10, 2023
Elliot Ackerman served five tours in Iraq and Afghanistan, during which time, he says, he witnessed the best and worst that human beings are capable of. Originally broadcast Nov. 11, 2021.
Journalist reflects on the ideological, religious and ethnic conflicts within Israel
Thursday, November 09, 2023
New York Times journalist Isabel Kershner says before war broke out between Israel and Hamas, it sometimes looked as if Israel was headed toward a civil war. Her new book is The Land of Hope and Fear.
Barbra Streisand shares her secret for keeping performances honest
Wednesday, November 08, 2023
When she was starring in Funny Girl on Broadway, Streisand would alter the music slightly each night: "You can't just copy what you did from the night before." Her new memoir is My Name is Barbra.
'Fresh Air' remembers 'Friends' star Matthew Perry
Friday, November 03, 2023
Perry, who died in Oct. 28, played the sarcastic but lovable Chandler Bing on Friends. He spoke to Terry Gross in 2007. Plus, we listen back to our 2003 interview with Lisa Kudrow, who played Phoebe.
'Everybody got it wrong': How did Israel fail to detect Hamas' planned invasion?
Thursday, November 02, 2023
New York Times reporter Mark Mazzetti says prior to Oct. 7, Israel's leadership was focused on an attack by Iran and its proxies --not Hamas. "They were ... myopic about what the true threat was."
For David Byrne, Talking Heads was about making emotional sense — not literal sense
Wednesday, November 01, 2023
Byrne opens up about filming the 1984 concert film Stop Making Sense and says the band's hit song "Burning Down the House" is a compilation of "non-sequiturs that have a kind of emotional impact."
Rep. Adam Kinzinger on investigating Jan. 6 and being a 'Renegade' in the GOP
Tuesday, October 31, 2023
The former Illinois congressman reflects on confronting the "fanaticism of the hardcore" of his own party. Kinzinger served on the House committee investigating the attack on the Capitol.
Novelist John Le Carré reflects on his own 'Legacy' of spying
Friday, October 27, 2023
The late spy novelist is the subject of a new documentary by Errol Morris, The Pigeon Tunnel. Le Carré worked for MI5 and MI6 early in his career. Originally broadcast in 1989 and 2017.
Werner Herzog says it's not good to circle 'your own navel' but writes a memoir anyway
Wednesday, October 25, 2023
Herzog reflects on the curiosity that's fueled his career in the new memoir, Every Man for Himself and God Against All. Just don't expect a deep confessional: "I never liked too deep introspection."
'Charlie Chaplin vs. America' explores the accusations that sent a star into exile
Tuesday, October 24, 2023
Author Scott Eyman explains how Chaplin was smeared in the press, scandalized for his affairs with young women, condemned for his alleged communist ties and banned from returning to the U.S.
How one Christian legal group is shaping policy, from abortion to LGBTQ rights
Wednesday, October 18, 2023
The Alliance Defending Freedom has won 15 Supreme Court cases, including overturning Roe v. Wade. New Yorker writer David Kirkpatrick explains the group's influence and their next targets.
How was Hamas able to launch such a devastating attack on Israel?
Wednesday, October 11, 2023
Terrorism expert Daniel Byman explains the origins of the war between Israel and Hamas, and where it may lead. His books include A High Price: The Triumphs and Failures of Israeli Counterterrorism.
Keegan-Michael Key breaks down how he sets up a joke
Tuesday, October 10, 2023
The Key & Peele and Schmigadoon! star explains why he loves sketch comedy — watching it, performing it and writing about it. His book, with writing partner Elle Key, is The History of Sketch Comedy.
Banned in Iran, a filmmaker finds inspiration in her mother for 'The Persian Version'
Monday, October 09, 2023
Loosely based on Maryam Keshavarz's own life, The Persian Version centers on an Iranian American woman who identifies as bisexual and whose mother entered into an arranged marriage as a teen.
Poet Safiya Sinclair reflects on her Rastafari roots and how she cut herself free
Wednesday, October 04, 2023
Sinclair grew up in a devout Rasta family in Jamaica where women were subservient. When she cut her dreadlocks at age 19, she became "a ghost" to her father. Her new memoir is How to Say Babylon.
Revisiting the 'Fresh Air' interview with poet Allen Ginsberg
Friday, September 29, 2023
A new tribute album offers musical interpretations of Ginsberg's poems. The poet and countercultural activist spoke to Terry Gross in 1994 about his poem "Howl," which was inspired by his mother.
Remembering 'NCIS' actor David McCallum
Friday, September 29, 2023
McCallum, who died Sept. 25, played an off-beat medical examiner on NCIS, but got his start nearly 60 years earlier, playing a Russian agent on the The Man from U.N.C.L.E. Originally broadcast in '92.
Exposing the secretive company at the forefront of facial recognition technology
Thursday, September 28, 2023
NYT reporter Kashmir Hill says Clearview AI has a database of billions of photos scraped from the internet, which it sells to governments and police departments. Her book is Your Face Belongs To Us.
Canadian singer-songwriter Allison Russell plays tracks from 'The Returner'
Wednesday, September 27, 2023
Russell talks and sings about the physical and sexual abuse she endured from her racist adoptive father — and about how she learned she was worthy of being loved.