Showing results by narrator "Terry Gross" in All Categories

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)

Writer Robert Smigel on this edition of Fresh Air. Smigel is a creator of animated comic episodes for Saturday Night Live, including "X-Presidents" and "The Ambiguously Gay Duo." His newest effort is the new Comedy Central series TV Funhouse, described as a broken kid's show for adults. The Funhouse combines real animals, puppet animals, short films, and animation. Smigel has also written a new comic book based on the X-Presidents filmed shorts.

Hear critic-at-large John Powers and Iraqi activist Yanar Mohammed on this edition of Fresh Air. First, John Powers reports back from his trip to the Cannes Film Festival. Then, Yanar Mohammed, the internationally renowned founder of the Organization of Women's Freedom in Iraq. The organization fights to stop atrocities against women and advocates for women's rights.

Former head of Ethics & Responsible Business Practices consulting services for Arthur Andersen, Barbara Ley Toffler and British filmmakers Dan Gordon and Nick Bonner on this edition of Fresh Air. Barbara Ley Toffler is the co-author of the new book, Final Accounting: Ambition, Greed, and the Fall of Arthur Andersen. Toffler writes about life inside the firm. She left before it collapsed in the wake of the Enron scandal.

Singer Brenda Lee and authors Jane Farrell-Beck and Colleen Gau on this edition of Fresh Air. Brenda Lee is one of the early rock 'n' roll singers, with hits such as "I'm Sorry", "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree", and "Break It To Me Gently." She's just been inducted into the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame, class of 2002. She's also in the Country Music Hall of Fame. Lee was born Brenda Mae Tarpley in Atlanta. At the age of 13, in 1957, she made her debut at the Grand Ole Opry.

Former fighter pilot Keith Rosenkranz and poet Sam Hammill on this edition of Fresh Air. During the first Gulf War, Keith Rosenkranz flew thirty combat missions in his F-16. He wrote about the experience in his book, Vipers in the Storm: Diary of a Gulf War Fighter Pilot. In January, Sam Hamill was invited by First Lady Laura Bush to the White House for a symposium on poetry.

Filmmakers Peter and Bobby Farrell on this edition of Fresh Air. The two brothers have become practically the brand name for bad taste. Their movies Dumb and Dumber, Kingpin, There's Something About Mary, and Shallow Hal, plumbed new depths of tastelessness.

Founder and frontman of the group the Polyphronic Spree, Tim Delaughter and film director and screenwriter Don Coscarelli on this edition of Fresh Air. Tim Delaughter founded Polyphronic Spree, the 23-member ensemble in 2000. Its members range in ages from 15 to 36, and they dress in white choir robes.

WWII Veterans Tony Varone and Donald Pearce and Katherine Hepburn biographer Barbara Leaming on this archive edition of Fresh Air. Varone remembers V.E. Day. He served in the 9th Infantry Division which fought in Europe. He now is Commander of VFW POST in Long Island, New York. Pearce fought in Europe in the Canadian Army and kept a diary during his tour of duty.

Former Fire Commissioner of New York City Thomas von Essen, Grateful Dead's publicist Dennis McNally, and writer Joelle Fraser on this edition of Fresh Air. Thomas von Essen led the NYFD through the September 11th attacks and during rescue and early recovery efforts. During the attacks, the department lost 343 men, many of them von Essen's friends and colleagues. He stepped down as Fire Commissioner on December 31, 2001.

Writer Samuel Freedman on this archive edition of Fresh Air. Samuel Freedman wrote a book about the state of the American Jewish Community called Jew vs. Jew: The Struggle for the Soul of American Jewry. Freedman believes that three fundamental questions are rending the American Jewish community today: "What is the definition of Jewish identity? Who decides what is authentic and legitimate Judaism? And what is the Jewish compact with America?"

Hear actor Peter Fonda and rock historian Ed Ward, on this edition of Fresh Air. The western 3:10 to Yuma is now out on DVD. The film is a remake of the 1957 western based on an Elmore Leonard story. It features Fonda as a hard-bitten bounty hunter named Byron McElroy. Some of Fonda's other films include the counterculture classic Easy Rider, Ulee's Gold, and The Limey.

Journalist Dennis Covington and actor Nicholas Turturro on this archive edition of Fresh Air. Covington has written Salvation on Sand Mountain about the practice of snake handling in a Southern Appalachian church.

Reporter and author Stephen Handleman on this edition of Fresh Air. For the many bureaucrats, corrupt army generals, black market racketeers, and others who held power and wealth in the old Soviet system, making a buck has never been easier. Organized crime is in the downside of free enterprise in the new Russia.

Hall of Fame jockey Gary Stevens and remembering dancer and actor Gregory Hines on this edition of Fresh Air. Gary Stevens has won three Kentucky Derbys, two Preakness Stakes and three Belmont Stakes. Now 40 years old, he's been riding professionally since he was sixteen years old.

Director and producer Nick Park and Peter Lord, chairman and co-founder of the clay animation studios Aardman on this edition of Fresh Air. Park is the academy award-winning creator of the much-loved animated British characters Wallace & Gromit. Park created his short films, A Grand Day Out, The Wrong Trousers , and A Close Shave featuring Wallace and Gromit at Aardman studios.

Singer Jerry Butler on this edition of Fresh Air. Jerry ("The Iceman") Butler's 1969 hit, "Only the Strong Survive," is a rhythm and blues classic, and also the title of his new autobiography: Only the Strong Survive: Memoirs of a Soul Survivor. Butler founded the vocal group The Impressions as well as having a successful solo career. His awareness of civil rights led him to politics, and he is serving his fourth term on the Cook County Board of Commissioners in Chicago.

Record producers Charles Granata and Didier Deutsch and pianist and singer Michael Feinstein on this edition of Fresh Air. Charles Granata and Didier Deutsch have collaborated on the CD box set, Frank Sinatra In Hollywood (1940-1964) which collects Sinatra's film recordings - many of them rare. In fact only ten percent of the 160 tracks included on the collection have been released before.

Journalist James Bennet on this edition of Fresh Air. Bennett has been in the Middle East covering how the crisis there is affecting Israelis and Palestinians. He's been reporting on both sides of the conflict for The New York Times. (Broadcast Date: March 19, 2002)

Former New York Times Balkans Bureau Chief and Middle East Bureau Chief Chris Hedges. In the past few weeks, he's been covering terrorist cells in France and Belgium. He recently published a piece in Harper's Magazine called "A Gaza Diary". He currently is a correspondent for the paper and lives in New York. Conductor and Pianist Christoph Eschenbach. He becomes the music director of the Philadelphia Orchestra in 2003.