Fresh Air Archive: Interviews with Terry Gross

Chuck Norris

January 26, 1988

Martial Artist and Actor Chuck Norris.

Actor Chuck Norris. He had changed his image from being a cult, martial arts film star to being America’s all-round tough guy. His movie at the time was “Braddock: Missing in Action III.” He had just written his autobiography. It was titled The Secret of Inner Strength - My Story.

27:34

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Actor James Earl Jones

James Earl Jones

Musician and actor Isaac Hayes

Issac Hayes

Guitarist Keith Richards of the Rolling Stones

Keith Richards

Singer-songwriter Emmylou Harris

Emmylou Harris

Actor Andre Holland

André Holland

Writer and TV host Padma Lakshmi

Padma Lakshmi

Composer and lyricist Stephen Sondheim poses for a portrait in front of a sign advertising one of his musicals

Stephen Sondheim

Actress and filmmaker Lena Waithe poses in front of a green living wall

Lena Waithe

Dancer and choreographer Twyla Tharp

Twyla Tharp

Filmmaker Mel Brooks reclines on a couch

Mel Brooks

Filmmaker Martin Scorsese

Martin Scorsese

Actor and director Stanley Tucci

Stanley Tucci

Comedian Tig Notaro

Tig Notaro

Actor Burt Reynolds

Burt Reynolds

Actress Rita Moreno

Rita Moreno

A Black woman smiles with her arms in the air as she dances with a Black man at the Savoy Ballroom in Harlem in New York City during the 1940s.

Black History is American History

Fresh Air host Terry Gross at her microphone in 1991

This is Fresh Air

Miles Davis playing his trumpet at Newport in a jean suit with sunglasses

Miles Davis and the Influence of the Cool

Country music legend Merle Haggard plays a fiddle in a cowboy hat

Country Music Icons

The Futurists

Grandmaster Flash speaking at a Hip Hop history event at the Smithsonian

Hip-Hop History

Feminist demonstrator holds a sign that says "Our bodies, our minds, our power" while wearing an American flag headscarf

Feminist Voices

Woman sprinkles spice into a pan of meat while cooking.

Food for Thought

Toni Morrison looks off-camera in a black and white photo from 1977

She Leads: Trailblazers Of The Past, Present & Future

Donald Trump speaking at a campaign event in a MAGA hat with an American flag backdrop

The Trump Years

African American author Maya Angelou looks off-camera in a close-up portrait

African American Authors

Saturday Night Live (SNL) players Horatio Sanz and Amy Poehler sitting at the anchor desk during a segment of Weekend Update

SNL: Live from New York

Jazz legend Duke Ellington playing the piano in a spotlight at a concert hall

Piano Masters

A young Stevie Wonder, pictured during his Motown days, plays the harmonica in sunglasses against an orange backdrop

Making Motown

A series of brain images in black and white

How the Brain Works

Colorful spices in a market in Marrkech

Food & Cooking

Lion cub holding a butterfly

Animals & Insects

Israeli pride parade with a man waving the rainbow flag

LGBTQ+ Issues

Nighttime view of the US Capitol building with a time-lapse of cars speeding by below

Government & Politics

A Muslim girl praying with beads in a colorful headscarf

Religion & Spirituality

Cutout image of Bart Simpson

Pop Culture

Little girls laughing in an audience

Comedy

Broadway signs from the street

Theater

Author Muriel Spark writing

Books & Literature

Close-up view of a music studio mixing board

In-Studio Performances

Young girls holding feminist signs at a protest

Feminism

People holding hands at a rally

Race & Identity

A doctor points a finger at a chest x-ray that shows the ribs

Health & Medicine

Police officer with a gun

Police & Policing

Jazz legend Miles Davis playing the trumpet in a red shirt

Jazz

Today in Fresh Air History

April 8, 1986

Life in a Texas Prison.

Albert Race Sample's autobiography "Racehoss: Big Emma's Boy" describe his experiences growing up as the son of a black prostitute and gambler and one of her white clients. Sample later ended up in "Retrieve" a unit of the Texas Prison System, which Race describes as sadistic.

27:44

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Fresh Air Archive: Interviews with Terry Gross

For 50 years, Fresh Air has inspired and engaged audiences, both in the Greater Philadelphia area where it began as a local program on WHYY-FM in 1975 and across the country as a nationally-broadcast show since 1987.

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