Terry Gross
Terry Gross is the host and an executive producer of Fresh Air, the daily program of interviews and reviews. It is produced at WHYY in Philadelphia, where Gross began hosting the show in 1975, when it was broadcast only locally. She was awarded a National Humanities Medal from President Obama in 2016. Fresh Air with Terry Gross received a Peabody Award in 1994 for its “probing questions, revelatory interviews and unusual insight.” America Women in Radio and Television presented her with a Gracie Award in 1999 in the category of National Network Radio Personality. In 2003, she received the Corporation for Public Broadcasting’s Edward R. Murrow Award for her “outstanding contributions to public radio” and for advancing the “growth, quality and positive image of radio.” Gross is the author of All I Did Was Ask: Conversations with Writers, Actors, Musicians and Artists, published by Hyperion in 2004. She was born and raised in Brooklyn, NY, and received a bachelor’s degree in English and M.Ed. in communications from the State University of New York at Buffalo. She began her radio career in 1973 at public radio station WBFO in Buffalo, NY.
How Twitter Helped Change The Mind Of A Westboro Baptist Church Member
Growing up as a member of the Westboro Baptist Church, Megan Phelps-Roper was taught that God hated gay people. The church, which was founded by Phelps-Roper's grandfather, Fred Phelps Sr., became infamous for picketing the funerals of U.S. soldiers — whose deaths it believed were a punishment for America's sins and its tolerance of homosexuality.
Whistleblower Explains How Cambridge Analytica Helped Fuel U.S. 'Insurgency'
Christopher Wylie was a research director at Cambridge Analytica. When he joined the company its goal was countering extremists who were using social media to recruit followers. But then the company began collecting personal data from Facebook users, and used it to target people susceptible to conspiracy theories and disinformation during the 2016 presidential campaign. Wylie left the company and became a whistleblower.
After Nearly Losing His Voice To Cancer, Anthony Roth Costanzo Takes On 'Akhnaten'
Counter tenor Anthony Ross Costanzo sings in what's considered a woman's range - in the range of the castrati, men who maintained their high voices by being castrated before puberty. He's about to star in the Philip Glass opera 'Akhenaten.'
From Snakes To Spikes, Reporters Reveal Trump's Extreme Border Proposals
President Trump made building a border wall between the U.S. and Mexico a cornerstone of his 2016 presidential campaign. But when, after the election, efforts to build the wall stalled, he turned to other possible options — including constructing a trench filled with snakes and alligators — according to a forthcoming book.
'Conan O'Brien Needs A Friend' Is A Joke Name For A Podcast — Sort Of
The podcast, Conan O'Brien Needs a Friend, featuring O'Brien's conversations with comics, actors and writers, launched November 2018. Its second season starts Oct. 7.
How A Heart Attack Brought Antonio Banderas Closer To 'Pain And Glory'
Banderas' experience following the heart attack informs his performance in the new film, Pain and Glory, directed by Spanish filmmaker Pedro Almodóvar. In the film, he plays a screenwriter and director who lives to make movies but has stopped working because he's suffering with physical pain — and pain of the soul.
Photographer Builds A 'Photo Ark' For 6,500 Animal Species And Counting
National Geographic photographer Joel Sartore is documenting the world's captive animal species. His new book is Vanishing: The World's Most Vulnerable Animals. Originally broadcast Feb. 27, 2017.
Remembering Grateful Dead Lyricist Robert Hunter
After Jerry Garcia formed the Grateful Dead in the mid '60s, Hunter wrote most of the lyrics for Garcia's songs, including "Truckin'" and "Uncle John's Band." Hunter spoke to Fresh Air in 1988.
Western Music Expert Doug Green Revisits The Era Of The Singing Cowboy
Green wrote a book on singing cowboys and is featured in Ken Burns' new PBS series about country music. He says he fell in love with Western music from an early age: "It completely entranced me."
Ta-Nehisi Coates On Magic, Memory And The Underground Railroad
After writing three non-fiction books dealing with race and identity, and relaunching Marvel's black superhero series Black Panther, Ta-Nehisi Coates has written his first novel. Set during slave times, it re-imagines leaders of the underground railroad as having a magical power to help people out of slavery.