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Terry Gross at her microphone in 2018

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.

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30:39

The Making of 'Murderball'

The new documentary Murderball looks at the rough-and-tumble world of quadriplegic rugby -- otherwise known as "murderball." Fresh Air talks to top-rated player Mark Zupan and Dana Adam Shapiro, the film's co-producer and co-director.

45:07

Judas Priest Lead Singer Rob Halford

Judas Priest has a new album out, Angel of Retribution, and is on tour this summer. Originally from Birmingham, England, Judas Priest pioneered the heavy metal sound in the 1970s and '80s. Lead singer Halford left the band in 1991, citing internal tension, and in 1998, he disclosed that he is gay during an interview on MTV. Nicknamed the "Metal God," Halford returned to Judas Priest in 2003.

Interview
44:11

Celebrating Jazz Pianist Hank Jones

The legendary jazzman turns 87 on July 31, 2005. He and his trio have just released a new CD, For My Father, and he joins John Patitucci and Jack De Johnette for the Great Jazz Trio's upcoming CD, S'Wonderful.

Interview
33:15

The Federal Deficit: Past, Present and Future

Economists Isabel Sawhill and Brian Riedl discuss the federal deficit: how the country reached this point and how it might get back into the black. Sawhill is a senior fellow and vice president and director of economic studies at the Brookings Institution, a non-partisan think tank in Washington, D.C. Brian Riedl is lead budget analyst and the Grover M. Hermann Fellow in Federal Budgetary Affairs at the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank also based in Washington.

16:00

Jack Coughlin: Life Behind a Long-Range Rifle

Jack Coughlin, a gunnery sergeant in the Marines, is the author of the new book Shooter: The Autobiography of the Top-Ranked Marine Sniper. He grew up in a wealthy Boston suburb and joined the Marines at age 19, spending the next 20 years behind the scope of a long-range rifle as a sniper. He has more than 60 confirmed kills, 38 of which took place during Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Interview
37:34

Nick Hornby on His New Novel, 'A Long Way Down'

The latest novel from best-selling English author Nick Hornby, A Long Way Down, focuses on a group of suicidal people who accidentally meet atop a tall building — and how that meeting changes their fates. He also writes "Stuff I've Been Reading," a column for The Believer magazine. Many of Hornby's novels have been made into films, including About a Boy, High Fidelity and Fever Pitch.

Interview
43:54

Musician, Composer and Singer Delbert McClinton

Grammy-winning Delbert McClinton is considered a legend among Texas roots music aficionados. He's been making music since the 1950s in a style that seamlessly blends country, blues, soul, and rock and roll. Before he became known as a singer, he was a harmonica player with the Straightjackets, backing blues legends such as Howlin' Wolf, Jimmy Reed and Sonny Boy Williamson. On tour in England in 1962, McClinton gave harmonica lessons to a young John Lennon.

Interview
19:54

Actor Christian Bale, the New Batman

He plays Bruce Wayne -- and his alter ego, Batman -- in the new film Batman Begins. Bale's other films include American Psycho, Laurel Canyon, Captain Corelli's Mandolin and The Machinist. He is also the voice of Howl in the new Japanese animated film Howl's Moving Castle.

Interview
30:32

Attorney Kenneth Feinberg, 'What is Life Worth?'

As special master of the Federal Sept. 11 Victim Compensation Fund, Feinberg decided how much families of the terrorist attacks' victims would receive and which family members were eligible for compensation. He also was on a team that determined the fair market value of the Zapruder film of the Kennedy assassination. Feinberg has written a book about his work on the Sept. 11 Fund, What is Life Worth?: The Unprecedented Effort to Compensate the Victims of 9/11.

Interview

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