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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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26:23

Baseball Great Willie Mays.

Baseball great Willie Mays, one of the most potent all-round players in the history of baseball. In his 22 seasons in the major leagues, Mays played in 21 All-Star Games, batted over .300 and hit 660 home runs. His autobiography, Say Hey, has just been published. (Interview by Marty Moss-Coane)

Interview
10:07

Mal Sharpe Asks "Are You Happy with Your Toaster?"

Mal Sharpe, the self-described last of the Man-on-the-Street interviewers. Sharpe, who used to contribute to National Public Radio's "All Things Considered," specializes in eliciting unusual responses from unsuspecting interviewees. He'll ask a screaming delegate on the floor of the Republican Convention in 1980 if they're happy with Reagan as the nominee.

Interview
09:34

The Secret Lives of Pets.

Alan Beck, a leading authority on the relationships between pets and their owners. Beck is the director of the Center for Interaction of Animals and Society at the University of Pennsylvania's School of Veterinary Medicine. (Interview by Marty Moss-Coane)

Interview
10:00

A Western Writer Reinvents the Detective Genre.

Writer James Crumley, whose tough detective fiction has earned him comparisons with Dashiell Hammett, Raymond Chandler and Ross MacDonald. His books aren't based in the stereotypical big city backdrop; Crumley's crimes are committed in his native Montana. (Rebroadcast. Original broadcast on Friday, June 26, 1987.)

Interview
27:29

Cinematographer and Director Nestor Almendros.

Cinematographer Nestor Almendros. The films he has photographed include "Sophie's Choice," "Kramer vs. Kramer" and "Days of Heaven," for which he won the Academy Award. He has directed the photography for films by Eric Rohmer and Francois Truffaut. Almendros worked in Havana in the early years of the Castro regime before he had a falling out with the authorities.

Interview
09:52

Jacob Lawrence Discuses Painting the African American Experience.

Painter Jacob Lawrence. For nearly five decades, Lawrence has been widely regarded as one of America's most important black artists. His work depicts the black American experience from the Civil War to the Civil Rights movement. In 1986, a major traveling retrospective of his work was brought together by the Seattle Art Museum.

Interview

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