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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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01:01:36

Refusing to Dress for Success

In contrast to other women television news anchors, journalist Linda Ellerbee eschews fashion and formality to focus her viewers' attention on her reporting rather than her appearance. After a salary dispute, she recently left her post at NBC. Her new memoir is called And So It Goes.

Interview
27:55

Asserting Revolutionary Blackness

Poet and playwright Leroi Jones changed his name to Amiri Baraka to affirm his African roots. While exploring his black identity, he participated in a variety of different arts and political movements. Though his views continue to evolve, his past experiences continue to inform his writing today.

Interview
55:49

Jazz Pianist George Shearing

Shearing was born blind and began learning piano at age 4. Both practical limitations and prejudice kept him from playing certain kinds of gigs. But during World War II, while many fellow musicians served in the military, Shearing was given more opportunities to work. He later moved to the United States to further his career.

Interview
48:02

From a Waitress to a Writer

Deborah Eisenberg began writing short fiction in her 30s, without any formal training, while she worked as a waitress. Her first collection, Transactions in a Foreign Currency, has just been published.

Interview
01:00:22

Writing the American Detective

Inspired by progenitors of the genre, Robert B. Parker writes a series of hard-boiled detective novels featuring a private investigator named Spenser. The books have recently been adapted into a television show called Spenser for Hire. Parker's newest novel is called Taming the Sea-horse.

Interview
55:31

Defending the Rights of Unpopular People

Lawyer Alan Dershowitz is known for representing figures like Nazis and pornographers in court. His new book, Reversal of Fortune, details the trial of aristocrat Claus von Bulow, who was accused of murdering his wife. Dershowitz secured von Bulow's acquittal.

Interview

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