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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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44:17

Oliver Lake, Jazz Saxophonist.

Oliver Lake is a jazz and funk saxophonist and composer. He is in town to play a concert with his newest band Jump. Lake joins the show to discuss his career and audience, the music industry, and what it means to be considered an avant-garde musician. (Interview by Danny Miller)

Interview
46:54

Liv Ullmann's New Role as UNICEF Ambassador.

Liv Ullmann gained fame as an actress in Ingmar Bergman films. Recently, her work has involved traveling around the world and fundraising as a Goodwill Ambassador for UNICEF. Bergman has just completed a tour of East Africa. Ullman has also directed a sequence in the film "Acts of Love."

Interview
30:19

Sister Falaka Fatah and Urban Youth.

Activist Falaka Fatah is the co-founder of Umoja House, an organization that currently runs 21 house on North Fraser Street in Northwest Philadelphia serving gang members and street kids. The program began when Fattah and her husband, David, invited a gang to live with them after discovering their son, Robin, had joined. The Fattahs work with gangs led to a city wide meeting and truce among Philadelphia gangs. Their new project is "Boys Town," which will serve ex-offenders. Fattah joins the show to discuss strategies for reaching youth in disadvantaged neighborhoods.

Interview
30:36

Kinky Friedman Treads the Line Between Satire and Bigotry.

Country musician Kinky Friedman is know by some as "Texas Jew Boy." His songs, including "They Ain't Makin' Jews Like Jesus Anymore" and "Ride 'Em Jew Boy," often have anti-semitic, racist, and sexist lyrics. While some take the lyrics seriously, others appreciate the satire. He joins the show to discuss his work.

Interview
57:46

U. S. Representative John Edgar on the Effects of Reagan's Politics.

Robert Edgar is a United States Representative for Delaware County. He is one of the few liberal Democrats who survived the 1980 election. Edgar is the chair of the Northeast-Midwest Coalition and was part of the fact finding mission to El Salvador. He is also a Methodist minister who was once a pastor. He joins the show to discuss the Reagan administration, the role of money and the media in politics, the "moral majority," and working in Congress. He will also answer listener questions.

Interview
59:32

Sheila Jordan On Singing Jazz.

Sheila Jordan is a jazz singer. Rather than make music she doesn't agree with, Jordan has kept her "day job" as a typist for her entire career. That might be changing as more people become aware of her work. She joins the show to discuss her life and career.

Interview
47:54

Bobby Short On American Composers of Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow.

Bobby Short is a singer and pianist who is known for keeping the tradition of the American Songbook alive. He has recently gained fame amongst a new audience for his work in television commercials. He joins the show to discuss American composers such as the Gershwins, Cole Porter, Cy Coleman, Rodgers and Hart, Burt Bacarach, and Stephen Sondheim.

Interview
58:59

Listener Call-In and Discussion of Jonestown Documentary "Father Cares."

Reverend Ralph Moore is an Episcopal priest and the director of the Christian Association at the University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Julian Slowinski is a psychologist and former Benedictine monk and theologian. They join the show to discuss the events in Jonestown and the radio documentary on the subject, "Father Cares," which was aired by NPR. They also answer listener calls.

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