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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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19:55

Former Animals Singer Eric Burdon

Burdon fronted the British band, The Animals — the 1960s group that created hits including "House of the Rising Sun," "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood," and "We gotta Get Out of this Place." In 2002, Burdon published his autobiography, Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood. His new CD is My Secret Life.

Interview
42:46

Director and Actor Mario Van Peebles

His new film is Baadasssss! It's the story of the making of 1971 classic Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song. In the film, Mario Van Peebles plays his father, director Melvin Van Peebles. Mario got his start directing and starring in the film New Jack City. Other acting credits include the role of Malcolm X in the film Ali, and a role in Ten Thousand Black Men Named George, about the unionization of Pullman train porters.

Interview
21:13

'Rising from the Rails: Pullman Porters'

Journalist Larry Tye examines the social history of the porter in Rising from the Rails: Pullman Porters and the Making of the Black Middle Class. Tye says that the job was one of the best for African Americans at the time, and that it was a foothold in the American workplace. Tye reports for The Boston Globe.

Interview
22:13

Documentary Interviews Failed Suicide Bombers

Filmmakers Israel Goldvicht and Tom Roberts went inside Israeli prisons to examine the minds of suicide bombers. Their documentary, Suicide Bombers, is part of the PBS series "Wide Angle." They spoke with three failed bombers, one bomb builder and one recruiter. The show premieres Thursday, July 1, on PBS.

21:21

Historian Simon Sebag Montefiore

His new book is Stalin: The Court of the Red Tsar. It's a biography of the former Soviet leader. Stalin was often described as an enigma. This exhaustive account of his life seeks to banish the mystery. Montefiore has traveled extensively through the former Soviet Union, and has written for many publications, including The New York Times and The Spectator.

Interview
06:42

Albany County District Attorney Paul Clyne

He'll address the strict drug regulations that put Elaine Bartlett, the subject of the book, Life on the Outside, in jail. The regulations are known as the Rockefeller Drug Laws. Clyne is the son of Albany County judge John Clyne, who handed Bartlett a sentence of 20 years to life in state prison.

Interview
14:01

'Life on the Outside'

Journalist Jennifer Gonnerman's new book is Life on the Outside: The Prison Odyssey of Elaine Bartlett. It's an account of Bartlett's struggle to get out and stay out of jail. Bartlett spent 16 years in prison for a single sale of cocaine. Gonnerman follows Bartlett as she is released from prison at 42.

44:09

Cabaret Singer Bobby Short

He's been playing piano and singing at the Carlyle Hotel in New York City since 1968. He's considered one of the great cabaret singers of our time. The 79-year-old song stylist was slated to retire from the Cafe Carlyle this coming New Year's Eve, but he's extended his schedule, and he's not going anywhere for the time being. Short has been named a "living landmark" by New York's Landmark Conservancy and a "national living legend" by the Library of Congress.

Interview
21:32

Actor Clint Eastwood

The 1966 classic spaghetti western The Good, The Bad and The Ugly has been fully restored and is now out on a special edition DVD. Eastwood is now at work on the film Rope Burns, to be released in 2005. (Originally broadcast Nov. 21, 1996.)

19:38

Actor Eli Wallach

He also stars in The Good, The Bad and The Ugly, now out on special edition DVD. Wallach has had a long career on stage and screen, starring in many spaghetti westerns in the 1960s, as well as in the Godfather trilogy. He won a Tony award for his role in Tennessee Williams' The Rose Tattoo. He will appear in the upcoming film, King of the Corner, to be released later this year. Originally broadcast Nov. 13, 1990.)

Interview

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