Skip to main content
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.

Sort:

Newest

16:56

French Cooking in Philadelphia.

Master chef Georges Perrier of the nationally renowned Philadelphia French restaurant, Le Bec-Fin. He has revealed many of his recipes in his first cookbook, "Georges Perrier Le Bec-Fin Recipes" (Running Press).

Interview
35:01

Jennifer Jason Leigh Discusses Starring in a Henry James Adaptation.

Actress Jennifer Jason Leigh. She stars in the new film "Washington Square" which is based on the Henry James novella. In it she plays Catherine Sloper, a shy and unattractive woman who risks estrangement from her father who disapproves of a man she has fallen for. The character is one of a diverse many for Leigh, who has portrayed everything from a phone-sex girl in Robert Altman's "Short Cuts" to a psychotic roommate in "Single White Female" to poet Dorothy Parker in "Mrs. Parker and the Vicious Circle."

15:52

Whoopi Goldberg Discusses Her Life and Career.

Actress and Comedian Whoopi Goldberg. She's just written "Book," (Rob Weisbach Books) a collection of life observations, insights, and Whoopi-isms in 25 vignettes. Goldberg received a Grammy for 1985's Best Comedy Album, as well as an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress in 1990.

Interview
34:25

Don DeLillo Discusses "Underworld."

Author Don DeLillo on his new novel "Underworld." (Scribner) This 827-page work weaves in and out of the latter half of this century, incorporating modern icons such as Frank Sinatra, Lenny Bruce, and J. Edgar Hoover. The novel's first scene visits the Giant-Dodgers pennant game of October 3rd, 1951 -- also the date of the first nuclear test in the Soviet Union.

Interview
44:51

Francis Ford Coppola On Film, Wine, and Literature.

Director, writer, and producer Francis Ford Coppola. A five-time Oscar winner, Coppola is known for such films as "Apocalypse Now," "American Graffiti," and the "Godfather" trilogy. Coppola continues to create in other arenas, such as wine making, and a quarterly literary magazine "Zoetrope" which he publishes. He and his wife have bought and restored the Inglenook wine estate in Napa Valley. Coppola's new film "The Rainmaker" comes out in November.

12:04

Remembering Roy Lichtenstein.

Pop artist Roy Lichtenstein. He died yesterday in Manhattan at the age of 73. He was one of the inventors of pop art in the 1960's, finding inspiration for his paintings in comic books and advertisements. Lichtenstein's work often replicated the heavy black outlines, bright colors and dots of a color comic strip found in a newspaper. Called by one critic the "supreme virtuoso of pop", his work was filled with constant references to high and low arts as well as to his own work. We remember him with an interview from 11/8/93.

Obituary
34:34

Anita Hill Shares Her Truth.

Anita Hill has written a book entitled "Speaking Truth to Power," (Doubleday) a reflection on the events surrounding the Hill-Thomas hearings of the fall of 1991. Hill addresses her difficult overnight transformation into a public figure, as well as the way her case has affected women and the work world as a whole. Hill is currently working on another book about sexual harassment, and lectures on civil rights and sexual harassment in the workplace.

Interview
33:33

What "Ice Mummies" Might Reveal about the Spanish Flu.

Reporter Malcolm Gladwell of the New Yorker speaks about the Spanish influenza of 1918. Gladwell's article in September 29th's New Yorker explores the medical potential of seven buried bodies stricken by this flu. Lodged in the Arctic tundra, the bodies, soon to be exhumed, may hold clues on how to prevent a similar epidemic in the future. Gladwell is the former New York bureau chief of the Washington Post. (Interview by Barbara Bogaev)

Interview
17:33

Homophobia in the Heartland.

Playwright, novelist, and screenwriter Paul Rudnick. Paul discusses his new movie, "In & Out," starring Kevin Kline -- the story of a high school English teacher "outed" on national t.v. by a former student, much to the surprise of everyone. Rudnick is the author of such plays as "I Hate Hamlet," "The Naked Eye," and "Jeffrey." He also wrote the screenplay for "Addams Family Values." (Interview by Barbara Bogaev)

Interview
28:06

Women's Rights and Islam.

Mahnaz Afkhami, executive director of the Sisterhood is Global Institute (SIGI), and Azar Nafisi, professor of English Literature at Tehran's Tabatabai University discuss this weekend's Sisterhood is Global conference in Washington D.C., a symposium addressing issues such as cross-cultural education and women's rights on a global scale. Afkhami has written a substantial manual for women's rights education in Muslim countries. Nafisi has conducted ongoing workshops in Iran, one of six SIGI world workshop sites, on women, their identities, and their rights.

Did you know you can create a shareable playlist?

Advertisement

There are more than 22,000 Fresh Air segments.

Let us help you find exactly what you want to hear.
Just play me something
Your Queue

Would you like to make a playlist based on your queue?

Generate & Share View/Edit Your Queue