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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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40:40

Garrison Keillor on Men and Masculinity.

Storyteller Garrison Keillor. He's the host and writer of "A Prairie Home Companion" on National Public Radio--a show that "pokes at the heart of American sensibilities and sensitivities." His new book is called "The Book of Guys" (Viking). Keillor has written five other books including the best-seller "Lake Wobegon Days."

Interview
16:41

The "Orphans of Jonestown."

One of the "Orphans of Jonestown,"Stephan Jones. He is one of the surviving sons of Jim Jones, leader of the Peoples Temple in Guyana. Fifteen years ago Jim Jones orchestrated the mass suicide of over 900 people after a California Representative visited the temple, charging Jones with holding people against their will. Now, after the Waco tragedy, Stephan Jones remember the loss. Their were 85 survivors from Jonestown--260 children died.

Interview
22:08

Musician Pete Townsend.

Pete Townsend. In the 1960's he made waves as the lead guitarist in the British rock group The Who. He was world famous for smashing guitars during concerts. Now, years after The Who split up, Townsend is busy with solo projects. "Tommy," the rock opera he wrote for The Who in 1969, is on Broadway. His latest album is called "White City."

Interview
22:42

Afrikaner Poet, Painter and Dissident Breyten Breytenbach.

Afrikaner poet, painter and dissident Breyten Breytenbach. In 1975, Breytenbach was an anti-apartheid activist in exile. When he made a secret visit to his native South Africa, Breytenbach was arrested, charged for treason, and imprisoned for seven years. In his writing, Breytenbach "alternates outrage at South Africa's governmental policies of apartheid with love for his country and its landscape". Breytenbach's most recent work is "Return to Paradise" (Harcourt Brace).

21:32

Movie Producer Art Linson.

Movie producer Art Linson. He broke into Hollywood with "Fast Times at Ridgemont High." His other films include "Casualties of War", "The Untouchables," and "This Boy's Life". The New York Times called him an "energetic tough guy film maker with a tendency for the offbeat." Linson grew tired of everyone (including his mother) always asking what he does. So he's written a book about his job called "A Pound of Flesh: Perilous Tales of How to Produce Movies in Hollywood" (Grove Press).

Interview
23:14

False Conviction in Pennsylvania.

Ed Ryder and Reverend James McCloskey The story of one man's fight for freedom. Three days after Ryder arrived at Holmesburg prison to do time for theft, he was accused of murdering a prisoner in his cell block. For twenty years, Ryder fought to prove his innocence... the city of Philadelphia rallying behind him. Reverend James McCloskey, who helps prisoners he believes are unjustly convicted get pardons, spearheaded the efforts for Ryder's release. Now Ryder is a free man.

16:24

Singer and Actress Barbara Cook.

Singer and actress Barbara Cook. Since the 1950's Cook has been in countless Broadway musicals--"Oklahoma", "The King and I", and Leonard Bernstein's "Candide" to name a few. She's been called a "no nonsense singer...able to thrust with gentility of tone." Cook has a new album--her first in five years--called "Dorothy Fields: Close as Pages in a Book." She won a Tony Award for her part as "Marian the librarian" which she originated in "The Music Man."

Interview

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