Phyllis Diller became a comedian at the age 37; she and her husband, who had five children together, believed it would be the best way for her to support the family financially. She is known for her frazzled onstage persona, jokes about her imagined husband Fang, and her many plastic surgeries.
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.
Exiled South African poet returns to Fresh Air to discuss the state of emergency declared by the South African government against anti-apartheid activists.
Philadelphia Inquirer Africa correspondent Robert Rosenthal was arrested and tortured while reporting in Uganda. He describes the experience to Fresh Air host Terry Gross.
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.
Psychiatrist Robert Jay Lifton researches the psychological effects of wartime atrocities on both survivors and those who committed crimes against humanity.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Ellie Greenwich was one of the few working women songwriters in the 1960s. She wrote several hits for girl groups of that era. She talks about the high points of of her career, before the rise of rock bands that wrote their own songs.
Evangelical minister Jerry Falwell has cultivated a network of political, educational, and media ventures to promote his conservative beliefs in culture and politics. He tells Fresh Air's Terry Gross about how he came to be a Christian, and how he hopes to guide others to the faith.
Music critic Peter Guralnick explore the history of soul music by looking at both the impact of individual artists and the role record companies like Motown, Atlantic and Stax played in producing their albums.
Spencer joins Fresh Air to talk about how became a writer and what life is like now that he's established himself. His newest book, Waking the Dead, grapples with ideas of loss -- a theme prominent in his breakout novel, Endless Love.
Sir Alec Guiness may be best known for his roles in films like Star Wars and Bridge on the River Kwai, but he honed his craft in the theater, learning something new with every production.
Guitarist and singer Marty Grosz and saxophonist and clarinetist Dick Meldonian regale a live audience with their versions of 1920s jazz and pop tunes at the Fresh Air studio. Grosz is a one the few musicians who still play rhythm guitar, and is the son of German satiric artist George Grosz. Meldonian has played with many famous jazz musicians and singers, and has also released several of his own records. The concert was funded by the Philadelphia Foundation.
Painter and sculptor Red Grooms returns to Fresh Air to discuss how he made it as an artist in New York City, and how urban landscapes inform his work.
White House counsel John Ehrlichman was among many in the Nixon administration who served time for his involvement in the Watergate scandal. He has since become a writer, publishing a memoir and several novels.
