Search the Fresh Air Archive

Close Search

From the Archives: Disaster Relief Expert Fred Cuny.

Fred Cuny is an American relief worker who is believed to have been killed this year in Chechnya. He was there assessing the Chechen needs in an effort to one day help rebuild the ruined cities. Russian troops have battled Chechen fighters since late last year to quell the Chechen move towards independence. Cuny was the founder and president of the Intertect Relief and Reconstruction Corporation, which is based in Dallas. His work has taken him to Somalia, Northern Iraq, the Sudan, Nicaragua, Mexico, Biafra and other places where there is war, famine or natural disaster. In 1993 he worked on a water infrastructure project in Sarajevo funded by the Soros Humanitarian Foundation in conjunction with the UN High Commission for Refugees. We playback an interview with Cuny from 1993 when he was in Sarajevo. (REBROADCAST from 11/3/93)

15:23
Queue

Guest

Host

Related Topics

Other segments from the episode on August 18, 1995

Fresh Air with Terry Gross, August 18, 1995: Interview with Russell Banks; Interview with Fred Cuny; Review of the film "The Usual Suspects."
Queue
22:41

From the Archives: Novelist Russell Banks.

Novelist Russell Banks. His new novel is Rule of the Bone (Harper Collins). It's been compared to Mark Twain's The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn because of it's young first-person narrator, and use of comedy to convey grim realities. Banks's narrator is 14 year-old Chappie from upstate New York who wears a nose ring and Mohawk. He steals from his parents to pay for dope, is kicked out of the house, becomes homeless, and sets off on a low-life adventure. Banks is the author of twelve novels including The Sweet Hereafter, Affliction, and Continental Drift.

Interview

Transcript

Transcript currently not available.

Transcripts are created on a rush deadline, and accuracy and availability may vary. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Please be aware that the authoritative record of Fresh Air interviews and reviews are the audio recordings of each segment.

You May Also like

Queue
21:02

Doctor Sheri Fink

Dr. Sheri Fink's new book is War Hospital: A True Story of Surgery and Survival. It's about a group of doctors who treated patients in Srebrenica, Bosnia, under the most extreme conditions. They treated thousands of patients, often without electricity, water or proper medicine. Fink, a physician and writer based in New York, works with the humanitarian organization International Medical Corps. She just returned from Iraq and has also worked in the Balkans, southern Africa and Central Asia.

Interview

Did you know you can create a shareable playlist?

Learn How
Advertisement

Recently on Fresh Air Available to Play on NPR

36:27

'The Great Refusal' author Casey Gerald says ruining his reputation saved his life

CASEY GERALD, author of the new book The Great Refusal: A New Vision of Resistance. It picks up where his previous book, There Will Be No Miracles Here, left off, which is a memoir that chronicled his life growing up in Oak Cliff, Dallas; attending Yale and Harvard; working at Lehman Brothers; creating a successful nonprofit; and, at the height of his success, walking away. (THIS INTERVIEW CONTINUES INTO THE SECOND HALF OF THE SHOW).

Related segments from the Fresh Air Archive:

16:03

Netflix's 'SCTV' is a treasure trove of underdog humor

Tv critic DAVID BIANCULLI reviews SCTV, which is now available to stream on Netflix . “SCTV,” also known as “Second City TV,” was a low-budget sketch comedy show that originated in Canada in the mid-1970s and continued in syndication and on network and cable TV until 1984. Its cast members over the years have included John Candy, Martin Short, Catherine O’Hara, and Andrea Martin.

WEDNESDAY, 9 SEPT 2026

Related segments from the Fresh Air Archive:

52:30

Rosanne Cash shares the list of music her dad, Johnny, insisted she know [REBROADCAST]

Singer and songwriter, ROSANNE CASH. When she was 18, her father Johnny Cash gave her a list of 100 essential country songs. Years later she released an album titled The List featuring 12 of those songs. (REBROADCAST FROM 2009.10.05) (THIS INTERVIEW CONTINUES INTO THE SECOND HALF OF THE SHOW)

Related segments from the Fresh Air Archive:

See All Recent Segments

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