Search the Fresh Air Archive

Close Search

Documentary Digs 'The Real Dirt on Farmer John'

Illinois farmer John Peterson grew up on the farm, took it over after his father's death, and lost most of it in the '80s, when the bank foreclosed on his loans. Later, during the 90s, he turned the place into a community-supported agriculture venture producing organic food.

Now he's the subject of the documentary The Real Dirt on Farmer John, by filmmaker Taggart Siegel; it includes family movies and photographs from John's life and the life of the farm, and it's being shown in limited release in theaters across the country. This interview first aired on June 7, 2006.

19:03
Queue

Guest

Host

Related Topics

Other segments from the episode on June 29, 2007

Fresh Air with Terry Gross, June 29, 2007: Interview with Paul Simon; Interview with John Peterson; Review of the films "Ratatouille" and "Sicko."
Queue
22:45

Paul Simon, Essential Then and Now

Singer-songwriter Paul Simon, recipient of the first annual Library of Congress Gershwin Prize for Popular Song, began his career in 1964 as half of the '60s folk-rock duo Simon & Garfunkel, delivering classics like "The Sound of Silence" and "Mrs. Robinson."

He went on to a successful solo career, with hits including Graceland, "50 Ways to Leave Your Lover," and "Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard." He's written film soundtracks and Broadway shows, and has even done some acting.

Interview
Queue
07:18

Eeew, Sick: Health Care, a Rat Chef and 'Die Hard'

Two momentous films open nationwide on the same day. Sicko radically challenges our perspective on health care. Ratatouille radically challenges our perspective on rats in kitchens. Cynics will say there's a better chance of a rodent becoming a chef than of universal health care for Americans. That underestimates the big fighting rat at the center of Sicko.

Review

Transcript

Transcripts Not Currently 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
31:13

A Legend In His Own Field: Farmer John

As told in a new documentary, The Real Dirt on Farmer John, the story of John Peterson is an allegory for the woes of family farmers — and the triumphant return to traditional artisan farming that is giving new life to small-scale agriculture.

Interview

Did you know you can create a shareable playlist?

Learn How
Advertisement

Recently on Fresh Air Available to Play on NPR

52:30

Lone star ticks are covering much of the U.S. Here's what you need to know

(1.) Journalist BURKARD BILGER is a staff writer for The New Yorker. In a new article titled The Tick That Hunts Down its Hosts, Including Us, he reports on what we know about how the tick operates, how it has multiplied and vastly extended its territory and how it affects the people it feeds on, and the latest ideas about how to limit the infestation and treat people with alpha gal syndrome which the tick causes. BILGER is also the author of the 2023 book Fatherland, about his German grandfather, who joined the Nazi Party, but worked with the French resistance.

Related segments from the Fresh Air Archive:

52:30

The Perfect Moment' makes the case that culture wars have 'completely eaten America'

ISAAC BUTLER is the author of The Perfect Moment: God, Sex, Art, and the Birth of America's Culture Wars. It focuses on the religious right attacks on certain books, art and film of the 70’s, 80’s and 90’s. His previous books The World Only Spins Forward - about the play Angels in America. And The Method, about the history of the acting technique known as the method. We recorded the interview last Thursday. (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