Search the Fresh Air Archive

Close Search

The Dreams and Reality of the American West

Pacific Northwest Bureau Chief for the New York Times Timothy Egan. His two-part series on urban sprawl in the western United States recently appeared in the Times. Egan writes that cities like Las Vegas, Phoenix, Denver, and Salt Lake are growing rapidly, with growth going mostly unchecked. In Phoenix, he writes that land is being consumed at the rate of "an acre an hour." But in Portland, Oregon city officials over 20 years ago set up guidelines to control rampant growth. Because the city has the "strictest laws against urban sprawl in the nation" urban Portland is surrounded by forest, farms and open space.

21:55
Queue

Guest

Host

Related Topics

Other segments from the episode on January 8, 1997

Fresh Air with Terry Gross, January 8, 1997: Interview with Timothy Egan; Interview with Jonathan Raban; Review of Ellery Eskelin's album "The Sun Died."
Queue
19:25

Exhuming the Remains of Homestead Life

British writer Jonathan Raban. His new book "Bad Land: An American Romance" is based on memoirs, diaries, photographs and letters of immigrants who in the early 1900s traveled to Montana to homestead. Raban himself is something of an immigrant; he settled in Seattle in 1990.

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
32:23

Teddy Roosevelt And The Fire That Saved The Forests

Author Timothy Egan argues in The Big Burn that the forest fire of 1910 — the largest in American history — actually saved the forests, even as its flames charred the trees. It helped rally public support, Egan explains, behind Theodore Roosevelt's push to protect national lands.

Interview
Queue
33:02

Stories from the Great American Dust Bowl

Timothy Egan is the author of the book The Worst Hard Time: The Untold Story of Those Who Survived the Great American Dust Bowl. Now out in paperback, the book was awarded the National Book Award for nonfiction. Egan is a national enterprise reporter for the New York Times, and was part of the team that won a Pulitzer Prize in 2001 for a series on race in America.

Interview

Did you know you can create a shareable playlist?

Learn How
Advertisement

Recently on Fresh Air Available to Play on NPR

34:41

Paperwork, lines, hours on hold: There's a 'Time Tax' on Americans who need help most

Journalist ANNIE LOWREY is a staff writer at The Atlantic, where she covers economic policy. Her new book is The Time Tax: How the Government Wastes Our Time, and How to Fix It. She argues that the red tape in American life isn't an accident. It's a policy choice, one that determines who gets food assistance, health care, even the ability to vote. Her previous book is Give People Money about universal basic income. (INTERVIEW BY TONYA MOSLEY) (THIS INTERVIEW CONTINUES INTO THE SECOND HALF OF THE SHOW).

Related segments from the Fresh Air Archive:

23:07

'Pluribus' star Rhea Seehorn says no thanks to a world dictated by groupthink

(2.) Actor RHEA SEEHORN<RAY Seehorn>. The former co-star of “Better Call Saul” is nominated for an Emmy for her starring role in “Pluribus,” the Apple TV series created by Vince Gilligan. Terry Gross spoke with RHEA SEEHORN last year about the “Pluribus”. “Pluribus” is nominated for eighteen Emmys, including one for SEEHORN as Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series. The Emmys are scheduled for September 14th. (THIS INTERVIEW ORIGINALLY AIRED 12.09.2025)

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