Search the Fresh Air Archive

Close Search

Fighting fires on the northern rim of the Grand Canyon.

Writer and ecological historian STEPHEN PYNE. His latest book, Fire on the Rim, A Firefighter's Season at the Grand Canyon, explores the intricacies of fire management, man's relation to the rural western environment, and the summer ritual that changes the canyon and the people who try to protect it. Pyne worked as a firefighter for 15 season's on the northern rim of the Grand Canyon. Pyne describes a life where the firefighter lives in isolation for four months, defined by the fires and the capriciousness of lightning. Pyne, who received a MacArthur Foundation Fellowship for his work in the field of ecological history, has also written about Antartica.

09:32
Queue

Guest

Host

Related Topics

Other segments from the episode on May 1, 1989

Fresh Air with Terry Gross, May 1, 1989: Interview with Alice Walker; Review of the soundtrack to the film "Ascenseur pour l'échafaud;" Interview with Stephen Pyne; Review of the television show …
Queue
27:33

Pulitzer Prize-winning author Alice Walker

Writer ALICE WALKER. She's best known for the novel The Color Purple, a seminal account of the life of poor, rural blacks in the south as experienced by the women. The novel revolves around letters that Celie, the principal character, addesses to God after her father has impregnated her for the second time. The Color Purple won the American Book Award and the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, and was later adapted for the screen by Steven Speilberg.

Interview
Queue
03:23

The Fox show "Cops" follows real police at work.

Television critic DAVID BIANCULLI reviews "Cops," a new Fox Network show. Filmed on location in Broward County, Florida, the episodes follow real cops as they orchestrate drug stings, investigate car crashes and try to resolve domestic disputes.

Review

Transcript

Transcripts 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
06:55

Traveling To The Corners Of Our 'Frozen Planet'

The team behind the documentary Planet Earth have teamed up again to explore the coldest, most isolated places on Earth. TV critic David Bianculli says watching Frozen Plant "captures images of so much majesty, artistry, and clarity, it's almost ridiculous."

Review
Queue
05:15

'Happy Feet'

Film critic David Edelstein reviews the new animated feature Happy Feet. As the film's domestic earnings approach $100 million, the musical has started to pop up on lists of prospective Best Picture nominees.

Review

Did you know you can create a shareable playlist?

Learn How
Advertisement

Recently on Fresh Air Available to Play on NPR

50:27

What evolution reveals about eating, dieting and fat

DANIEL LIEBERMAN, author of the new book Fed Up: What Evolution Reveals about Food, Diet, Health and Eating Well. He’s a professor of biological Sciences at Harvard. And he's the founding chair of Harvard's Department of Human Evolutionary Biology. As part of his research, he tried a series of diets to see how his body reacted, including the Atkins diet and lesser known diets like the Blue Zone diet. (THIS INTERVIEW CONTINUES INTO THE SECOND HALF OF THE SHOW).

Related segments from the Fresh Air Archive:

32:56

Remembering Irish singer–songwriter Glen Hansard

Best-known for his band The Frames and his part in the 2007 film Once, Hansard got his start as a street busker in Dublin. He died July 29 in a motorcycle crash. Originally broadcast in 2008.

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