Showing results by author "Terry Gross" in All Categories

Actors Edward Norton and Sidney Poitier on this edition of Fresh Air as they both discuss their careers. Norton is co-starring in the film The Score along with Robert DeNiro and Marlon Brando.

Chris Carter, creator of the popular Fox TV series, The X-Files, and novelist Alan Furst on this archive edition of Fresh Air. The X-Files - a series about a team of FBI agents investigating paranormal activity like alien abductions, telepathy, and the occult - has a cult following. This was its eighth and final season. Carter also created the series, The Lone Gunman, a spinoff of The X-Files featuring three computer-savvy conspiracy geeks.

Musician Al Kooper on this edition of Fresh Air. He turns 60 years old on February 5th. A benefit concert celebrating the event is set for the Berklee Performance Center in Boston on Jan 31. Kooper helped popularize the Hammond B3 organ as part of rock music, performing on recordings of Bob Dylan, Jimi Hendrix, The Rolling Stones, and The Who. He was a member of the legendary Blues Project, and later founded the group Blood Sweat and Tears.

Serbian student activist Srdja Popovic and writer and retired New York City firefighter Dennis Smith on this edition of Fresh Air. Srdja Popovic is one of the founders of the student nonviolent group which helped bring down Serbian dictator Slobodan Milosevic. The group known as Otpor (the Serbian word for "resistance") had a clenched fist as their symbol, but they used humor and theatre to ridicule Milosevic and other government officials.

Musician, producer, arranger, composer Quincy Jones on this 70th birthday rebroadcast edition of Fresh Air. In his fifty year career he's worked with just about anyone who is anybody in the music business. As a teenager he played backup for Billie Holiday, along with his 16 year old friend, Ray Charles. At 18 he began playing the trumpet in Lionel Hampton's band beside Clifford Brown. He went on to work with Count Basie, Frank Sinatra, Dinah Washington, Sarah Vaughn, Lesley Gore and many others.

Andrew Newberg, M.D. and Michael Baime, M.D. discuss God and the brain on this edition of Fresh Air. Newberg conducted brain scans while people prayed and meditated to see if he could locate the brain function that caused the feeling of oneness and the presence of God.

Writer and director Terry Gilliam and British actor Simon Russell Beale on this edition of Fresh Air. Terry Gilliam's new film is Lost in La Mancha. It's a documentary about Gilliam's failed attempt to adapt the story of Don Quixote to the screen. The film Gilliam was supposed to make was titled The Man Who Killed Don Quixote, starring Johnny Depp, Vanessa Paradis and Jean Rochefort.

Actress Amy Sedaris and writer Clifford Wright on this edition of Fresh Air. Sedaris is the star of the comedy series Strangers with Candy that airs on Comedy Central. She plays Jerri Blank, a 47-year-old ex-con, ex-prostitute, lesbian high school freshman. She's the sister of David Sedaris, a humor writer who has been on Fresh Air several times.

Because Audible was not granted rights for today's program, we present this show from our Fresh Air archive, featuring author Zadie Smith, novelist Tom Perrotta, and film critic David Edelstein. Smith's latest novel, On Beauty, is out in paperback. Then, Tom Perrotta, whose book Little Children, a satirical take on parenthood and suburbia, has been adapted into a film starring Kate Winslet. Finally, film critic David Edelstein reviews Stephen Frears' film The Queen.

Hear actor Kevin Costner, director and writer Brad Bird, comedian and actor Patton Oswalt, and TV critic David Bianculli on this edition of Fresh Air. Kevin Costner's latest film, Mr. Brooks, is now out on DVD. He plays a loving family man who is also a serial killer. Costner is both an actor and director. He received two Academy Awards for directing the film Dances With Wolves. Costner's first movie role was in The Big Chill.

Celebrating Chicago's Steppenwolf Theatre on this edition of Fresh Air. The Steppenwolf Theater celebrates its 25th anniversary this year. The actor-driven theatre is known for its ensemble acting and cutting-edge acting style. It's members include John Mahoney (Martin Crane on Frazier), John Malkovich, Kevin Anderson, and four actors whom you'll hear from.

Hear filmmaker Jeffrey Blitz and law professor Elyn Saks on this edition of Fresh Air. Jeffrey Blitz wrote and directed the new film Rocket Science. It's a partly autobiographical coming-of-age tale about a teenage boy who joins the high-school debate team. Blitz won the Dramatic Directing Award at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival.

Journalist Steven Weisman and writer Sarah Vowell on this edition of Fresh Air. Steven Weisman has covered politics, economics and international affairs for The New York Times for over 30 years. He now writes editorials for the paper. In his new book, The Great Tax Wars: Lincoln to Wilson - The Fierce Battles over Money and Power That Transformed the Nation he looks at the battles over "wealth, power and fairness" that led to the establishment of the income tax.

Actress Sarah Jessica Parker on this archive edition of Fresh Air. She's been acting for most of her life, including playing Annie on Broadway, the young bimbo in L.A. Story, and a fed-up fiancée in Honeymoon in Vegas. This is her fourth season starring in the HBO hit series Sex and the City, as Carrie, a columnist who writes about the sexual mores of New Yorkers. Terry Gross recorded this interview with Parker live before an audience at Martha's Vineyard in July.

Hear actor Christopher Plummer and journalist Thomas Ricks on this edition of Fresh Air. Thomas Ricks is the Washington Post's military correspondent. He'll talk about his latest trip to Iraq. Ricks has worked for the Washington Post since 2000, and prior to that, he wrote for the Wall Street Journal.

Hear singer Frankie Valli and comedian and actor Patton Oswalt on this edition of Fresh Air. There's a new four-CD box set of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons called Jersey Boys. Valli helped bridge 50s doo-wop and 60s rock-and-roll with two dozen top 40 hits, including "Big Girls Don't Cry", "Sherry", and "Walk Like a Man". Jersey Boys is also the name of a Tony award winning Broadway musical based on the lives of the Four Seasons.

Hear presidential historian Michael Beschloss and jazz critic Kevin Whitehead on this edition of Fresh Air. Michael Beschloss' new book is Presidential Courage: Brave Leaders and How They Changed America 1789-1989. He takes a look at the crucial moments when a President risked his political career for the good of the country, often by taking an unpopular or controversial stand.

Hear Robert Reich, the former secretary of labor under President Clinton, and professor Charles Reynolds, on this edition of Fresh Air. Robert Reich's new book is Supercapitalism: The Transformation of Business, Democracy, and Everyday Life. In the book, he considers these questions: "Why has capitalism become so triumphant and democracy so enfeebled? Are these two trends connected? What, if anything, can be done to strengthen democracy?"

British film director Michael Winterbottom and science writer David Quammen on this edition of Fresh Air. Michael Winterbottom's films include Welcome to Sarajevo, 24 Hour Party People, and Wonderland.

Abstract painter Frank Stella and senior annalist at the National Security Archive Peter Kornbluh on this edition of Fresh Air. Sixty-four-year-old Frank Stella was first known in the late 1950s for his Black Paintings series - striped monochrome works that helped touch off the minimalism movement. Over the years his work evolved from the canvas to colorful geometrical configurations of sculpture and architectural dimension.