Showing results by narrator "Terry Gross" in All Categories

Hear Stephen Colbert, host of Comedy Central's The Colbert Report, on this edition of Fresh Air. His show parodies, and is modeled after, The O'Reilly Factor. In fact, in a New Yorker review, Nancy Franklin writes, "Colbert resembles nobody more than he does Bill O'Reilly, and like O'Reilly, he conveys fake humility and easy rage toward inappropriate targets."

Actor/comedian/screenwriter/playwright and novelist Steve Martin on this edition of Fresh Air. His new novel The Pleasure of My Company follows his best selling novella Shopgirl (which he is making into a new film). He wrote the play Picasso at The Lapin Agile and is the author of a collection of short stories, Cruel Shoes. Martin's screenwriting credits include L.A. Story, and Roxanne.

Pop star Boy George and photographer Marion Ettlinger on this archive edition of Fresh Air. In 1982, Boy George and his band Culture Club first hit the charts with "Do You Really Want to Hurt Me?" and that was the beginning of his rise to gender-bending pop icon.

Comic Bob Newhart on this archive edition of Fresh Air. He's been a part of the American comedy landscape since 1961 when his debut comedy album The Button-Down Mind of Bob Newhart became a surprise hit. Since then he's starred in three TV shows, including the Peabody award winning original The Bob Newhart Show, and appeared in numerous films. There's a new Rhino anthology of his classic routines, Something Like This...The Bob Newhart Anthology.

Historian and civil rights activist Roger Wilkins and writer Vernor Vinge on this edition of Fresh Air. Wilkins has written a new book Jefferson's Pillow. He considers our founding fathers and their conflicting attitudes toward race and how it affects his own sense of patriotism. Wilkins is a professor of history at George Mason University, a Pulitzer-prize winner, and former Assistant Attorney General under President Johnson.

Hear comic and actor Jerry Seinfeld and journalist James Fallows on this edition of Fresh Air. Jerry Seinfeld stars in Bee Movie, an animated feature. Seinfeld began his career as a stand-up comic and went on to star in the NBC hit television show Seinfeld, which ran from 1989 to 1998. He won a Golden Globe and an Emmy for his work on the show.

New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman, religion scholar and former nun Karen Armstrong, the religious leader of the Islamic Center of America in Detroit, Iman Sayed Hassan Qazwini and American Muslim Asma Gull Hasan on this edition of Fresh Air. Thomas Friedman covered the Middle East for many years, work that won him two Pulitzer Prizes. He's also the author of the book, From Beirut to Jerusalem.

Hear the late writer and editor William Maxwell, classical-music critic Lloyd Schwartz, and film critic David Edelstein on this edition of Fresh Air. In honor of the centennial of William Maxwell's birth, and his contribution to American writing, the Library of America is publishing a two-volume collection of his novels and short stories. The first, which collects his early work, is out now.

Musicians Ray Davis, Marianne Faithfull, Pete Townsend, and Colin Blunstone on this special edition of Fresh Air, "The British Invasion." Ray Davies started The Kinks in 1964 with his brother. They are said to be the pioneers of the rowdy garage band genre of rock music. Their many hits included: "You Really Got Me," "Lola," "All Day and All of the Night," and "Tired of Waiting for you."

Author Kevin Conley on this edition of Fresh Air. His book, STUD: Adventures in Breeding, about breeding racehorses is now out in paperback. STUD explores the process of creating champions, from the farms of Kentucky, where studs command a half million a pop, to the horse auctions, where the world's richest people compete for the top yearlings.

Singer and Songwriter Tom Waits on this edition of Fresh Air. Since the 1973 release of his first album, Closing Time, Waits has won over fans with his original songwriting and distinctive, gravely vocal style. One reviewer calls Waits "the Ultimate hobo boho, a Jack-in-the-box cum storyteller." Musicians including Johnny Cash, Bruce Springsteen, and Rod Stewart have recorded covers of his songs.

Writer David Rakoff on this archive edition of Fresh Air. He's a regular contributor to Outside, The New York Times Magazine, and public radio's This American Life. One of his peers, writer Paul Rudnick says of him, "Rakoff is a comic saint, an ideal mix of the crabby and the debonair." Rakoff has a new collection of essays, Fraud. He's also appearing in Amy & David Sedaris' new off-broadway show.

Singer and songwriter Aimee Mann on this edition of Fresh Air. Mann is best known for her work on the soundtrack for the film Magnolia. Her song "Save Me" from the film was nominated for an Oscar. Her new release is Bachelor No. 2. Previously the album was available over her Web site, Aimeemann.com, and at her concert performances. Now it is available in stores.

Writer Neil Baldwin and remembering poet Lucy Grealy on this edition of Fresh Air. Baldwin is executive director of the National Book Foundation and author of the book, Henry Ford and the Jews, in which he details Ford's early obsession with moralistic writings condemning Jews for not accepting Christ. Grealy died in December 2002 at the age of 39. As a child, she spent five years being treated for cancer, which left her face disfigured.

Jazz pianist Keith Jarrett on this archival edition of Fresh Air.

Writer and radio personality Garrison Keillor on this edition of Fresh Air. Garrison Keillor is the host and writer of A Prairie Home Companion, broadcast from Minnesota and heard weekly on public radio stations nationwide. Last year, Keillor published two new books. One is a semi-autobiographical novel, called Lake Wobegon Summer 1956. The other is in collaboration with photographer Richard Olsenius: In Search of Lake Wobegon.

Author Martin Amis on this edition of Fresh Air. Amis is considered one of the leading British writers of the late twentieth century and one of the most controversial.

Hear author Richard Powers and film critic David Edelstein on this edition of Fresh Air. Richard Powers talks about his novel The Echo Maker. In the book, a 27-year-old man is in a car accident and emerges from a coma with a rare neurological disorder. He can recall most everything about his life, but he believes his family members and closest friends are imposters. The Echo Maker won the National Book Award for fiction in 2006 and has just been released in paperback.

Former US Secretary of State Madeline Albright on this edition of Fresh Air. Before being appointed by President Clinton in 1996, she served as the US Permanent Representative to the United Nations. She also served in Clinton's cabinet and on the National Security Council. Albright's new memoir is entitled Madam Secretary.

Syndicated columnist Molly Ivins and poet Dana Gioa on this edition of Fresh Air. Molly Ivins' new book (along with co-author Lou Dubose) is Bushwhacked: Life in George W. Bush's America. She is the former co-editor of the Texas Observer.