Showing results by author "Terry Gross" in All Categories

Computer programmer Linus Torvalds on this edition of Fresh Air. He is the creator of Linux, a computer operating system intended to improve upon Unix. When Torvalds wrote the original code in 1991, he sent it out on the Internet to allow anyone to make changes and improvements.

Hear neurologist Oliver Sacks and rock critic Ken Tucker on this edition of Fresh Air. Oliver Sacks' new book is Musicophilia: Tales of Music and the Brain. It's a series of case histories that examine the relationship of music and the mind. Sacks has written eleven books; the most famous are Awakenings, which was made into a film starring Robert DeNiro and Robin Williams, and The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat.

The late writer, Carol Shields on this edition of Fresh Air. Carol Shields discusses her life, her work, and her diagnosis of stage 4 breast cancer. She won a Pulitzer Prize for her best-selling novel The Stone Diaries. Her books are often about middle class people leading quiet lives.

Veteran actress Angela Lansbury on this archive edition of Fresh Air. She's spent over 50 years in the business on stage, and in film and television. When she was 17 she debuted in Gaslight, and was nominated for an Oscar for her portrayal of Ingrid Bergman's Cockney maid.

Actors Morgan Freeman and Tim Roth on this archive edition of Fresh Air. Morgan Freeman is one of the stage and screen's most acclaimed actors for his ability to immerse himself in different roles. He originated the role of the chauffeur in the Broadway production of Driving Miss Daisy. Later he revived the role in the movie version, for which he was nominated for an Academy Award.

Near Easter Studies professor Bernard Lewis and Robert Jay Lifton on this edition of Fresh Air. Bernard Lewis, Ph.D is a Professor Emeritus of Near Eastern Studies at Princeton University.

Actor John Travolta on this edition of Fresh Air. Travolta plays an ex-Army Ranger turned DEA agent in the new film Basic. He became a star in the 1970s with the films Saturday Night Fever, and Grease.

Writer/producer Andy Breckman, actor Tony Shalhoub, writer/director Nicole Holofcener, and actress Catherine Keener on this edition of Fresh Air. Andy Breckman of the new USA Network series Monk about a detective with an obsessive-compulsive disorder. It stars actor Tony Shalhoub. Breckman was one of the original writers of Late Night with David Letterman. And he's written screenplays for I.Q., Sgt. Bilko, and Rat Race.

Actor, singer, and drag queen Ru Paul and cartoonist Craig McCracken on this edition of Fresh Air. At 6'7", Ru Paul is even taller in heels and has fashioned for himself a supermodel persona. He attributes his mainstream appeal to his non-threatening sexuality and his "non-bitchy" drag queen personality. Ru Paul is appearing out of drag in the new comedy But I'm A Cheerleader.

Author Martin Amis is considered one of the leading British writers of the late twentieth century and one of the most controversial.

Religion scholar Bart D. Ehrman on this edition of Fresh Air. He's the Bowman and Gordon Gray Professor of Religious Studies at UNC-Chapel Hill. His new book, Lost Christianities: The Battle for Scripture and the Faiths We Never Knew, chronicles the period before Christianity as we know it came to be, when conflicting ideas about the religion were fighting for prominence in the second and third centuries.

Irish writer Nuala O'Faolain on this archive edition of Fresh Air. Her latest book is her first novel called My Dream of You.

This audio is like an informal writing clinic, as you listen to these writers talk about their lives, experiences and, of course, their writing. While you are listening, Terry Gross draws out from these great writers the answers to your questions, just as the query begins to form in your own head.

Documentary film maker Ken Burns, critic-at-large John Powers, and rock critic Ken Tucker, on this edition of Fresh Air. Ken Burns' upcoming PBS documentary series The War tells the story of the World War II thru the eyes of the soldiers who fought.

Middle East historian David Fromkin on this edition of Fresh Air. David Fromkin is a professor of International Relations, International Law, and Middle Eastern Politics at Boston University. He's also the author of the best selling book, A Peace to End All Peace: Creating the Modern Middle East 1914-1922.

British actor Colin Firth on this edition of Fresh Air. Firth is co-starring in the new romantic comedy/holiday feel-good film, Love Actually. Firth is probably best known for his role as Mr. Darcy in the BBC/A&E production of Pride and Prejudice. The film turned him into a heartthrob.

Soviet born journalist Masha Gessen and poet Li-Young Lee on this archive edition of Fresh Air. Masha Gessen edited a collection of post-Soviet fiction by women, Half a Revolution: Contemporary Fiction by Russian Women. Gessen says that most of the writers in the collection belong to the "mute generation" that came of age under Brezhnev.

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.

We celebrate the centennial of Bing Crosby's birth with jazz critic and writer Gary Giddins. His biography of Bing Crosby is called, Bing Crosby: A Pocketful of Dreams - the Early Years, 1903-1940. From 1930s to the 50s, Crosby was a pop culture icon, dominating American entertainment with his hit records and movies.

Humorist Fran Lebowitz and writer Anne Lamott on this archive edition of Fresh Air. The Washington Post called Fran Lebowitz "The funniest woman in America." Humorist Lebowitz has come out with her first children's book, Mr. Chas and Lisa Sue Meet The Pandas. In 1978, she wrote the critically acclaimed book Metropolitan Life a collection of witty essays on life. Writer Anne Lamott's new book is Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life.