Showing results by author "Terry Gross" in All Categories

Novelist Jonathan Franzen on this edition of Fresh Air. His critically acclaimed new novel The Corrections is a saga.

Rhythm and blues legend Smokey Robinson and the great songwriting trio Brian Holland, Lamont Dozier, and Edward Holland on this edition of Fresh Air. Robinson has a new album called Timeless Love. Robinson sings hits from the American songbook, including "I Can't Give You Anything But Love (Baby)", "Night and Day", and "More Than You Know." William "Smokey" Robinson recorded dozens of top 40 hits for the Motown label as a solo artist and with The Miracles.

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.

Satirist and host of the public radio program Le Show, Harry Shearer, on how he's been dealing with the aftermath of the terrorist attacks on his show. Will Ferrell is a regular cast member of Saturday Night Live. Last weekend the show began the new season in a somber tone, opening the show with Mayor Guilliani surrounded by a group of New York fire fighters, police and EMT workers. Ferrell has portrayed President George Bush on the show as well as Janet Reno, Alex Trebek and Robert Goulet; his other send-ups include musical middle school teacher Marty Culp, and Spartan...

Songwriter and poet Leonard Cohen on his new volume of poetry, Book of Longing.

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.

The creator of The Simpsons Matt Groening and writer Elisabeth Sifton on this edition of Fresh Air. Earlier this year The Simpsons celebrated its 300th episode, making it the longest running animated series on TV.

In this encore edition of Fresh Air, host Terry Gross speaks with engineer Abolhassan Astaneh-Asl. Astaneh is a member of a team assembled by the American Society of Civil Engineers to investigate the World Trade Center site. His findings will be used in engineering studies to help improve the structural integrity of buildings. Astanneh also has done research on bomb-resistant designs, following the bombing of the Oklahoma Federal Building.

Robert Plant, former lead singer of the band Led Zeppelin, on this edition of Fresh Air. Plant has a new solo CD that includes tracks he recorded before Zeppelin and after. It's called Sixty-Six to Timbuktu.

Los Angeles Lakers coach, Phil Jackson on this edition of Fresh Air. Currently, his L.A. Lakers are battling the Philadelphia 76ers in the NBA finals.

Actors Philip Seymour Hoffman and Nicolas Cage on this archive edition of Fresh Air. Philip Seymour Hoffman's one of the stars of Punch Drunk Love. Hoffman also had parts in the films Magnolia, Boogie Nights, Happiness, and Next Stop Wonderland.

Reverend Wanda Henry-Jenkins and author Michael Chabon on this archive edition of Fresh Air. More than 20 years ago, Reverend Wanda Henry-Jenkins' mother was shot and killed as she headed home after a late shift at a Chicago hospital. Since then, Rev. Henry-Jenkins heads the grief assistance program at the Philadelphia Medical Examiner's Office. She offers survivors of homicide victims the guidance she says she never received after her mother's death.

Actress Jodie Foster on this edition of Fresh Air. Jodie Foster produced and acts in the new film The Dangerous Lives of Altar Boys. Foster has won two Oscars for performances in The Silence of the Lambs and The Accused. She was also nominated for her work in Taxi Driver and Nell. She's also served as producer or director on numerous films. (Broadcast Date: June 17, 2002)

Retired U.S. Navy flight surgeon and NASA astronaut Captain Jerry Linenger on this archive edition of Fresh Air. In his book, Off the Planet: Surviving Five Perilous Months Aboard the Space Station Mir, Linenger chronicles his five months on board the Russian space station "Mir," a ramshackle place he described as "six school buses all hooked together."

Retired U.S. Navy flight surgeon and NASA astronaut Captain Jerry Linenger talks about the awe and peril of space travel on this edition of Fresh Air. He spent five months on the Russian Space station MIR and wrote about the account in his book, Off the Planet: Surviving Five Perilous Months Aboard the Space Station Mir.

Creator of the TV series Law & Order Dick Wolf and Actor Robert Downey, Jr. on this edition of Fresh Air. Dick Wolf's Law & Order is the longest running drama on network television. After more than 300 shows and thirteen years the "ripped from the headlines" half cop-half law show is still going strong. It's also inspired two other series: Law & Order: Special Victims Unit and Law & Order: Criminal Intent.

Veteran journalist Bob Woodward and British actor Jeremy Northam on this edition of Fresh Air. Bob Woodward is assistant managing editor of The Washington Post. He's the author of eight nonfiction best sellers including All the President's Men, and The Final Days, about the presidency and The Brethren about the Supreme Court.

Actress Jodie Foster and radio personality Garrison Keillor on this edition of Fresh Air. Jodie Foster's film Panic Room is now on video and DVD. Recently she produced and acted in the film The Dangerous Lives of Altar Boys. Foster has won two Oscars for performances in The Silence of the Lambs and The Accused. She was also nominated for her work in Taxi Driver and Nell. She's also served as producer or director on numerous films.

Environmental attorney Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. and Charlene "Charli" Coon of The Heritage Foundation on this edition of Fresh Air. Kennedy is senior counsel for the Natural Resources Defense Fund in Washington, DC.

Sherpa Jamling Tensing Norgay and Kenneth Kamler, MD on this edition of Fresh Air. Norgay is the author of the new book Touching My Father's Soul.