Showing results by author "Terry Gross" in All Categories

Hear journalist Charlie Savage and jazz critic Kevin Whitehead on this edition of Fresh Air. The Boston Globe's Charlie Savage received the 2007 Pulitzer Prize award for National Reporting for his series of articles in the Globe about revelations that President Bush often used "signing statements" to assert his controversial right to bypass provisions of new laws. Savage has written a new book that describes how the Bush-Cheney administration has expanded executive power.

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.

Hear Haitian-born writer Edwidge Danticat, jazz critic Kevin Whitehead, and critic-at-large John Powers on this edition of Fresh Air. Edwidge Danticat was raised in Haiti by her uncle until the age of 12, when she came to New York to live with her parents who had immigrated to the US She's the author of a number of novels, including Breath, Eyes, Memory, The Farming of Bones, and The Dew Breaker, as well as the short-story collection Krik? Krak!.

Hear U.S. Army Lieutenant Colonel John Nagl, former Iraqi government official Ali Allawi, retired British Army General Sir Michael Rose, professor Kanan Makiya, and former U.S. Ambassador to Croatia Peter Galbraith on this edition of Fresh Air.

Hear author and TV executive Bill Flanagan, TV critic David Bianculli, and British singer-songwriter Teddy Thompson on this edition of Fresh Air. Bill Flanagan is executive vice president of MTV Networks. His new novel New Bedlam skewers the cable TV business. Flanagan is also the author of A&R (another funny book) about the music industry.

Actor Alfred Molina on this edition of Fresh Air. Molina is starring in the new film, Chocolat, about a mysterious and seductive chocolate shop that electrifies a French village. Molina is a Tony-nominated actor who has played in over thirty films, thirty television movies, and many theater productions. His Tony nomination was for his role in the Broadway hit Art. His film credits include Boogie Nights, Anna Karenina, and Prick Up Your Ears.

On this edition of Fresh Air, the focus is the work of underground comic book writer Harvey Pekar and the new film based on his life and work, American Splendor. Harvey has been described as "working-class Everyman," and "first-class curmudgeon."

Hear Pulitzer prize-winning historian Garry Wills and epidemiologist Devra Davis on this edition of Fresh Air. Garry Wills' new book is about the separation of church and state written into the Constitution by our founding fathers, and the challenges to it through the rise of evangelical fervor over the years. His new book is Head and Heart: American Christianities. Wills says that, contrary to the popular notion, the separation of church and state is "the great protector of religion, not its enemy."

Authors Peter Huchthausen and Gary Shteyngart on this edition of Fresh Air. Peter Huchthausen is the author of K19: The Widowmaker: The Secret Story of the Soviet Nuclear Submarine. The true story of a barely averted catastrophe aboard the nuclear powered submarine has been adapted into a film of the same name starring Harrison Ford. Huchthausen served as technical director on the film. On July 4, 1961, the sub was taking part in a military exercise in the North Atlantic.

Financial investigative reporter Alex Berenson and writer, actor, director, and comedian Harry Shearer on this edition of Fresh Air. Alex Berenson is a financial investigative reporter for The New York Times.

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.

Journalist Robert Kaplan and Peter W. Galbraith, former U.S. amassador to Croatia, on this edition of Fresh Air. Robert Kaplan is a correspondent for The Atlantic Monthly. His story in the April edition of magazine is "A Tale of Two Colonies." Kaplan traveled to Yemen and Eritrea to investigate how the war on terrorism is forcing the U.S. to be involved with each. Yemen is believed to have the largest Al-Qaeda presence outside of the Afghanistan-Pakistan region.

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.

Commercial fisherperson Linda Greenlaw and director John Woo in this rebroadcast edition of Fresh Air. Greenlaw has worked on commercial fishing boats for nearly 20 years. She has written about her experience leading a sword fishing boat to Newfoundland in the book The Hungry Ocean, which has just been released in paperback. She is also featured in the best selling book, The Perfect Storm, which is being made into a movie and released this summer.

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.

Mosquito expert Andrew Spielman and actor Jonathan Pryce on this edition of Fresh Air. Spielman is one of the world's leading experts on mosquitoes. He's just co-written a book, Mosquito: A Natural History of Our Most Persistent and Deadly Foe. He answers why mosquito bites itch and how the mosquito transmits deadly diseases. Spielman is a professor at Harvard University. Stage and screen actor Jonathan Pryce plays Gustav Mahler in the new film Bride of the Wind.

Icelandic film director Baltasar Kormakur and writer/editor Roger Angell on this edition of Fresh Air. Kormakur's been compared with Spanish film director Almodovar for his debut film, the offbeat comedy 101 Reykjavik. It's set (of course) in Iceland, and is the story of a 28-year-old slacker, his mother, and the flamenco teacher they both fall in love with. The film won the Discovery Award for Best First Film at the 2000 Toronto Film Festival.

Hear chess master and politician Garry Kasparov and actor Casey Affleck, on this edition of Fresh Air. Garry Kasparov is running for president of Russia in 2008 as the leader of an opposition coalition known as The Other Russia. He's also published a new book, called How Life Imitates Chess: Making the Right Moves, From the Board to the Boardroom. In 2005, Kasparov formed the United Civil Front party, with the mission of working to preserve electoral democracy in Russia.

Journalists Lou Michel and Dan Herbeck and veteran broadcaster and executive producer of 60 Minutes, Don Hewitt, on this edition of Fresh Air. Michel and Herbeck are staff writers for The Buffalo News. The two have collaborated on the new book American Terrorist: Timothy McVeigh & the Oklahoma City Bombing. Michel lived 20 minutes away from McVeigh's father, and over time, he developed a relationship with the elder McVeigh, which in turn helped him gain access to his son.

Producers/writers/directors Justine Shapiro and B.Z. Goldberg and writer Noelle Howey on this edition of Fresh Air. Justine Shapiro and B.Z. Goldberg's new documentary film Promises takes a look at the Palestinian-Israeli conflict thru the eyes of seven children living in or near Jerusalem. It was filmed between 1997 and the summer of 2000. Shapiro grew up in Berkeley, California and hosts and co-writes the award-winning travel series, Lonely Planet.