Showing results by author "Terry Gross" in All Categories

In this special compilation, you'll hear exhilarating excerpts from classic interviews with 14 stars of comedy, including Tracey Ullman on her zany characters, Chris Rock on growing up small and black in a white neighborhood, Carol Leifer on the inspiration for her brand of cabaret comedy, and Henny Youngman on his famous line, "Take my wife, please."

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.

Hear rock and roll singer/songwriter Tom Petty and rock critic Ken Tucker, on this edition of Fresh Air. This weekend Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers will perform during halftime at the Superbowl. And this spring the band goes back on tour. Petty also has a recurring role in Fox TV's animated show King of the Hill.

Palestinian laywer and writer Raja Shehadeh and Isreali correspondent Yossi Klein Halevi on this edition of Fresh Air. Raja Shehadeh's latest book is.

Singer, songwriter, musician, and arranger Barry Manilow is on this edition of Fresh Air.

Singer/songwriters Barry Manilow and Tom Waits on this edition of Fresh Air. Barry Manilow made the pop charts in the 1970s and early 80s with love ballads such as "Mandy," "Looks Like We Made It," "I Write the Songs" and "Copacabana (At the Copa)." Before becoming a singer he was Bette Midler's accompanist and arranger.

Singapore's first Prime Minister and its current Senior Minister Lee Kuan Yew and journalist Stan Sesser on this edition of Fresh Air. A very controversial figure, Lee Kuan Yew formed the People's Action Party and won the first Singapore general election in 1959. Since it was granted independence in 1965, Singapore has gone from British colony to Asian economic powerhouse.

Syndicated cartoonist Aaron McGruder, Google founders Sergey Brin and Larry Page and remembering Dr. Shirley Glass on this edition of Fresh Air. Aaron McGruder's strip The Boondocks follows the escapades of Huey and Riley two brothers from the inner city sent to live with their grandfather in a Chicago surburb, where most of their neighbors are white.

The host and creator of This American Life Ira Glass on this edition of Fresh Air. His show can be heard on 350 public radio stations nationwide. Glass will talk about how he came to develop the style that defines the show and you'll hear some classic This American Life moments. There's a new double CD of the best shows called Lies, Sissies, & Fiascoes.

Hear British scientist Richard Dawkins and geneticist Francis Collins on this edition of Fresh Air. Richard Dawkins is a professor of the public understanding of science at Oxford University. The New York Times has hailed him as a writer who "understands the issues so clearly that he forces his reader to understand them too". In his latest book, he writes about what he sees as the irrationality of a belief in God and sets down his arguments for atheism.

Though Fresh Air has been categorized as a "talk show", it hardly fits the mold. Its 1994 Peabody Award citation credits Fresh Air with "probing questions, revelatory interviews, and unusual insights." And a variety of top publications count Gross among the country's leading interviewers. The show gives interviews as much time as needed, and complements them with comments from well-known critics and commentators.

Cage, Keitel, Coppola, and 15 other stars of the stage and screen speak candidly with Fresh Air's Terry Gross in this compilation of classic interviews. Also available: Fresh Air: Laughs, featuring Pryor, Carey, Mason, and more.

Illustrator Marjane Satrapi and guitar legend Jimmy Page on this edition of Fresh Air. Marjane Satrapi is the author of the memoir, Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood. The book is in the form of an illustrated comic. Satrapi was born in 1969 in Iran, and grew up in Tehran during the Islamic Revolution.

Hear actor, comic, and Howard Stern Show cast member Artie Lange, writer Grace Paley, and film critic David Edelstein, on this edition of Fresh Air. Artie Lange is co-producer, co-writer, and star of the film Artie Lange's Beer League which makes its network television premiere on Comedy Central. He will also host Friday Night Stand-up on Comedy Central.

Hear former Vice President Al Gore, book critic Maureen Corrigan, lead singer and songwriter of Radiohead Thom Yorke, and film critic David Edelstein, on this edition of Fresh Air. Al Gore has just been given the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize, along with the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, for fighting global warming. His Academy Award-winning documentary, An Inconvenient Truth, aims to get the message out to the masses.

Soul week continues on Fresh Air. Two former members of the vocal group The Impressions - Jerry Butler and Curtis Mayfield on this edition of Fresh Air. Singer Jerry Butler, aka The Iceman. His 1969 hit, "Only the Strong Survive," is a rhythm and blues classic, and also the title of his autobiography: Only the Strong Survive: Memoirs of a Soul Survivor. Butler founded The Impressions.

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.

Hear drummer Levon Helm (formerly with The Band), Canadian author Jane Rule, and TV critic David Bianculli, on this edition of Fresh Air. When The Band supported Bob Dylan on stage in 1965, Time magazine described the combination as "in some ways, the most decisive moment in rock history." They went on to record their own highly influential albums Music From Big Pink and The Band in 1968 and 1969.

Singer Tom Jones on this edition of Fresh Air. The pop icon first gained fame with the 1960s hits "It's Not Unusual", "Delilah", and "What's New Pussycat". In the last 40 years of his career, he has released over 30 hit singles and several gold and multi-platinum records.

Because Audible was not granted digital audio rights to today's issue of Fresh Air, we have selected a great interview with record producer and songwriter Neil Innes and actress Joan Cusack for this edition of Fresh Air. Neil Innes is a founding member of the comedy-rock group "The Bonzo Dog Band". He's also a member of "The Rutles", the band that he and Eric Idle of Monty Python created as a spoof of the Beatles.