Showing results by author "Terry Gross" in All Categories

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 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.

Hear business columnist Gretchen Morgenson and classical-music critic Lloyd Schwartz on this edition of Fresh Air. Gretchen Morgenson has covered the financial markets for The New York Times since 1988. She won the Pulitzer Prize in 2002 for her "trenchant and incisive" coverage of Wall Street.

Hear investigative reporter for The New York Times Philip Shenon and the first director of the White House Office of Faith Based and Community Initiatives, John DiIulio, Jr. In his new book, Philip Shenon looks into the missed evidence and the ignored clues as well as the political considerations that interfered with the 9/11 Commission's work. His book is The Commission: The Uncensored History of the 9/11 Investigation.

Hear religion scholar Bart D. Ehrman on this edition of Fresh Air. Ehrman chairs the Department of Religious Studies at UNC-Chapel Hill. His new book is God's Problem: How the Bible Fails to Answer Our Most Important Question - Why We Suffer. He is the author of the best seller Misquoting Jesus: The Story Behind Who Changed the Bible and Why.

Five years ago Oregon voters passed into law the Death with Dignity Act, legalizing physician-assisted suicide. Last Fall Attorney General John Ashcroft challenged the law.

Hear authors David and Nic Sheff, and critic at large John Powers, on this edition of Fresh Air. David Sheff and his son, Nic, have both written memoirs. David's new book is called Beautiful Boy: A Father's Journey Through His Son's Addiction. Nic's book is called Tweak. Nic became addicted to meth and was in and out of rehab. David and Nic join us to talk about doing drugs, getting over them, and the effect on family.

Hear musicians Mick Jones and Tony James, and music critic Milo Miles, on this edition of Fresh Air. Mick Jones is the former lead guitarist of The Clash, and Tony James is formerly of Generation X. In 2002 they came together to form the band Carbon/Silicon.

Hear journalist Fred Kaplan, actor Bryan Cranston, and classical-music critic Lloyd Schwartz on this edition of Fresh Air. Fred Kaplan is the "war stories" columnist for Slate, where he covers military issues. In his new book, he looks at the loss of prestige and power of the U.S. abroad and what went wrong and why. It is entitled Daydream Believers: How a Few Grand Ideas Wrecked American Power.

Hear political-science professor David Rohde, comic-book artist Adrian Tomine, and TV critic David Bianculli on this edition of Fresh Air. David Rohde teaches at Duke University. This year's primary race has a renewed focus on the delegate system. Delegates, superdelegates, penalized states with zero or half their delegates....What does it all mean?

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.

Hear Combatants for Peace co-founders Bassam Aramin and Zohar Shapira, and conductor/composer Lorin Maazel, on this edition of Fresh Air. Bassim Aramin and Zohar Shapira are the cofounders of the Combatants for Peace, a group of Israeli and Palestinian individuals who were once involved in the cycle of violence in their area. Aramin was a member of the Fattah movement, and at the age of 17 began a seven-year sentence in an Israeli prison.

Hear author Steven Waldman and rock critic Ken Tucker on this edition of Fresh Air. Waldman's new book is called Founding Faith: Providence, Politics and the Birth of Religious Freedom in America. He explores the roots of free worship in the United States by looking at the religious views of five founders and the development of a religious philosophy for the nation. Waldman is editor in chief of the website Beliefnet.com.

Hear professor Linda J. Bilmes, economist Joseph Stiglitz, and rock critic Ken Tucker on this edition of Fresh Air. Linda J. Bilmes is professor of public finance at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government. She has collaborated on a new book with Joseph E. Stiglitz, a Nobel Prize winning economist who teaches at Columbia University: The Three Trillion Dollar War: The True Cost of the Iraq Conflict.

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.

Hear novelist and screenwriter Richard Price and book critic Maureen Corrigan on this edition of Fresh Air. Richard Price's new novel is Lush Life, about the repercussions of a shooting on the Lower East side. Price has also written for HBO's The Wire, which ends a five-year run on Sunday.

A compilation of Fresh Air celebrity interviews with host Terry Gross.

Hear The Wire creator and executive producer David Simon and jazz critic Kevin Whitehead on this edition of Fresh Air. David Simon is the creator and executive producer of HBO's acclaimed series The Wire. He also wrote many of the episodes. The series finale airs on Sunday.

Hear New York Times correspondent David Kirkpatrick and TV critic David Bianculli on this edition of Fresh Air. David Kirkpatrick is a correspondent in the Washington bureau for The New York Times. He covered the conservative Christian movement in the 2004 election and has been following the Huckabee presidential campaign. He'll discuss the conservative response to Romney's exit from the race and McCain's emergence as the probable Republican nominee.

Hear musicians Zac and Ethan Holtzman, TV critic David Bianculli, and book critic Maureen Corrigan on this edition of Fresh Air. The Holtzman's band is Dengue Fever. They have a new album, Venus on Earth. Their music is inspired by Cambodian pop of the sixties and seventies, which itself was inspired by American pop played over U-S Armed Forces Radio during the Vietnam War.