Showing results by author "Terry Gross" in All Categories

Composer and lyricist Stephen Sondheim and actor Greg Kinnear on this edition of Fresh Air. Sondheim was mentored by Oscar Hammerstein, and went on to revolutionize musical theatre. His first major success was writing lyrics for West Side Story. He also composed the music and wrote the lyrics for A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, Follies, and A Little Night Music to name a few.

Religious scholar Elaine Pagels talks about the Gospel of Thomas and Middle East energy expert Youssef M. Ibrahim on this edition of Fresh Air. Elaine Pagels latest book, Beyond Belief: The Secret Gospel of Thomas, is about a religious text that is little known - the secret Gospel of Thomas, rediscovered in Egypt in 1945. She will explain why it was suppressed by the church and kept out of the cannon.

Novelist Stephen King on this edition of Fresh Air. In 1999, the prolific and popular horror writer experienced something that could have come out of one of his books: he was struck by a car while walking along a rural road in Maine and nearly killed. Six operations and a long recovery followed. Five weeks after the accident, King started writing again and published the novella, The Plant over the Internet. His latest book is On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft.

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 Stephen Colbert, host of Comedy Central's The Colbert Report, on this edition of Fresh Air. His show parodies, and is modeled after, The O'Reilly Factor. In fact, in a New Yorker review, Nancy Franklin writes, "Colbert resembles nobody more than he does Bill O'Reilly, and like O'Reilly, he conveys fake humility and easy rage toward inappropriate targets."

Actor/comedian/screenwriter/playwright and novelist Steve Martin on this edition of Fresh Air. His new novel The Pleasure of My Company follows his best selling novella Shopgirl (which he is making into a new film). He wrote the play Picasso at The Lapin Agile and is the author of a collection of short stories, Cruel Shoes. Martin's screenwriting credits include L.A. Story, and Roxanne.

Hear conservative William F. Buckley, musicians Stew and Heidi Rodewald, and jazz critic Kevin Whitehead, on this edition of Fresh Air. William F. Buckley died on Wednesday. Buckley is often cited with bringing conservative thought into the mainstream in liberal post-war America. He was the founder of the conservative magazine the National Review and for many years, the magazine's editor-in-chief. His popularity as a public intellectual increased through his television appearances, particularly as the host of the long-running television show Firing Line.

Pop star Boy George and photographer Marion Ettlinger on this archive edition of Fresh Air. In 1982, Boy George and his band Culture Club first hit the charts with "Do You Really Want to Hurt Me?" and that was the beginning of his rise to gender-bending pop icon.

Comic Bob Newhart on this archive edition of Fresh Air. He's been a part of the American comedy landscape since 1961 when his debut comedy album The Button-Down Mind of Bob Newhart became a surprise hit. Since then he's starred in three TV shows, including the Peabody award winning original The Bob Newhart Show, and appeared in numerous films. There's a new Rhino anthology of his classic routines, Something Like This...The Bob Newhart Anthology.

Historian and civil rights activist Roger Wilkins and writer Vernor Vinge on this edition of Fresh Air. Wilkins has written a new book Jefferson's Pillow. He considers our founding fathers and their conflicting attitudes toward race and how it affects his own sense of patriotism. Wilkins is a professor of history at George Mason University, a Pulitzer-prize winner, and former Assistant Attorney General under President Johnson.

Audible® was not granted digital rights to today's program. We bring you comedian George Carlin on this edition of Fresh Air. George Carlin, whose "seven dirty words" routine was the center of a famous obscenity case in the 1970s, talks about his book When Will Jesus Bring the Pork Chops? His other books include Napalm & Silly Putty and Brain Droppings.

Hear comic and actor Jerry Seinfeld and journalist James Fallows on this edition of Fresh Air. Jerry Seinfeld stars in Bee Movie, an animated feature. Seinfeld began his career as a stand-up comic and went on to star in the NBC hit television show Seinfeld, which ran from 1989 to 1998. He won a Golden Globe and an Emmy for his work on the show.

Hear the late writer and editor William Maxwell, classical-music critic Lloyd Schwartz, and film critic David Edelstein on this edition of Fresh Air. In honor of the centennial of William Maxwell's birth, and his contribution to American writing, the Library of America is publishing a two-volume collection of his novels and short stories. The first, which collects his early work, is out now.

Musicians Ray Davis, Marianne Faithfull, Pete Townsend, and Colin Blunstone on this special edition of Fresh Air, "The British Invasion." Ray Davies started The Kinks in 1964 with his brother. They are said to be the pioneers of the rowdy garage band genre of rock music. Their many hits included: "You Really Got Me," "Lola," "All Day and All of the Night," and "Tired of Waiting for you."

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.

Author Kevin Conley on this edition of Fresh Air. His book, STUD: Adventures in Breeding, about breeding racehorses is now out in paperback. STUD explores the process of creating champions, from the farms of Kentucky, where studs command a half million a pop, to the horse auctions, where the world's richest people compete for the top yearlings.

New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman, religion scholar and former nun Karen Armstrong, the religious leader of the Islamic Center of America in Detroit, Iman Sayed Hassan Qazwini and American Muslim Asma Gull Hasan on this edition of Fresh Air. Thomas Friedman covered the Middle East for many years, work that won him two Pulitzer Prizes. He's also the author of the book, From Beirut to Jerusalem.

Singer and Songwriter Tom Waits on this edition of Fresh Air. Since the 1973 release of his first album, Closing Time, Waits has won over fans with his original songwriting and distinctive, gravely vocal style. One reviewer calls Waits "the Ultimate hobo boho, a Jack-in-the-box cum storyteller." Musicians including Johnny Cash, Bruce Springsteen, and Rod Stewart have recorded covers of his songs.

Writer David Rakoff on this archive edition of Fresh Air. He's a regular contributor to Outside, The New York Times Magazine, and public radio's This American Life. One of his peers, writer Paul Rudnick says of him, "Rakoff is a comic saint, an ideal mix of the crabby and the debonair." Rakoff has a new collection of essays, Fraud. He's also appearing in Amy & David Sedaris' new off-broadway show.

Singer and songwriter Aimee Mann on this edition of Fresh Air. Mann is best known for her work on the soundtrack for the film Magnolia. Her song "Save Me" from the film was nominated for an Oscar. Her new release is Bachelor No. 2. Previously the album was available over her Web site, Aimeemann.com, and at her concert performances. Now it is available in stores.