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Terry Gross at her microphone in 2018

Terry Gross

Terry Gross is the host and an executive producer of Fresh Air, the daily program of interviews and reviews. It is produced at WHYY in Philadelphia, where Gross began hosting the show in 1975, when it was broadcast only locally. She was awarded a National Humanities Medal from President Obama in 2016. Fresh Air with Terry Gross received a Peabody Award in 1994 for its “probing questions, revelatory interviews and unusual insight.” America Women in Radio and Television presented her with a Gracie Award in 1999 in the category of National Network Radio Personality. In 2003, she received the Corporation for Public Broadcasting’s Edward R. Murrow Award for her “outstanding contributions to public radio” and for advancing the “growth, quality and positive image of radio.” Gross is the author of All I Did Was Ask: Conversations with Writers, Actors, Musicians and Artists, published by Hyperion in 2004. She was born and raised in Brooklyn, NY, and received a bachelor’s degree in English and M.Ed. in communications from the State University of New York at Buffalo. She began her radio career in 1973 at public radio station WBFO in Buffalo, NY.

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20:11

Animator Mike Judge

He's a self-taught animator with a physics degree, is the creator of, and voice behind, MTV's Beavis and Butthead. He also created the Fox series King of the Hill, where he provides the voice for the main character, Hank Hill. The first season of King of the Hill is now available on DVD. Judge is also the writer, director and producer of the cult movie Office Space. This interview first aired February 26, 2001.

Interview
13:08

Writer and Director Terry Gilliam

His film Lost in La Mancha is now out on video and DVD. It is a documentary about Gilliam's failed attempt to adapt the story of Don Quixote to the screen. The film Gilliam was supposed to make was titled The Man Who Killed Don Quixote, starring Johnny Depp, Vanessa Paradis and Jean Rochefort. Gilliam was a member of the legendary Monty Python comedy troupe.

Interview
36:43

Former war correspondent Aidan Hartley

In the 1990s he covered Ethiopia, Somalia, Rwanda and the Congo for Reuters. Three of his colleagues were killed by a mob in Somolia during a rebellion against the presence of U.S. forces, and he witnessed the atrocities in Rwanda. Hartley grew up in Africa, the son of a British colonial officer. After the death of his father, Hartley found in a chest his father had given him the diaries of his father's best friend who had died mysteriously 50 years earlier. Hartley set out to find out what happened.

Interview
20:29

Dr. Jonathan Edlow

Dr. Jonathan Edlow is the author of the new book Bull's Eye: Unraveling the Medical Mystery of Lyme Disease. In the book he chronicles the emergence of the disease, how scattered clues led to the cause — bacterium Borelia burgdorferi, and then to the deer tick that spread it. The search for the cause began in the late 1970s when people around Lyme, Conn., began suffering from unexplained arthritis, swelling, circular rashes, fatigue and other symptoms.

Interview
13:42

Chef Jeremiah Tower

Chef Jeremiah Tower. He is considered one of the forces behind modern California cuisine –- which emphasized the use of locally grown ingredients to elevate simple dishes to fine delicacies. That in turn launched a revolution in American regional cookery. Tower began his career as chef and co-owner of Chez Panisse in Berkeley, California. He went on to run restaurants in San Francisco, Hong Kong, Singapore and Seattle. Recently he hosted the PBS series America's Best Chefs and has written a new memoir, California Dish: What I Saw (and Cooked) at the American Culinary Revolution.

Interview
33:02

Scottish Writer, Director and Actor Peter Mullan

His new feature film, The Magdalene Sisters, is based on the real-life laundries run by the Sisters of the Magdalene Order in Ireland near the end of the 19th century. Girls considered wayward or unruly were sent there as punishment for their sins and forced to do labor under sweat-shop conditions. The last of the laundries was shut down in 1996. Mullan's film follows the lives of four young women and takes place from 1964 to 1969. Before writing and directing, Mullan was best known for his acting and starred in The Big Man, Riff-Raff, Shallow Grave and Trainspotting.

Interview
17:39

Writer and Director Niki Caro

Her new film is Whale Rider, a re-telling of Maori legend in which a young girl challenges 1,000 years of tradition to fulfill her destiny — and win her grandfather's respect. The Maoris are the native people of New Zealand. Whale Rider won the Audience awards at the Sundance, Toronto and Rotterdam Film Festivals. Caro's previous film was Memory and Desire.

Interview
42:42

Hall of Fame Jockey Gary Stevens

He has won three Kentucky Derbys, two Preakness Stakes and three Belmont Stakes. Now 40 years old, he has been riding professionally since he was 16. Stevens is the author of the autobiography, The Perfect Ride and has a part in the new film Seabiscuit as jockey George Woolf.

Interview
07:28

Writer Leslie Epstein

His father and uncle were the scriptwriting team responsible for Arsenic and Old Lace, Casablanca, and many other Hollywood classics. Epstein grew up in a glamorous and troubled household. His new book, San Remo Drive, is described as a novel from memory, and is based on his own childhood. Epstein directs the creative writing program at Boston University, and is the author of eight other novels, including King of the Jews and Pandaemonium.

Interview
20:40

Actor and Comedian Denis Leary

This Sunday he will be roasted by Comedy Central. He's also starring in the new film The Secret Lives of Dentists. Leary is also known for his work in films such as The Thomas Crown Affair and The Ref. Leary has completed more than 20 feature films, several cable specials, a book, a CD, and he has his own production company, Apostle. This interview first aired April 18, 2002.

Interview

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