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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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10:31

A Writer Cleans Houses to Survive

Writer and housecleaner Louise Rafkin. Her articles have appeared in "The New York Times," "The Utne Reader," and "Los Angeles Times." Her new book about cleaning is "Other People's Dirt: A Housecleaner's Curious Adventures" (Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill).

Interview
32:36

Snake Expert Harry Greene

Greene is Curator of Herpetology in the Museum of Vertebrate Zoology and Professor of Integrative Biology at the University of California. He wrote (with photographs) "Snakes: The Evolution of Mystery in Nature." (University of California Press) (REBROADCAST from 7/23/97)

Interview
11:56

Helen Merril on Her Work with Gil Evans

Merrill was one of the most acclaimed jazz stars of the 50s when she left America for Italy and then Japan. Early in her career she worked with arranger Gil Evans. She also worked with musicians Bill Evans, Clifford Brown, Ron Carter, and Wayne Shorter. Over the years she's recorded few albums compared with other singers. Her newest is "You And the Night and the Music" (Verve). (REBROADCAST from 5/26/88)

Interview
20:14

Actor J.K. Simmons on His Chilling Performance in "Oz"

Simmons portrays a neo-Nazi in the graphic and disturbing drama of life in a maximum security prison. The show is produced by Tom Fontana, who also wrote and produced "Homicide: Life on the Street." "Oz" just launched its second season earlier this month. Simmons' film credits include "The Jackal" and "Extreme Measures." His TV credits include: "Law and Order," "Homicide" and "Spin City."

Interview
18:16

Military Historian John Keegan

Keegan is known for his readable and comprehensive books about warfare including "The Face of Battle," (1976) and "The History of Warfare" (1993) which were both best-sellers. Recently he was series consultant to "War and Civilization" an eight-part documentary series (on the TLC cable network) which covers the past 5,000 years of conflict, beginning with ancient Greece. The series is narrated by Walter Cronkite.

Interview
14:57

When to Keep or Open Family Secrets

Evan Imber-Black is a family therapist who has written the new book "The Secret Life of Families: Truth Telling, privacy and reconciliation in a tell all society." (Bantam) She makes the distinction about what is a private matter and what is a secret. She is the director of program development at the Ackerman Institute for the Family in New York City and a professor of psychiatry at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine.

Interview
34:52

Veteran Jazz Musician Olu Dara Finally Records His Own Music

After over 30 years in the business, Dara he's just released his first solo album, "Olu Dara: In the World: From Natchez to New York" (Atlantic). During the 70s and 80s Dara played in Art Blakey's band, as well as that of advante gardist Henry Threadgill and others. His new CD blends the two worlds and the two sounds that influenced him most: his hometown of Natchez, Mississippi and New York City where he lives now.

Interview

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