Search the Fresh Air Archive

Close Search

'Fresh Air' at 20: Journalist and Author Tom Wolfe

Fresh Air went national in 1987, and we're celebrating that 20th anniversary by revisiting some classic interviews. In this segment: Tom Wolfe's best-selling books include Bonfire of the Vanities, A Man in Full, The Right Stuff and The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test. He began his career as a journalist, writing for The Washington Post, Rolling Stone, Esquire and New York magazine. Rebroadcast from Oct. 29, 1987.

16:33
Queue

Guest

Host

Related Topics

Other segments from the episode on May 10, 2007

Fresh Air with Terry Gross, May 10, 2007: Interview with Oliver Sacks; Commentary on Fats Waller; Interview with Tom Wolfe; Interview with Larry Adler.
Queue
15:14

'Fresh Air' at 20: Neurologist Oliver Sacks

Fresh Air went national in 1987, and we're celebrating that 20th anniversary by revisiting some classic interviews. In this segment: Neurologist and writer Oliver Sacks.

Sacks is probably best known for The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat, a case-history collection in which he describes patients struggling to live with a startling array of conditions: Tourette's syndrome, autism, Parkinsonism, musical hallucinations, phantom-limb syndrome, schizophrenia, retardation and Alzheimer's disease.

Interview
Queue
08:14

'Fresh Air' at 20: Jazz Musician Marty Grosz

Fresh Air went national in 1987, and we're celebrating that 20th anniversary by revisiting some classic interviews. In this segment: German jazz artist Marty Grosz plays the music of Fats Waller. Rebroadcast from June 26, 1987.

Commentary
Queue
10:00

'Fresh Air' at 20: Harmonica Legend Larry Adler

Fresh Air went national in 1987, and we're celebrating that 20th anniversary by revisiting some classic interviews. In this segment: Harmonica player Larry Adler performed with legendary entertainers including Fred Astaire, George Gershwin, and Jack Benny, but he was blacklisted amid the anti-communist fervor surrounding the McCarthy hearings of the 1950s. Adler moved to England not long after; he died in August 2001. Rebroadcast from June 19, 1987.

Interview

Transcript

Transcripts Not Currently Available.

Transcripts are created on a rush deadline, and accuracy and availability may vary. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Please be aware that the authoritative record of Fresh Air interviews and reviews are the audio recordings of each segment.

You May Also like

Queue
18:05

Tom Wolfe Takes Miami's Pulse In 'Back To Blood'

Wolfe tells Fresh Air's Dave Davies that what makes Miami exceptional is the story of how an immigrant community rose to dominate its political landscape in just over a generation. His new novel deals with racial and ethnic conflict among the city's diverse inhabitants.

Interview

Did you know you can create a shareable playlist?

Learn How
Advertisement

Recently on Fresh Air Available to Play on NPR

52:30

Daughter of Warhol star looks back on a bohemian childhood in the Chelsea Hotel

Alexandra Auder's mother, Viva, was one of Andy Warhol's muses. Growing up in Warhol's orbit meant Auder's childhood was an unusual one. For several years, Viva, Auder and Auder's younger half-sister, Gaby Hoffmann, lived in the Chelsea Hotel in Manhattan. It was was famous for having been home to Leonard Cohen, Dylan Thomas, Virgil Thomson, and Bob Dylan, among others.

Queue

Related segments from the Fresh Air Archive:

43:04

This fake 'Jury Duty' really put James Marsden's improv chops on trial

In the series Jury Duty, a solar contractor named Ronald Gladden has agreed to participate in what he believes is a documentary about the experience of being a juror--but what Ronald doesn't know is that the whole thing is fake.

Queue

Related segments from the Fresh Air Archive:

08:26

This Romanian film about immigration and vanishing jobs hits close to home

R.M.N. is based on an actual 2020 event in Ditrău, Romania, where 1,800 villagers voted to expel three Sri Lankans who worked at their local bakery.

Queue

Related segments from the Fresh Air Archive:

See All Recent Segments

There are more than 22,000 Fresh Air segments.

Let us help you find exactly what you want to hear.
Just play me something
Your Queue

Would you like to make a playlist based on your queue?

Generate & Share View/Edit Your Queue