
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.
'River of the Gods' captures the epic quest to find the source of the Nile
Writer Candice Millard tells the dramatic story of two 19th-century British explorers who spent years trekking through East Africa, enduring injury and illness in a search for the source of the Nile.
'Greenland' revives E.M. Forster — and spins a tale of racism and self-discovery
In his debut novel, Greenland, David Santos Donaldson takes this crucial but necessarily closeted relationship of E.M. Forster's and runs with it, all the way from a basement room in Brooklyn to the icy white expanses of the Greenland of the novel's title.
Julie Andrews says she's not the squeaky clean lady you might expect
The Sound of Music star will soon be honored with the AFI's Life Achievement Award. In 2008 and 2019, she spoke to Fresh Air about growing up during WWII and performing in her parents' vaudeville.
Fresh Air with Terry Gross
NY Times Congressional reporter Luke Broadwater says the effort to overturn the '20 election results was a "sprawling and diffuse" one that involved local governments as well as White House insiders.
Island Records founder Chris Blackwell looks back on his life in music
Blackwell grew up in Jamaica, and, as the head of Island Records, helped launch the careers of reggae stars like Bob Marley and Jimmy Cliff, as well as rock bands like U2. His memoir is The Islander.
Sam Jay's 'PAUSE' series captures the vibe of a house party debate among friends
The SNL alum talks with friends and other comics about queer culture, relationships and racism on her HBO show. Jay's comedy special, 3 in the Morning, is about her relationship with her fiancée.
Inspired by the Sixers, basketball star Dawn Staley forged her own path on the court
Staley won Olympic gold medals as a player and as a head coach. She played in the WNBA, and is now head coach of the South Carolina Gamecocks women's team, which won the NCAA championship in 2022.
A journalist revisits her parents' activism in 'They Said They Wanted Revolution'
Neda Toloui-Semnani shares the story of her parents, two Iranian students who met at Berkeley in 1969 and later, in Iran, worked to build a more democratic nation. Her father was executed in 1983.
Remembering 'Goodfellas' actor Ray Liotta
Liotta, who died May 26, started out playing a nice guy on a soap opera. Then came his tough-guy roles in Something Wild and Goodfellas. He was also in Field of Dreams. Originally broadcast in 2016.
How the Southern Baptist Convention covered up its widespread sexual abuse scandal
In 2019, Houston Chronicle journalist Robert Downen helped break the story about sexual abuse within the SBC. That led the church to commission its own independent study, which suggested a coverup.