Showing results by narrator "Terry Gross" in All Categories

Inventor Dean Kamen and remembering Boston Globe reporter Elizabeth Neuffer who died in Iraq last week on this edition of Frsh Air. Dean Kamen invented the Segway Human Transporter, a high-tech scooter. The scooter relies on sensors, sold-state gyroscopes, and softwear to produce a balanced ride even over rough terrain. The price tag is around $5,000. Kamen's other inventions include a portable drug-infusion pump, a compact dialysis machine and a wheelchair that can climb stairs.

Former NPR reporter Sarah Chayes and current field director of Afghans for Civil Society on this edition of Fresh Air. Afghans for Civil Society is a non-profit, non-governmental organization founded to promote a democratic alternative and to assist in the development of a civil society. ACS involves the community in reconstruction efforts: everything from physical reconstruction of a bombed-out village, to organizing a women's income generating project to launching an independent radio station.

Journalist Gabrielle Glaser and singers Tony Bennett and K.D. Lang on this edition of Fresh Air. Gabrielle Glaser's new book is The Nose: A Profile of Sex, Beauty, and Survival. The book is a history of the nose (and smell), its science, biology and cultural significance. Host Terry Gross will talk with her primarily about how the nose and sinuses work.

Editorial cartoonist David Horsey of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer on this edition of Fresh Air. This week Horsey won his second Pulitzer Prize (the first was in 1999). He was cited for his "perceptive cartoons executed with a distinctive style and sense of humor." Many of the cartoons that earned him this recent prize poked fun at Bush administration policies.

Actor Chris Cooper on this edition of Fresh Air. He won an Academy Award for his performance as John Laroche in the film Adaptation. His latest project is the HBO film My House in Umbria, starring Maggie Smith. It debuts May 25, 2003. Cooper is also in the soon-to-be-released Seabiscuit, and he had roles in American Beauty, The Bourne Identity, and The Horse Whisperer.

An expert in Post-Conflict Reconstruction Bathsheba Crocker and remembering Cecile de Brunhoff on this edition of Fresh Air. Bathsheba Crocker is co-director of the Post-Conflict Reconstruction Project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. She'll discuss many of the questions surrounding reconstruction in Iraq: who will be in charge of reconstruction?

Psychiatrist and director of the Gaza Community Mental Health Programme, Dr. Eyad El-Sarraj; and psychiatrist, peace activist, and feminist, Dr. Ruchama Marton on this edition of Fresh Air. The Programme is a non-profit Palestinian, non-governmental organization, formed to help families cope with the aftermath of torture and violence. El-Sarraj is well known in the occupied territories and Israel as Gaza's first practicing psychiatrist, and for his efforts to foster co-existence between Arabs and Jews.

Writer Keith Fleming and editor Rudy Behlmer on this edition of Fresh Air. Fleming talks about his first book, a memoir, The Boy with the Thorn in His Side. When Fleming was a teenager, he was living in Chicago, depressed, and was committed to a string of mental institutions. Then his mother sent him to New York to live with his young, gay uncle, the critically acclaimed novelist and biographer Edmund White. The move and his uncle's influence transformed his life.

Guitarist and singer Howard Fishman and writer Philip Simmons on this edition of Fresh Air. Fishman is of the Howard Fishman Quartet, a group resurrecting the jazz and swing music of the early 20th century, while their experimental and improvisational style sets them apart. Philip Simmons was diagnosed eight years ago, at the age of 35, with ALS, otherwise known as Lou Gehrig's disease. The disease is degenerative, with no cure.

Reporter George Anastasia has been covering the Philadelphia mob scene for the Philadelphia Inquirer for 15 years. He'll discuss the recent trial of reputed mob boss Joseph "Skinny Joey" Merlino and his associates, which just wrapped up last week. The jury acquitted Merlino and his associates of the serious charges of murder, attempted murder, and drug trafficking but convicted them of racketeering. During the 15-week trial, 90 witnesses took the stand and 943 evidentiary exhibits were introduced.

New York Times reporters David Barstow and Don Van Natta, Jr., on this edition of Fresh Air. They went to Florida following the closest presidential election in history. During a six-month investigation, the two journalists found "under intense pressure from the Republicans, Florida officials accepted hundreds of overseas absentee ballots that failed to comply with state election laws."

New York Times reporter Steve Erlanger, on this edition of Fresh Air ,discusses the upcoming trial before the International War Crimes Tribunal of Slobodan Milosovec.

Novelist David Leavitt and poet Yehuda Amichai on this archive edition of Fresh Air. David Leavitt's new book is Martin Bauman; or, a Sure Thing. It is a look at the Manhattan publishing scene as viewed through the eyes of 19-year-old Martin Bauman. Leavitt's own first book, Family Dancing, was published when he was just 23. Leavitt's other books include The Lost Language of Cranes, Equal Affections, and While England Sleeps.

Actor Vince Vaughn and photographer Jimmy McHugh on this edition of Fresh Air. Vaughn teams up again with Swingers co-star John Favreau in the new movie Made. The movie, written and directed by Favreau, follows two aspiring boxers who concoct a money-laundering scheme. Vaughn has appeared in several movies including Swingers, The Lost World, the remake of Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho, and The Cell.

Poet and memoirist Mary Karr on this edition of Fresh Air. In a follow-up to Liar's Club, what critics call "a hard scrabble childhood," Karr returns to East Texas to detail her adolescence in Cherry. The author relates anecdotes of rebellion, self-doubt, and sexual coming of age. The recipient of several literary awards such as the Pushcart Prize and the Bunting Award, she has published two volumes of poetry. She is the Peck Professor of English Literature at Syracuse University.

Icelandic film director Baltasar Kormakur and writer/editor Roger Angell on this edition of Fresh Air. Kormakur's been compared with Spanish film director Almodovar for his debut film, the offbeat comedy 101 Reykjavik. It's set (of course) in Iceland, and is the story of a 28-year-old slacker, his mother, and the flamenco teacher they both fall in love with. The film won the Discovery Award for Best First Film at the 2000 Toronto Film Festival.

Writer and historian Jay Winik and a day in the life of journalist Andrew Kromah on this edition of Fresh Air. Winik's new book, a best seller, is April 1865. He writes that April 1865 is a month that "could have unraveled the American nation. Instead it saved it." During that month, the Civil War ended with Lee's surrender, Lincoln was assassinated, and the rebuilding of the nation began.

Actor John Lithgow and Animation Director J.J. Sedelmaier on this edition of Fresh Air. John Lithgow is one of the stars of the animated hit movie Shrek. His comedy TV series Third Rock from the Sun just finished its run on NBC. Lithgow also writes children's books. He's just published the book Marsupial Sue, and he has released a new CD of music for children called Farkle and Friends. Lithgow is currently performing his children's material live in concert.

Editor and writer Walter Kirn and casting director and actress Joanna Merlin on this edition of Fresh Air. Kirn's new novel Up in the Air is about 35-year-old Ryan Bingham, a well-traveled business man who has a goal of accumulating one million miles in his frequent flyer account. Kirn is the literary editor for GQ and a contributing editor to Time and Vanity Fair. His fiction and nonfiction work has appeared in The New Yorker and the New York Times Magazine.

Former fighter pilot Keith Rosenkranz and poet Sam Hammill on this edition of Fresh Air. During the first Gulf War, Keith Rosenkranz flew thirty combat missions in his F-16. He wrote about the experience in his book, Vipers in the Storm: Diary of a Gulf War Fighter Pilot. In January, Sam Hamill was invited by First Lady Laura Bush to the White House for a symposium on poetry.