Terry Gross
Stories
-
Remembering Augie Meyers, pioneer of Tex-Mex rock and roll
Meyers, who died March 7, helped shape Tex-Mex music with the '60s band Sir Douglas Quintet and then with the Texas Tornados. His signature sound was on the vox organ. Originally broadcast in 1990.
-
Remembering action hero Chuck Norris
In addition to his kung fu and action films, Norris, who died March 19, starred in the TV show Walker, Texas Ranger. He spoke with Terry Gross in 1988 about learning karate while stationed in Korea.
-
Will President Trump act on his threat to take Cuba?
New Yorker writer Jon Lee Anderson describes conditions in Cuba, why it's vulnerable now — and what regime change would mean — considering the Castro family's entrenchment in the Cuban government.
-
Remembering singer, songwriter and raconteur Roy Book Binder
Book Binder, who died March 3, was known for Southern blues and hillbilly music, and great story telling. He recorded with Fresh Air in 1987, playing music and reflecting on his career on the road.
-
Iran expert says Trump's 'war of choice' has morphed into a 'war of necessity'
With the Strait of Hormuz blocked, policy expert Karim Sadjadpour says the war in Iran is becoming increasingly complicated: "I don't think President Trump ... understood what he was getting into."
-
'Art Isn't Easy' author offers new insights into Stephen Sondheim's life and music
Biographer Daniel Okrent discusses Sondheim's approach to writing music and lyrics, his often toxic relationship with his mother and his work with mentors and collaborators.
-
Harrison Ford isn't retiring: 'I really wouldn't know what to do with myself'
Ford struggled to find his footing in Hollywood before being cast as Han Solo in Star Wars. Now 83, he plays a therapist in the Apple TV series Shrinking: "I really do love the work," he says.
-
This historian dug up the hidden history of 'amateur' blackface in America
In her new book, Darkology, historian Rhae Lynn Barnes writes about how blackface and minstrel shows became one of the most popular forms of entertainment in 19th- and 20th-century America.
-
Remembering singer-songwriter Neil Sedaka
Sedaka, who died Feb. 27, was a classical piano prodigy whose hits in the late '50s and early '60s included "Calendar Girl" and "Breaking up is Hard to Do." Originally broadcast in 2007.
-
President Trump is trying to make it harder to vote. Here's why that matters
Trump is promoting tighter restrictions on mail-in ballots as well as passage of the SAVE Act, which requires proof of citizenship to vote. UCLA professor Richard Hasen unpacks the ramifications.