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Fresh Air (NPR) (Interviews)

  • Next available on WUCF-FM 89.9
  • in 12 hours 57 minutes
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  • Host: Terry Gross
  • Fresh Air opens the window on contemporary arts and issues with guests from worlds as diverse as literature and economics. Terry Gross hosts this multi-award-winning daily interview and features program.
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Holiday Cheer With A Jazz Twist

Wed, Dec 9 Listen
Two kinds of people consume Christmas music: those who actually like the stuff, and folks who need something listenable on hand in case seasonal visitors insist on some ornamental mood music. For both groups, two new jazz brass albums should do the trick. Critic Kevin Whitehead reviews.

Filming 'The Game That Changed A Nation'

Wed, Dec 9 Listen
Invictus director Clint Eastwood and star Morgan Freeman who was Nelson Mandela's pick to portray him talk about telling the story of one pivotal public gesture the former South African president made shortly after his election, hoping to make a big statement that would help ease decades of racial bitterness and injustice in his nation.

'Hostage Business' Survives Economic Downturn

Wed, Dec 9 Listen
Despite the economic recession or perhaps because of it the kidnapping business is booming. In his recent New York Times Magazine article, journalist Nicholas Schmidle explores the international hostage market and its impact on workers.

Love At First Listen: 'The Jazz Baroness'

Tue, Dec 8 Listen
Jazz great Thelonius Monk had a unique sound that won him millions of fans and it certainly stole the heart of the Baroness Nica de Koenigswarter. In a new documentary, The Jazz Baroness, filmmaker Hannah Rothschild explores the unusual friendship between the American jazz pianist and the Englishwoman, and the impact they made on modern music.

'Thelonious Monk': Jazz Eccentric

Tue, Dec 8 Listen
Robin D.G. Kelley's new book, Thelonious Monk: The Life and Times of an American Original, focuses on the career of the eccentric jazz pianist and composer. It reveals new details about Monk's life, music and mental health problems, and provides a glimpse into the New York jazz scene of the mid-twentieth century.

Book Suggestions For A Passionate Holiday

Mon, Dec 7 Listen
The act of passing on a passion is one of the greatest gifts you can give. Book critic Maureen Corrigan promises that the books on this list mostly slim, unforgettable volumes about places or things that the writers themselves deeply love are merrily infectious.

Geoff Muldaur Takes Texas Sheiks On The Road

Mon, Dec 7 Listen
For decades, singer songwriter Geoff Muldaur has been reinterpreting blues and jazz of the '20s and '30s. Today, we'll play some of the tracks from Muldaur's new album, Texas Sheiks, and he'll perform some songs live. Muldaur's band, also called Texas Sheiks, is currently on tour.

'Brothers': Family Ties, Unraveling In Wartime

Fri, Dec 4 Listen
Tobey Maguire and Jake Gyllenhaal are Sam and Tommy Cahill, one an upright Army captain on his way back to Afghanistan, the other a delinquent, newly paroled after a three-year sentence for robbery. But the real center of Jim Sheridan's movie isn't the brothers, but their whole teetering clan, which will collapse and rebuild itself in complicated new ways.

Nervous And Nerdy, From 'Office' To Silver Screen

Fri, Dec 4 Listen
Comedian Ed Helms came to attention of the comedy world as a correspondent on The Daily Show. Helms is now a regular on NBC's The Office and starred in the recent film The Hangover, which is now out of DVD.

Eugene Htz, Gogol Bordello's Gypsy-Punk Hero

Fri, Dec 4 Listen
Gogol Bordello has been making supercharged music since first forming in 1999, six years after frontman Eugene Htz landed in the U.S., having fled the Chernobyl disaster in his native Ukraine. The band's philosophy: to make the contradictions of life sound harmonious with a head-spinning mix of ska, punk, metal, rap, flamenco, roots reggae, dub and more.

Judy Davis, Inspiring 'Brilliant Career's 30 Years Later

Thu, Dec 3 Listen
The Oscar-nominated 1979 film My Brilliant Career stars Judy Davis, as a young woman growing up in rural Australia at the end of the 19th century. Film critic John Powers gives Davis credit for creating the template for the Australian screen actress: bravery, incandescence, and occasional cussedness.

Peter Bergen, Assessing The Threat In Afghanistan

Thu, Dec 3 Listen
President Obama has said he wouldn't send more troops to Afghanistan if he didn't think the security of the American people was at stake. Peter Bergen gives us an update on the threat: what's left of the Taliban and its connection to al-Qaida.

NPR: 11-30-2009 Fresh Air

Wed, Dec 2 Listen
Stories: 1) The Smothers Brothers: A 'Dangerously Funny' Pair 2) Hal Holbrook, Basking In 'That Evening Sun'

NPR: 12-01-2009 Fresh Air

Tue, Dec 1 Listen
Stories: 1) Songs Of Survival And Reflection: 'At The Cut' 2) Correspondence Creatively Critiqued In 'Yours Ever'

NPR: 12-01-2009 Fresh Air

Tue, Dec 1 Listen
Stories: 1) The Smothers Brothers: A 'Dangerously Funny' Pair 2) Hal Holbrook, Basking In 'That Evening Sun'

NPR: 11-27-2009 Fresh Air

Fri, Nov 27 Listen
Stories: 1) An Animated Chat With 'Up' Director Pete Docter 2) A Messenger For The Marines: Steve Beck's Story

Loudon Wainwright Looks 'High' For Inspiration

Thu, Nov 26 Listen
Story: Loudon Wainwright's new double album, High Wide and Handsome: The Charlie Poole Project, is a tribute to the old-time country banjo player who died in 1931. The singer-songwriter explains the motivations behind the project — and why Poole was such an influential country pioneer.

NPR: 11-25-2009 Fresh Air

Wed, Nov 25 Listen
Stories: 1) '40/40' Celebrates The Carpenters' 1969 Debut 2) At The End Of The World, Another 'Road' To Trudge

NPR: 11-24-2009 Fresh Air

Tue, Nov 24 Listen
Stories: 1) The Secret Political Reach Of 'The Family' 2) Sam Fuller, Embodying The Best Of Pulp Fiction

NPR: 11-23-2009 Fresh Air

Mon, Nov 23 Listen
Stories: 1) Wes Anderson Covers New Ground With 'Mr. Fox' 2) Larry David's Dysfunctional Family Reunion

NPR: 11-20-2009 Fresh Air

Fri, Nov 20 Listen
Stories: 1) Judd Apatow On The Alchemy Of 'Funny People' 2) A 'New Moon' Destined For A Quick Eclipse

NPR: 11-19-2009 Fresh Air

Thu, Nov 19 Listen
Stories: 1) After Obama Visit, Assessing U.S.-China Relations 2) Judith Fox Turns A Close-Up Lens On Alzheimer's

An Open-Source Approach To Better Prosthetics

Tue, Nov 10 Listen
When Marine engineer Jonathan Kuniholm returned to his industrial-design shop after a tour of duty in Iraq, one of his first projects was personal: He wanted to improve on the design of the prosthetics he'd been using since he lost part of his right arm in an ambush. Kuniholm and his colleagues founded the Open Prosthetics Project, an open-source collaboration that shares its innovations freely.

Woody Harrelson Goes To War In 'The Messenger'

Tue, Nov 10 Listen
This month Woody Harrelson stars in a powerful new movie about the costs of war. He plays Capt. Tony Stone, a veteran of the Army's Casualty Notification service, charged with the task of notifying the families of fallen soldiers. The film opens Nov. 13, but Harrelson's performance is already generating Oscar chatter.

Strong And Simple As A 'Shadow On The Ground'

Tue, Nov 10 Listen
You may not recognize the name James Hand, but that's just because you've never heard anything like him. The 57-year-old Texan has been in hidden away in country music scene for years, and if his third album Shadow of the Ground shows his age, critic Ken Tucker says it's just that Hand doesn't care what you think.

For Wounded Soldiers, Prosthetic Help At Home

Tue, Nov 10 Listen
Advances in military medicine mean that more soldiers are surviving on the battlefield, but many are coming home with missing limbs. When they come home, those soldiers turn to Colonel Paul Pasquina, medical director of the amputee program at Walter Reed Army Medical Center for the latest in prosthetics.

Losing Jazz's Preconceptions With 'Historicity'

Mon, Nov 9 Listen
In the last few years, some enterprising younger players have reinvented the piano-bass-drums jazz combo. It's not just that these trios play contemporary pop; it's also a shift in attitude. Vijay Iyer's trio doesn't worry about swinging all the time, although the buoyancy of swing inflects its rhythms as much as hip-hop does.

An American In Japan, Investigating The 'Tokyo Vice'

Mon, Nov 9 Listen
Working for Japan's Yomiuri Shinbun newspaper, reporter Jake Adelstein uncovered a world unknown to many of the Japanese public, let alone to foreigners: the world of organized crime. He details its landscape and the dangers of covering it in a new memoir.

Come And Play: 'Sesame Street' Celebrates 40 Years

Fri, Nov 6 Listen
Four decades after its premiere, Sesame Street is the same happy neighborhood it always was. TV critic David Bianculli takes a look at the newest episode which features special guest Michelle Obama and assesses the show's enduring legacy.

The Man Behind Miss Piggy

Fri, Nov 6 Listen
Film director Frank Oz was one of the defining creative forces behind the Muppets. He joined The Muppet Show creator Jim Henson in 1963 and went on to provide the voices of Miss Piggy, Cookie Monster, Fozzie Bear and Bert.

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