Accessibility links
Terry Gross Terry Gross is the host and executive producer of NPR's Fresh Air.
Terry Gross square 2017
Stories By

Terry Gross

Music Interviews

'In The Moment, You Just Fly': Jon Batiste Lets Loose At The Piano

Fresh Air

Batiste, the band leader for The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, sits at the piano and demonstrates his "everything in the pot" style of playing. Originally broadcast Sept. 26, 2018.

'In The Moment, You Just Fly': Jon Batiste Lets Loose At The Piano

Listen · 44:47
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/680666330/681233835" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Music Interviews

'A Distinctive Voice': Tracey Thorn Goes On 'Record'

Fresh Air

The Everything but the Girl singer uses music to explore feminist themes. She sings about the different stages of women's lives on her recent solo album, Record. Originally broadcast May 3, 2018.

'A Distinctive Voice': Tracey Thorn Goes On 'Record'

Listen · 42:30
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/680467864/680720328" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Movie Interviews

Director Bo Burnham On Growing Up With Anxiety — And An Audience

Fresh Air

The former YouTube star says he wanted his film, Eighth Grade, to take an "emotional inventory" of what today's adolescents are experiencing. Originally broadcast July 18, 2018.

Director Bo Burnham On Growing Up With Anxiety — And An Audience

Listen · 34:51
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/680356663/680495788" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Health

'Reluctant Psychonaut' Michael Pollan Embraces 'New Science' Of Psychedelics

Fresh Air

Author Michael Pollan experimented with mushrooms, LSD and other psychedelics while researching his latest book, How to Change Your Mind. Originally broadcast May 15, 2018.

'Reluctant Psychonaut' Michael Pollan Embraces 'New Science' Of Psychedelics

Listen · 41:30
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/680162831/680226347" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Music Interviews

A Roots And Rockabilly Holiday Concert With JD McPherson And His Band

Fresh Air

McPherson never thought he'd make a Christmas album. Then, he says, "I got a bug in my ear." He and his band perform live in studio from Socks. Originally broadcast Dec. 11, 2018.

A Roots And Rockabilly Holiday Concert With JD McPherson And His Band

Listen · 43:46
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/679128773/680042153" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Theater

How Rodgers And Hammerstein Revolutionized Broadway

Fresh Air

Todd Purdum's book, Something Wonderful, is about the creative partnership and strained personal relationship behind hit shows like Carousel and The Sound of Music. Originally broadcast April 9, 2018.

How Rodgers And Hammerstein Revolutionized Broadway

Listen · 42:57
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/679124560/679834218" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Music Interviews

Loudon Wainwright III Opens Up About The 'Exes & Excess' That Inform His Music

Fresh Air

Wainwright's music centers on family, and how we hurt and heal each other. He spoke to Fresh Air in 1992 and '17 about his life as a husband, father and son. His new Netflix special is Surviving Twin.

Loudon Wainwright III Opens Up About The 'Exes & Excess' That Inform His Music

Listen · 38:48
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/679098737/679216464" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
Emily Blunt's 'Mary Poppins' Is As Magical And Mysterious As Ever

Mary Poppins (Emily Blunt) is back in service at the Banks' home in Mary Poppins Returns, a sequel to the 1964 classic. Courtesy of Disney hide caption

toggle caption
Courtesy of Disney

Movie Interviews

Emily Blunt's 'Mary Poppins' Is As Magical And Mysterious As Ever

Fresh Air

When she landed the role in Mary Poppins Returns, Blunt didn't rewatch the 1964 original. "I didn't want to sort of get compromised by the details of what Julie Andrews did so beautifully," she says.

Emily Blunt's 'Mary Poppins' Is As Magical And Mysterious As Ever

Listen · 44:26
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/677643146/677845113" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Music Interviews

Bruce Springsteen: On Jersey, Masculinity And Wishing To Be His Stage Persona

Fresh Air

Springsteen's one-man show closes on Broadway Saturday, then begins streaming on Netflix. He spoke to Fresh Air in 2016, admitting: "People see you onstage and, yeah, I'd want to be that guy."

Bruce Springsteen: On Jersey, Masculinity And Wishing To Be His Stage Persona

Listen · 36:40
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/676686740/676778664" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
Richard E. Grant Barely Survived Childhood. Now He's Thriving As An Actor

Richard E. Grant plays Jack Hock, the sidekick to literary forger Lee Israel (Melissa McCarthy) in Can You Ever Forgive Me? Mary Cybulski/Twentieth Century Fox hide caption

toggle caption
Mary Cybulski/Twentieth Century Fox

Movie Interviews

Richard E. Grant Barely Survived Childhood. Now He's Thriving As An Actor

Fresh Air

The self-described "lifelong character actor" plays an alcoholic sidekick in the film Can You Ever Forgive Me? Through Grant is allergic to alcohol, he grew up in Swaziland with an alcoholic father.

Richard E. Grant Barely Survived Childhood. Now He's Thriving As An Actor

Listen · 43:19
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/676405314/676496353" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
From Convict To Criminal Justice Reporter: 'I Was So Lucky To Come Out Of This'

Keri Blakinger spent nearly two years incarcerated on narcotics charges before becoming a criminal justice reporter for the Houston Chronicle. Nicole Hensley/Houston Chronicle hide caption

toggle caption
Nicole Hensley/Houston Chronicle

Shots - Health News

From Convict To Criminal Justice Reporter: 'I Was So Lucky To Come Out Of This'

Fresh Air

Keri Blakinger spent nearly two years locked up on narcotics charges before becoming a journalist. "I've been so privileged in so many ways to end up with hope and second chances," she says.

From Convict To Criminal Justice Reporter: 'I Was So Lucky To Come Out Of This'

Listen · 37:25
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/676041064/676140522" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
A Roots And Rockabilly Holiday Concert With JD McPherson And His Band

Singer-songwriter JD McPherson (second from left) plays with Raynier Jacildo, Jimmy Sutton, Jason Smay and Doug Corcoran on the album Socks. Alysse Gafkjen / Sacks Co. hide caption

toggle caption
Alysse Gafkjen / Sacks Co.

Music Interviews

A Roots And Rockabilly Holiday Concert With JD McPherson And His Band

Fresh Air

McPherson never thought he'd make a Christmas album. Then, he says, "I got a bug in my ear." He and his band perform live in studio from Socks, and McPherson talks about growing up on a cattle farm.

A Roots And Rockabilly Holiday Concert With JD McPherson And His Band

Listen · 44:14
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/675628082/675709137" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
The Revolution Will Be Driverless: Autonomous Cars Usher In Big Changes

The BMW Vision iNEXT autonomous electric car is previewed at a special event ahead of the LA Auto Show on Nov. 27. Robyn Beck/AFP/Getty Images hide caption

toggle caption
Robyn Beck/AFP/Getty Images

Technology

The Revolution Will Be Driverless: Autonomous Cars Usher In Big Changes

Fresh Air

Driverless vehicles could be the "most disruptive technology to hit society worldwide since the advent of the motor car," says former New York City Traffic Commissioner Sam Schwartz.

The Revolution Will Be Driverless: Autonomous Cars Usher In Big Changes

Listen · 35:01
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/675254096/675328034" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Business

How The 'Golden Age' Of Corporate Musicals Used Songs To Boost Sales

Fresh Air

Sheldon Harnick, John Russell and Steve Young discuss "industrial musicals," Broadway-style productions written and performed at the behest of corporations. Originally broadcast Nov. 5, 2013.

How The 'Golden Age' Of Corporate Musicals Used Songs To Boost Sales

Listen · 36:07
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/674524278/674600412" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Movie Interviews

Actor Lucas Hedges On 'Ben is Back', ADHD And Crying On Screen

Fresh Air

Best known for his roles in Manchester by the Sea and Lady Bird, Hedges stars as a teenager in rehab for opioid addiction in Ben is Back. He's also nominated for a Golden Globe for Boy Erased.

Actor Lucas Hedges On 'Ben is Back', ADHD And Crying On Screen

Listen · 28:10
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/674160899/674219026" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript