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

WHYY
Terry Gross
WHYY

Terry Gross

Host, Fresh Air

Combine an intelligent interviewer with a roster of guests that, according to the Chicago Tribune, would be prized by any talk-show host, and you're bound to get an interesting conversation. Fresh Air interviews, though, are in a category by themselves, distinguished by the unique approach of host and executive producer Terry Gross. "A remarkable blend of empathy and warmth, genuine curiosity and sharp intelligence," says the San Francisco Chronicle.

Gross, who has been host of Fresh Air since 1975, when it was broadcast only in greater Philadelphia, isn't afraid to ask tough questions. But Gross sets an atmosphere in which her guests volunteer the answers rather than surrendering them. What often puts those guests at ease is Gross' understanding of their work. "Anyone who agrees to be interviewed must decide where to draw the line between what is public and what is private," Gross says. "But the line can shift, depending on who is asking the questions. What puts someone on guard isn't necessarily the fear of being 'found out.' It sometimes is just the fear of being misunderstood."

Gross began her radio career in 1973 at public radio station WBFO in Buffalo, New York. There she hosted and produced several arts, women's and public affairs programs, including This Is Radio, a live, three-hour magazine program that aired daily. Two years later, she joined the staff of WHYY-FM in Philadelphia as producer and host of Fresh Air, then a local, daily interview and music program. In 1985, WHYY-FM launched a weekly half-hour edition of Fresh Air with Terry Gross, which was distributed nationally by NPR. Since 1987, a daily, one-hour national edition of Fresh Air has been produced by WHYY-FM. The program is broadcast on 566 stations and became the first non-drive time show in public radio history to reach more than five million listeners each week in fall 2008, a presidential election season. In fall 2011, Fresh Air reached 4.4 million listeners a week.

Fresh Air with Terry Gross has received a number of awards, including the prestigious Peabody Award in 1994 for its "probing questions, revelatory interviews and unusual insight." America Women in Radio and Television presented Gross 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." In 2007, Gross received the Literarian Award. In 2011, she received the Authors Guild Award for Distinguished Service to the Literary Community.

Gross is the author of All I Did Was Ask: Conversations with Writers, Actors, Musicians and Artists, published by Hyperion in 2004.

Born and raised in Brooklyn, N.Y., Gross received a bachelor's degree in English and M.Ed. in communications from the State University of New York at Buffalo. Gross was recognized with the Columbia Journalism Award from Columbia University's Graduate School of Journalism in 2008 and an Honorary Doctor of Humanities degree from Princeton University in 2002. She received a Distinguished Alumni Award in 1993 and Doctor of Humane Letters in 2007, both from SUNY–Buffalo. She also received a Doctor of Letters from Haverford College in 1998 and Honorary Doctor of Letters from Drexel University in 1989.

Story Archive

Friday

Remembering songwriter Cynthia Weil, whose hits included 'Uptown' and 'On Broadway'

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Monday

In the final scene of Succession, Kendall (Jeremy Strong) stares out at the Hudson River while his father's bodyguard looks on. In an improvised take during filming (which was not included in the episode) Strong climbed the barrier at the water's edge, as if to jump. HBO hide caption

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We ask the creator of 'Succession' everything you wanted to know about the finale

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Thursday

Poet Kwame Alexander reflects on 'Why Fathers Cry at Night'

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Monday

Grammy-winning jazz singer Samara Joy joins for concert and conversation

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Friday

Mary Tyler Moore: The 'Fresh Air' interview

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Wednesday

Chef Lidia Bastianich looks back on her family's chaotic life in Europe after WWII

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Friday

Remembering Chris Strachwitz, the founder of Arhoolie Records

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Donna Summer: The 'Fresh Air' interview

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Wednesday

A historian details how a secretive, extremist group radicalized the American right

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Monday

Joel Edgerton plays a horticulturist with a secret past as a white nationalist in Master Gardener. Magnolia Pictures hide caption

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Actor Joel Edgerton avoids conflict in real life, but embraces it on-screen

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Friday

Everything but the Girl's Tracey Thorn writes lyrics that capture women's inner lives

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Thursday

Extremist groups were found guilty of seditious conspiracy for Jan. 6. Now what?

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Tuesday

'Paved Paradise' examines how parking has changed the American landscape

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Friday

New York Dolls co-founder David Johansen helped pave the way for punk

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Thursday

'Fresh Air' welcomes new co-host Tonya Mosley

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Wednesday

Alexandra Auder's memoir is Don't Call Me Home. Nick Nehez/Viking/Penguin Random House hide caption

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Nick Nehez/Viking/Penguin Random House

Daughter of Warhol star looks back on a bohemian childhood in the Chelsea Hotel

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Friday

Comic Roy Wood Jr. taps into America's psyche on 'The Daily Show'

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Thursday

This 'full spectrum' doula helps with birth, miscarriage and abortion

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'Fresh Air' remembers Harry Belafonte, singer, actor and civil rights icon

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Wednesday

How private equity firms are widening the income gap in the U.S.

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Monday

Writer Judy Blume poses for a portrait at Books and Books, her non-profit bookstore in Key West, Fla., on March 26. Mary Martin/AP hide caption

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Judy Blume was banned from the beginning, but says 'It never stopped me from writing'

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Friday

Remembering Michael Denneny, an editor who championed LGBTQ voices

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Remembering historical crime novelist Anne Perry

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Thursday

How the AR-15 became the bestselling rifle in the U.S.

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