Tuesday, November 13, 2007

Terry Gross

The other day, while listening to Fresh Air with Terry Gross, I thought, Now there's a person who makes me happy. Terry Gross. So to continue my list of people who make me happy, I'll write a little bit about Ms. Gross. And for those keep score at home, she is the second on my list.

I first started listening to her interview show when I got my ipod about two years ago. I somehow came across her and I started listening every day, which was quite a commitment, as she puts out five shows a week - although sometimes people fill in for her. She's got an amazing way with the people she interviews. And she interviews almost everyone. Politicians, singers, writers and people famous for being famous. (Although she's never, to my knowledge, interviewed a knitter.)

She asks really tough, probing questions, but in a gentle way. And she will sometimes say, "Now if this is too personal, please just tell me." Of course due to the magic of editing, the question is always answered.

She is reportedly reads a book a day. I can believe it. She's got an incredible ability to reference a myriad of books, movies and historical events. She's got the kind of mind I aspire to have, quick and full of questions. Plus, she's a Lefty and you know I love that.

Listening to her makes me feels smarter. I always feel like I've learned something. A few months ago, she did a series on hard rock musicians. Normally, I would have skipped a week-long series on hard rock musicians. (I'm not a fan.) But I knew she would bring out the interesting bits. In the end, Alice Cooper turned out to be very interesting, Steven Tyler was quite engaging and Gene Simons was sort of a curmudgeon, not a lot of fun, not very giving.

Fresh Air is available on iTunes, as are several NPR (National Public Radio) shows. I really love an interview show. I have another that I always talk about at my writers group that I should write about here.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

I always wanted to be able to read a book a day. I had a friend who does that. Amazing.