The Terry Gross Interview - Talk Easy with Sam Fragoso

This month marks 50 years of Terry Gross as the host of <a href="https://www.npr.org/programs/fresh-air/">Fresh Air</a>. What began in 1975 as a local experiment at WHYY in Philadelphia has since grown into a national institution—one that not only transformed public radio, but laid the groundwork for the world of podcasting.   To commemorate a half-century on the air, Terry Gross joins us for a rare appearance in the interview seat. At the top, we discuss her Brooklyn upbringing (10:26), early memories of writing (13:00), and her improbable road to public radio (29:38). Then, Terry walks us through the formative years of Fresh Air (33:37) and its seminal conversations with Kurt Vonnegut (40:21), John Updike (46:30), Monica Lewinsky (49:30), Joan Didion (1:00:55), and more.   On the back-half, Gross reflects on forty-seven years of partnership with her late husband, jazz writer Francis Davis (1:03:24), their shared affinit...