terry gross is my hero

Yes, among other people, Terry Gross is my hero. She’s the host of Fresh Air on NPR—an interview-based show that explores writers, actors, musicians, politicians, historians, scientists, you name it. No matter who’s on the show—could be Dick Cheney, could be the lead singer of Fall Out Boy—it’s interesting. She gets right to the bottom of something and seems to coax forth surprising revelations from her interviewees. Deep and fundamental stuff, things maybe they didn’t even know about themselves until just now, when Terry somehow made them articulate it.

Now, I’ve done an interview or two in my time, but I cannot claim to be good at them. They’re unnerving and unquestioningly difficult, plus, there’s tons of research to be done so that you can truly explore the subject. People are often on the defensive, so lots of work goes into making them feel at ease, and so on and so forth. Anyway, Terry is the master.

Here are some recent snippets that I enjoyed. Um, enjoy!

"Monk": A New Look At An American Original : I'm not a jazz aficionado (or even a fan, really), but genius is genius....

Eugene Hütz, Gogol Bordello's Gypsy-Punk Hero: This guy is a bad ass, just watch Everything Is Illuminated.

Songs Of Survival And Reflection: "At The Cut": A conversation with Vic Chesnutt. I listened to this and felt like my life was easy and I had nothing to fucking complain about.

Wes Anderson Covers New Ground With "Mr. Fox": He's a strange comic puppet master and I am a huge fan. The Darjeeling Limited? A perfect movie.

Judd Apatow On The Alchemy Of "Funny People": Judd Apatow—this is what happens to nerds when they grow up.