Terry Gross
Stories
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Arts & Life
To make 'The Godfather' his way, Francis Ford Coppola waged a studio battle
Coppola was 29 when he signed on to direct a film. "I was young and had no power," he said in 2016, "so [the studio] figured they could just boss me around." Coppola is a 2024 Kennedy Center honoree.
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Arts & Life
Miranda July talks 'All Fours' -- and the risks and rewards of changing your life
July's novel, about a 45-year-old married woman who has an erotic affair, grapples with themes of perimenopause and sexuality. "Fear in general is why I wrote the book," the filmmaker/writer says.
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Arts & Life
Billie Eilish thought she'd always have a soft voice. Singing lessons changed that
The Grammy Award-winning singer says working with a vocal coach "honestly changed my life." Eilish and her brother/collaborator Finneas talk about their new album, Hit Me Hard and Soft.
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Arts & Life
Why comic Ronny Chieng initially didn't tell his parents about his 'Daily Show' gig
"I didn't want to brag," the Malaysian-born comic says. "I just wanted to do the work." Chieng now costars in the series Interior Chinatown, and has a new Netflix comedy special, Love to Hate It.
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Arts & Life
'Wicked' star Cynthia Erivo says she often sings 'with a bit of a smile'
The British actor and singer played abolitionist Harriet Tubman in Harriet, and Aretha Franklin in Genius: Aretha. Now she's defying gravity as Elphaba in Wicked. Originally broadcast Oct. 18, 2021.
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Food
'Does This Taste Funny?' is a Colbert family cookbook
What do cooking and a nightly TV show have in common? Both require "a little care, a little love and a little imagination," says Stephen Colbert. He and his wife Evie Colbert have written a cookbook.
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Music
Jon Batiste finds the Blues in Beethoven
Batiste re-imagines Beethoven compositions in his new album. It's "not that the original wasn't great and transcendent..." he says. "But there's also a lot of things since then that have happened."
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Arts & Life
Werner Herzog says it's not good to circle 'your own navel' but wrote a memoir anyway
The German filmmaker reflects on his unusual life and the curiosity that has fueled his career in the memoir, Every Man for Himself and God Against All. Originally broadcast Oct. 25, 2023.
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Arts & Life
Stay away from Dr. Google, and other lessons learned about hypochondria
Caroline Crampton developed excessive health anxiety after being treated for cancer as a teen. In A Body Made of Glass she chronicles her experience with hypochondria and the history of the condition.
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Music
Yo-Yo Ma on 'touching infinity' through his nearly 300-year-old cello, Petunia
Years ago, the acclaimed cellist asked a high school student to help him name his instrument. He brought his cello — aka "Petunia" — in for music and conversation during this May 2024 interview.