I listen to Fresh Air almost every day, and for the past several weeks - if not months - the show has been hosted by Dave Davies, “sitting in for Terry Gross.” I know that the hard-working people on NPR go on vacation sometimes, but it seems like Terry’s been gone for a long time. I can’t find any mention of her absence on NPR’s website; does anyone here know anything?
She was just in San Diego for a lecture on…Tuesday night? So it’s possible she’s out touring around giving talks and such.
That’s what I’m guessing. She spoke at UCLA last night.
I’m actually glad she went on a long break. I’ve long been a fan of her show, but after the last presidential election I found that she was getting more and more political and bitchy her questions.
For instance, in recent interviews with Lynn Cheney and Bob Dole, who had written books, she started out being gracious and asking good questions, and then suddenly, inexplicably, went into attack mode. What exactly does Lynn Cheney’s daughter’s sexuality have to do with the book? Nothing, except Gross felt the need to ask once, twice, a half a dozen times if she supported her gay daughter even though the current administration does not believe in gay marriage.
Both Cheney and Dole were far more gracious than I would have been.
I would accept this kind of behavior from her if she was an equal opportunity interviewer. But put someone who hates Bush on, such as Bill Maher, and it’s a love fest.
Frankly, I liked to listen to her show to get away from all the unpleasantness in this country. Cheney and Dole were both very interesting people, if she would have stuck to the subject.
If Gross wants to morph her show into a political forum, fine. But she needs to change the title of her show from “Fresh Air” to “Stale Air.”