Terry Gross

Many of McCartney’s song lyrics were collected in the book called Blackbird Singing which also included samples of his old and new poems. Terry Gross spoke with McCartney in 2001, when the book came out. She asked him about one of poems, Here Today, that he wrote for John Lennon.

Before Lennon's murder in 1980, John, Paul, George and Ringo had agreed to reunite for a television mini-concert. The performance was to follow the broadcast of a retrospective Beatles documentary. But it wasn't until 1995 that The Beatles Anthology was finally broadcast as a television mini series.

In 1971, the FBI put John Lennon under surveillance because of his anti-war activities. The INS tried to deport him a year later. Historian Jon Wiener spoke to Terry Gross in 2000 about the Nixon administration's campaign to deport Lennon — and then Wiener's own fight to get the FBI to release Lennon's files.

This discussion with Jon Wiener was originally broadcast on Jan. 25, 2000.

Saturday would have been John Lennon's 70th birthday. Fresh Air remembers the legendary musician by excerpting interviews conducted with those who knew him, including a 1985 discussion with his first wife, Cynthia Lennon.

As campaign finance experts tell Fresh Air's Terry Gross, the Supreme Court's lifting of restrictions has led many interest groups to dramatically increase the number of ads they're airing.

James Franco doesn't just spend his time acting in the movies. The star of Milk, Howl and the forthcoming 127 Hours is also an accomplished writer and graduate student. He explains how he juggles his many roles — and why he continues to take on new challenges.

In an interview with Terry Gross, taped in front of a live audience in New York City, the Daily Show host deconstructs his upcoming "Rally to Restore Sanity" on the National Mall and explains how The Daily Show comes up with material.

Writer Mark Feldstein says muckraking columnist Jack Anderson cut ethical corners to get Nixon exposes, and the president responded with fury. He recounts surprising details of the long-running battle between the journalist and the politician in Poisoning the Press.

Actor and comedian Zach Galifianakis is best known for his shaggy red beard and his hilarious role in the bachelor-party comedy The Hangover. He tells Terry Gross how he prepared himself for his latest part -- a dramatic role as a mental patient in the film It's Kind of a Funny Story.