Terry Gross

The country musician nicknamed "The Possum" is known for his wild lifestyle as much as he's known for his No. 1 hits. In 1996, he joined Terry Gross for a conversation about his autobiography, I Lived to Tell It All.

This interview was originally broadcast on May 8, 1996.

The songwriter's hits include George Jones' "He Stopped Loving Her Today," Tanya Tucker's "I Believe the South Is Going to Rise Again," Tammy Wynette's "D-I-V-O-R-C-E" and Toby Keith's "I Want to Talk About Me." In 2007, he joined Terry Gross for a conversation about his inspirations and his muses in the music world.

The alternative country singer from West Texas pays tribute to his late father on an album of honky-tonk country classics, Come on Back. He describes his introduction to country music -- and seeing Johnny Cash perform for the first time -- in a 2005 interview with Terry Gross.

This interview was originally broadcast on Nov. 23, 2005.

Bassist Charlie Haden is known as a great jazz musician, but his background is all country. Growing up, he performed alongside his siblings in the Haden Family Band on radio stations across the South and Midwest. He details what it was like to grow up musically -- and why he recently returned to his country roots -- in a 2008 interview on Fresh Air.

This interview was originally broadcast on Sept. 24, 2008.

Widely considered one of the greatest tennis players of all time, Andre Agassi admitted in his autobiography that he hates tennis, "with a dark and secret passion." Always has. He spoke to Terry Gross last November about what he calls the "contradictions" at the core of his life.

This interview was originally broadcast on Nov. 11, 2009. Andre Agassi's autobiography 'Open' was recently released in paperback.

Chances are you've never heard of Charles and David Koch. The brothers, worth billions, are major industrialists and generous philanthropists. But in Washington, as Jane Mayer writes in the Aug. 30 New Yorker, they're "best known as part of a family that has repeatedly funded stealth attacks on the federal government, and on the Obama administration in particular."

Investigative journalist Jeff Sharlet traveled to Uganda to meet with the man who wrote an anti-homosexuality bill that calls for life imprisonment and the death penalty for gay Ugandans. Sharlet explains how U.S. religious leaders have encouraged the anti-gay sentiment in Uganda.

More than half of the world's Muslims live along the latitude line 700 miles north of the equator — so do most of the world's Christians. It's a place where ideological conflicts often arise. Journalist Eliza Griswold spent seven years examining how the two religions influence clashes over natural resources, tribal issues and faith.

The constant stream of information we get through mobile and hand-held devices is changing the way we think. Matt Richtel, a technology writer for The New York Times, explains how the use of digital technology is altering our brains -- and how retreating into nature may reverse the effects.

NPR host Scott Simon became a father for the first time at the age of 50, when he and his wife Caroline adopted the first of their two daughters from China. He describes how he felt becoming a father relatively late in life, how his family changed — and how his daughters continue to inspire him, in a new memoir, Baby We Were Meant For Each Other.