Terry Gross

Robin D.G. Kelley's new book, Thelonious Monk: The Life and Times of an American Original, focuses on the career of the eccentric jazz pianist and composer. It reveals new details about Monk's life, music and mental health problems, and provides a glimpse into the New York jazz scene of the mid-twentieth century.

For decades, singer songwriter Geoff Muldaur has been reinterpreting blues and jazz of the '20s and '30s. Today, we'll play some of the tracks from Muldaur's new album, Texas Sheiks, and he'll perform some songs live. Muldaur's band, also called Texas Sheiks, is currently on tour.

How does organized crime influence terrorism? Investigative journalist David Kaplan discusses the relationship between terrorism and criminal syndicates, and how that relationship may have played out in the recent attacks on Mumbai.

Gogol Bordello has been making supercharged music since first forming in 1999, six years after frontman Eugene Hütz landed in the U.S., having fled the Chernobyl disaster in his native Ukraine. The band's philosophy: to "make the contradictions of life sound harmonious" with a head-spinning mix of ska, punk, metal, rap, flamenco, roots reggae, dub and more.

This interview was originally broadcast on August 15, 2007.

President Obama has said he wouldn't send more troops to Afghanistan if he didn't think the security of the American people was at stake. Peter Bergen gives us an update on the threat: what's left of the Taliban and its connection to al-Qaida.

Director Jason Reitman likes to fill his movies with tricky characters, and then put them in situations that test their convictions. His latest project, Up in the Air, is no exception: George Clooney's character has made a career of firing people.

Author Walter Kirn has seen two of his seven books make it to the big screen, including a recent adaptation of his 2005 novel Up In The Air. Kirn joins host Terry Gross to reflect on his book and the great American airplane culture.

This interview was first broadcast on June 1, 2001.

Vic Chesnutt was paralyzed from the waist down at the age of 18, but he's still a massively productive songwriter. Chesnutt has fifteen albums under his belt and his songs have been covered by Madonna, Smashing Pumpkins, and R.E.M. His new album, At The Cut, is a collaboration with Guy Picciotto of the band Fugazi.

The Messenger tells the story of a man assigned to one of the toughest jobs in the military: notifying the families of the fallen. Col. Steve Beck does that job for the U.S. Marine Corp, and his story is a the center of Final Salute, a book by Jim Sheeler. Sheeler and Beck join Fresh Air to talk about a duty that's both an honor and a burden.

Up, the smash-hit animated adventure about a grouchy elderly man, a chubby scout, a 13-foot bird and a house borne aloft by balloons, is now out on DVD. Director and screenwriter Pete Coter talks about the joys of researching and creating animated films.