Terry Gross on "This is Us"

This post is only tangentially related to books and reading, but you will see the connection. A few days ago, I was watching the excellent television show “This is Us.” One lead character, Kevin, is an actor, and after many ups and downs in his career, he stars in a hugely successful film. He is discussing his sudden fame with his family, and casually mentions that his publicist has scheduled an interview for him with some guy named Terry Gross. Another character gasps and fills Kevin in on who Terry Gross is: the famed interviewer on the famed NPR radio show, “Fresh Air.” And Terry is a woman, not a man. The next scene shows that interview, with the real Terry Gross. The heart of this blogger, a big fan of Fresh Air (see my posts of 3/2/10 and 2/18/16), pitter-pattered a bit to SEE on the screen the actual Terry Gross, after years of hearing her on the radio, and seeing only a photo or two during those years. Gross often interviews authors, among the other types of guests she has on the show; I like pretty much all her interviews, but of course author interviews are my favorites. So here she was on “This is Us,” with her so-familiar voice but her much less familiar physical appearance, looking more or less as I expected, but somehow still a surprise. Her interview of Kevin on the show was as insightful as always, as she drew him out in a thoughtful, uncannily right-on, but never too intrusive way. What a treat that episode of “This is Us” was, and all the more so for the unexpectedness of one of my heroines,Terry Gross, popping up in the middle of it!