Skip to main content
A doctor points a finger at a chest x-ray that shows the ribs

Health & Medicine

Filter by

Select Topics

Select Air Date

to

Select Segment Types

Segment Types

1,234 Segments

Sort:

Newest

27:36

A Comedienne Keeps Up Appearances

Phyllis Diller became a comedian at the age 37; she and her husband, who had five children together, believed it would be the best way for her to support the family financially. She is known for her frazzled onstage persona, jokes about her imagined husband Fang, and her many plastic surgeries.

Interview
55:49

Jazz Pianist George Shearing

Shearing was born blind and began learning piano at age 4. Both practical limitations and prejudice kept him from playing certain kinds of gigs. But during World War II, while many fellow musicians served in the military, Shearing was given more opportunities to work. He later moved to the United States to further his career.

Interview
56:14

Novelist Scott Spencer

Spencer joins Fresh Air to talk about how became a writer and what life is like now that he's established himself. His newest book, Waking the Dead, grapples with ideas of loss -- a theme prominent in his breakout novel, Endless Love.

Interview
59:01

Spalding Gray and "The Terrors of Pleasure."

Frequent Fresh Air guest Spalding Gray takes stories about his life and anxieties and transforms them into comedic monologues he delivers in a direct fashion. His monologues include "Sex and Death to the Age of Fourteen," "A Personal History of American Theater," and "Swimming to Cambodia." His current monologue is "The Terrors of Pleasure," and it chronicles his attempts to "grow up" and experience ownership by purchasing a house in the Catskills.

Interview
56:34

Novelist Robert Stone Discusses His Life and Career.

Robert Stone counts promises and peoples' failure to keep them, what we chose to perceive in others and how that perception can be deceptive, and the difficulty of behaving decently as themes of his novels. He describes himself as a "writer of his times," and his work often addresses topical issues. His latest novel is "Children of Light."

Interview
53:42

Is Schizophrenia an Illness?

R. D. Laing is a psychiatrist who challenged conventional views in the 1960s with his proposal that schizophrenia was an adaptive behavior, "a sane response to an insane world," as opposed to an illness. The counterculture embraced Laing's views, but they were controversial in academic circles. In 1965, Laing formed the Philadelphia (for brotherly love, not the city) Association, an alternative treatment center for schizophrenics.

Interview
10:50

How the Red Cross is Protecting its Supply from AIDS.

The AIDS crisis has scared many people from donating or receiving blood from the Red Cross. Kathleen Denton, Director of Communications for the Southeastern Pennsylvania Chapter of the Red Cross, says those fears are unfounded. Denton explains that a test developed last April screens for the presence of antibodies to the HTLV-III virus, which is believed to cause AIDS. All blood is screened before being added to the pool. (Interview By Amy Salit)

25:52

The Impact of AIDS on the Gay Community.

On the second part of this special edition of Fresh Air addressing the AIDS epidemic, Terry Gross speaks with writer Dennis Altman, author of the new book "AIDS in the Mind of America." One of its subjects is the impact of the disease on the gay male community. The Australian Altman has previously written about the gay movement, and worked with the Institute for Health Policy Studies at the University of California Medical School. Altman offers his thoughts on whether AIDS should be considered a "gay disease."

Interview
15:24

AIDS, the HTLV-II Virus Test, and Civil Liberties with David Webber, Part 2.

On the second part of this special edition of Fresh Air addressing the AIDS epidemic, Terry Gross speaks with Philadelphia lawyer David Webber, legal director of the Philadelphia AIDS Task Force's Advocacy Committee and the counsel for the Philadelphia Lesbian and Gay Task Force. Last year he represented a person with AIDS who was fired from his job. Webber joins the show to discuss the legal and civil liberty issues associated with the disease.

Interview
26:33

How the Media Coverage of AIDS is Shaping Our Understanding of the Disease.

Larry Gross is a professor of communications at the Annenberg School of Communications of the University of Pennsylvania. He studies television violence and the portrayal of women in minorities on t.v. and their effects on viewers. Gross is the co-chair of the Philadelphia Lesbian and Gay Task Force and a member of the Philadelphia AIDS Task Force. He joins the show to evaluate the media coverage of AIDS and how it has shaped the American public's response to the disease.

Interview
10:12

Legal Implications of the HTLV-III Virus Test.

Pennsylvania Representative Russell Letterman is part of a group of legislators who have proposed legislation to require couples applying for marriage licenses to take one of the current tests for the virus that causes AIDS. Letterman and his cohort maintain that this should be done despite the fact that current tests (including one approved yesterday) are unreliable and can only confirm exposure to the virus. Letterman joins the show to explain his position. (Interview by Amy Salit)

22:10

Working with Persons with AIDS.

Heshie Zinman is a "buddy" who helps "PWAs," or Persons with AIDS, many of whom are unemployed and/or without health insurance, and who are often rejected by their families and others in society. Buddies help PWAS by doing everything from housecleaning, filling out medical forms, advocating for the person, to listening to their fears. He joins the show to discuss his work organizing on behalf of PWAs.

Interview
24:14

Social and Medical Expert Panel on AIDS, Part 1.

Dr. John Turner is an assistant professor of medicine at the University of Pennsylvania and Temple University who treats many AIDS patients. Dr. Robert Sharrar is an epidemiologist monitoring the spread of AIDS in Philadelphia as the Director of the Division of Disease Control at the Philadelphia Department of Health. Roger Stephens is the chair of the education committee of the Philadelphia AIDS Task Force and the Director of Social Work at Graduate Hospital.

01:01:09

Social and Medical Expert Panel on AIDS, Part 2.

Part two of Fresh Air's interview with medical and social experts on this special edition of the show devoted to the AIDS crisis. Dr. John Turner is an assistant professor of medicine at the University of Pennsylvania and Temple University who treats many AIDS patients. Dr. Robert Sharrar is an epidemiologist monitoring the spread of AIDS in Philadelphia as the Director of the Division of Disease Control at the Philadelphia Department of Health.

19:32

Living with AIDS.

On this special edition of Fresh Air devoted to the AIDS Crisis, Terry Gross speaks with a 32-year-old New Jersey man who was diagnosed with the disease a year ago. Fresh Air has respected his wish to remain anonymous.

Interview
27:40

Edmund White, Novelist and Writer.

Writer and novelist Edmund White's books include "States of Desire: Travels Through Gay America," "The Joy of Gay Sex," and "A Boy's Own Story." White's work often candidly discusses gay life. White moved from the Midwest to New York where he was active in the Gay Liberation Movement, and now lives in Paris. His latest novel, "Caracole," is about a young, heterosexual male.

Interview
01:00:13

A Neurologist Has "A Leg to Stand On"

Oliver Sacks suffered a severe injury while hiking which eventually led to the loss of feeling in his leg. His recovery and gave him insights into the treatment of his own patients who suffer from memory problems and encephalitis lethargica.

Interview

Did you know you can create a shareable playlist?

Advertisement

There are more than 22,000 Fresh Air segments.

Let us help you find exactly what you want to hear.
Just play me something
Your Queue

Would you like to make a playlist based on your queue?

Generate & Share View/Edit Your Queue