Terry is one of the best interviewers in the states. She tries to be informed and view things from her guest's perspectives.

She pushes people on uncomfortable answers, but does it respectfully.

Trent Reznor is not the best person to use for interpersonal communicating. He's famously kind of a prick.

Yes, I know my opinion will be unpopular. Terry's popularity confounds me.

That's interesting. Who would you consider a good interviewer?

For musicians, Rick Beato and Nardwuar the Human Serviette. Nardwuar’s preparatory research is always very deep, and musicians have repeatedly praised him for asking interesting questions outside the repetitive and superficial interviews they normally have to give when promoting a new album or tour. Since Beato made a career on YouTube where he doesn’t have to keep things as accessible to a general public as in legacy media, his interviews can get deeper into technical matters of music-making.

Nardwuar is interesting because he's a litmus test: some people just absolutely don't like him and his persona and his schtick, and the fact that he's clearly done more thorough research than any other interviewer they'll ever talk to doesn't move them. And then other people appreciate right away how unique he is.

It's funny that many of the punk rock types don't like a guy who is as DIY as Nardwuar.

lol. Not intend to be snarky. I’m middle-of-the-road on Terry Gross, but the idea using Trent Reznor’s (or Gene Simmons’ being another example) temperament as a yardstick on interpersonal protocol made my morning.

I was not expecting anyone to bring up the interview with Trent here, but that was kind of a dud to me... But I think maybe that's because I (still) run a NIN fan site. I was hoping to hear something new, but I'm the end, I realized I wasn't the target audience for that interview. Additionally, you can't knock it out of the park with every single interview you do.

It didn't stop me from enjoying her interviews, and even the famously off the rails Gene Simmons interview had me on her side. I'm glad it's not extreme reactions all the time on her show. It's usually good storytelling.

I personally gained a huge amount of respect for radio host interviews when I went on the Kevin and Bean show to talk about Nine Inch Nails. It was a surprise invitation, I figured "why not" but worried a bit that I'd stammer through spouting some dumb fanboy nonsense. But those dudes were like wizards in a way I still struggle to describe. They set me up, very naturally, and somehow extracted good responses out of me. When I hung up, I didn't feel like a socially awkward idiot, but rather felt like I played a part in a performance.

Anyway, I still like Terry Gross, sorry to hear you think she's the worst interviewer you've ever heard.

Ability to get along with Trent Reznor is certainly one yardstick you could measure people by.

I have felt the same. In the interviews I have listened to, she came across as robotic and fake. I know I am in the minority, but I can’t think of an interview of hers that I enjoyed.