I suspect that Terry Gross, like NPR, is a brand that people wear to advertise "I'm smart." That's what's really going on with what her audience feels about her. That in turn explains what's really going on with what NPR and her colleagues there feel about her.

Respectfully, people who disagree with you might have valid reasons for doing so. It's incurious to remove their agency by ascribing ulterior motives to them.

I haven't removed their agency. I've only exercised my own. You're free to do the same however you like.

   - They like something you don't
   - They like it because others do
   - It's thus not worth considering more deeply why they like it

Did I map that unfairly?

No, it isn't unfair. It's just not accurate. A more accurate portrait would be:

- People make educated guesses about the internal states-of-mind and emotional states of other people all the time. We do it with friends, lovers, marketplace counter-parties, poker adversaries, etc., and there's nothing inherently wrong about that.

- I have made an educated guess about the internal state-of-mind and emotional states of "Fresh Air" listeners, not about any particular individual but about the ensemble. I could be wrong, of course. That's the nature of guesses, even educated ones.

- Having already considered it with enough depth to satisfy myself, it's not worth it to me to consider it more deeply at this time. Of course, I'm willing to revisit this policy in light of new evidence.

Anecdata: I enjoy it from time to time because I feel Terry Gross does a better job of listening to her guests' answers and asking follow-up questions on what they're expressing.

Most interviewers seem to have a rigid playbook, and effectively treat their guests' responses as scripted theater. Ask the pre-written question, allow the guest to perform for the listener, then move on.

E.g. the patently boring "Tell me about your new movie" > (canned story) > (laugh together) > (next topic)

IMHO, one of Terry's best skills as an interviewer is listening and being actively curious.

I believe they just did

This is why every large U.S. city is full of people blasting Fresh Air out their car as they drive down the street.

When I was young we signaled our love of Terry Gross by blasting her interviews on large radios when we walked down the street in our baggy pants. These radios were called "boom boxes" and they were wonderful.

I've recently listened to several Terry Gross interviews, and the David Bowie interview stands out to me as particularly bad. I think she frequently makes "educated guesses" about how her guests will respond about their thoughts, feelings, and motivations, and will have follow up questions prepared based on these anticipated responses. When she's right, things go well. When she's wrong, she just keeps plowing forward with homerun swings that completely whiff. She sometimes seems quietly incredulous that other people have different values and methods of reasoning, or that their perception of themselves does not match her research.

To be fair and not negative exclusively, I think she's very good at knowing how long to let people talk (some of this might be editing), very good at creating a "human connection" with the subjects, and reasonably good at keeping things interesting.

That's intriguing. I recently heard (and commented here [0] on) the Bowie interview, which I thought was great, and revelatory. Prior to hearing that interview, I wouldn't have believed someone if they told me Bowie would have preferred not to perform live: "Frankly, if I could get away with not having to perform, I'd be very happy."

I am pretty sure provoking small but significant revelations like that are what radio interviews are really good for. A talent for bringing those about, or simply allowing them to come about, is also why Howard Stern is regarded highly as an interviewer, I believe, although the two interviewers use very different techniques. Coincidentally, Gross's interview with Stern was pretty interesting. [1]

[0] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=37629932

[1] https://www.npr.org/transcripts/722832463