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Since its national debut in 1987, Fresh Air with Terry Gross has been a highly acclaimed and much adored weekday magazine among public radio listeners. Each week, nearly 4.8 million people turn to Peabody Award-winning host Terry Gross for insightful conversations with the leading voices in contemporary arts and issues. The renowned program reaches a global audience, with over 620 public radio stations broadcasting Fresh Air, and 3 million podcast downloads each week. Fresh Air has broken the mold of 'talk show' by weaving together superior journalism and intimate storytelling from modern-day intellectuals, politicians and artists alike. Through probing questions and careful research, Gross's interviews are lauded for revealing a fresh perspective on cultural icons and trends. Her thorough conversations are often complemented by commentary from well-known contributors. Fresh Air is produced at WHYY-FM in Philadelphia and broadcast nationally by NPR., (1.) Washington Post reporter JOBY WARRICK (JOE-bee WAR-ick). His new book 'Triple Agent,' tells the story of Humam al-Balawi (HOO-mom al buh-LAH-wee), an Al Qaeda operative acting as an informant for the CIA, but who was actually working with Al Qaeda against the CIA. In late 2009, al-Balawi was able to gain access to a fortified military base and detonate a suicide bomb, killing nine CIA agents. WARRICK currently covers the intelligence community previously spent eight years on an investigative unit specializing in WMD proliferation and weapons trafficking.(INTERVIEW BY DAVE DAVIES) [INTERVIEW CONTINUES INTO THE SECOND HALF OF THE SHOW] (2.) Linguist GEOFF NUNBERG on the word 'Compromise,' and its use (and absence) in the current debt ceiling debate.