Terry Gross

There were so many changes we had to make in the show, and then we faced so many changes in the world, all of which Danny led us through.

This included the first Gulf War, 9-11, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, political crises.

He became a father not long after we went national.

At the time, he was the only parent working on the show.

As time went on, and there were many more fresh air babies, Danny typically managed to come up with ways for them to stay on the show while still being good parents.

He built in a measure of flexibility, like sharing a position with another new parent from our team.

allowing each of them to work half-time.

When it came to what we broadcast on the show, Danny was the final word about what we actually put on the air.

He always made sure we were being fair to the guest and the subject at hand.

He was never a prude about what language our guests could use on the show, but he was prudent and always knew when to call someone for legal advice.

In addition to all that, he was like the fresh air family therapist.

We all brought our problems to him, and he always did his best to help solve them, even when it meant more work for him, which it typically did.

He made a lot of personal sacrifices to keep things running as smoothly as possible, including working lots of nights and weekends over many years.

To me, Danny is more than a great executive producer.

I think of him as a brother, and I will continue to think of him that way now that he's leaving the show.

It's a strange time for me.

Danny became an intern in January 1978.

Just a few weeks later, I started seeing my future husband, Francis Davis.

Francis died in April, and now just a few months later, Danny is retiring.

That's a lot to process.