Fresh Air
NPR
Fresh Air from WHYY, the Peabody Award-winning weekday magazine of contemporary arts and issues, is one of public radio's most popular programs. Hosted by Terry Gross and Tonya Mosley, the show features intimate conversations with today's biggest luminaries.
Subscribe to Fresh Air Plus! You'll enjoy bonus episodes and sponsor-free listening - all while you support NPR's mission. Learn more at plus.npr.org/freshair
And subscribe to our weekly newsletter, Fresh Air Weekly, to get interview highlights, staff recommendations, gems from the archive, and the week's interviews and reviews all in one place. Sign up at www.whyy.org/freshair
Location:
Philadelphia, PA
Description:
Fresh Air from WHYY, the Peabody Award-winning weekday magazine of contemporary arts and issues, is one of public radio's most popular programs. Hosted by Terry Gross and Tonya Mosley, the show features intimate conversations with today's biggest luminaries. Subscribe to Fresh Air Plus! You'll enjoy bonus episodes and sponsor-free listening - all while you support NPR's mission. Learn more at plus.npr.org/freshair And subscribe to our weekly newsletter, Fresh Air Weekly, to get interview highlights, staff recommendations, gems from the archive, and the week's interviews and reviews all in one place. Sign up at www.whyy.org/freshair
Twitter:
@nprfreshair
Language:
English
Contact:
635 Massachusetts Av. NW, Washington, DC 20001 (202) 513-2300
Email:
freshair@freshair.com
Listen on a live station
Episodes
Doula & Novelist Leila Mottley On The Nuance Of Young Parenthood
7/9/2025
Leila Mottley gained critical acclaim at 19 with her debut novel Nightcrawling, which was longlisted for the Booker Prize. Now, she returns with her second novel, The Girls Who Grew Big. It follows a group of teenage mothers in the Florida Panhandle who form a close-knit community to support each other through the challenges of young motherhood. Mottley talks about why she views this novel as a response to the current political moment surrounding reproductive rights.
And TV critic David Bianculli reviews the season premiere of It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia and its crossover with Abbott Elementary.
Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices
NPR Privacy Policy
Duration:00:44:42
Raphael Saadiq's Secret To Creative Success: 'Dare To Suck'
7/8/2025
Award-winning singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and producer Raphael Saadiq talks about his process — from collaborating with Beyoncé and Solange, to his song in Sinners, to his R&B group Tony! Toni! Toné! He just announced an extended tour of his one-man show, No Bandwidth: One Man, One Night, Three Decades of Hits.
Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices
NPR Privacy Policy
Duration:00:45:39
Can't Sleep? You're Not Alone
7/7/2025
Pulitzer Prize-winning writer Jennifer Senior has had insomnia for 25 years. Her new piece in The Atlantic, "Why Can't Americans Sleep?," is about her often futile attempts to fall asleep, and about the latest research into insomnia and the medications and therapies used to treat it.
Also, TV critic David Bianculli reviews a new HBO Max documentary about Ms. magazine.
Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices
NPR Privacy Policy
Duration:00:45:11
Best Of: 'Hamilton' Producer Jeffrey Seller / Ebon Moss-Bachrach On 'The Bear'
7/5/2025
Jeffrey Seller has been a key behind-the-scenes figure for some of the Broadway's biggest hits including, Hamilton and RENT, but he got his start on a much smaller scale. He looks back in a new memoir called Theater Kid.
Ebon Moss-Bachrach has won two Emmys for his portrayal of Cousin Richie, the abrasive and ornery cook/maître d' on the FX series The Bear. He talks about the making of the show.
Ken Tucker reviews a new collection of Bruce Springsteen music, songs he wrote and recorded from the mid '80s to the late 2010s, but hadn't released until now.
Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices
NPR Privacy Policy
Duration:00:47:13
How Louis Armstrong Became The First Black Pop Star
7/4/2025
Author Ricky Riccardi says Armstrong's innovations as a trumpeter and vocalist helped set the entire soundtrack of the 20th century. His book about Armstrong's early life is Stomp Off, Let's Go.
Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices
NPR Privacy Policy
Duration:00:45:19
A 'Failed Child Star' Looks Back On Her Unconventional Childhood
7/3/2025
Tamara Yajia grew up Jewish in Argentina, intent on becoming a child star. But just when her break was coming along, her family emigrated to California. Her new memoir is Cry for Me, Argentina.
Also, Ken Tucker reviews a new release of "lost" Bruce Springsteen music.
Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices
NPR Privacy Policy
Duration:00:43:57
How Communities, Families & The Economy Are Impacted By ICE
7/2/2025
Jacob Soboroff of NBC News says the Trump administration promised to deport the "worst of the worst" criminal immigrants, but is now detaining undocumented workers with no serious criminal record. He spoke with Tonya Mosley about the condition of some detainment centers, the impact on L.A. communities, and child separation.
Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices
NPR Privacy Policy
Duration:00:45:22
Remembering Renowned Broadcaster Bill Moyers
7/1/2025
Longtime TV correspondent and commentator Bill Moyers died last week at age 91. Before he began his long career in broadcasting, he was presidential aide to Lyndon B. Johnson and later became White House press secretary. In a compilation of archival interviews with Terry Gross, we hear Moyers reflect on his career, his upbringing, and the polarization of American politics.
Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices
NPR Privacy Policy
Duration:00:45:46
A Theater Kid's Path To Broadway Producer
6/30/2025
Jeffrey Seller has been a key behind-the-scenes figure for some of the Broadway's biggest hits including, Hamilton and RENT, but he got his start on a much smaller scale. He looks back in a new memoir called Theater Kid. Seller spoke with Terry Gross about his path from poverty in Michigan to the epicenter of musical theater.
Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices
NPR Privacy Policy
Duration:00:46:31
Best Of: 'Hysterical' Podcaster / 'Seinfeld' Writer
6/28/2025
What happens when a former federal government employee turns his lens on the psychology of panic? You get Hysterical, a podcast series from Dan Taberski. In it, Taberski investigates a mysterious illness that swept through a group of high school students in upstate New York. He spoke with Tonya Mosley about his award-winning podcast.
Book critic Maureen Corrigan recommends some mystery and suspense novels for your summer reading list.
Also, we'll hear from Larry Charles who has been a writer, director and/or executive producer on a number of culturally impactful TV shows and films including Seinfeld, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Entourage, and Borat. He spoke with Terry Gross about his new memoir.
Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices
NPR Privacy Policy
Duration:00:48:21
Remembering War Correspondent Rod Nordland
6/27/2025
After surviving many close calls as a war correspondent — from bullets, mortars and the threat of execution — Rod Nordland was diagnosed with a lethal brain tumor in 2019. He died last week, at the age of 75. In his interview with Terry Gross last year, he spoke about facing his mortality as a war correspondent and as a terminal cancer patient. Nordland covered wars and conflicts in Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria, Lebanon, Bosnia, El Salvador and Cambodia.
Also, we'll listen back to Terry's 1993 conversation with legendary guitarist Buddy Guy, who has a cameo in Sinners.
TV critic David Bianculli reviews the new season of Hulu's The Bear.
Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices
NPR Privacy Policy
Duration:00:45:41
Virgil Abloh's Unconventional Path To Luxury Fashion
6/26/2025
Pulitzer Prize-winning critic Robin Givhan talks with Tonya Mosley about her new book, Make It Ours: Crashing the Gates of Culture with Virgil Abloh. It's a powerful look at the life and influence of the late designer, who made history as the first Black American artistic director of menswear at Louis Vuitton. Givhan reveals how Abloh, the son of Ghanaian immigrants and a digital native, shaped by hip hop and skate culture, was able to penetrate fashion's elite barriers and redefine who gets to belong.
Also, film critic Justin Chang reviews the summer blockbuster F1 starring Brad Pitt.
Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices
NPR Privacy Policy
Duration:00:46:14
Ebon Moss-Bachrach Takes Us Inside 'The Bear' Kitchen
6/25/2025
Ebon Moss-Bachrach has won two Emmys for his portrayal of Cousin Richie, the abrasive and ornery cook/maître d' on the FX series The Bear. The show is known for kitchen chaos, but he says the set is calm. He spoke with Fresh Air contributor Ann Marie Baldonado about the show, his character on GIRLS, and his venture into the Marvel Universe.
TV critic David Bianculli reviews the documentary, My Mom Jayne, produced and edited by Law & Order actor Mariska Hargitay. It's about her mom, the actress Jayne Mansfield, who died young in a car accident.
Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices
NPR Privacy Policy
Duration:00:46:03
Will Israel And The U.S. Attacks On Iran Affect Tehran's Regime?
6/24/2025
Iran expert Karim Sadjadpour has called Trump's bombing of Iran's nuclear facilities a once-in-a-generation event that could transform the Middle East. While the impact of the conflict may not be clear for years, Sadjadpour says the attacks by the U.S. and Israel do raise a more immediate question: Will they strengthen the authoritarian regime in Tehran, or hasten its demise?
Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices
NPR Privacy Policy
Duration:00:45:15
Gen Z Is Having Less Sex. Why?
6/23/2025
Journalist Carter Sherman says Gen Z — people ages 13 to 28 — are having less sex than previous generations. As part of her research, Sherman interviewed more than 100 teenagers, college students, and sexual health experts. She argues that miseducation, porn, digital disconnection, and political pressure have combined to reshape how young people sex and intimacy. Her book is The Second Coming: Sex and the Next Generation's Fight Over Its Future.
Also, critic at large John Powers reviews Endling, the debut novel from Maria Reva.
Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices
NPR Privacy Policy
Duration:00:46:28
Best Of: Benicio del Toro / Molly Jong-Fast
6/21/2025
Benicio del Toro talks about his leading role in Wes Anderson's new film, The Phoenician Scheme. He'll look back on his acting career, and tell us about moving from Puerto Rico to Pennsylvania in his teens. His other movies include The Usual Suspects, Traffic and Sicario.
Justin Chang reviews the new rom-com Materialists, starring Dakota Johnson.
MSNBC political analyst Molly Jong-Fast's mother Erica Jong became famous from her 1973 novel Fear of Flying, which was considered a groundbreaking work of feminist literature. But Molly's mom became addicted to the fame and couldn't bear to lose it. She talks about her childhood and a year of great loss in her new memoir, How to Lose Your Mother.
Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices
NPR Privacy Policy
Duration:00:48:31
Remembering Pioneer Of Gay Lit, Edmund White
6/20/2025
Edmund White, one of the most eloquent and perceptive chroniclers of gay life and culture, died June 3. He was 85. His 1982 semi-autobiographical novel, A Boy's Own Story, became an international bestseller. White wrote over 30 books, fiction and nonfiction and co-authored the guide The Joy of Gay Sex. He spoke with Terry Gross in 1985, 1994, 1997, and 2006.
Jazz critic Martin Johnson reviews a new album from Amaryllis, the septet founded by guitarist and composer Mary Halvorson.
Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices
NPR Privacy Policy
Duration:00:46:16
Painter Titus Kaphar On 'Exhibiting Forgiveness'
6/19/2025
When painter, sculptor, and installation artist Titus Kaphar's life was upended by his estranged father, he turned to film. First he decided to tell his story in a documentary, but scrapped the project when it felt unsatisfying. His feature film, Exhibiting Forgiveness, tells his story and brings his paintings to life. Kaphar talked to Tonya Mosley about his journey to healing.
Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices
NPR Privacy Policy
Duration:00:43:40
Podcaster Dan Taberski's Investigation Into An Outbreak Of A Mysterious Illness
6/18/2025
Dan Taberski's award-winning podcast Hysterical investigates a bizarre and unsettling phenomenon: a mysterious illness that swept through a group of high school students in upstate New York. Taberski unpacks the story behind this modern-day case of possible mass hysteria and reflects on his approach to investigative storytelling. We also dig into his past work, including Missing Richard Simmons.
Book critic Maureen Corrigan shares a round-up of this summer's best mystery and suspense titles.
Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices
NPR Privacy Policy
Duration:00:43:57
'Seinfeld' Writer & 'Borat' Director Larry Charles
6/17/2025
In his new memoir, Comedy Samurai, Larry Charles reflects on his career in comedy — from writing for Seinfeld to directing Sacha Baron Cohen's films Borat and Brüno — and a recent near-death experience.
Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices
NPR Privacy Policy
Duration:00:45:22