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
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@nprfreshair
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English
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635 Massachusetts Av. NW, Washington, DC 20001 (202) 513-2300
Email:
freshair@freshair.com
Episodes
Remembering Actor Terence Stamp
8/22/2025
We remember British actor Terence Stamp, who died last week at age 87. He starred in the film The Limey, as an ex-con out for revenge, and in The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert as a transgender performer on the road with a lip-synch club act. Stamp got his start in the ’60s, starring in the films Billy Budd, Far From the Madding Crowd and The Collector. Stamp grew up in a working class cockney neighborhood and as a teenager, when he let it be known he wanted to be an actor, his father told him, "People like us don't do things like that." He spoke with Terry Gross in 2002.
Also, film critic Justin Chang reviews the new hit horror film Weapons.
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Duration:00:45:48
Robert Reich: The Baby Boomers Fell Short
8/21/2025
Former Secretary of Labor Robert Reich served under President Clinton from 1993 to 1997. He opens his new memoir, Coming Up Short, with an apology on behalf of the Baby Boom generation for failing to build a more just society.
Also, Maureen Corrigan reviews the books Pariah and The Dancing Face.
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Duration:00:43:43
The Dramatic Overhaul Of The Justice Dept.
8/20/2025
The New Yorker’s Ruth Marcus says Bondi has presided over the DOJ's most convulsive transition of power since Watergate, aggressively reversing policies, investigating Trump’s foes and firing staff.
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Duration:00:45:10
Spike Lee On Dynamic Duos & Reimagining Kurosawa
8/19/2025
Spike Lee's new film, Highest 2 Lowest, centers on a music mogul (Denzel Washington) who faces a moral dilemma when kidnappers mistakenly hold his friend's son ransom instead of his own: Will he risk it all to save a child who isn't his? The Oscar-winning filmmaker spoke with Tonya Mosley about his decades-long partnership with Denzel, an upcoming docuseries about Hurricane Katrina, and Do The Right Thing, 35+ years later.
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Duration:00:44:41
Bowen Yang's 'Wicked' White Lie
8/18/2025
The Emmy-nominated Saturday Night Live cast member talks with Terry Gross about his favorite pop culture in the aughts, his SNL audition, and his recent trip to China.
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Duration:00:45:52
Thomas Mallon
8/15/2025
Writer Thomas Mallon looks back on the early years of the AIDS epidemic, when he was in his 30s, living in Manhattan. His friends were sick or dead, and he was terrified that he’d die, too. Excerpts of his journals from those years are collected in The Very Heart of It. He'll also talk about his latest novel, Up with the Sun, based on the life and murder of a little-known gay actor from the 1950s and '60s.
Also, we remember jazz singer Sheila Jordan, who died Monday at age 96. And Justin Chang reviews Spike Lee's new film, Highest 2 Lowest.
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Duration:00:44:53
Best Of: AI's Writing Critique / The Rise And Fall Of Condé Nast
8/15/2025
After writing chapters of her new book about how tech companies help and exploit us, tech journalist and novelist Vauhini Vara fed those chapters to ChatGPT. She told the AI chatbot she needed help with her writing. But her real goal was to analyze and critique the chatbot’s advice. Her book is Searches.
Also, before social media, before influencers, the magazines Vanity Fair, Vogue, GQ, and Architectural Digest were among the most significant tastemakers, informing readers what clothes, celebrities, and trends were hot. We’ll talk with Michael Grynbaum about how Condé Nast cultivated a mystique that captivated subscribers.
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Duration:00:48:50
Pedro Pascal Got Fired A Lot
8/14/2025
Chilean-born actor Pedro Pascal has faced countless on-screen challenges, including cosmic battles and cartel kingpins. He's nominated for an Emmy for his role on the HBO series, The Last of Us. He spoke with Tonya Mosley about getting fired from restaurant jobs, his dance training, and his parents' exile from Chile.
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Duration:00:43:46
Musician Charley Crockett's Road From Busking To The Grammys
8/13/2025
Crockett grew up poor and got his start in music busking for tips on the street and in the subway. He's since played the Hollywood Bowl and been nominated for a Grammy. The country/roots musician talks with Terry Gross and plays songs from his new album, Dollar a Day.
John Powers reviews The Diary of Lies, a new mystery novel about a reporter. TV critic David Bianculli reviews the new series Alien: Earth, a TV prequel to the film Alien.
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Duration:00:45:49
Jeff Hiller's Big Break Came In His 40s
8/12/2025
Hiller spent years scraping by in Hollywood by taking on various small roles and commercials. Then he landed the role of Joel on HBO's Somebody Somewhere and everything changed. His new memoir is Actress of a Certain Age.
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Duration:00:43:47
Daniel Dae Kim Fakes His Own Death In 'Butterfly'
8/11/2025
Daniel Dae Kim became the first actor of Asian descent to be nominated for a Tony, for his performance in Yellow Face, in the role of a playwright trying to deal with Asian American representation. His new Amazon Prime Video spy series Butterfly premieres today. Kim spoke with Ann Marie Baldonado about his career, his big break with Lost, and filming his new series in his hometown in Korea. Book critic Maureen Corrigan reflects on Gentlemen Prefer Blondes for its 100th anniversary.
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Duration:00:46:44
Best Of: Making 'Born To Run' / Why We Can't Sleep
8/9/2025
This month marks the 50th anniversary of Bruce Springsteen's album Born to Run. We'll talk with Peter Ames Carlin, author of a Tonight in Jungleland, about the making of this now classic album.
Also, we'll talk with Jennifer Senior about her Atlantic article "Why Can't Americans Sleep?" And, David Bianculli reviews season two of Wednesday, starring Jenna Ortega.
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Duration:00:48:16
Remembering Eddie Palmieri / Funk Innovator George Clinton
8/8/2025
We remember Eddie Palmieri, the pianist, bandleader and composer whose contributions to Afro-Caribbean music shaped the genre for decades. He died Wednesday at the age of 88.
Also, Parliament's now classic funk album Mothership Connection turned 50 this year. We listen back to Terry Gross's 1989 interview with funkmaster George Clinton.
David Bianculli reviews the new season of Wednesday and film critic Justin Chang reviews two comedy remakes: The Naked Gun and Freakier Friday.
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Duration:00:46:47
The Making Of Springsteen's 'Born To Run'
8/7/2025
Bruce Springsteen's groundbreaking album, Born to Run, came out 50 years ago this month, marking a turning point for rock and roll — and for "The Boss." Before he recorded that record, Springsteen's label, Columbia, was on the verge of dropping him because his first two albums, though critically acclaimed, had sold poorly. Biographer Peter Ames Carlin describes the creation of Born to Run as an "existential moment" for Springsteen. His book is Tonight in Jungleland.
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Duration:00:46:21
The Nihilistic War In Sudan
8/6/2025
Fourteen million people in Sudan have been displaced by war and famine. The Atlantic's Anne Applebaum says the scale of destruction is vast and, as the conflict rages, people are overwhelmed by chaos.
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Duration:00:45:27
Sarah Silverman Gets the Last Laugh in 'PostMortem'
8/5/2025
Silverman's father and stepmother are buried under one tombstone that reads: "Janice and Donald, who loved to laugh." The loss was a starting point for Silverman's "cathartic" Netflix comedy special, PostMortem. She spoke with Terry Gross about their final days, finding the joy in grief, and she reflects on the boys' club of the comedy scene when she was starting out.
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Duration:00:44:50
How The 1979 Revolution Transformed Iran
8/4/2025
For decades, Iran has been an adversary of the United States. Scott Anderson examines the Iranian revolution of 1979, the upheaval that deposed the reigning monarch and transformed the country from a U.S. ally to an Islamic Republic. He says blunders by American policymakers played a key role in the outcome. Anderson's new book is King of Kings.
Later David Bianculli reviews the new HBO documentary, Billy Joel: And So it Goes.
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Duration:00:44:41
Best Of: Mariska Hargitay / Marc Maron
8/2/2025
Emmy-winning Law & Order: SVU actor Mariska Hargitay talks about her new documentary, My Mom Jayne, an intimate portrait of her mother, the late Hollywood star Jayne Mansfield. Mansfield's life was cut short in a tragic car accident when Hargitay was just 3 years old.
Also, comic and actor Marc Maron talks about grief, his problematic cats, and why he's ending his popular podcast WTF, which he started in the early days of podcasting. Maron has a new HBO comedy special called Panicked, and he's the subject of a new documentary.
Plus, Ken Tucker has an appreciation of Parliament's album Mothership Connection which turns 50 this year.
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Duration:00:43:08
Correcting The Record On Elvis's Manager
7/31/2025
Terry Gross talks with rock historian Peter Guralnick, author of the definitive two volume biography of Elvis Presley. His new book is about Elvis's longtime manager, Colonel Tom Parker. Guralnick says researching the book led to many surprises and made him question the many preconceptions about Parker. It's called The Colonel and the King: Tom Parker, Elvis Presley, and the Partnership that Rocked the World.
John Powers reviews Code of Silence, a new British crime series.
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Duration:00:43:08
Has NASA Ceded Its Mission To Elon Musk?
7/30/2025
The Atlantic journalist Franklin Foer explains how SpaceX and the Trump administration are changing the face of NASA, and why Musk's dream of Mars may come at the cost of the agency's mission.
Also, Ken Tucker commemorates the 50th anniversary release of George Clinton's album Mothership Connection.
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Duration:00:44:51