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Fresh Air

NPR

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. Support public media by joining NPR+ at plus.npr.org. You’ll get perks for over 25 NPR podcasts, including weekly bonus episodes and curated playlists of archive interviews from Fresh Air. 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

21 HOURS AGO

A John Prine Appreciation

Prine, who died in 2020, would’ve turned 80 this weekend. A five-day event in and around his native Chicago is underway, including a tribute concert. The beloved folk singer-songwriter spoke with Terry Gross in 2018 about how throat and neck surgery affect...

A John Prine Appreciation

1 DAYS AGO

Veteran White House reporter April Ryan’s ‘Blacklash’

Ryan has spent decades pressing presidents for answers. She talks about access, power, race and how asking questions put her in President Trump's crosshairs. She spoke with Tonya Mosley about her book, Notes on a Blacklash. Also, TV critic David Bianculli...

Veteran White House reporter April Ryan’s ‘Blacklash’

2 DAYS AGO

How Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth brought the culture wars to the military

New York Times military and Pentagon reporter Greg Jaffe says Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth has disproportionately blocked promotions of Black and women senior officers, and he’s also been purging the military of transgender people. “Usually Secretarie...

How Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth brought the culture wars to the military

3 DAYS AGO

‘Showbiz!’ entertainer Murray Hill became what he didn’t see

Murray Hill's character on HBO’s Somebody Somewhere, Fred Rococo, is a soil scientist trans man who hosts a queer cabaret. “[He] is me dialed down to like a 2,” he tells Terry Gross. In real life, Murray has hosted drag king shows, queer cabarets, burlesqu...

‘Showbiz!’ entertainer Murray Hill became what he didn’t see

4 DAYS AGO

Michael Douglas

Michael Douglas is one of the most recognizable actors of our time, but in 1987, many still knew him as Kirk Douglas's son. That year, he starred in Fatal Attraction and Wall Street, and his role as Gordon Gekko won him the Oscar for Best Actor. "When I we...

Michael Douglas

Oct 03

Best Of: Kyle MacLachlan / Inside the ‘romance scam’

Kyle MacLachlan was just 23 when he auditioned for Lynch's adaptation of Dune. The two would go on to work together on the cult classics Blue Velvet and Twin Peaks. “The worlds that [Lynch] creates are real in his mind — they exist,” he tells Terry Gross. ...

Oct 02

Celebrating minimalist composer Steve Reich

Often called one of the fathers of minimalist music, Reich created a vocabulary that has influenced nearly every form of music: Classical, electronic, jazz, and pop. To commemorate his 90th birthday, there are worldwide performances and festivals in his ho...

Celebrating minimalist composer Steve Reich

Oct 01

Sheryl Crow

The Grammy-winning singer-songwriter has a new album, Pick You Up, out Oct. 9. She spoke with Fresh Air guest interviewer Sam Fragoso (Talk Easy) about touring with Michael Jackson in her 20s as a back-up singer, depression, and Bob Dylan’s advice for writ...

Sheryl Crow

Sep 30

New drones, deadlier attacks: Dystopian reality in Ukraine

Zanny Minton Beddoes, editor-in-chief of The Economist, is just back from her fourth visit to Ukraine. She says Russia has ramped up production of missiles and deadly drones, while Ukraine is desperately short of interceptors to resist the onslaught. “[Kyi...

New drones, deadlier attacks: Dystopian reality in Ukraine

Sep 29

Mahmoud Khalil’s 104 days in ICE Detention

Khalil was born in a Palestinian refugee camp in Syria and fled the country at 18. He had a green card to be in the United States, and had become one of the most visible faces of the pro-Palestinian protests at Columbia University, where he had been a grad...

Mahmoud Khalil’s 104 days in ICE Detention

Sep 28

Kyle MacLachlan was David Lynch’s ‘submersible’ into dark places

MacLachlan was just 23 when he auditioned for Lynch's adaptation of Dune. The two would go on to work together on the cult classics Blue Velvet and Twin Peaks. “The worlds that [Lynch] creates are real in his mind — they exist,” he tells Terry Gross. MacLa...

Kyle MacLachlan was David Lynch’s ‘submersible’ into dark places

Sep 26

Best Of: Rhiannon Giddens / Investigating Diddy’s Rise & Fall

Rhiannon Giddens doesn’t usually make pop music, but she wrote and played the banjo riff on Beyoncé’s country single, “Texas Hold ‘Em.” She comes from the Black string band tradition, is the artistic director of the Silk Road Ensemble, and studied opera in...

Sep 25

Bluegrass virtuoso Billy Strings

The Grammy-winning singer, songwriter and guitarist has one foot in traditional bluegrass and another in improvisational jam music. He has a new album, So Much for Goodbyes, inspired by his late mother. He spoke with producer Sam Briger about healing himse...

Bluegrass virtuoso Billy Strings

Sep 24

Investigating the system that protected Sean “Diddy” Combs

Sean Combs founded Bad Boy Records and spent three decades as one of the most powerful men in hip hop. Now he's serving a federal prison sentence. Rolling Stone reporter Cheyenne Roundtree spent years talking to the people who worked for him, many of them ...

Investigating the system that protected Sean “Diddy” Combs

Sep 23

Global power, rivalry, and A.I.; a preview of the U.S./China summit

As President Trump and China's President Xi prepare to meet tomorrow, Rush Doshi of the Council on Foreign Relations explains the current state of US-China relations and what to expect from this summit. Subscribe to our free weekly newsletter Follow us...

Global power, rivalry, and A.I.; a preview of the U.S./China summit

Sep 22

Inside the 'modern slavery' where cyber scammers are victims themselves

WIRED’s Andy Greenberg explains how a cybercrime operation in Southeast Asia trapped computer engineers into defrauding victims of billions of dollars. Plus he discusses the scam involving Fresh Air. Also, jazz historian Kevin Whitehead reflects on John C...

Inside the 'modern slavery' where cyber scammers are victims themselves

Sep 21

Rhiannon Giddens traces the banjo from her ancestors to Beyoncé

A self-described "folkie to the bone," Giddens talks with Terry Gross about channeling her ancestors through her instrument, playing on Beyoncé’s country single “Texas Hold ‘Em,” and a connection between Irish folk music and Dolly Parton. Giddens also sing...

Rhiannon Giddens traces the banjo from her ancestors to Beyoncé

Sep 19

Best Of: Colin Kaepernick / Danielle Brooks

10 years ago, former 49ers NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick took a knee during the national anthem to protest police violence against Black people. After the season ended, he never played in the NFL again. He spoke with Tonya Mosley about his childhood, fo...

Sep 18

Looney Tunes animator Chuck Jones / Remembering singer Cassandra Wilson

The new film Coyote vs. ACME is based on the classic Warner Bros. cartoons featuring the Roadrunner and Wile E. Coyote. Today, we listen back to Terry’s 1989 interview with animator Chuck Jones. He created the characters, among others, and directed many Lo...

Sep 17

The Roy Cohn Playbook, from McCarthyism to Trump

In a biography of Roy Cohn, Kai Bird looks at how the lawyer taught President Trump to deny, delay, attack, sue and countersue, never admit defeat, side step paying bills and avoid a paper trail. His book, with co-author Susan Goldmark, is American Scoundr...

The Roy Cohn Playbook, from McCarthyism to Trump