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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. 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

Mar 09

The hidden history of blackface in America

In 2013, historian Rhae Lynn Barnes was researching blackface in America at the Library of Congress when she encountered something strange: Various primary sources on the subject were listed as "missing on shelf." It turns out that a librarian had purposel...

Mar 07

Best Of: ‘Hamnet’ star Jessie Buckley / Documentarian Morgan Neville

Irish actor Jessie Buckley is nominated for an Oscar for her starring role as Shakespeare’s wife in ‘Hamnet.’ She talks about the film and how motherhood has changed her. “The thing this story offered me that brought me into this next chapter of my life as...

Mar 06

Remembering pop songwriter Neil Sedaka

Sedaka, who died last week at 86, wrote and recorded hits in the late ‘50s and early ‘60s – songs like “Calendar Girl” and “Breaking up is Hard to Do.” He was nine years old when he began studying piano at Juilliard. Sedaka told Terry Gross in 2007, “To th...

Remembering pop songwriter Neil Sedaka

Mar 05

Delroy Lindo is claiming victory

Delroy Lindo is Oscar-nominated for his role as Delta Slim in Ryan Coogler’s ‘Sinners.’ In a wide-ranging conversation with co-host Tonya Mosley, he talks about preparing for the role, growing up in the U.K. as the son of a Jamaican immigrant, and a specia...

Delroy Lindo is claiming victory

Mar 04

From Beatles break-up to John’s murder, a look at Paul’s transformation

Oscar, Grammy, and Emmy-winning documentary filmmaker Morgan Neville tells us about his new film, ‘Man on The Run.’It begins when the Beatles end, with Paul McCartney trying to figure out who he is as a musician and as a person— without John Lennon and the...

From Beatles break-up to John’s murder, a look at Paul’s transformation

Mar 03

A look at Trump's plans to restrict voting

President Trump is promoting tighter restrictions on mail-in ballots as well as passage of the SAVE Act, which requires proof of citizenship to vote. UCLA professor Richard Hasen unpacks the ramifications. John Powers reviews the Oscar-nominated Japanese ...

Mar 02

Jessie Buckley loves the ‘shadowy bits’ of her characters

Jessie Buckley spoke with Terry Gross about her role as Shakespeare’s wife, Agnes, in ‘Hamnet,’ directed by Chloé Zhao. She’s nominated for an Oscar and already won a Golden Globe and a SAG Award for her performance. The Irish actor talks about motherhood,...

Jessie Buckley loves the ‘shadowy bits’ of her characters

Feb 28

Best Of: Kate Hudson / Stellan Skarsgård

Kate Hudson is up for an Oscar for her role as Claire in the film ‘Song Sung Blue,’ starring opposite Hugh Jackman as one half of Lightning & Thunder, a Neil Diamond tribute band. She spoke with Tonya Mosley about pursuing singing late in her career. We al...

Feb 27

The voice of SpongeBob, Tom Kenny

We take a trip to Bikini Bottom and revisit our interview with Tom Kenny, who plays SpongeBob on the popular Nickelodeon cartoon series, and in the new ‘Spongebob SquarePants’ film. Kenny’s been voicing the character since the show began in 1999. In 2004 h...

The voice of SpongeBob, Tom Kenny

Feb 26

Is the U.S. headed toward military conflict with Iran?

New York Times journalist David Sanger discusses how we got here, the state of Iran's nuclear weapons program, the likelihood of U.S. military force against Iran and if Trump's goal is regime change. To manage podcast ad preferences, review the links belo...

Feb 25

Stellan Skarsgård doesn’t believe in bad guys

Aside from the evil Baron Harkonnen in ‘Dune,’ actor Stellan Skarsgård doesn’t really believe in bad guys. He looks for nuance in every role. He’s Oscar-nominated for his performance in ‘Sentimental Value,’ as a successful filmmaker who is estranged from h...

Stellan Skarsgård doesn’t believe in bad guys

Feb 24

Tayari Jones on friendship, writing, and choosing your ‘Kin’

Eight years after her bestseller 'An American Marriage,' Tayari Jones has written a new novel, 'Kin,' set in the Jim Crow South. It follows two girls, Vernice and Annie, who grow up next door to each other without their mothers. That shared wound binds the...

Feb 23

Kate Hudson

Kate Hudson has had a hugely successful career as an actor and entrepreneur, but knew she'd always regret it if she didn't try her hand at music. Finally in 2024 she released her debut album, 'Glorious,' and got to share a whole other side of herself with ...

Kate Hudson

Feb 21

Best Of: The life and legacy of Fela Kuti / Michael Pollan on consciousness

The Nigerian musician Fela Kuti used his music in the ‘70s as a weapon against colonial values and his country’s brutal dictatorship. The danceable music and political lyrics inspired a youth movement. Award-winning podcaster Jad Abumrad talks with Terry a...

Feb 20

Remembering actor Robert Duvall & filmmaker Frederick Wiseman

The great actor Robert Duvall made his mark starring in epic movies and intimate dramas including ‘The Godfather,’ ‘Tender Mercies,’ ‘The Great Santini,’ and, of course, ‘Apocalypse Now.’ He died Sunday at age 95. We listen back to archival interviews from...

Feb 19

Michael Pollan’s journey to understand consciousness

Science journalist Michael Pollan has written extensively about the therapeutic benefits of mind-altering psychedelics. His new book, ‘A World Appears,’ asks, what is consciousness? “Consciousness has kind of become the secular substitute for the soul,” he...

Feb 18

A look at the ethical implications of AI

The AI chatbot Claude can help you write an email, challenge a hospital bill, or publish a novel. It was also reportedly used by the U.S. military in the operation that captured Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro. Now the Pentagon is threatening to cut tie...

Feb 17

A daughter's rebellion against a regime and her father

Photojournalist Loubna Mrie grew up in Syria in a wealthy and abusive home. Her father was part of the regime, allegedly an assassin for Bashar al-Assad’s father. Loubna joined the Syrian revolution first as a protester and then as a photojournalist. She t...

Feb 16

The American Presidency, Redefined

Pulitzer Prize-winning presidential historian Jon Meacham talks with Dave Davies about Trump's impact on democracy. Meacham's latest book, ‘American Struggle,’ is a collection of speeches, letters and other original texts from 1619 to the present. To man...

Feb 14

Best Of: Mixed Marriage Project / How Racism Costs Everyone

Dorothy Roberts’ father was a white anthropologist who studied interracial marriages and her mother was a Black woman from Jamaica. She always assumed her parents' relationship inspired her father’s scholarly focus, but that changed after he died, and she ...