Fresh Air
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
Episodes
August 9, 2025 • 48 mins
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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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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August 8, 2025 • 46 mins
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 C...
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 C...
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August 7, 2025 • 46 mins
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....
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August 6, 2025 • 45 mins
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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August 5, 2025 • 44 mins
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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August 4, 2025 • 44 mins
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 G...
Later David Bianculli reviews the new HBO documentary, Billy Joel: And So it G...
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August 2, 2025 • 43 mins
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...
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...
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July 31, 2025 • 43 mins
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 ...
John Powers ...
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July 30, 2025 • 44 mins
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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Also, Ken Tucker commemorates the 50th anniversary release of George Clinton's album Mothership Connection.
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July 29, 2025 • 44 mins
As he winds down his podcast, WTF, after 16 years, Marc Maron reflects on what he'll miss: "These conversations are very real conversations for me ... and that is kind of nourishing for the spirit and the soul." He spoke with Terry Gross about being the subject of a documentary, dreams he has of his late girlfriend Lynn Shelton, and cringing at his old comedy. Maron stars in the Apple TV+ series Stick, and his new HBO comedy specia...
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July 28, 2025 • 44 mins
The Law & Order: SVU actor was just 3 years old in 1967 when her movie star mom, Jayne Mansfield, died in a car crash. Hargitay's new documentary highlights the intelligent woman behind her mom's crafted persona. Hargitay has a new HBO documentary about her "archeological dig" on her family, called My Mom Jayne. She also talks about learning the identity of her biological father, her love of comedy, and working with survivors of se...
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July 26, 2025 • 48 mins
Actor and singer Leslie Uggams talks about her remarkable career, which started when she was 6. She was later the first Black woman to host a TV variety show. In the 1977 TV miniseries Roots, she played Kunta Kinte's daughter. More recently she's been in Empire, American Fiction, and the Deadpool films — and is still going strong at 82.
Also, writer Joseph Lee talks about what it means to be a member of the Aquinnah Wampa...
Also, writer Joseph Lee talks about what it means to be a member of the Aquinnah Wampa...
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July 25, 2025 • 46 mins
The lyrics for the songs "What Are You Doing the Rest of Your Life," "The Way We Were," "Nice 'n' Easy," "You Must Believe in Spring," and "The Windmills of Your Mind" were written by the husband and wife lyric-writing team of Alan and Marilyn Bergman. Alan Bergman died last week at the age of 99. The two wrote songs together for more than 60 years. They spoke with Terry Gross in 2007.
The aristocratic, unconventional Bri...
The aristocratic, unconventional Bri...
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July 24, 2025 • 44 mins
The Trump administration has been pressuring elite universities, like Harvard and Columbia, with widespread demands, and threats of federal funding cuts. So why are they now investigating George Mason University? ProPublica education reporter Katherine Mangan tells us why GMU's president thinks it's driven by a backlash to DEI efforts.
Also, jazz historian Kevin Whitehead reflects on a James Moody release. He would've bee...
Also, jazz historian Kevin Whitehead reflects on a James Moody release. He would've bee...
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July 23, 2025 • 45 mins
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 chatbot she needed help with her writing, but her real goal was to analyze and critique the AI's advice. Her new book is Searches: Selfhood in the Digital Age.
Also, TV critic and historian David Bianculli reacts to the cancellation of The Late Show with ...
Also, TV critic and historian David Bianculli reacts to the cancellation of The Late Show with ...
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July 22, 2025 • 46 mins
Uggams performed in Beulah, Hallelujah Baby, Roots, Empire, American Fiction and the Deadpool films. She was the first Black woman to host a TV variety show. At 82, she's appearing in The Gilded Age. She spoke with Terry Gross about her long, winding career.
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July 21, 2025 • 44 mins
In Nothing More of This Land, Aquinnah Wampanoag writer Joseph Lee takes readers past the celebrity summer scene and into the heart of Noepe, the name his people have called the island for centuries.
Also, Ken Tucker reviews new music from HAIM and Addison Rae.
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Also, Ken Tucker reviews new music from HAIM and Addison Rae.
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July 19, 2025 • 46 mins
Stacey Abrams is known as a voting rights activist, former candidate for Georgia governor, and founder of Fair Fight Action. But she's also a bestselling author, and has a new novel, a thriller revolving around a former Supreme Court clerk investigating a murder inside an AI company.
Also, book critic Maureen Corrigan recommends two summer non-fiction books.
And we hear from musician and producer Raphael Saadiq. ...
Also, book critic Maureen Corrigan recommends two summer non-fiction books.
And we hear from musician and producer Raphael Saadiq. ...
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July 18, 2025 • 47 mins
As Major League Baseball celebrates a memorable All Star Game, we feature some of our favorite baseball interviews – with crafty veteran pitcher Jamie Moyer, cerebral and successful manager Tony La Russa, and slugger Mike Piazza on his epic confrontation with Roger Clemens in the World Series.
John Powers reviews Cloud, the new psychological thriller from Japanese director Kiyoshi Kurosawa.
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John Powers reviews Cloud, the new psychological thriller from Japanese director Kiyoshi Kurosawa.
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July 18, 2025 • 2 mins
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