Fresh Air

By NPR

What's Fresh Air about?

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, the show features intimate conversations with today's biggest luminaries.

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Best Of: Padma Lakshmi / Pa...

07.11.2020

In her new Hulu series, 'Taste the Nation,' Padma Lakshmi explores the different cultures that contribute to American cuisine. Lakshmi spoke with Terry Gross about splitting her childhood between the U.S. and India and her early modeling career. Ken Tucker ...

Fresh Air episodes:

07.11.2020 Best Of: Padma Lakshmi / Patrick Stewart In her new Hulu series, 'Taste the Nation,' Padma Lakshmi explores the different cultures that contribute to American cuisine. Lakshmi spoke with Terry Gross about splitting her childhood between the U.S. and India and her early modeling career. Ken Tucker ...
07.10.2020 'Moonlight' Actor André Holland Growing up in Alabama, André Holland's parents were voting rights activists and his father was a preacher. Holland is best known for his roles in 'Moonlight' and 'Castle Rock.' Next week he'll star in a radio version of Shakespeare's 'Richard ...
07.09.2020 Chaos & Healing In The ER In her memoir, 'The Beauty in Breaking,' Dr. Michele Harper writes about treating gunshot wounds, getting punched in the face, and discovering evidence of child abuse. She's also drawn insight and courage from her patients as she's struggled to overcome ...
07.08.2020 Why White Evangelicals Worship At The Altar Of Trump Journalist Sarah Posner says while President Trump may not speak the language of faith and Christian values, he speaks the language of grievance — giving voice to legal, social and cultural concerns shared by the Christian right and the alt-right. ...
07.07.2020 'Demagogue' Draws Direct Line From McCarthy To Trump Author Larry Tye chronicles Sen. Joseph McCarthy's infamous smear campaign in a new book, 'Demagogue.' He says both McCarthy and President Trump are "bullies" who exploit fears and "point fingers when they're attacked." Book critic Maureen Corrigan reviews the novel ...
07.06.2020 Padma Lakshmi In her new Hulu series, 'Taste the Nation,' the 'Top Chef' host and executive producer explores the different cultures that contribute to American cuisine. Lakshmi spoke with Terry Gross about splitting her childhood between the U.S. and India, speaking out ...
07.04.2020 Best Of: Lin-Manuel Miranda / Actor Christine Baranski A film of the original Broadway production of 'Hamilton,' taped in 2016, is now streaming on Disney+. Creator Lin-Manuel Miranda, who stars in the title role, says the production is as timely as ever. "When you write a musical that ...
07.03.2020 Remembering Carl Reiner Performer, writer, director Carl Reiner died Monday at 98. Reiner began his career in showbiz as an actor and became second banana on Sid Caesar's 'Show of Shows' where he soon joined the writing team that included Mel Brooks, Woody ...
07.02.2020 Sir Patrick Stewart On 'Star Trek: Picard' Patrick Stewart is back as Captain Jean-Luc Picard in the CBS All Access series 'Star Trek: Picard.' He says he's changed as an actor over the years: "I am not averse to risk-taking and I don't judge myself." Stewart spoke ...
07.01.2020 The Militarization Of Police Journalist Radley Balko, author of 'Rise Of The Warrior Cop,' says police departments across America are increasingly using equipment designed for use on a battlefield, including tanks, bayonets and grenades. We talk about the use of these weapons against peaceful ...
06.30.2020 A Doctor Confronts Medical Error When Dr. Danielle Ofri was in medical school she missed a patient's critical brain bleed. Luckily, someone else caught the error and the patient survived, but Ofri lived with the guilt and shame for 20 years. Medical errors are very ...
06.29.2020 'Hamilton' Creator Lin-Manuel Miranda A film of the original Broadway production of 'Hamilton,' taped in 2016, begins streaming on Disney+ on July 3. Miranda, who stars in the title role, says the production is as timely as ever. "When you write a musical that ...
06.27.2020 Best Of: A Call For Reparations / Treating PTSD With Psychedelics Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Nikole Hannah-Jones says 250 yeas of slavery and 100 years of legalized segregation robbed Black Americans of the ability to accumulate wealth. Cash payments would help repair the damage. Her latest piece in the 'New York Times ...
06.26.2020 LGBTQ Activist Cleve Jones / Novelist Marijane Meaker After the AIDS epidemic hit San Francisco, gay activist Cleve Jones co-founded the San Francisco AIDS Foundation and started the AIDS Memorial Quilt. "I have these memories of great struggle and great pain and great loss, but I also in ...
06.25.2020 Actor Christine Baranski Baranski started her career in theater and now stars as a progressive lawyer in 'The Good Fight.' "I was a passionate acting student and nothing was going to stop me," the Emmy Award-winning actor says. She talks about singing Sondheim, ...
06.24.2020 A Call For Reparations: Nikole Hannah-Jones On The Wealth Gap Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Nikole Hannah-Jones says 250 yeas of slavery and 100 years of legalized segregation robbed Black Americans of the ability to accumulate wealth. Cash payments would help repair the damage. Her latest piece in the 'New York Times ...
06.23.2020 From 'Empty' To Satisfied: A Lifelong Struggle With Eating Disorders For nearly 30 years, 'This American Life' producer Susan Burton kept her binge eating disorder a secret. "As long as I was bingeing, I didn't have to think. I didn't have to think about any loss or pain or wanting ...
06.22.2020 Treating PTSD With Psychedelics Psychiatrist Dr. Julie Holland has used psychedelic-assisted therapy to treat patients with post-traumatic stress disorder. In some cases, she says, MDMA or marijuana can help make treatment more efficient and effective. She discusses this "revolutionary way" to treat trauma. Holland's ...
06.20.2020 Best Of: The 1919 Chicago Race Riots / Parenting 'Without Perfection' Eve Ewing's poetry collection '1919' looks back on a century-old riot in Chicago, set off after Eugene Williams, a black teen, drowned because he was stoned by white people on the beach. Police refused to make an arrest. Ewing connects ...
06.19.2020 Rhiannon Giddens Sings Slave Narratives / Freedom Singer Bernice Johnson Reagon Singer and banjo player Rhiannon Giddens' 2017 album 'Freedom Highway' includes songs based on slave narratives. She notes that the modern banjo draws from the African instrument known as the akonting, which is made from a gourd. "In the first ...
06.18.2020 Kristen Howerton On 'Parenting Without Perfection' Blogger and licensed family therapist Kristen Howerton talks about how raising two white biological daughters and two black adopted sons helped her understand white privilege. She reflects on motherhood, miscarriage, divorce and faith. Her new memoir is 'Rage Against the ...
06.17.2020 Assessing COVID-19 Risk As The U.S. Reopens With certain states loosening restrictions — and others partially in lockdown — there's a lot of widespread confusion about COVID-19 risks. We talk with University of Minnesota epidemiologist Michael Osterholm about the safety concerns in terms of protests, indoor gatherings, ...
06.16.2020 The Lasting Effects Of Having — Or Being Denied — An Abortion Dr. Diana Greene Foster interviewed 1,000 women over 10 years who either had or were denied abortions. Her study looked at the women's mental, physical and economic health. Foster says the data reveal, "95 percent of women who receive an ...
06.15.2020 Poet Eve Ewing Connects 1919 Chicago Riots To Today Ewing's poetry collection '1919' looks back on a century-old riot in Chicago, set off after a black teen drowned while being stoned by white people. Police refused to make an arrest. Ewing connects the systemic racism that plagued the U.S. ...
06.13.2020 Best Of: Jamiles Lartey On Racism In Policing / Pete Davidson & Judd Apatow Journalist Jamiles Lartey writes about criminal justice, race and policing for the non-profit news organization 'The Marshall Project.' Terry Gross spoke with Lartey about systemic racism in American policing and how we might begin to rethink these systems. "Policing wasn't ...
06.12.2020 James Baldwin / Filmmaker Raoul Peck / Black Athletes & Social Justice 'I Am Not Your Negro' is the documentary about James Baldwin, one of the most influential black writers to emerge during the civil rights Era and address racial issues head on. We listen back to Terry Gross' 1986 interview with ...
06.11.2020 Pete Davidson & Judd Apatow On 'The King Of Staten Island' 'SNL' castmember Pete Davidson plays a fictionalized version of himself in the new movie 'The King of Staten Island.' The film draws on Davidson's real life experience of losing his own father, a 9/11 First Responder. Filmmaker Judd Apatow and ...
06.10.2020 Rethinking American Policing We talk with journalist Jamiles Lartey about systemic racism in American policing. He writes about criminal justice, race and policing for the non-profit news organization 'The Marshall Project.' "Policing wasn't always this way. It wasn't always this big. It wasn't ...
06.09.2020 The Trump Administration's Response To DC Protests 'Washington Post' reporter Matt Zapotosky talks about Attorney General William Barr's role in the Trump administration's forceful response to the largely peaceful George Floyd protests in Washington, DC.
06.08.2020 The Brutal History Of The Texas Rangers Their exploits are portrayed in countless movies and TV shows, but author Doug Swanson says the law enforcement agency has a dark history of abuse and officially-sanctioned racial oppression — including burning villages, hunting runaway slaves and murdering Mexicans and ...
06.06.2020 Best Of: The 'New Science' Of Breathing / The Migration Of All Living Things Humans typically take about 25,000 breaths per day — often without a second thought. We talk with journalist James Nestor about how breath work can affect your overall health. His book is 'Breath: The New Science of a Lost Art.' ...
06.05.2020 The 'Unresolved Legacy' Of Reconstruction In the period after the Civil War, former slaves were made promises of equality and citizenship by the federal government. Historian Eric Foner analyzes the fate of those promises and how the 13th, 14th and 15th Amendments relate to current ...
06.04.2020 Why GOP Leaders Back Trump's 'Proto-Authoritarian Cult' Journalist Anne Applebaum says President Trump's threat to deploy the military on peaceful protestors is straight out of an authoritarian playbook. The 'Atlantic' staff writer says Trump has built a proto-authoritarian cult in the White House, with little to no ...
06.03.2020 Wes Moore On Freddie Gray & George Floyd: It's Time To 'Change The Systems' In his book 'Five Days,' author Wes Moore chronicles the uprising that occurred in 2015 in Baltimore following Freddie Gray's death. "We're basically reliving history right now," he says of George Floyd's death at the hands of police. Moore talks ...
06.02.2020 Rethinking The Migration Of All Living Things When living things cross into new territory, they are often viewed as threats. But science writer Sonia Shah, who has written a new book — 'The Next Great Migration' — says the "invaders" are just following biology. Shah talks about ...
06.01.2020 Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams On George Floyd Protests & Police Reform At 15, Eric Adams was beaten by police. The traumatizing incident inspired him to become a police officer to help reform NYC policing from the inside. He co-founded 100 Blacks In Law Enforcement Who Care, and after 22 years on ...
05.30.2020 Best Of: Comic Hannah Gadsby / Inside The Snowden Story Since her explosive 2018 Netflix special, 'Nanette,' comic Hannah Gadsby has been trying to adjust to her newfound success. We talk about being diagnosed with autism and growing up in Tasmania. Her new special is 'Douglas.' Also, book critic Maureen ...
05.29.2020 Margo Price / Remembering AIDS Activist Larry Kramer Nashville singer-songwriter Margo Price spoke with 'Fresh Air' in 2017 when her album 'All American Made' was released. She plays songs off her two records, and talks about the heartache and beauty of growing up on a farm in a ...
05.28.2020 Inside New York's Citywide Effort To Bury Its Dead In just a two month period, New York City had 20,000 COVID deaths. What happens to the bodies? 'TIME' reporter W.J. Hennigan visited the disaster morgues set up around the city, and spoke with the death care workers on the ...
05.27.2020 Deep Breaths: How Breathing Affects Sleep, Anxiety & Resilience Humans typically take about 25,000 breaths per day — often without a second thought. But the COVID-19 pandemic has put a new spotlight on respiratory illnesses and the breaths we so often take for granted. We talk with journalist James ...
05.26.2020 Comic Hannah Gadsby Since her explosive 2018 Netflix special, 'Nanette,' Gadsby has been trying to adjust to her newfound success. We talk about her autism diagnosis, growing up in Tasmania, and her new special, 'Douglas.' Also, book critic Maureen Corrigan reviews Nancy McKinley's ...
05.25.2020 Winston Churchill & Fearless Leadership In Crisis In 'The Splendid And The Vile,' author Erik Larson details Churchill's first year in office, during which England endured a Nazi bombing campaign that killed more than 44,000 civilians. Larson says Churchill told his citizens the truth and inspired them ...
05.23.2020 Best Of: Janelle Monáe / Meditation For Pandemic Anxiety Musician and actor Janelle Monáe talks about the concept behind her 2018 album 'Dirty Computer,' and her identity as a queer woman in the entertainment industry. She now stars in the second season of the thriller series 'Homecoming,' as a ...
05.22.2020 Remembering Beatles Photographer Astrid Kirchherr / Comedy Actor Fred Willard German photographer Astrid Kirchherr, who died May 12, took the very first publicity photos of the then little-known Liverpool band, "The Beatles." She also gave the group their signature "mop-top" haircuts. Kirchherr spoke with Terry Gross in 2008 when a ...
05.21.2020 How The Pandemic Reveals Gender Inequality In The Household For many couples, the pandemic has exposed inequality in the home: Many women take on twice as much housework and childcare as their male partners, even when both partners are home full time. We talk with Brigid Schulte about women's ...
05.20.2020 Breaking The Edward Snowden Story Journalist Barton Gellman shares a Pulitzer for his reporting about former NSA contractor Edward Snowden and the U.S. government's secret surveillance program. Gellman talks about his tense relationship with Snowden, getting hacked, and Snowden's lasting impact on privacy and security. ...
05.19.2020 How Meditation Can Ease Pandemic Anxiety ABC News correspondent Dan Harris was broadcasting live in 2004 when he experienced a panic attack. He credits meditation with helping him work through his anxiety — both then and now. He's the co-founder of the meditation podcast and app ...
05.18.2020 Janelle Monáe The musician and actor spoke with us about the concept behind her 2018 album 'Dirty Computer,' her identity as a queer woman in the entertainment industry, and making her acting debut in the Oscar-winning film 'Moonlight.' She now stars in ...
05.16.2020 Best Of: John Moe On Depression / Alia Volz On Growing Up 'Home Baked' In his podcast, 'The Hilarious World of Depression,' John Moe talks with his guests (mostly comics) about their experiences with mental illness. We talk about his own depression (especially during the pandemic) and how humor gives him relief. Also, Ken ...
05.15.2020 Remembering Actor Jerry Stiller / Cellist Lynn Harrell Actor and comedian Jerry Stiller, who died May 11, was part of a comic duo with his wife Anne Meara and later played George Costanza's hot-headed father on 'Seinfeld.' He spoke to 'Fresh Air' in 1993. Also, we remember award-winning ...

Older episodes

Fresh Air

What's Fresh Air about?

Download our free app to listen on your phone

Fresh Air episodes:

Best Of: Padma Lakshmi / Patrick Stewart

'Moonlight' Actor André Holland

Chaos & Healing In The ER

Why White Evangelicals Worship At The Altar Of Trump

'Demagogue' Draws Direct Line From McCarthy To Trump

Padma Lakshmi

Best Of: Lin-Manuel Miranda / Actor Christine Baranski

Remembering Carl Reiner

Sir Patrick Stewart On 'Star Trek: Picard'

The Militarization Of Police

A Doctor Confronts Medical Error

'Hamilton' Creator Lin-Manuel Miranda

Best Of: A Call For Reparations / Treating PTSD With Psychedelics

LGBTQ Activist Cleve Jones / Novelist Marijane Meaker

Actor Christine Baranski

A Call For Reparations: Nikole Hannah-Jones On The Wealth Gap

From 'Empty' To Satisfied: A Lifelong Struggle With Eating Disorders

Treating PTSD With Psychedelics

Best Of: The 1919 Chicago Race Riots / Parenting 'Without Perfection'

Rhiannon Giddens Sings Slave Narratives / Freedom Singer Bernice Johnson Reagon

Kristen Howerton On 'Parenting Without Perfection'

Assessing COVID-19 Risk As The U.S. Reopens

The Lasting Effects Of Having — Or Being Denied — An Abortion

Poet Eve Ewing Connects 1919 Chicago Riots To Today

Best Of: Jamiles Lartey On Racism In Policing / Pete Davidson & Judd Apatow

James Baldwin / Filmmaker Raoul Peck / Black Athletes & Social Justice

Pete Davidson & Judd Apatow On 'The King Of Staten Island'

Rethinking American Policing

The Trump Administration's Response To DC Protests

The Brutal History Of The Texas Rangers

Best Of: The 'New Science' Of Breathing / The Migration Of All Living Things

The 'Unresolved Legacy' Of Reconstruction

Why GOP Leaders Back Trump's 'Proto-Authoritarian Cult'

Wes Moore On Freddie Gray & George Floyd: It's Time To 'Change The Systems'

Rethinking The Migration Of All Living Things

Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams On George Floyd Protests & Police Reform

Best Of: Comic Hannah Gadsby / Inside The Snowden Story

Margo Price / Remembering AIDS Activist Larry Kramer

Inside New York's Citywide Effort To Bury Its Dead

Deep Breaths: How Breathing Affects Sleep, Anxiety & Resilience

Comic Hannah Gadsby

Winston Churchill & Fearless Leadership In Crisis

Best Of: Janelle Monáe / Meditation For Pandemic Anxiety

Remembering Beatles Photographer Astrid Kirchherr / Comedy Actor Fred Willard

How The Pandemic Reveals Gender Inequality In The Household

Breaking The Edward Snowden Story

How Meditation Can Ease Pandemic Anxiety

Janelle Monáe

Best Of: John Moe On Depression / Alia Volz On Growing Up 'Home Baked'

Remembering Actor Jerry Stiller / Cellist Lynn Harrell

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