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: Elton John / Novel...

10.19.2019

Elton John says his father's early misgivings about his chosen career became a source of motivation: "He gave me the determination to make something of myself." He talks about his volatile childhood, addiction, and fame. His new memoir is 'Me.' ...

Fresh Air episodes:

10.19.2019 Best Of: Elton John / Novelist Attica Locke Elton John says his father's early misgivings about his chosen career became a source of motivation: "He gave me the determination to make something of myself." He talks about his volatile childhood, addiction, and fame. His new memoir is 'Me.' ...
10.18.2019 Jazz Singer Anita O'Day / Remembering Robert Forster Jazz critic Kevin Whitehead offers an appreciation of singer Anita O'Day, who was born 100 years ago today. O'Day, who died in 2006, inspired the so-called cool jazz singers of the '50s. In her autobiography 'High Times, Hard Times,' O'Day ...
10.17.2019 Climate Change & The Cost Of Coastal Real Estate Journalist Gilbert Gaul says federal subsidies encourage developers to keep building on the coasts — despite accelerating and increasing risks from climate change. His book is 'The Geography of Risk.' Also, John Powers reviews 'Watchmen,' an adaptation of the comic ...
10.16.2019 Novelist Attica Locke / Filmmaker Taika Waititi Attica Locke says her new novel, 'Heaven, My Home,' "was about place before it was about a character." The story centers on a black Texas ranger who patrols Highway 59 searching for the missing son of an Aryan Brotherhood leader. ...
10.15.2019 Ronan Farrow Farrow's 2017 report on Harvey Weinstein helped spark the #MeToo movement and earned him a Pulitzer Prize. He says in the course of his reporting Weinstein had him followed and his house bugged. Farrow talks about the systemic ways in ...
10.14.2019 Elton John Elton John says his father's early misgivings about his chosen career became a source of motivation: "He gave me the determination to make something of myself." He talks about his volatile childhood, addiction, and fame. Elton John's new memoir is ...
10.12.2019 Best Of: Singer Anthony Roth Costanzo / Leaving The Westboro Baptist Church Anthony Roth Costanzo is a countertenor, meaning he sings in a high range that's associated with women's voices. He knows all about the history of countertenors and their predecessors, castrati. He's about to star in the Metropolitan Opera's production of ...
10.11.2019 'Breaking Bad' Creator Vince Gilligan & Actor Aaron Paul Netflix just dropped the 'Breaking Bad' movie 'El Camino,' which picks up where the AMC series left off. TV critic David Bianculli reviews it, and we'll listen back to our interviews with series creator and writer Vince Gilligan and actor ...
10.10.2019 'Loving And Leaving' The Westboro Baptist Church Growing up in the notorious Westboro Baptist Church, Megan Phelps-Roper was told that God killed soldiers as punishment for America's sins and its tolerance of homosexuality. She started to question her beliefs after she began running the church's Twitter account. ...
10.09.2019 Understanding Trump's Impeachment Peril 'Bloomberg Businessweek' columnist Joshua Green explains how President Trump fell for a media campaign that was designed to help him: "The irony is that the target was supposed to be the Bidens, not the president," he says. Also, Maureen Corrigan ...
10.08.2019 Cambridge Analytica Whistleblower Christopher Wylie Wylie exposed Cambridge Analytica's role in Brexit and the Trump presidential campaign. Cambridge Analytica collected personal data from millions of Facebook users, and used it to target people susceptible to conspiracy theories and disinformation. Wylie was the research director at ...
10.07.2019 Countertenor Anthony Roth Costanzo Costanzo is a countertenor, meaning he sings in a high range that's associated with women's voices. He knows all about the history of countertenors and their predecessors, castrati. He's about to star in the Metropolitan Opera's production of 'Akhnaten,' by ...
10.05.2019 Best Of: Antonio Banderas / Conan O'Brien Antonio Banderas stars in Pedro Almodóvar's new film 'Pain and Glory' as a screenwriter and director suffering with physical pain, and pain of the soul. Banderas had a heart attack a few years ago, and talks about how the experience ...
10.04.2019 Biographer Claire Tomalin On 'A Life Of My Own' After writing biographies of Charles Dickens, Jane Austen, and Mary Wollstonecraft, Tomalin turned to memoir. Her new work tells of her conflicting desires to have children and to lead a meaningful working life, her first husband's infidelity, and how long ...
10.03.2019 Reporters Reveal Trump's Extreme Border Proposals President Trump made building a border wall between the U.S. and Mexico a cornerstone of his 2016 presidential campaign. But when, after the election, efforts to build the wall stalled, he turned to other possible options — including constructing a ...
10.02.2019 Conan O'Brien Conan O'Brien recently switched up the format of his late-night show, and is about to launch the second season of his podcast, 'Conan O'Brien Needs a Friend.' He says the name of his podcast is a joke — sort of. ...
10.01.2019 An Author Investigates His Family Ties To Jimmy Hoffa's Disappearance Jack Goldsmith's new memoir 'In Hoffa's Shadow' centers on his investigation into his stepfather's involvement in the 1975 disappearance of mob-connected labor leader Jimmy Hoffa. Hoffa is portrayed by Al Pacino in Martin Scorsese's new film 'The Irishman.' Goldsmith is ...
09.30.2019 Actor Antonio Banderas Banderas stars in Pedro Almodóvar's new film 'Pain and Glory' as a screenwriter and director suffering with physical pain, and pain of the soul. Banderas had a heart attack a few years ago, and talks about how the experience informed ...
09.28.2019 Best Of: Ta-Nehisi Coates / Tegan And Sara Coates won a National Book Award in 2015 for 'Between the World and Me.' His debut novel, 'The Water Dancer,' is set in slave times and re-imagines the Underground Railroad's leaders as having a magical power to teleport people out ...
09.27.2019 A 'Photo Ark' For Captive Animal Species 'National Geographic' photographer Joel Sartore is on a mission to document every captive animal species in the world. His new book of photographs is 'Vanishing: The World's Most Vulnerable Animals.' (Originally broadcast in February 2017) Also, Lloyd Schwartz reviews a ...
09.26.2019 'Piety & Power' And Mike Pence Political reporter Tom LoBianco has covered Vice President Mike Pence in both Indiana and Washington, D.C. He describes Pence as a man of faith who is willing to put political ambition ahead of his beliefs. His book is 'Piety and ...
09.25.2019 Singing Cowboys / Remembering Grateful Dead Lyricist Robert Hunter Musician Doug Green talks about a largely forgotten chapter of music history, the singing cowboy. Green wrote a book on singing cowboys, and is featured in Ken Burns' new PBS series on the history of country music. He co-founded Riders ...
09.24.2019 Ta-Nehisi Coates On 'The Water Dancer' Ta-Nehisi Coates launched a national conversation with his 2014 Atlantic cover story, 'The Case For Reparations. In 2015, he won a National Book Award for for 'Between the World and Me,' written in the form of a letter to his ...
09.23.2019 Tegan And Sara Music duo Tegan and Sara revisit their teen years and their early music in a new memoir, 'High School,' and companion album, 'Hey, I'm Just Like You.' Listening back to the songs they wrote, Sara says: "I was struck by ...
09.21.2019 Best Of: Edward Snowden / Journalist Andrea Mitchell In 2013, Edward Snowden showed journalists thousands of top secret documents about U.S. intelligence agencies' surveillance efforts. He's been living in exile in Russia ever since. His new book is 'Permanent Record.' Film critic Justin Chang reviews 'Ad Astra,' starring ...
09.20.2019 'Downton Abbey' Creator Julian Fellowes & Maggie Smith As the 'Downton Abbey' movie opens in theaters, we listen back to our interviews with the series creator Julian Fellowes and star Maggie Smith, who plays the Dowager Countess of Grantham. Film critic Justin Chang reviews 'Ad Astra,' starring Brad ...
09.19.2019 Edward Snowden In 2013, Snowden showed journalists thousands of top secret documents about U.S. intelligence agencies' surveillance efforts. He's been living in exile in Russia ever since. "People look at me now and they think I'm this crazy guy, I'm this extremist ...
09.18.2019 NBC News Journalist Andrea Mitchell Mitchell, the chief foreign affairs correspondent for NBC News and anchor of her own MSNBC show, looks back on her career in journalism. She's receiving a lifetime achievement Emmy later on Sept. 24. "It's very empowering to feel that you ...
09.17.2019 How Reconstruction Remade The Constitution Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Eric Foner talks about how current issues of racial inequality, voter suppression and mass incarceration relate to the 13th, 14th and 15th amendments. They were added to the constitution after the Civil War and gave black men ...
09.16.2019 Investigating Justice Brett Kavanaugh In their new book, 'The Education of Brett Kavanaugh,' 'New York Times' reporters Kate Kelly and Robin Pogrebin investigate the allegations against the Supreme Court justice and what was omitted from the confirmation hearings. They discuss Kavanaugh's behavior at Yale, ...
09.14.2019 Best Of: The CIA's Search For Mind Control / Tan France Of 'Queer Eye' Stephen Kinzer's book, 'Poisoner in Chief,' exposes how CIA scientist Sidney Gottlieb worked in the 1950s and early '60s to develop mind control drugs and deadly toxins that could be used against enemies of the U.S. government. Gottlieb believed the ...
09.13.2019 Singer Linda Ronstadt The Mexican-American singer spoke with Terry Gross in 2013 about her career and her Parkinson's diagnosis. The new documentary, 'The Sound of My Voice,' traces Ronstadt's career from the late '60s onward. Also, critic John Powers reviews the movie 'Hustlers,' ...
09.12.2019 Where Does Our Recycling Go? Now that China isn't taking our recycling anymore, where will it go? Environmental scientist Kate O'Neill discusses recycling and the global politics of waste. "Once you throw something away, you've got to think about where's it going to go next," ...
09.11.2019 Tan France Of 'Queer Eye' France, the son of Pakistani Muslim immigrants, says he almost turned down the job of fashion expert in the Netflix series 'Queer Eye.' "The thought of being one of the very first openly gay South Asian men on a major ...
09.10.2019 Behind-The-Scenes Of The Weinstein Investigation 'New York Times' reporters Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey, who broke the story of Harvey Weinstein's alleged sexual misconduct, talk about the obstacles Weinstein created to prevent their investigation, getting actors to speak on the record, and the final showdown ...
09.09.2019 The CIA's Secret Search For Mind Control Stephen Kinzer's book, 'Poisoner in Chief,' exposes how CIA scientist Sidney Gottlieb worked in the 1950s and early '60s to develop mind control drugs and deadly toxins that could be used against enemies of the U.S. government. Gottlieb believed the ...
09.07.2019 Best Of: Janet Mock On 'Pose' / Elvis' Guitarist James Burton Janet Mock made history as the first trans woman of color to write and direct an episode of TV for her work on Ryan Murphy's FX series 'Pose.' The show centers on the trans and queer ball culture in New ...
09.06.2019 Maggie Gyllenhaal On 'The Deuce' Gyllenhaal produces and stars in the HBO series, 'The Deuce.' The show centers on sex work, porn, organized crime, politics and feminism in 1970s New York. The new season, which begins Sept. 9, jumps to the 1980s. (Originally broadcast Sept. ...
09.05.2019 Trump's Businesses & Conflicts Of Interest Pulitzer Prize-winning 'Washington Post' reporter David Fahrenthold says in the past, an honor system helped keep presidents from using the office to benefit themselves. Not Trump: "He exploits honor systems." Fahrenthold's beat is following the Trump businesses and the possible ...
09.04.2019 Fentanyl & The Dark Web 'Fentanyl, Inc.' author Ben Westhoff says the synthetic opioid, while useful in hospitals, is killing more Americans as a street drug than any other in U.S. history. More than 70,000 Americans died from drug overdoses last year. Westhoff talks about ...
09.03.2019 Elvis' Guitarist James Burton Burton, who went professional at age 14, played in Ricky Nelson's band, and has been on hundreds of recordings, including those by Frank Sinatra and Johnny Cash. You can hear him on the new box set, 'Elvis: Live 1969.' Also, ...
09.02.2019 Emmys Week: 'BoJack Horseman' Creator / 'Pen15' Creators Raphael Bob-Waksberg's Emmy-nominated animated Netflix series satirizes Hollywood using a mix of human and animal characters. "Part of the original pitch was like, 'What's Mr. Ed like behind the scenes?'" BoJack (a horse) is a depressed, alcoholic, sexist former sitcom ...
08.31.2019 Best Of: Sister Helen Prejean / Breakthroughs In Heart Health Sister Helen Prejean is best known for her 1993 memoir, 'Dead Man Walking,' about her role as a spiritual adviser to a convicted killer on death row. The story was adapted into an Oscar-winning film starring Susan Sarandon and Sean ...
08.30.2019 Emmys Week: Billy Eichner & Randy Rainbow Billy Eichner's Emmy-nominated series, 'Billy on the Street,' turns open ended questions about pop culture and celebrities into a game show. He talked with Terry Gross in 2016 about coming up with the concept of his man-on-the-street series. Randy Rainbow ...
08.29.2019 Emmys Week: Natasha Lyonne & Christina Applegate Natasha Lyonne's character on the Netflix series 'Russian Doll' keeps dying and coming back to life. It's a premise that strikes a chord with the actor; Lyonne had a near-death experience in 2005. She talks with Terry Gross about how ...
08.28.2019 Emmys Week: Ava DuVernay & Michael K. Williams Ava DuVernay is the producer, writer and director of the Netflix series 'When They See Us,' which has 16 Emmy nominations. Told from the perspective of the "Central Park Five" — five black and brown teenagers who were wrongfully convicted ...
08.27.2019 Emmys Week: Phoebe Waller-Bridge / Ben Stiller & Patricia Arquette Phoebe Waller-Bridge is nominated for 5 Emmys for creating and starring in the Amazon series 'Fleabag.' She plays a 30-something single Londoner who is navigating tense relationships with her family, grieving the loss of her best friend — and falling ...
08.26.2019 Emmys Week: Bill Hader & John Mulaney Actor Bill Hader is nominated for acting in and writing the HBO dark comedy series, 'Barry,' in which he plays a hitman who enrolls in acting classes. He talks about coming up with the concept of the series and struggling ...
08.24.2019 Best Of: Exploring Underwater Caves / Character Actor Stephen Root Diver and photographer Jill Heinerth talks about some of her most dangerous and exhilarating experiences underwater — like getting trapped inside an iceberg in Antarctica. Heinerth also shares how she stays calm when things go wrong: "I take a really ...
08.23.2019 Remembering Peter Fonda The Oscar-nominated actor and screenwriter, who died Aug. 16, spoke to Terry Gross in 1998 about 'Ulee's Gold,' 'Easy Rider' and his acting philosophy of "doing less — and making more of it." Also, Ken Tucker reviews three songs that ...

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Fresh Air

What's Fresh Air about?

Download our free app to listen on your phone

Fresh Air episodes:

Best Of: Elton John / Novelist Attica Locke

Jazz Singer Anita O'Day / Remembering Robert Forster

Climate Change & The Cost Of Coastal Real Estate

Novelist Attica Locke / Filmmaker Taika Waititi

Ronan Farrow

Elton John

Best Of: Singer Anthony Roth Costanzo / Leaving The Westboro Baptist Church

'Breaking Bad' Creator Vince Gilligan & Actor Aaron Paul

'Loving And Leaving' The Westboro Baptist Church

Understanding Trump's Impeachment Peril

Cambridge Analytica Whistleblower Christopher Wylie

Countertenor Anthony Roth Costanzo

Best Of: Antonio Banderas / Conan O'Brien

Biographer Claire Tomalin On 'A Life Of My Own'

Reporters Reveal Trump's Extreme Border Proposals

Conan O'Brien

An Author Investigates His Family Ties To Jimmy Hoffa's Disappearance

Actor Antonio Banderas

Best Of: Ta-Nehisi Coates / Tegan And Sara

A 'Photo Ark' For Captive Animal Species

'Piety & Power' And Mike Pence

Singing Cowboys / Remembering Grateful Dead Lyricist Robert Hunter

Ta-Nehisi Coates On 'The Water Dancer'

Tegan And Sara

Best Of: Edward Snowden / Journalist Andrea Mitchell

'Downton Abbey' Creator Julian Fellowes & Maggie Smith

Edward Snowden

NBC News Journalist Andrea Mitchell

How Reconstruction Remade The Constitution

Investigating Justice Brett Kavanaugh

Best Of: The CIA's Search For Mind Control / Tan France Of 'Queer Eye'

Singer Linda Ronstadt

Where Does Our Recycling Go?

Tan France Of 'Queer Eye'

Behind-The-Scenes Of The Weinstein Investigation

The CIA's Secret Search For Mind Control

Best Of: Janet Mock On 'Pose' / Elvis' Guitarist James Burton

Maggie Gyllenhaal On 'The Deuce'

Trump's Businesses & Conflicts Of Interest

Fentanyl & The Dark Web

Elvis' Guitarist James Burton

Emmys Week: 'BoJack Horseman' Creator / 'Pen15' Creators

Best Of: Sister Helen Prejean / Breakthroughs In Heart Health

Emmys Week: Billy Eichner & Randy Rainbow

Emmys Week: Natasha Lyonne & Christina Applegate

Emmys Week: Ava DuVernay & Michael K. Williams

Emmys Week: Phoebe Waller-Bridge / Ben Stiller & Patricia Arquette

Emmys Week: Bill Hader & John Mulaney

Best Of: Exploring Underwater Caves / Character Actor Stephen Root

Remembering Peter Fonda

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