Fresh Air

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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: Author Max Brooks ...

04.04.2020

Author Max Brooks became an expert on disaster preparedness — from pandemics to nuclear war — through researching for his books, 'World War Z,' 'Germ Warfare' and the forthcoming 'Devolution.' Classical music critic Lloyd Schwartz recommends some music to listen ...

Fresh Air episodes:

04.04.2020 Best Of: Author Max Brooks / Playwright Terrence McNally Author Max Brooks became an expert on disaster preparedness — from pandemics to nuclear war — through researching for his books, 'World War Z,' 'Germ Warfare' and the forthcoming 'Devolution.' Classical music critic Lloyd Schwartz recommends some music to listen ...
04.03.2020 Remembering Bucky Pizzarelli, Adam Schlesinger, Ellis Marsalis Today we remember three people from the music world who died this week of COVID-19. First, we'll listen back to two interviews with the great jazz guitarist Bucky Pizzarelli. He was 94. Then we'll hear an interview with Adam Schlesinger, ...
04.02.2020 A 'War Doctor' Shares Stories From The Front Line Trauma surgeon Dr. David Nott has spent decades volunteering in war and disaster zones all over the world. Now he's advising doctors on how to treat COVID-19. He spoke with Terry Gross about how fighting the pandemic is similar to ...
04.01.2020 Masks, Vaccines & How COVID-19 Might End Two years ago, 'Atlantic' science writer Ed Yong predicted a new global pandemic and how we might be caught unprepared. Now that so much of what he warned about in his reporting has come true, he's been covering how and ...
03.31.2020 Understanding The Origin Of 'Heaven And Hell' Religion scholar Bart Ehrman says the notion of eternal rewards and punishments isn't found in the Old Testament or in the teachings of Jesus. Ehrman traces the origin of these ideas in his new book, 'Heaven and Hell: A History ...
03.30.2020 Winston Churchill & Fearless Leadership In Times Of Crisis In 'The Splendid And The Vile,' author Erik Larson details Winston 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 ...
03.28.2020 Best Of: Marc Maron / Hank Azaria Comic and 'WTF' podcast host Marc Maron named his new Netflix stand-up special 'End Times Fun' before the COVID-19 pandemic started — but now the title feels eerily apt. He talked with Terry Gross about how he's handling the crisis ...
03.27.2020 Stephen Sondheim - Part 2 Sondheim, who turned 90 on March 22, composed the music and wrote lyrics for 'Sweeney Todd,' 'Into the Woods,' 'Company' and other Broadway shows. He spoke with Terry Gross in 2010 about his career in musical theater. (Part 1 of ...
03.26.2020 Trump's 'War' On The Presidency / Remembering Playwright Terrence McNally Journalist Benjamin Wittes spoke with Terry Gross about how President Trump has changed the presidency fundamentally — and how we're seeing the impact during the COVID-19 pandemic. He is the author, with Susan Hennessey, of 'Unmaking the Presidency.' We remember ...
03.25.2020 Michael Pollan On The Drug We Use Every Day: Caffeine 'Omnivore's Dilemma' author Michael Pollan talks about his audiobook, 'Caffeine: How Coffee and Tea Created the Modern World.' He describes caffeine as the world's most widely-used psychoactive drug. (Originally broadcast Feb. 2020) Also, jazz critic Kevin Whitehead reviews a new ...
03.24.2020 How The Government Can Mobilize In A Pandemic Author Max Brooks became an expert on disaster preparedness — from pandemics to nuclear war — through researching for his books, 'World War Z,' 'Germ Warfare' and the forthcoming 'Devolution.' He spoke with Terry Gross about how the federal government ...
03.23.2020 Comic Marc Maron On 'End Times Fun' Maron named his new Netflix comedy special 'End Times Fun' before the COVID-19 pandemic started — but now the title feels eerily apt. He talked with Terry Gross about how he's handling the crisis as a "recovering hypochondriac," and what ...
03.21.2020 Best Of: Octavia Spencer / Conductor Yannick Nézet-Séguin Octavia Spencer stars in the new Netflix limited series 'Self Made' as Madam C.J. Walker, America's first black, female, self-made millionaire. She sold hair and makeup products to black women in the early 1900s. John Powers reviews the Hulu series ...
03.20.2020 Happy Birthday, Stephen Sondheim Broadway is dark because of the virus, but that doesn't need to stop us from celebrating the 90th birthday of Broadway's best living composer and lyricist—and one of the best in the history of Broadway, Stephen Sondheim. His 90th birthday ...
03.19.2020 How One Orchestra, Faced With A Pandemic, Played On The Philadelphia Orchestra has shuttered its doors in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic. Conductor Yannick Nézet-Séguin reflects on their final performance in an empty concert hall, which was livestreamed for more half a million viewers at home. He spoke ...
03.18.2020 The Case For Abolishing The Electoral College Jesse Wegman, author of 'Let the People Pick the President,' says the Electoral College's winner-take-all rule is not mandated by the Constitution: "There's nothing keeping us from changing it." Wegman talks about how winner-take-all came to be, attempts to change ...
03.17.2020 'Simpsons' Voice Actor Hank Azaria Azaria plays a colorful baseball announcer in the IFC comedy series 'Brockmire,' which is now in its 4th and final season. Azaria spoke with 'Fresh Air' about sobriety, his flamboyant character in 'The Birdcage,' and why he doesn't voice the ...
03.16.2020 Octavia Spencer Spencer stars in the new Netflix limited series 'Self Made' as Madam C.J. Walker, America's first female self-made millionaire. She sold hair and makeup products to black women in the early 1900s. Spencer talks about Walker's legacy, playing a maid ...
03.14.2020 Best Of: Writer James McBride / RuPaul James McBride's new novel, 'Deacon King Kong,' takes place in 1969, in a Brooklyn housing project similar to the one he grew up in. "In this book and in this community, people generally love each other," he says. RuPaul describes ...
03.13.2020 Philip Roth On 'The Plot Against America' Roth's 2004 novel, 'The Plot Against America,' is an alternative history which imagines Nazi sympathizer Charles Lindbergh beats FDR in the 1940 presidential election and the U.S. sides with the Germans in WWII. We'll listen back to Terry Gross' interview ...
03.12.2020 How Trump's Mismanagement Helped Fuel Coronavirus Crisis Politico reporter Dan Diamond says dysfunction within the White House, infighting and the need to flatter Trump have caused distractions that have slowed the response to the new pandemic.
03.11.2020 The Untold Story Of Saudi Crown Prince MBS 'New York Times' Beirut Bureau Chief Ben Hubbard says Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is full of contradictions: He ended a ban on women driving, but his agents also carried out the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. Hubbard's ...
03.10.2020 RuPaul RuPaul describes his drag persona as "one-part Cher, two-parts David Bowie, one-part Diana Ross and two heaping spoonfuls of Dolly Parton." The reality show he hosts and created, 'RuPaul's Drag Race,' is now in its 12th season on VH1. He ...
03.09.2020 Writer James McBride James McBride's new novel, 'Deacon King Kong,' takes place in 1969, in a Brooklyn housing project similar to the one he grew up in. "In this book and in this community, people generally love each other," he says. McBride is ...
03.07.2020 Best Of: Author Louise Erdrich / 'Watergate Girl' Jill Wine-Banks Louise Erdrich talks about her new novel, 'The Night Watchman.' It was inspired by her grandfather, a chairman of the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa who fought a Congressional initiative to move indigenous peoples off their land and into cities. ...
03.06.2020 Biographer Robert Caro Two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Robert Caro was never interested in only telling the stories of great men. Instead, he says, "I wanted to use their lives to show how political power worked." He talks about his two most famous works ...
03.05.2020 Uncovering The CIA's Operation To Steal State Secrets For 50 years, countries all over the world bought encryption technology from a Swiss company, called Crypto AG, to protect their communications with diplomats, soldiers and spies. What they didn't know is that the firm was actually owned by the ...
03.04.2020 Author Louise Erdrich On Native Peoples' 'Long, Brutal Fight For Survival' Erdrich's new novel, 'The Night Watchman,' was inspired by her grandfather, a chairman of the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa who fought a Congressional initiative to move indigenous peoples off their land and into cities. Erdrich says the policy amounted ...
03.03.2020 A Father Searches For His Son And Answers In The Costa Rican Jungle In 2014, the 27-year-old son of adventurer Roman Dial walked alone into the Costa Rican wilderness. "I'm planning on doing 4 days in the jungle," he wrote in an email before leaving. "It should be difficult to get lost forever." ...
03.02.2020 Former Parole Officer On 'Hardship & Hope After Prison' As a parole officer in New Orleans, Jason Hardy was responsible for 220 individuals — four times the recommended caseload. He says the parole and probation system fails the most vulnerable. Also, Kevin Whitehead reviews a new album of ballads ...
02.29.2020 Best Of: Actor Ben Mendelsohn / Trump's 'Hit List' In the HBO series 'The Outsider,' which was adapted from a Stephen King novel, Australian actor Ben Mendelsohn plays a detective trying to solve a murder — and resisting the idea that the killer may be a supernatural entity. Also, ...
02.28.2020 Aidy Bryant On 'Shrill' Bryant co-writes and stars in the comedy series 'Shrill,' based on Lindy West's book about identifying as fat and a feminist. Bryant is also a cast member on 'Saturday Night Live.' (Originally broadcast March 2019) Also, we listen back to ...
02.27.2020 Understanding Trump's 'Hit List' Axios reporter Jonathan Swan says the president has "crossed a psychological line" since impeachment, developing a list of disloyal officials to oust — and suggesting loyalists to replace them. "Experience matters far, far less to Trump than loyalty," Swan says. ...
02.26.2020 Actor Ben Mendelsohn On 'The Outsider' In the HBO series, which was adapted from a Stephen King novel, the Australian actor plays a detective trying to solve a murder — and resisting the idea that the killer may be a supernatural entity. He talks about masking ...
02.25.2020 Facebook: The Inside Story How can one company be so wildly successful — and so thoroughly distrusted? 'Wired' Editor-at-Large Steven Levy reflects on Facebook's enigmatic leader and its reckless drive for expansion in his new book, 'Facebook: The Inside Story.' Also, Ken Tucker reviews ...
02.24.2020 The Supreme Court's Battle For A 'More Unjust' America In his new book, 'Supreme Inequality,' lawyer/journalist Adam Cohen makes the case that the Supreme Court has been "a right-wing court for 50 years," siding with corporations and the wealthy — and against the poor. And jazz critic Kevin Whitehead ...
02.22.2020 Best Of: Claire Danes / Rachael & Vilray Sing Swing Standards Claire Danes has played CIA agent Carrie Mathison on 'Homeland' for 8 seasons. As the last season begins on Showtime, she looks back on the series. She also spoke with Terry Gross about her break-out role on 'My So-Called Life' ...
02.21.2020 Writer Recalls Her Mother's Secret Gambling Enterprise Growing up, Bridgett M. Davis' mother booked and banked bets from their home in Detroit. She writes about her experience — and the role of "the numbers" in the black community — in her memoir, 'The World According to Fannie ...
02.20.2020 Claire Danes Danes has played CIA agent Carrie Mathison on 'Homeland' for 8 seasons. As the last season begins on Showtime, she looks back on the series. She also spoke with Terry Gross about her break-out role on 'My So-Called Life' when ...
02.19.2020 Chaos, Corruption & Trump's Secrets At Deutsche Bank In his book 'Dark Towers,' David Enrich traces Deutsche Bank's shadowy practices, from laundering money for Russian oligarchs to the violation of international sanctions. Enrich, who is the finance editor at the 'New York Times,' also talks about the bank's ...
02.18.2020 Rachael & Vilray Sing Swing Standards The music duo perform songs from their self-titled debut album, which draws on the music of the '30s and '40s. "There is a timeless quality to these old standards," Vilray says. Rachael Price is also the lead singer of Lake ...
02.17.2020 Donald Trump's Testing Of America 'Washington Post' reporters Carol Leonnig and Philip Rucker discuss presidential rages, erratic decision-making and other troubling tendencies of the Trump presidency. Their new book is 'A Very Stable Genius.' (Aired Jan. 22, updated Feb. 12, following Trump's impeachment acquittal.) Also, ...
02.15.2020 Best Of: The 2020 Disinformation War / Michael Pollan Explains Caffeine The Trump campaign is planning to spend $1 billion and a lot will go towards disinformation and propaganda. 'Atlantic' journalist McKay Coppins talks about what he learned about the new techniques the campaign and its supporters are using to spread ...
02.14.2020 'High Fidelity' Author / Remembering Ladysmith Black Mambazo Founder Nick Hornby's 1995 novel, 'High Fidelity,' about a heartsick record shop owner, was made into a film starring John Cusack in 2000. Now it's been adapted and updated into a new Hulu series, starring Zoë Kravitz. Hornby spoke with Terry ...
02.13.2020 Amazon & The 'Rise And Reign' Of Jeff Bezos The new FRONTLINE PBS documentary 'Amazon Empire' investigates Amazon's business practices, as well as questions surrounding privacy, surveillance and regulation. We talk with James Jacoby, the film's director and correspondent, about how the company went from being an online bookseller ...
02.12.2020 An Inside Look At The Watergate Prosecution In her memoir, 'The Watergate Girl,' Jill Wine-Banks talks about confronting Nixon White House insiders on the witness stand, enduring sexism in the courtroom and how the Watergate probe differs from Trump's impeachment. She's now a legal analyst for MSNBC. ...
02.11.2020 The 2020 Disinformation War The Trump campaign is planning to spend $1 billion and a lot will go towards disinformation and propaganda. 'Atlantic' journalist McKay Coppins created a new Facebook account so he could "like" MAGA-related pages, join MAGA groups, and receive messaging being ...
02.10.2020 Michael Pollan Explains Caffeine Addiction & Withdrawal 'Omnivore's Dilemma' author Michael Pollan talks about his new audiobook, 'Caffeine: How Coffee and Tea Created the Modern World.' He describes caffeine as the world's most widely-used psychoactive drug. "Here's a drug we use every day. ... We never think ...
02.08.2020 Best Of: 'American Factory' Filmmakers / Uncovering A Secret Addiction Steven Bognar and Julia Reichert's Oscar-nominated documentary goes inside a Chinese-owned automotive glass factory in Ohio, where a unionized GM plant once stood. The filmmakers talk about the work culture clash in the factory. Justin Chang reviews the Russian movie ...
02.07.2020 'Joker' Dir. Todd Phillips / Remembering Kirk Douglas 'Joker' director Todd Phillips talks about how he disguised his "deep-dive character study" film as a comic book movie. It's nominated for 11 Oscars including Best Picture. Also, we remember 'Spartacus' actor Kirk Douglas, who died Thursday at 103. He ...

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Fresh Air

What's Fresh Air about?

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Fresh Air episodes:

Best Of: Author Max Brooks / Playwright Terrence McNally

Remembering Bucky Pizzarelli, Adam Schlesinger, Ellis Marsalis

A 'War Doctor' Shares Stories From The Front Line

Masks, Vaccines & How COVID-19 Might End

Understanding The Origin Of 'Heaven And Hell'

Winston Churchill & Fearless Leadership In Times Of Crisis

Best Of: Marc Maron / Hank Azaria

Stephen Sondheim - Part 2

Trump's 'War' On The Presidency / Remembering Playwright Terrence McNally

Michael Pollan On The Drug We Use Every Day: Caffeine

How The Government Can Mobilize In A Pandemic

Comic Marc Maron On 'End Times Fun'

Best Of: Octavia Spencer / Conductor Yannick Nézet-Séguin

Happy Birthday, Stephen Sondheim

How One Orchestra, Faced With A Pandemic, Played On

The Case For Abolishing The Electoral College

'Simpsons' Voice Actor Hank Azaria

Octavia Spencer

Best Of: Writer James McBride / RuPaul

Philip Roth On 'The Plot Against America'

How Trump's Mismanagement Helped Fuel Coronavirus Crisis

The Untold Story Of Saudi Crown Prince MBS

RuPaul

Writer James McBride

Best Of: Author Louise Erdrich / 'Watergate Girl' Jill Wine-Banks

Biographer Robert Caro

Uncovering The CIA's Operation To Steal State Secrets

Author Louise Erdrich On Native Peoples' 'Long, Brutal Fight For Survival'

A Father Searches For His Son And Answers In The Costa Rican Jungle

Former Parole Officer On 'Hardship & Hope After Prison'

Best Of: Actor Ben Mendelsohn / Trump's 'Hit List'

Aidy Bryant On 'Shrill'

Understanding Trump's 'Hit List'

Actor Ben Mendelsohn On 'The Outsider'

Facebook: The Inside Story

The Supreme Court's Battle For A 'More Unjust' America

Best Of: Claire Danes / Rachael & Vilray Sing Swing Standards

Writer Recalls Her Mother's Secret Gambling Enterprise

Claire Danes

Chaos, Corruption & Trump's Secrets At Deutsche Bank

Rachael & Vilray Sing Swing Standards

Donald Trump's Testing Of America

Best Of: The 2020 Disinformation War / Michael Pollan Explains Caffeine

'High Fidelity' Author / Remembering Ladysmith Black Mambazo Founder

Amazon & The 'Rise And Reign' Of Jeff Bezos

An Inside Look At The Watergate Prosecution

The 2020 Disinformation War

Michael Pollan Explains Caffeine Addiction & Withdrawal

Best Of: 'American Factory' Filmmakers / Uncovering A Secret Addiction

'Joker' Dir. Todd Phillips / Remembering Kirk Douglas

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