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
Location:
Philadelphia, PA
Description:
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
Twitter:
@nprfreshair
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English
Contact:
635 Massachusetts Av. NW, Washington, DC 20001 (202) 513-2300
Email:
freshair@freshair.com
Episodes
Best Of: The Innovation Of 'I Love Lucy' / Mark Hamill
6/7/2025
Playing Ricky Ricardo on I Love Lucy, made Desi Arnaz a star. Behind the scenes, he created what became standard procedures for producing, shooting, lighting and broadcasting TV sitcoms. Author Todd Purdum talks about his new book Desi Arnaz: The Man Who Invented Television.
Also, we hear from Mark Hamill. He's in the new movie The Life of Chuck and is known for playing the iconic hero Luke Skywalker in the Star Wars movies. He talks about auditioning for the film and acting with puppets.
Plus, TV critic David Bianculli reviews the new HBO documentary, Pee-Wee as Himself.
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Duration:00:49:21
Why We Remember / 'Simpsons' Composer Alf Clausen
6/6/2025
Do you have trouble remembering names and faces, or where you put your keys? Neurologist Dr. Charan Ranganath talks about the latest research into memory. His book is called Why We Remember.
Alf Clausen, the Emmy-winning composer, arranger and orchestrator behind the music and song parodies on The Simpsons, died at 84. He spoke with Terry Gross in 1997.
And Justin Chang reviews the new film The Life of Chuck, based on a novella by Stephen King. TV critic David Bianculli recommends an upcoming live TV production of George Clooney's Broadway hit, Good Night, and Good Luck.
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Duration:00:46:51
Ocean Vuong Sees Himself More As A Teacher Than A Writer
6/6/2025
Poet and novelist Ocean Vuong joins us to discuss his new novel, The Emperor of Gladness. Set in a fictional small town in Connecticut, it follows a 19-year-old grappling with addiction and despair, who forms an unexpected bond with an 82-year-old widow living with dementia. Together, they navigate memory and survival. He also talks about teaching and why he's put an end date on the number of books he'll write in his lifetime.
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Duration:00:44:20
The Face-Off Between Harvard & The Trump Administration
6/4/2025
The Trump administration has frozen around 3 billion dollars in Harvard grants and contracts, and is trying to stop the university's ability to enroll foreign students. In response, Harvard is suing. Terry Gross talks with Harvard Law Professor Noah Feldman.
TV critic David Banculli previews CNN's live telecast of the broadway production of Good Night, and Good Luck, starring George Clooney as TV journalist Edward R. Murrow.
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Duration:00:45:15
To Shed Luke Skywalker, Mark Hamill Turned To Voiceover Work
6/3/2025
Mark Hamill played Luke Skywalker, one of the most iconic heroes in movie history. His latest film, The Life of Chuck, is an adaptation of a Stephen King novella. He spoke to Fresh Air about auditioning for Star Wars, voiceover work, and the advice Carrie Fisher gave him.
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Duration:00:46:09
With 'I Love Lucy,' Desi Arnaz Changed TV Forever
6/2/2025
The success of I Love Lucy is often credited to Lucille Ball's comedic talent, but biographer Todd Purdum says Desi Arnaz was more than just "second banana" to Lucy. He also helped shape the modern sitcom.
Also, TV critic David Bianculli reviews a documentary about John Lennon and Yoko Ono.
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Duration:00:45:00
Best Of: Sarah Silverman / Cole Escola
5/31/2025
Comic Sarah Silverman talks about her new Netflix special, PostMortem, about the death of her father and stepmother, 9 days apart. She talks with Terry Gross about how the special came to be.
Also, we hear from Cole Escola, creator and star of the hit Broadway comedy Oh Mary! It's an intentionally ridiculous reimagining of first lady Mary Todd Lincoln. It portrays her as having become addicted to alcohol, not because of the Civil War, but because she's desperately yearning for her only true love, cabaret.
Plus, Ken Tucker reviews new albums by Willie Nelson and Ken Pomeroy.
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Duration:00:48:19
A Veteran Stunt Performer Shares Tricks Of The Trade
5/30/2025
Filmmaker and stunt coordinator David Leitch says it's easier to do stunts himself than direct his stunt performer friends. "You are responsible for their safety," he explains. "Your heart goes through your chest." His film The Fall Guy is about the unknown performers who put their lives on the line. He spoke with Terry Gross about barrel rolling cars, being lit on fire, and doing another take when everything hurts.
Also, Justin Chang reviews the new Wes Anderson film, The Phoenician Scheme.
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Duration:00:44:16
Sarah Silverman Finds The Funny In Grief
5/29/2025
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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Duration:00:44:37
The Talented Mr. Vance
5/28/2025
The Atlantic writer George Packer calls JD Vance the most interesting figure in the Trump administration: "He's capable of complex thought, and I also think he may be the future of the MAGA movement."
Also, David Bianculli reviews the HBO movie Mountainhead, written by Succession writer/creator Jesse Armstrong.
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Duration:00:45:10
Author James Patterson On The Art Of Collaboration
5/27/2025
James Patterson's books have sold over 400 million copies worldwide. He says he often gets ideas for them late at night. His latest, The #1 Dad Book, offers advice for fathers. He spoke with Terry Gross at a WHYY live event for the "Lifelong Learning Award."
Also, Martin Johnson reviews a new album from accordionist Will Holshouser, and we listen back to Terry's interview with him when he brought his instrument to the studio.
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Duration:00:46:35
Questlove On Sly Stone And The Burden Of Black Genius
5/26/2025
For the holiday weekend, we're revisiting our recent interview with Questlove. His documentary, SLY LIVES! (aka The Burden of Black Genius), examines Sly Stone's enormous impact on music — and the price he paid for it. "Sly will invent the alphabet for which most of pop and R&B or Black music will write from for the next 60 years," Questlove says. "We're still writing from his dictionary to this day."
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Duration:00:45:47
Best Of: Education & A.I. / Having A Child In The Digital Age
5/24/2025
Professors and educators are now turning to A.I. to prepare lessons, teach, and even grade students' work. We talk with New York Times tech reporter Kashmir Hill about the ongoing debate in higher-ed about A.I..
TV critic David Bianculli reviews One to One, a new documentary about John Lennon and Yoko Ono.
Also, writer Amanda Hess talks about motherhood in the digital age, navigating a world where apps, surveillance tech, and a relentless stream of algorithmic advice have become part of pregnancy and parenting. Her book is Second Life.
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Duration:00:48:24
Remembering Broadway Composer Charles Strouse
5/23/2025
We remember Broadway composer Charles Strouse, who died May 15 at age 96. He wrote the music for the hit musicals Bye Bye Birdie and Annie, which included such songs as "Put On a Happy Face," "A Lot of Livin' to Do," and "Tomorrow." Jay-Z sampled "Hard Knock Life," from Annie, on a Grammy-award-winning rap recording. Strouse understood why: "I wanted that song to be gritty. I didn't want it to be a fake. I wanted it to show these desperate times and these maltreated girls." Strouse spoke with Terry Gross in 2002.
Also, critic-at-large John Powers reviews Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning.
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Duration:00:46:46
Walton Goggins Was Raised By A Village
5/22/2025
Walton Goggins talks with Tonya Mosley about growing up poor in the Deep South, the travel that changed him, and collaborating with his wife. He says his unconventional childhood shaped his approach to acting, from Justified to The White Lotus and The Righteous Gemstones.
David Bianculli reviews a new two-part HBO documentary about Paul Reubens, who played Pee-Wee Herman.
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Duration:00:45:07
Professors Are Using A.I., Too. Now What?
5/21/2025
Colleges and universities have been trying to fight against students using tools like ChatGPT to do class assignments and communicate. But here's a twist: Professors and educators are now turning to A.I. to prepare lessons, teach, and even grade students' work. We talk with NYT tech reporter Kashmir Hill about these conflicts on campus. Also, she shares what she learned after giving over her life for a week to A.I. tools, which wrote emails for her, planned her meals, chose what she should wear, and even created video messages for TikTok using her likeness and a clone of her voice.
David Bianculli reviews a new documentary about John Lennon and Yoko Ono.
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Duration:00:44:14
Inside The "Cover-Up" Of President Biden's Decline
5/20/2025
CNN host Jake Tapper's book, Original Sin, co-authored by Alex Thompson, describes a president who struggled to function: "One person told us that the presidency was, at best, a five-person board with Joe Biden as chairman." Tapper spoke with Terry Gross about moderating the disastrous Biden/Trump debate, George Clooney's op-ed calling for the president to drop out, and the White House's "cover-up" about Biden's decline.
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Duration:00:44:11
Cole Escola's 'Stupid' Dream Came True With 'Oh, Mary!'
5/19/2025
Escola gives former first lady Mary Todd Lincoln a wild second act in the Tony-nominated play Oh, Mary! "This play is about a woman with a dream that no one around her understands," Escola says. The actor spoke with Ann Marie Baldonado about growing up in rural Oregon, the inspiration for the play, and making sense of its surprise success.
Maureen Corrigan reviews Ocean Vuong's new novel, The Emperor of Gladness.
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Duration:00:45:35
Best Of: Ramy Youssef / Danny McBride
5/17/2025
Ramy Youssef's new animated comedy series, #1 Happy Family USA, is about an Egyptian American Muslim family living in New Jersey, after 9/11, trying to blend in and doing everything they can to avoid being seen as a threat. Youssef spoke with Terry Gross about the series and his own experience during that time.
Also, Danny McBride talks with Tonya Mosley about his HBO series The Righteous Gemstones, about a wildly dysfunctional family of televangelists fighting for power, influence, and their father's approval.
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Duration:00:48:31
Zombies Frontman Colin Blundstone
5/16/2025
There's a new documentary about the '60s British band The Zombies. It's called 'Hung Up on a Dream' and it's streaming on Amazon Prime. We're listening back to Terry's 1998 interview with lead singer of The Zombies, Colin Blundstone. The band had a reputation for being clean cut and well mannered. "People want rascals and rogues and naughty boys. So in a way, I think that it went against us a bit," he said.
Also, we remember actor/director James Foley. He directed Glengarry Glen Ross.
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Duration:00:46:22