Arts · TV & Film · Society & Culture
by 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. Support public media by joining NPR+ at plus.npr.org. You’ll get perks for over 25 NPR podcasts, including weekly bonus episodes and curated playlists of archive interviews from Fresh Air. And subscribe to our weekly newsletter, Fresh Air Weekly, to get interview highlights, staff recommendations, gems from the archive, and the…
Fresh Air presents two distinct segments in this 44-minute episode. The primary interview features veteran White House reporter April Ryan discussing her book 'Notes on a Blacklash,' which examines her decades-long career pressing presidents for answers. Ryan discusses themes of access, power, and race in American…
Worth it if you're interested in White House journalism, political access, or firsthand accounts of navigating race in mainstream media.
Fresh Air's Dave Davies interviews New York Times military and Pentagon reporter Greg Jaffe about Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's tenure and his approach to military leadership through the lens of culture war politics. Jaffe, who covers the Pentagon beat, discusses how Hegseth has departed from the traditional role…
Worth it if you're interested in how military leadership is changing under the current administration or want reporting on the intersection of politics and Pentagon policy.
Fresh Air's Terry Gross interviews Murray Hill, an entertainer and author whose new memoir is titled Showbiz! My Life as a Middle-Aged Man. Hill is known for hosting drag king shows, queer cabarets, and burlesque performances, and currently appears on HBO's Somebody Somewhere as Fred Rococo, a soil scientist trans man…
Worth it if you're interested in LGBTQ+ performance, memoir, or in-depth conversations about identity, community-building, and the intersection of personal life and artistic work.
Fresh Air's Terry Gross (or Tonya Mosley as noted) interviews Michael Douglas about his memoir "One Helluva Ride," focusing on the pivotal year of 1987 when he starred in both "Fatal Attraction" and "Wall Street." Douglas discusses how winning the Oscar for Best Actor for "Wall Street" as Gordon Gekko finally allowed…
Worth it if you're interested in Michael Douglas's career trajectory, the personal costs of Hollywood success, or want insight into his memoir before reading it.
This Fresh Air episode is a compilation of three distinct segments. The first features actor Kyle MacLachlan discussing his decades-long creative partnership with David Lynch, beginning with his audition for Dune at age 23 and continuing through Blue Velvet and Twin Peaks. MacLachlan reflects on Lynch's creative…
Worth it if you enjoy Fresh Air's magazine format and want a sampler of entertainment history, cybercrime reporting, and book criticism in one sitting.
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Fresh Air celebrates minimalist composer Steve Reich's 90th birthday by revisiting archival interviews with the composer from 1989 and 1999, conducted by Terry Gross. The episode explores Reich's foundational role in minimalist music and his far-reaching influence across classical, electronic, jazz, and pop genres.…
Worth it if you're interested in minimalist music history, want to hear Reich reflect on his own work across different periods, or are curious about the diverse cultural sources behind his compositional vocabulary.
Fresh Air presents a conversation between guest interviewer Sam Fragoso and Grammy-winning singer-songwriter Sheryl Crow, centered around her new album 'Pick You Up' (releasing October 9). The interview explores several significant chapters of Crow's career and personal life. She discusses her early years as a backup…
Worth it if you're a Sheryl Crow fan, interested in music industry stories from the Jackson era, or appreciate intimate conversations about creativity and mental health in the arts.
Fresh Air's Dave Davies interviews Zanny Minton Beddoes, editor-in-chief of The Economist, following her fourth recent visit to Ukraine. Beddoes provides on-the-ground perspective on the escalating military situation, focusing on Russia's dramatically increased production of missiles and deadly drones versus Ukraine's…
Worth it if you want current analysis of Ukraine's military situation from a respected international affairs editor with recent firsthand reporting.
Fresh Air's Tonya Mosley interviews Mahmoud Khalil about his 104-day detention by ICE in a Louisiana facility. Khalil, born in a Palestinian refugee camp in Syria, fled his home country at 18 and eventually became a graduate student at Columbia University, where he gained prominence as a visible face of…
Worth it if you're interested in immigration enforcement, Palestinian activism, or personal narratives of displacement and detention in contemporary America.
Fresh Air's Terry Gross interviews actor Kyle MacLachlan about his decades-long creative partnership with director David Lynch. MacLachlan reflects on being cast at age 23 for Lynch's Dune adaptation and subsequently collaborating on Blue Velvet and Twin Peaks—three landmark projects that defined his career. The…
Worth it if you're interested in David Lynch's creative vision, actor-director collaboration, or want to understand the making of Blue Velvet and Twin Peaks from an insider perspective.
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This Fresh Air episode is a "Best Of" compilation featuring three distinct segments. The first focuses on musician Rhiannon Giddens, who discusses her work across multiple genres and traditions—from her role as artistic director of the Silk Road Ensemble to her classical opera training and her recent contribution to…
Worth it if you enjoy Fresh Air's eclectic mix of cultural coverage and want exposure to Rhiannon Giddens' artistry, investigative reporting on Diddy, and contemporary film criticism in one sitting.
Fresh Air presents a 47-minute interview with Grammy-winning bluegrass virtuoso Billy Strings, conducted by producer Sam Briger. The episode centers on Strings' new album "So Much for Goodbyes," which was inspired by the death of his mother. The conversation explores how Strings has used songwriting as a vehicle for…
Worth it if you appreciate bluegrass, are interested in how artists process grief through music, or enjoy Fresh Air's signature intimate interview format.
Fresh Air's episode centers on Sean Combs' fall from power in hip-hop and the systemic failures that enabled his alleged misconduct for decades. Rolling Stone investigative reporter Cheyenne Roundtree, who spent years interviewing former employees and associates, discusses her book Bad Boy for Life: The Rise and Fall…
Worth it if you want to understand how institutional power and industry silence enabled abuse, or are interested in how workplace dynamics protect powerful figures from accountability.
Fresh Air presents a timely preview of an imminent U.S.-China summit between President Trump and President Xi, featuring Rush Doshi from the Council on Foreign Relations as the primary expert guest. The episode appears designed to provide context on current U.S.-China relations and set expectations for the bilateral…
Worth it if you want expert context on U.S.-China relations and AI competition before a major summit, and trust Fresh Air's interview format to extract meaningful insights.
Fresh Air presents two distinct segments in this 46-minute episode. The first features WIRED cybersecurity reporter Andy Greenberg discussing a major cybercrime operation in Southeast Asia that exploits computer engineers, forcing them into committing fraud against billions of dollars in victims. Greenberg explains…
Worth it if you're interested in cybersecurity investigations, the human cost of online fraud, or John Coltrane's artistic legacy.
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Fresh Air's Terry Gross interviews Rhiannon Giddens, a musician who describes herself as "folkie to the bone," in a 47-minute conversation centered on the banjo's history and cultural significance. Giddens traces the instrument from her ancestors through contemporary music, including her recent work on Beyoncé's…
Worth it if you're interested in music history, the banjo's cultural roots, contemporary folk music, or how traditional instruments connect to modern artists like Beyoncé.
