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 week's interviews and reviews all in one place. Sign up at...
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Nov 13, 2026 · 45:46
The popular 1950s singer Peggy King died last month at age 96. She had a couple of best selling albums, and was named best new singer in 1956 by DownBeat and Billboard magazines.…
Nov 12, 2026 · 45:22
Buscemi worked as a NYC firefighter for four years while he was getting his start in theater and stand-up comedy. Over the course of his acting career, Buscemi's acted in more…
Nov 11, 2026 · 44:39
American socialists are having their best year since 1912. In last week's midterms, six socialists were elected to Congress, and three were elected mayor, which means New York,…
Nov 10, 2026 · 44:30
Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Mona Chalabi spent five years following 10 Americans living across the economic spectrum – from those living paycheck-to paycheck to top wage…
Nov 9, 2026 · 45:11
Filmmaker and playwright Martin McDonagh talks about his new movie, Wild Horse Nine . It’s a dark comedy about two CIA agents (Sam Rockwell, John Malkovitch) who travel to Easter…
Nov 7, 2026 · 49:01
John Turturro stars in the new film The Only Living Pickpocket in New York . To prepare, he studied with a pickpocket. Turturro is known for his roles in films by Spike Lee and…
Nov 5, 2026 · 44:09
Min Jin Lee’s new novel American Hagwon is her first in nearly a decade. ‘Hagwon’ is the Korean term for private tutoring centers. It’s the third installment of a four-part…
Nov 4, 2026 · 43:35
Firstman's new film, Club Kid , is about a gay party promoter whose life is upended when he discovers he has a young son. "Arlo teaches Peter to grow up, and I think Peter…
Nov 3, 2026 · 44:42
A new AARP study finds family caregivers spend, on average, nearly a third of their household income on care. Sometimes, the first challenge is understanding how much help…
Nov 2, 2026 · 45:29
Lifting wallets and watches was part of Turturro's training for the new film, The Only Living Pickpocket in New York . In it, he plays a small-time thief who's also the primary…
Oct 31, 2026 · 49:52
Spanish filmmakers Javier Calvo and Javier Ambrossi (Los Javis) turned an unfinished play by a gay poet murdered during Spain's Civil War into a sweeping epic. La Bola Negra…
Oct 30, 2026 · 45:41
Nobel Prize-winning writer Kazuo Ishiguro’s novel Klara and the Sun is now a feature film, directed by Taika Waititi. The story is set in a future time, where children no longer…
Oct 29, 2026 · 44:24
From Virginia to Kansas, the battle over data centers has reached the ballot box this midterm election. Communities are voting on whether to limit or ban the massive facilities…
Oct 28, 2026 · 44:19
Jordan Neely, a Black unhoused man in crisis, was frightening fellow passengers on the New York City Subway. A white former Marine named Daniel Penny put Neely into a chokehold,…
Oct 27, 2026 · 44:00
Javier Calvo and Javier Ambrossi — known as "Los Javis" — have turned four pages of an unfinished play by Federico García Lorca into a sweeping epic about three generations of…
Oct 26, 2026 · 44:54
New Yorker cartoonists Roz Chast and Jason Adam Katzenstein confess to the horrors lurking behind their kitchen cabinets and refrigerator doors – and the comedy they find in…
Oct 24, 2026 · 47:07
Singer, songwriter, and bassist Meshell Ndegeocello helped define the sound of neo-soul, blending funk, jazz, and R&B into music that was unmistakably her own. Now, on her new…
Oct 23, 2026 · 44:28
Hall of Fame songwriter Jimmy Webb talks about writing some of the 1960s songs he’s best known for: “By the Time I Get to Phoenix,” “Wichita Lineman,” and “MacArthur Park.” Now…
Oct 22, 2026 · 44:04
"There's an understandable pull in my industry to make things that are kind of like a gleaming vanilla car commercial, like super safe, super familiar, appeal to the masses. And…
Oct 21, 2026 · 45:04
Ahead of the midterms, we talk with two election experts about President Trump’s efforts to interfere with voting. Richard Hasen, director of the Safeguarding Democracy Project,…
Oct 20, 2026 · 44:38
Ojibwe writer David Treuer’s new book, The Savage Mind: An American Legacy , is written as a letter to his three children. It examines how the violence that shaped America's…
Oct 19, 2026 · 45:28
Grammy-winning singer, bassist, and composer Meshell Ndegeocello helped shape the sound that became known as "neo-soul," but she's spent more than three decades resisting the…
Oct 17, 2026 · 48:15
In his new film, Your Mother Your Mother Your Mother , Oscar-winning actor Mahershala Ali plays a devout Muslim father and hit man whose life is upended when he suddenly has to…
Oct 16, 2026 · 46:10
The actor Eva Marie Saint died last week at age 102. She won an academy award for her first film role in On the Waterfront opposite Marlon Brando, and in Alfred Hitchcock's North…
Oct 15, 2026 · 42:45
Atlantic staff writer Josh Tyrangiel says Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos each want to colonize the moon, mine its resources and launch thousands more satellites -- but their only real…
Oct 14, 2026 · 45:01
As polar ice melts in the Arctic, shipping lanes are opening up, making the region a new zone of super-power competition. Writer Rana Foroohar spoke with Dave Davies about the…
Oct 13, 2026 · 43:45
If you or someone you know may be considering suicide or is in crisis, call or text 988 to reach the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline . Li’s teenage sons both died by suicide six years…
Oct 12, 2026 · 45:40
In his new action thriller, Your Mother Your Mother Your Mother, Mahershala Ali plays a devout Muslim father and hit man whose life is upended when he suddenly has to care for…
Oct 9, 2026 · 44:47
Prine, who died in 2020, would’ve turned 80 this weekend. A five-day event in and around his native Chicago is underway, including a tribute concert. The beloved folk…
Oct 8, 2026 · 44:21
Ryan has spent decades pressing presidents for answers. She talks about access, power, race and how asking questions put her in President Trump's crosshairs. She spoke with Tonya…
Oct 7, 2026 · 44:46
New York Times military and Pentagon reporter Greg Jaffe says Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth has disproportionately blocked promotions of Black and women senior officers, and…
Oct 7, 2026 · 44:23
Murray Hill's character on HBO’s Somebody Somewhere , Fred Rococo, is a soil scientist trans man who hosts a queer cabaret. “[He] is me dialed down to like a 2,” he tells Terry…
Oct 5, 2026 · 44:59
Michael Douglas is one of the most recognizable actors of our time, but in 1987, many still knew him as Kirk Douglas's son. That year, he starred in Fatal Attraction and Wall…
Oct 3, 2026 · 49:05
Kyle MacLachlan was just 23 when he auditioned for Lynch's adaptation of Dune . The two would go on to work together on the cult classics Blue Velvet and Twin Peaks . “The worlds…
Oct 2, 2026 · 45:38
Often called one of the fathers of minimalist music, Reich created a vocabulary that has influenced nearly every form of music: Classical, electronic, jazz, and pop. To…
Oct 1, 2026 · 46:07
The Grammy-winning singer-songwriter has a new album, Pick You Up , out Oct. 9. She spoke with Fresh Air guest interviewer Sam Fragoso ( Talk Easy ) about touring with Michael…
Sep 30, 2026 · 45:50
Zanny Minton Beddoes, editor-in-chief of The Economist , is just back from her fourth visit to Ukraine. She says Russia has ramped up production of missiles and deadly drones,…
Sep 29, 2026 · 44:59
Khalil was born in a Palestinian refugee camp in Syria and fled the country at 18. He had a green card to be in the United States, and had become one of the most visible faces of…
Sep 28, 2026 · 45:37
MacLachlan was just 23 when he auditioned for Lynch's adaptation of Dune . The two would go on to work together on the cult classics Blue Velvet and Twin Peaks . “The worlds that…
Sep 26, 2026 · 47:58
Rhiannon Giddens doesn’t usually make pop music, but she wrote and played the banjo riff on Beyoncé’s country single, “Texas Hold ‘Em.” She comes from the Black string band…
Sep 25, 2026 · 46:57
The Grammy-winning singer, songwriter and guitarist has one foot in traditional bluegrass and another in improvisational jam music. He has a new album, So Much for Goodbyes ,…
Sep 24, 2026 · 45:40
Sean Combs founded Bad Boy Records and spent three decades as one of the most powerful men in hip hop. Now he's serving a federal prison sentence. Rolling Stone reporter Cheyenne…
Sep 23, 2026 · 46:20
As President Trump and China's President Xi prepare to meet tomorrow, Rush Doshi of the Council on Foreign Relations explains the current state of US-China relations and what to…
Sep 22, 2026 · 46:00
WIRED ’s Andy Greenberg explains how a cybercrime operation in Southeast Asia trapped computer engineers into defrauding victims of billions of dollars. Plus he discusses the…
Sep 21, 2026 · 46:57
A self-described "folkie to the bone," Giddens talks with Terry Gross about channeling her ancestors through her instrument, playing on Beyoncé’s country single “Texas Hold ‘Em,”…
Sep 19, 2026 · 49:07
10 years ago, former 49ers NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick took a knee during the national anthem to protest police violence against Black people. After the season ended, he…
Sep 18, 2026 · 46:47
The new film Coyote vs. ACME is based on the classic Warner Bros. cartoons featuring the Roadrunner and Wile E. Coyote. Today, we listen back to Terry’s 1989 interview with…
Sep 17, 2026 · 45:45
In a biography of Roy Cohn, Kai Bird looks at how the lawyer taught President Trump to deny, delay, attack, sue and countersue, never admit defeat, side step paying bills and…
Sep 16, 2026 · 46:15
Pulitzer Prize-winning New Yorker staff writer Dexter Filkins says while Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner is a U.S. special envoy negotiating peace, he's also working on private…
Sep 15, 2026 · 45:22
Brooks grew up in a church where her mom was a minister and her dad a deacon. She went on to play Taystee in the Netflix series Orange Is the New Black . Now she co-stars in the…
Sep 14, 2026 · 45:45
It has been 10 years since former 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick took a knee during the national anthem, in protest of police brutality against Black people. Once the season…
Sep 12, 2026 · 49:17
Author Claire Vaye Watkins lives in the Mojave Desert, just like the protagonist in her new novel, Yellow Pine . In the book, it’s an area being developed by an energy company,…
Sep 11, 2026 · 46:29
For the 25th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks, we go into our archive for voices of those who were there. Deputy Fire Chief John “Jay” Jonas spoke with Terry Gross about being…
Sep 10, 2026 · 46:30
Despite record viewership and attendance, and amazing talent across the league, the WNBA has been caught up in the national conversation about the culture wars. Sportswriter…
Sep 9, 2026 · 46:26
In his book Homeland: The War on Terror in American Life , Richard Beck looks at how the Sept. 11 attacks led to the expansion of government surveillance and a sharp increase in…
Sep 8, 2026 · 45:44
A decade ago, Casey Gerald was running a celebrated nonprofit, giving TED talks, and on magazine covers as proof that the American dream still works. Then he shut it all down and…
Sep 7, 2026 · 46:32
For Labor Day, we’re listening back to our 2009 interview with Rosanne Cash. When she was 18, in 1973, her father Johnny Cash gave her a list of 100 essential country songs he…
Sep 5, 2026 · 49:23
Yahya Abdul-Mateen II is nominated for an Emmy for his performance in the Marvel series ‘Wonder Man,’ but two weeks after his nomination, Disney announced the series would not…
Sep 4, 2026 · 46:47
Writer, activist and face of the women’s liberation movement Gloria Steinem died Wednesday at age 92. She spoke with Terry Gross several times over four decades, this remembrance…
Sep 3, 2026 · 45:13
Paul Greengrass’ new film, The Uprising , stars Andrew Garfield as a 14th-century peasant who, in the wake of the Plague, leads a revolt against the king. It's a history…
Sep 2, 2026 · 46:17
Tech giants like Google and Microsoft have been competing for years to get their devices, software and AI into public schools, even offering free training programs for teachers…
Sep 1, 2026 · 46:30
Coltrane was one of the most influential musicians in the history of jazz, from his beautiful ballads, to his more spiritual music, and his role in the forefront of free jazz.…
Aug 31, 2026 · 45:47
Atlantic journalist Annie Lowrey explores the administrative burdens people face applying for government benefits like unemployment and food assistance. It's not just about…
Aug 29, 2026 · 49:00
Jason Segel returns to talk with Terry Gross about his Emmy-nominated series Shrinking , in which he plays a therapist who suffered a nervous breakdown in the wake of his wife’s…
Aug 28, 2026 · 46:03
Actor Tim Curry, best-known for playing mad scientist Dr. Frank-N-Furter in The Rocky Horror Picture Show , died this week at age 80. He spoke with Terry Gross in 2005 about…
Aug 27, 2026 · 45:24
In his Prime Video series, Bait , Riz Ahmed plays an actor auditioning to be the next James Bond. Ahmed says Bond is a "symbol of aspiration, this unattainable kind of self" his…
Aug 26, 2026 · 46:36
The beloved country superstar died Tuesday at age 80. Parton spoke with Terry Gross in 2001 about growing up in rural poverty with 11 siblings, leaving for Nashville to become a…
Aug 25, 2026 · 45:24
National security writer Joby Warrick tells the story of “Carlos the Jackal,” the world’s most notorious terrorist of the ‘70s and ‘80s. He became so famous for his brazen…
Aug 24, 2026 · 45:40
Lisa Kudrow is up for two Emmys for the final season of The Comeback , about an actress who will endure almost anything to keep working. She spoke with Tonya Mosley about her…
Aug 22, 2026 · 49:04
Colman Domingo is nominated for two Emmy Awards this year, for two very different roles: in the Netflix comedy The Four Seasons and in the final season of HBO's Euphoria . He…
Aug 21, 2026 · 45:59
The Dog Stars , directed by Ridley Scott and starring Josh Brolin and Jacob Elordi, is about two men who become unlikely compatriots when a pandemic wipes out much of the…
Aug 20, 2026 · 46:03
Two weeks after being nominated for an Emmy for his leading role in Wonder Man , Yahya Abdul-Mateen II found out that the series had been cancelled. He says Marvel could do more…
Aug 19, 2026 · 45:58
Defense analyst Stacie Pettyjohn says while the U.S. military is facing long-range missile shortages, prolonged deployments, and vacated regional bases, Iran is building cheaper…
Aug 18, 2026 · 45:38
Segel returns to talk with Terry Gross about his Emmy-nominated series Shrinking , in which he plays a therapist who suffered a nervous breakdown in the wake of his wife’s death.…
Aug 17, 2026 · 45:40
When you’re dieting to lose weight, human evolution is often working against you. We’ll talk about why with Daniel Lieberman, author of Fed Up and founder of Harvard’s Department…
Aug 15, 2026 · 48:32
Spider-Man: Brand New Day continues to break box office records, after having the biggest U.S. opening weekend in history. Tonya Mosley talks with the film’s director, Destin…
Aug 14, 2026 · 46:43
Poet and writer Clint Smith says we are taught to think of slavery as something that happened a long, long time ago. But then he learned that his grandfather's grandfather had…
Aug 13, 2026 · 45:52
Colman Domingo is nominated for two Emmy Awards for two very different performances — in the Netflix comedy The Four Seasons and in HBO's Euphoria . "I can go very deep with my…
Aug 12, 2026 · 45:58
China produces at least 70% of the world’s drones, electric vehicles, lithium-ion batteries and solar cells. And with the U.S. stockpile of munitions diminished from the Iran…
Aug 11, 2026 · 45:31
Cretton grew up in Hawaii, and says movies expanded his perspective: “That is how I traveled. That is how I was exposed to other cultures. That's how I understand how kids grew…
Aug 10, 2026 · 46:10
Journalist Gil Durán argues that a small circle of Silicon Valley billionaires and venture capitalists have concluded that democracy is in their way — and that they should be…
Aug 8, 2026 · 49:04
Seven years ago, New Yorker staff writer Jia Tolentino coined the term “Instagram Face.” Now we talk about how current beauty standards are changing our relationship to reality.…
Aug 7, 2026 · 45:38
The internationally acclaimed horseman Monty Roberts defied the conventional method of breaking horses and developed his own gentler approach — based on horses' non-verbal…
Aug 6, 2026 · 46:22
Claire Vaye Watkins' new novel, 'Yellow Pine,' is about a group of misfits and activists in the Mojave desert, fighting a corporate solar development. Living in the desert is…
Aug 5, 2026 · 46:13
New York Times reporter Eric Lipton discusses his Pulitzer Prize-winning investigations into Trump’s conflicts of interest and whether he’s exploiting the power of the presidency…
Aug 4, 2026 · 45:12
The fifth and final season of the HBO comedy series ‘Hacks’ is nominated for 24 Emmys, including one for Smart as best actress in a comedy series. The writers “raised the bar…
Aug 3, 2026 · 45:14
Historian Micki McElya’s book, ‘Liberation Summer,’ revisits September 1968, when three groups of women converged on the Atlantic City boardwalk: feminists protesting the Miss…
Aug 1, 2026 · 47:51
Christopher Nolan’s new film ‘The Odyssey’ is a box-office hit, but classics scholar Emily Wilson, who translated Homer’s poem from the original text, says the film’s script is…
Jul 31, 2026 · 46:36
Irish musician Glen Hansard, best-known for his band The Frames and his part in the 2007 film ‘Once,’ died July 29 in a motorcycle crash. He was 56. Hansard got his start busking…
Jul 30, 2026 · 45:50
Bernthal often plays intense, violent, damaged characters, like Mikey from ‘The Bear’ and Shane from ‘The Walking Dead.’ When talking about himself and his characters, Bernthal…
Jul 29, 2026 · 45:34
Renowned classics scholar Emily Wilson caused a stir when her critical review of Christopher Nolan's ‘The Odyssey’ went viral. Wilson explains her reaction to the film and why…
Jul 28, 2026 · 45:12
Pulitzer Prize-winning ‘New York Times’ reporter Mike McIntire says gun companies and the NRA are broadening the scope of the Second Amendment, socializing kids to appreciate…
Jul 27, 2026 · 45:51
Award-winning writer Leïla Slimani grew up in Morocco, where women were second-class citizens, but inside her home and with her family, she was free to speak her mind. Her…
Jul 25, 2026 · 49:07
At the age of 80, André De Shields is now on Broadway in “CATS: The Jellicle Ball.” He won a Tony in 2019 for his performance in “Hadestown” and co-stars in the new movie of the…
Jul 24, 2026 · 45:34
Poverty, chastity, obedience, total devotion – and rebellion. Catherine Coldstream talks with Terry Gross about her years as a Carmelite nun and why she left the monastery. Her…
Jul 23, 2026 · 45:38
The second season of Lee Sung Jin’s Netflix series ‘BEEF’ earned 16 Emmy nominations. Set at an exclusive country club, it stars Oscar Isaac and Carey Mulligan in a story about…
Jul 22, 2026 · 46:00
Botox, fillers, facelifts: Plastic surgery is becoming so normalized and undetectable, it's changing our relationship to reality. ‘New Yorker’ staff writer Jia Tolentino…
Jul 21, 2026 · 45:37
At the age of 80, Broadway legend André De Shields now starring in "CATS: The Jellicle Ball." He won a Tony in 2019 for his performance in "Hadestown," and co-stars in the new…
Jul 20, 2026 · 46:18
In 1981, members of radical offshoots of the Weather Underground and the Black Panthers robbed a Brinks truck carrying over $1.5 million. It ended in a shootout, killing two…
Jul 18, 2026 · 48:46
Rashida Jones and Will McCormack are the screenwriting duo behind ‘The Invite.’ It takes on the realities of marriage in middle age, told over the course of one dinner party that…
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