Shows / Fresh Air
Fresh Air
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.
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Episodes
Fresh AirJosh O'Connor takes the lead in 'Disclosure Day'
O'Connor stars as a cybersecurity expert who decides the world deserves to know the truth about alien life in the Steven Spielberg film Disclosure Day. He…
Fresh AirHow sky-high ticket prices, war & politics could impact the World Cup
The biggest World Cup ever starts this week. Laura Williamson, editor in chief of The Athletic, describes how sky-high prices, travel restrictions, politics…
Fresh AirAndrew Rannells & Josh Gad look back on 15 years of ‘Book of Mormon’
Fifteen years after ‘The Book of Mormon’ made its Broadway debut, original cast members Andrew Rannells and Josh Gad once again took the stage as Mormon…
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Best Of: Novelist Maggie O’Farrell / A personal history of the N-Word
Maggie O’Farrell wrote the novel ‘Hamnet’ and co-wrote the screenplay for the film adaptation. She has a new book called ‘Land,’ about a father and son mapping…
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Alan Cumming / Angela Lansbury
The Tony Awards are this Sunday. To celebrate, we’re listening back to two award-winners from our archive: Alan Cumming, who played the emcee in ‘Cabaret’ in…
Fresh AirClarke Peters: From ‘The Wire’ to ‘The Boroughs’
Peters’ credits include police Detective Lester Freamon in ‘The Wire,’ a Vietnam veteran in Spike Lee’s ‘Da 5 Bloods,’ and now a retiree in the supernatural…
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How a single decision made a century ago split a family by race
Pope Leo XIV’s Creole family roots inspired New Orleanian journalist Susan Saulny to research her Creole great-uncle who moved to Chicago, identified himself…
Fresh Air'Hamnet' novelist Maggie O'Farrell maps her Irish roots in 'Land'
O’Farrell’s 2020 novel ‘Hamnet’ was adapted into an award-winning film last year. She co-wrote the screenplay. It’s about the grief Shakespeare and his wife…
Fresh AirRichard Pryor’s daughter Elizabeth is a scholar of the N-word
Historian Elizabeth Stordeur Pryor has spent her career tracing the racial slur, the N-word, through slavery, Jim Crow, the civil rights movement, and hip hop…
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Best Of: ‘Boroughs’ Actor Alfre Woodard / Rose Byrne
Alfre Woodard stars in a new Netflix sci-fi mystery series ‘The Boroughs,’ from the creators of ‘Stranger Things.’ She plays a retired journalist living in a…
Fresh AirRemembering jazz giant Sonny Rollins
The great jazz saxophonist Sonny Rollins died Monday at the age of 95. He was known for his improvisation and technique, his full bodied sound that could erupt…
Fresh Air‘Boroughs’ actor Alfre Woodard reminds us to look to our elders
Alfre Woodard stars in the new Netflix series ‘The Boroughs,’ a supernatural mystery from the producers of ‘Stranger Things.’ In it, she leads an ensemble of…
Fresh AirObama staffer Ben Rhodes on Iran negotiations and the battle for American identity
Ben Rhodes was a speechwriter and Deputy National Security Advisor to President Obama. He spoke with Terry Gross about his experience negotiating with Iran…
Fresh AirDavid Sedaris wants to be better (at everything)
Humorist David Sedaris says the best part of reading his work to an audience is earning the laughs — or the groans. "A collective groan is fine with me," he…
Fresh AirBillie Eilish & Finneas
Popstar Billie Eilish has a new 3D concert film that she co-directed with James Cameron. She and her brother and co-producer Finneas spoke with Terry Gross in…
Fresh AirStephen Colbert / Remembering MA Rep. Barney Frank
Stephen Colbert’s ‘Late Show’ ended last night after 11 years. He spoke with Terry Gross in 2016 shortly after he took over from David Letterman. Before that…
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Best Of: Zayd Ayers Dohrn’s childhood on the run / Writer Jesmyn Ward
Zayd Ayers Dohrn’s mother, Bernardine Dohrn, was a leader of SDS, a student group protesting the Vietnam War. She also led a faction that broke away and became…
Fresh AirRose Byrne
Rose Byrne starred in big box office comedies like ‘Bridesmaids’ and ‘Neighbors,’ and, more recently, the indie film ‘If I Had Legs I’d Kick You,’ which kind…
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The Justice Department gives Trump an unprecedented settlement
D.O.J. gave President Trump and his family immunity from tax audits and set up a $1.8 billion fund for victims of "government weaponization." Former government…
Fresh AirThrough loss, Jesmyn Ward will always return to the word
Jesmyn Ward learned the term "respair" — the recovery of hope after despair — in 2020, shortly after her partner died suddenly. Her new book, ‘On Witness and…
Fresh AirSon of radicals, Zayd Ayers Dohrn grew up underground & on the run
"From my very first memories, I knew that the FBI was chasing us," Zayd Ayers Dohrn says. "My parents tried to explain it in terms [like] we were like Robin…
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Best Of: Boots Riley / Will Sharpe
Boots Riley talks about his new film, ‘I Love Boosters.' It stars Keke Palmer as the leader of a crew of women shoplifters who steal from luxury stores and…
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Remembering Philip Caputo, who wrote an unflinching Vietnam War memoir
Philip Caputo wrote the 1977 acclaimed and unflinching memoir ‘A Rumor of War,’ about leading a Marine platoon during the Vietnam War. It taught him a painful…
Fresh AirHow Trump increased China's global power
Former national security official Rush Doshi says President Trump’s 2025 sky-high tariffs on Chinese goods sparked a clash in which China prevailed. Doshi…
Fresh AirBoots Riley wants to 'compel and repel' you
Boots Riley’s new film is called ‘I Love Boosters,’ and it stars Keke Palmer as the leader of a crew of women shoplifters in the Bay Area who steal from luxury…
Fresh AirInside a journalist’s year of using AI for (almost) everything
Tech writer Joanna Stern used AI to read medical results, respond to texts and serve as her therapist. She says her emotional connection to it was unsettling…
Fresh AirWill Sharpe imagines Mozart's day-to-day in 'Amadeus'
Sharpe played a newly rich tech bro on vacation in Italy the second season of ‘The White Lotus.’ Now he's starring as Mozart, a musical genius who struggles to…
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Best Of: Novelist Douglas Stuart / ‘Half Man’ Actor Richard Gadd
Like the main character in his Booker Prize-winning novel 'Shuggie Bain,' writer Douglas Stuart grew up in Glasgow, working class, queer, and with a mother…
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Broadway producer Jeffrey Seller, from ‘RENT’ to ‘Hamilton’
Broadway producer Jeffrey Seller played a key role in the production of RENT, Hamilton, In the Heights, Avenue Q, and the revival of Sondheim’s Sweeney Todd…
Fresh AirNathan Lane is being tested (and he loves it)
Nathan Lane just received a Tony nomination for his starring role as Willy Loman in ‘Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman.’ He’s a veteran of the stage – often…
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How Silicon Valley has profited by aligning with MAGA
Atlantic writer George Packer discusses how tech venture capitalists, who are heavily invested in AI and cryptocurrency, aligned with Trump and influenced…
Fresh AirKimberlé Williams Crenshaw’s path from ‘Backtalker’ to legal scholar
Crenshaw named two of the most contested ideas in American politics: intersectionality and critical race theory. Her new book is called ‘Backtalker: An…
Fresh AirScottish novelist Douglas Stuart on the isolation of secret-keeping
Like a number of his characters, Booker Prize-winning novelist Douglas Stuart grew up working class and queer in Glasgow. He went on to have a career in…
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Best Of: Flea / Nick Offerman
Flea co-founded the Red Hot Chili Peppers in 1982. The bass/trumpet player spoke with Terry Gross about how his music and his life have changed. “Thank God…
Fresh AirRemembering symphony conductor Michael Tilson Thomas
We remember conductor, composer and musician Michael Tilson Thomas, who died April 22 at age 81. He was a longtime music director of The San Francisco…
Fresh AirRichard Gadd is looking at the ‘dangers of repression’
‘Baby Reindeer’ was an unexpected hit on Netflix in 2024. Now its creator and star is back with ‘Half Man,’ an HBO series about two boys who become brothers…
Fresh AirHow Trump's EPA head has transformed the agency — and sided with polluters
‘New Yorker’ staff writer Elizabeth Kolbert says EPA chief Lee Zeldin has rescinded regulations, cut or eliminated departments and terminated the jobs of many…
Fresh AirFlea’s wild path from childhood to Chili Peppers
The Red Hot Chili Peppers have sold tens of millions of albums and taken home multiple Grammy Awards. Now in his 60s, more than four decades after that band…
Fresh AirNick Offerman gets an emotional arc
Best known for his role as Ron Swanson on ‘Parks and Recreation,’ Nick Offerman plays a former professional wrestler reconnecting with his estranged daughter…
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Best Of: Malala Yousafzai / Oscar Isaac
Malala Yousafzai was 15 when a Taliban gunman shot her for advocating for girls' education in her native Pakistan. She understood that she was a target. “I had…
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‘Schmigadoon!’ co-creator Cinco Paul satirizes Broadway
‘Schmigadoon!’ is now on Broadway. Adapted from the Apple TV series that lovingly satirized musicals of the ‘40s and ‘50s, we’ll hear from the co-creator…
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The spy network that took on America's Nazi groups
In ‘The Secret War Against Hate,’ historian Steven J. Ross details the racist, anti-Semitic groups that sprung up after WWII, in the later half of the 20th…
Fresh AirInside Linda McMahon's effort to dismantle the Dept. of Education
A former pro-wrestling executive, Linda McMahon is now the Education Secretary Trump tasked with abolishing her agency. ‘New Yorker’ staff writer Zach Helfand…
Fresh AirActor Oscar Isaac is ‘a vulture’ of his own life
Oscar Isaac stars in season 2 of the Emmy-winning Netflix series ‘Beef,’ which is an anthology about the unexpected consequences of everyday conflict. Isaac…
Fresh AirMalala Yousafzai
Nobel Laureate Malala Yousafzai spoke with Terry Gross about bravery, marriage, and defying cultural norms. She was 15 when a Taliban gunman shot her, in…
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Best Of: Actor Amanda Peet / Re-examining Toni Morrison
Amanda Peet is in the new film ‘Fantasy Life’ and the series ‘Your Friends & Neighbors.’ In a recent piece in ‘The New Yorker,’ she wrote about being diagnosed…
Fresh AirJohn Waters, 'Pope of Trash,' turns 80!
We celebrate the 80th birthday of the filmmaker known as ‘The Pope of Trash’ and ‘The Prince of Puke,’ John Waters. He's spent a career violating taboos and…
Fresh AirPalestinian & Israeli activists share a vision of peace
Israeli Maoz Inon's parents were killed by Hamas in the Oct. 7 attacks. Palestinian Aziz Abu Sarah's brother died after being tortured in an Israeli military…
Fresh AirAmanda Peet
Amanda Peet is always waiting for the other shoe to drop. Except last year there seemed to be three different shoes, as she faced her parents' deaths and a…
Fresh AirA veteran diplomat breaks down the Iran war
The war entered a new phase when President Trump began a U.S. naval blockade of the Strait of Hormuz. Aaron David Miller of the Carnegie Endowment for…
Fresh AirHave we been reading Toni Morrison all wrong?
In a new book, Harvard professor Namwali Serpell makes the case that we have been reading one of the most celebrated writers in American history all wrong. ‘On…
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Best Of: Arsenio Hall / Jeff Ross
Arsenio Hall grew up in Cleveland dreaming of being the next Johnny Carson – kind of. “I wanted to do this show that didn't exist when I was a kid, and I knew…
Fresh AirSt. Vincent
Singer, songwriter, and guitarist St. Vincent is known for her powerful guitar riffs and dark, poetic songs. Her early influences were Nirvana and David Bowie…
Fresh AirInside a mobile OB/GYN clinic
Dr. Mary Fariba Afsari's book, ‘Labor,’ is a portrait of reproductive healthcare in post-Dobbs America, serving a community in Oregon with an RV clinic. She…
Fresh AirHumorist Annabelle Gurwitch faces stage 4 cancer, finds ‘unexpected joys’
In 2020, writer Annabelle Gurwitch went to urgent care for a COVID-19 test and learned she had stage 4 lung cancer. She writes about life as a "cancer slacker"…
Fresh AirComic Jeff Ross on roasting, loss and his epic bar mitzvah
Known for his ruthless celebrity roasts, Ross turns inward in his Netflix special, ‘Take a Banana for the Ride,’ which details the loss of his parents and…
Fresh AirArsenio Hall
Hall grew up in Cleveland dreaming of being the next Johnny Carson. He got close – closer than anyone expected – and then he walked away. Thirty years later…
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Best Of: John Lithgow / Sondheim’s tumultuous life
We talk with John Lithgow, veteran of hundreds of performances on stage, screen and television. He’s currently starring in the play ‘Giant’ on Broadway. He…
Fresh AirJulio Torres spins immigrant stress into satire
As a gay, atheist teenager in El Salvador, Julio Torres felt like an alien. He was legally labeled “alien” when he came to the U.S. on a student visa, and then…
Fresh AirJohn Lithgow
Lithgow, 80, plays an intelligence agent in the FX action series 'The Old Man,' and he's currently starring in the Broadway production of 'Giant,' about a dark…