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 AirHow Does Pain Work? Dr. Sanjay Gupta Explains
CNN Chief Medical Correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta's new book examines the world of pain — why we feel it, and how we can treat it. He says distraction and…
Fresh AirRFK Jr.'s Impact On Americans' Health
We look at the stormy tenure of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. New York Times reporter Sheryl Gay Stolberg discusses how RFK Jr.'s…
Fresh AirJane Fonda Is Not Backing Down
Earlier this year, Fonda made headlines for delivering a fiery critique of the Trump administration during a SAG-AFTRA award acceptance speech. "This is not…
Fresh AirRoots of Rock and R&B: Dion and Allen Toussaint
All week we're revisiting archival interviews with key figures in early rock and roll, rockabilly and R&B. We listen back to a 2000 interview with former teen…
Fresh AirRoots of R&B: Charles Brown & Ray Charles
All week we're revisiting archival interviews with key figures in early rock and roll, rockabilly and R&B. We listen back to a 1989 interview with singer and…
Fresh AirRoots of R&B: 'Stand By Me'
All week we're revisiting archival interviews with key figures in early rock and roll, rockabilly and R&B. Soul singer Ben E. King began his career in the ‘50s…
Fresh AirRoots of R&B: Johnny Otis & Etta James
All week we're revisiting archival interviews with key figures in early rock and roll, rockabilly and R&B. Singer, songwriter, producer and talent scout Johnny…
Fresh AirRoots of Rock: Sun Records & Johnny Cash
All week we're revisiting archival interviews with key figures in early rock and roll, rockabilly and R&B. Sam Phillips discovered Elvis Presley and produced…
Fresh AirRoots Of Rock: "Blue Suede Shoes"
All week we're revisiting archival interviews with key figures in early rock and roll, rockabilly and R&B. We're kicking it off with Terry Gross's interviews…
Fresh AirRemembering Actor Terence Stamp
We remember British actor Terence Stamp, who died last week at age 87. He starred in the film The Limey, as an ex-con out for revenge, and in The Adventures of…
Fresh AirRobert Reich: The Baby Boomers Fell Short
Former Secretary of Labor Robert Reich served under President Clinton from 1993 to 1997. He opens his new memoir, Coming Up Short, with an apology on behalf of…
Fresh AirThe Dramatic Overhaul Of The Justice Dept.
The New Yorker’s Ruth Marcus says Bondi has presided over the DOJ's most convulsive transition of power since Watergate, aggressively reversing policies…
Fresh AirSpike Lee On Dynamic Duos & Reimagining Kurosawa
Spike Lee's new film, Highest 2 Lowest, centers on a music mogul (Denzel Washington) who faces a moral dilemma when kidnappers mistakenly hold his friend's son…
Fresh AirBowen Yang's 'Wicked' White Lie
The Emmy-nominated Saturday Night Live cast member talks with Terry Gross about his favorite pop culture in the aughts, his SNL audition, and his recent trip…
Fresh AirThomas Mallon
Writer Thomas Mallon looks back on the early years of the AIDS epidemic, when he was in his 30s, living in Manhattan. His friends were sick or dead, and he was…
Fresh AirBest Of: AI's Writing Critique / The Rise And Fall Of Condé Nast
After writing chapters of her new book about how tech companies help and exploit us, tech journalist and novelist Vauhini Vara fed those chapters to ChatGPT…
Fresh AirPedro Pascal Got Fired A Lot
Chilean-born actor Pedro Pascal has faced countless on-screen challenges, including cosmic battles and cartel kingpins. He's nominated for an Emmy for his role…
Fresh AirMusician Charley Crockett's Road From Busking To The Grammys
Crockett grew up poor and got his start in music busking for tips on the street and in the subway. He's since played the Hollywood Bowl and been nominated for…
Fresh AirJeff Hiller's Big Break Came In His 40s
Hiller spent years scraping by in Hollywood by taking on various small roles and commercials. Then he landed the role of Joel on HBO's Somebody Somewhere and…
Fresh AirDaniel Dae Kim Fakes His Own Death In 'Butterfly'
Daniel Dae Kim became the first actor of Asian descent to be nominated for a Tony, for his performance in Yellow Face, in the role of a playwright trying to…
Fresh AirBest Of: Making 'Born To Run' / Why We Can't Sleep
This month marks the 50th anniversary of Bruce Springsteen's album Born to Run. We'll talk with Peter Ames Carlin, author of a Tonight in Jungleland, about the…
Fresh AirRemembering Eddie Palmieri / Funk Innovator George Clinton
We remember Eddie Palmieri, the pianist, bandleader and composer whose contributions to Afro-Caribbean music shaped the genre for decades. He died Wednesday at…
Fresh AirThe Making Of Springsteen's 'Born To Run'
Bruce Springsteen's groundbreaking album, Born to Run, came out 50 years ago this month, marking a turning point for rock and roll — and for "The Boss." Before…
Fresh AirThe Nihilistic War In Sudan
Fourteen million people in Sudan have been displaced by war and famine. The Atlantic's Anne Applebaum says the scale of destruction is vast and, as the…
Fresh AirSarah Silverman Gets the Last Laugh in 'PostMortem'
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…
Fresh AirHow The 1979 Revolution Transformed Iran
For decades, Iran has been an adversary of the United States. Scott Anderson examines the Iranian revolution of 1979, the upheaval that deposed the reigning…
Fresh AirBest Of: Mariska Hargitay / Marc Maron
Emmy-winning Law & Order: SVU actor Mariska Hargitay talks about her new documentary, My Mom Jayne, an intimate portrait of her mother, the late Hollywood star…
Fresh AirCorrecting The Record On Elvis's Manager
Terry Gross talks with rock historian Peter Guralnick, author of the definitive two volume biography of Elvis Presley. His new book is about Elvis's longtime…
Fresh AirHas NASA Ceded Its Mission To Elon Musk?
The Atlantic journalist Franklin Foer explains how SpaceX and the Trump administration are changing the face of NASA, and why Musk's dream of Mars may come at…
Fresh AirComic Marc Maron On Grief, Cats, And Being Openhearted
As he winds down his podcast, WTF, after 16 years, Marc Maron reflects on what he'll miss: "These conversations are very real conversations for me ... and that…
Fresh AirMariska Hargitay On Freeing Herself From Generational Trauma
The Law & Order: SVU actor was just 3 years old in 1967 when her movie star mom, Jayne Mansfield, died in a car crash. Hargitay's new documentary highlights…
Fresh AirBest Of: Actor Leslie Uggams / Martha's Vineyard's Indigenous Past & Present
Actor and singer Leslie Uggams talks about her remarkable career, which started when she was 6. She was later the first Black woman to host a TV variety show…
Fresh AirRemembering Lyricist Alan Bergman / The 'Outrageous' Jessica Mitford
The lyrics for the songs "What Are You Doing the Rest of Your Life," "The Way We Were," "Nice 'n' Easy," "You Must Believe in Spring," and "The Windmills of…