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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
300 Episodes
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MSNBC host Joy-Ann Reid tells the story of Medgar Evers and his wife Myrlie. Medgar was the NAACP field secretary in Mississippi, a state that lynched more Black people than any other. The risks of the job created a lot of tension in their marriage — and after Medgar's 1963 assassination, Myrlie's fury drove her to be an activist herself.And film critic Justin Chang reviews Sinners, the new supernatural thriller by director Ryan Coogler, starring Michael B. Jordan.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy
New Yorker staff writer Sarah Stillman says she's discovered dozens of cases where people in county jails across the U.S. have died of starvation, dehydration, or related medical crises. Many were people with mental health issues arrested for minor crimes who languished behind bars without treatment, unable to make bail.Also, we remember renowned jazz critic and Terry Gross' husband, Francis Davis.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy
In The Illegals: Russia's Most Audacious Spies and Their Century-Long Mission to Infiltrate the West, journalist Shaun Walker shares how agents were trained to blend into a target country and posed as citizens. Walker tells the story of Andrei Olegovich Bezrukov, aka "Donald," and Elena Vavilova, aka "Tracey," who were embedded in Cambridge, Mass. until a 2010 FBI raid. Even their two children didn't know their parents' true identities. Also, jazz historian Kevin Whitehead pays tribute to versatile tenor saxophonist Gene Ammons.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy
In a new memoir, billionaire Melinda French Gates writes about the end of her marriage to Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, and her ongoing philanthropic work, directing funds and attention to women's health initiatives. Her book is The Next Day. Also, David Bianculli reviews the new season of Black Mirror.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy
Kind is the announcer and host sidekick on the Netflix show Everybody's Live with John Mulaney. "I don't know what the hell I'm doing. You must understand — it's anarchy," he says of the show. He spoke with Terry Gross about having ego but no confidence, working with Sondheim, and working in his father's jewelry store as a teen. Ken Tucker reviews Kendrick Lamar and SZA's single "Luther."Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy
Grammy-winning singer-songwriter Jason Isbell sings about his split from musician Amanda Shires on his latest album, Foxes in the Snow. "What I was attempting to do is document a very specific time where I was going through a lot of changes," he tells Terry Gross. David Bianculli reviews the FX/Hulu series Dying for Sex. When Scottish actor David Tennant was three, he told his parents he wanted to grow up to play Doctor Who on TV. His dream became a reality — he was Doctor Who for five years and, it turns out, he was suited for lots of other characters, including villains and detectives, and the lead in many Shakespeare plays.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy
The Emmy and Peabody Award-winning comedy series returns for a fourth season this week. It's about two women — a successful comic/TV personality in her 70s, and her 20-something comedy writer — and the generational clashes that ensue. We're revisiting interviews with stars Jean Smart and Hannah Einbinder, and Paul W. Downs who co-created the series and plays their manager. Also, film critic Justin Chang reviews Warfare, a movie about U.S. Navy SEALs.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy
Johnson & Johnson recently lost a bid to settle lawsuits that claimed its talc powder products, including baby powder, caused cancer. Author Gardiner Harris says the company's defense "is beginning to crumble." His book is No More Tears. Also, John Powers reviews the new Apple TV+ series Your Friends & Neighbors, starring Jon Hamm.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy
President Trump's sweeping tariff policy has upended the global economy. Zanny Minton Beddoes, the editor-in-chief of The Economist, likens it to The Art of the Deal — on steroids.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy
Author Chris Whipple says Biden's family and closest advisors operated in denial regarding his ability to serve another term: "There's no doubt that they were protecting the president." Whipple spoke with campaign insiders to get a behind-the-scenes look at what happened in 2024. His book is Uncharted: How Trump Beat Biden, Harris, and the Odds in the Wildest Campaign in History. Our book critic Maureen Corrigan shares an appreciation of The Great Gatsby for its 100th anniversary.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy
When David Tennant was three, he told his parents he wanted to grow up to play Doctor Who on TV. As a teen, he held onto that dream: "I was quite weedy and I wore glasses and I had a terrible haircut, so all those things still felt possible in the world of the Doctor. There was something about that character I could be," Tennant tells Sam Briger. He was Doctor Who for five years and, it turns out, he was suited for lots of other characters–including villains and detectives, and the lead in many Shakespeare plays.Later, TV critic David Bianculli reviews the new series Dying for Sex, starring Michelle Williams and Jenny Slate.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy
Amanda Knox was convicted — and ultimately exonerated — for the murder of her roommate Meredith Kercher while studying abroad in Italy. Now in a new memoir, Knox explains why getting out of prison was not the end of her saga. Also, we hear from British actor Stephen Graham. He stars in the Netflix miniseries Adolescence as the father of a 13-year-old boy arrested for murdering a girl from his school. He also co-created the series and talks about the ambitious style in which it was shot — in one long take. Ken Tucker reviews new albums by Lucy Dacus and Jeffrey Lewis.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy
It's been 20 years since the debut of NBC's hit mockumentary sitcom The Office. To celebrate the anniversary, we're listening back to Terry Gross' archival interviews with some of the key players: Steve Carell, Jenna Fischer, John Krasinski, Rainn Wilson, Mindy Kaling and executive producer Greg Daniels. We'll also hear from Ricky Gervais, who co-created and starred the original British version.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy
Isbell sings about his split from musician Amanda Shires on his latest album, Foxes in the Snow. "What I was attempting to do is document a very specific time where I was going through a lot of changes," he says.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy
As ICE agents arrest international students at campuses across the U.S., immigration law professor Daniel Kanstroom discusses the human cost. He says the round-ups are designed to "send a message... to scare people, and it's working."Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy
As a longtime staff writer at The New Yorker, Hilton Als's essays and profiles of figures like Toni Morrison, Joan Didion, and Richard Pryor have redefined cultural criticism, blending autobiography with literary and social commentary. Als is also a curator. His latest gallery exhibition is The Writing's on the Wall: Language and Silence in the Visual Arts, at the Hill Art Foundation in New York. The exhibit brings together the works of 32 artists across a range of media to examine how artists embrace silence. The show asked a powerful question: What do words — and their absence — look like? The Pulitzer Prize-winning writer spoke with Tonya Mosley. Also, Ken Tucker reviews new music from Lucy Dacus and Jeffrey Lewis.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy
The Netflix miniseries follows a 13-year-old accused of murdering a girl from his school. Co-creator and star Stephen Graham says he read about similar crimes and wanted to know: "Why is this happening?" Graham spoke with Sam Briger about the crime that inspired the show, fatherhood, and the unusual way the show was shot — in one single take. Graham also stars as a bare-knuckle boxer in the period drama series A Thousand Blows. Sign up for our free weekly newsletter to get special behind-the-scenes content, producer recommendations, and gems from the archive. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy
Hanif Kureishi began his new memoir just days after a fall left him paralyzed. He describes being completely dependent on others — and the sense of purpose he's gained from writing. The memoir is called Shattered.David Bianculli reviews the British series Ludwig.Writer Clay Risen describes a political movement which destroyed the careers of thousands of teachers, civil servants and artists whose beliefs or associations were deemed un-American. His book, Red Scare, is about post-World War II America, but he says there's a throughline connecting that era to our current political moment.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy
Sigrid Nunez's 2018 novel The Friend won the National Book Award. It's now a film, starring Naomi Watts and Bill Murray, about a woman who inherits a dog after her friend's suicide. She spoke with Terry Gross about the book in 2019.Also, Justin Chang reviews the new French film thriller Misericordia.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy
Atlantic writer Robert Worth talks about Syria's transitional president, Ahmed al-Sharaa. He was the founder of the Syrian branch of Al-Qaeda, but is now advocating unity and inclusion. Syria borders Iraq, Turkey, Jordan and Lebanon, so what happens in Syria impacts the whole region. We'll also talk with Worth about the Houthis in Yemen, and the Trump administration group chat that accidentally included Atlantic editor Jeffrey Goldberg.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy
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Comments (533)

Dara Pat

Did he run what he said by his wife

Mar 12th
Reply

Dara Pat

did he run what he said by his wife

Mar 12th
Reply

Soren Christensen

No thanks, too pissed for me.

Mar 12th
Reply

Mrs. Kaety J. West

#Bluetiful #RiPmyFriendTonyToneJohnson

Feb 5th
Reply

Bea Kiddo

#rugpull

Jan 23rd
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Bea Kiddo

Traitor Trump pulled a big rug on his supporters. One more scam. #trumpisatraitor

Jan 23rd
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Bea Kiddo

It is so surprising that there’s so many people in America do not know what and who they voted for. If they just read the #traitortrump family history would tell anyone who he is and what he’s about. Americans who voted for him are just clueless! At the very least how can so many people vote or support a man who is so ignorant on the every day American and a man with no morals, ethics and integrity. This is not acceptable at all. Hopefully he’ll be gone before he starts.

Nov 12th
Reply (3)

Jonathan Bosch

fu ck Triñ

Nov 12th
Reply (1)

Jonathan Bosch

get you yup you yup can do

Nov 12th
Reply

Adele Ballard

I just purchased his book, and I am looking forward to reading it as soon as possible.

Nov 4th
Reply

Bea Kiddo

Trump is a traitor. I don’t know how or why everyone can’t see that fact. He’s not a good businessman and just an overall loser. He makes dirty deals to benefit himself and only himself. It’s all out in the open and so many people choose not to see it or they are just that stupid not to see it.

Oct 30th
Reply (24)

Anthony Rodriguez

This show should be split into two: 1) about politics and nonfiction 2) about the entertainment industry. Sometimes I'm just not in the mood for 2.

Oct 17th
Reply

Jairo lenin Miñano roja

solo lo escucho para aprender Ingles pero no me entra nada 😭

Oct 10th
Reply

Mona Peterson

I always look forward to tuning into Fresh Air! The conversations are so insightful and thought-provoking, and they truly broaden my perspective on various topics. https://www.pages24.com/brooklyn-ny/17667388-nyc-packaging-solution

Oct 8th
Reply

Peter F

Probably my favorite episode of all time. ❤️ Who doesn't love Ina?

Oct 3rd
Reply

New Jawn

"Demi, if it's done tastefully and if it's necessary for the plot, would you keep your clothes on?"

Sep 16th
Reply

Jessie Ross

I absolutely love Fresh Air! The interviews are always thought-provoking and insightful, and Terry Gross has a way of making her guests feel comfortable enough to share their true stories. https://medium.com/@CustomWaxPaper The variety of topics covered, from current events to arts and culture, keeps me engaged and coming back for more. It's one of the best podcasts for anyone who enjoys deep, meaningful conversations with a diverse range of fascinating people. Highly recommend!

Sep 16th
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Richard Walker

Informant's exposing the inner workings of the KKK¬ the members themselves?I have got to say, that may or may not be possible.Obama wasn't killed,@ least not graveside,as far as we know.The best place to hide is out in the (noonday?)sun.Not necessarily.It's best to have your soul hidden for you--in the cleft of the rock, by divinity itself.The destruction that wastes@ noon--like 9/11 itself,maybe.Possibly best not to go out in the noonday sun,then,unless you need to.Keeping it 💯. Godspeed.

Sep 14th
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j law

Poor Elon. What a loser.

Sep 12th
Reply

New Jawn

If there is a way, Terry can always be counted on to talk about the salacious and never let it go. Her infamous interview with Bette Midler is still iconic -- "I thought we'd never stop talking about the baths!"

Aug 31st
Reply