Fresh Air
1,418 episodes - English - Latest episode: 17 days ago - ★★★★ - 32.7K ratingsFresh 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, the show features intimate conversations with today's biggest luminaries.
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Episodes
Best Of: Edward Snowden / Journalist Andrea Mitchell
September 21, 2019 00:00 - 50 minutes - 46.1 MBIn 2013, Edward Snowden showed journalists thousands of top secret documents about U.S. intelligence agencies' surveillance efforts. He's been living in exile in Russia ever since. His new book is 'Permanent Record.' Film critic Justin Chang reviews 'Ad Astra,' starring Brad Pitt. Andrea Mitchell, the chief foreign affairs correspondent for NBC News and anchor of her own MSNBC show, looks back on her career in journalism. She's receiving a lifetime achievement Emmy on Sept. 24.
'Downton Abbey' Creator Julian Fellowes & Maggie Smith
September 20, 2019 19:30 - 48 minutes - 44.7 MBAs the 'Downton Abbey' movie opens in theaters, we listen back to our interviews with the series creator Julian Fellowes and star Maggie Smith, who plays the Dowager Countess of Grantham. Film critic Justin Chang reviews 'Ad Astra,' starring Brad Pitt.
Edward Snowden
September 19, 2019 21:01 - 48 minutes - 44 MBIn 2013, Snowden showed journalists thousands of top secret documents about U.S. intelligence agencies' surveillance efforts. He's been living in exile in Russia ever since. "People look at me now and they think I'm this crazy guy, I'm this extremist or whatever. Some people have a misconception that [I] set out to burn down the NSA," he says. "But that's not what this was about. In many ways, 2013 wasn't about surveillance at all. What it was about was a violation of the Constitution." Snowd...
NBC News Journalist Andrea Mitchell
September 18, 2019 20:30 - 48 minutes - 44.2 MBMitchell, the chief foreign affairs correspondent for NBC News and anchor of her own MSNBC show, looks back on her career in journalism. She's receiving a lifetime achievement Emmy later on Sept. 24. "It's very empowering to feel that you can ask questions and try to take on someone who is doing something wrong and betraying the public's trust," Mitchell says. Also, critic John Powers reviews the book 'Heaven, My Home,' by Attica Locke.
How Reconstruction Remade The Constitution
September 17, 2019 20:30 - 48 minutes - 44.6 MBPulitzer Prize-winning historian Eric Foner talks about how current issues of racial inequality, voter suppression and mass incarceration relate to the 13th, 14th and 15th amendments. They were added to the constitution after the Civil War and gave black men the right to vote, gave people equal protection under the laws, and granted citizenship to all people born in the U.S. His new book is 'The Second Founding.' Also, we remember pioneering NPR journalist Cokie Roberts, who died today at 75.
Investigating Justice Brett Kavanaugh
September 16, 2019 20:30 - 48 minutes - 44.5 MBIn their new book, 'The Education of Brett Kavanaugh,' 'New York Times' reporters Kate Kelly and Robin Pogrebin investigate the allegations against the Supreme Court justice and what was omitted from the confirmation hearings. They discuss Kavanaugh's behavior at Yale, their interviews with Christine Blasey Ford and Deborah Ramirez, and why the FBI didn't talk to witnesses Ramirez provided.
Best Of: The CIA's Search For Mind Control / Tan France Of 'Queer Eye'
September 14, 2019 00:00 - 50 minutes - 46.2 MBStephen Kinzer's book, 'Poisoner in Chief,' exposes how CIA scientist Sidney Gottlieb worked in the 1950s and early '60s to develop mind control drugs and deadly toxins that could be used against enemies of the U.S. government. Gottlieb believed the key to mind control was LSD, and is credited with bringing the drug to the U.S. He also experimented on unwitting people in prisons and detention centers in Japan, Germany, and the Philippines. Critic Ken Tucker reviews Ken Burns' new 8-part docu...
Singer Linda Ronstadt
September 13, 2019 20:30 - 48 minutes - 44.3 MBThe Mexican-American singer spoke with Terry Gross in 2013 about her career and her Parkinson's diagnosis. The new documentary, 'The Sound of My Voice,' traces Ronstadt's career from the late '60s onward. Also, critic John Powers reviews the movie 'Hustlers,' starring Jennifer Lopez, Constance Wu and Cardi B as high-end exotic dancers who get involved in crime.
Where Does Our Recycling Go?
September 12, 2019 20:30 - 47 minutes - 43.6 MBNow that China isn't taking our recycling anymore, where will it go? Environmental scientist Kate O'Neill discusses recycling and the global politics of waste. "Once you throw something away, you've got to think about where's it going to go next," she says. Her book is 'Waste.' Also, critic Ken Tucker reviews Ken Burns' new 8-part documentary series, 'Country Music.'
Tan France Of 'Queer Eye'
September 11, 2019 20:26 - 47 minutes - 43.7 MBFrance, the son of Pakistani Muslim immigrants, says he almost turned down the job of fashion expert in the Netflix series 'Queer Eye.' "The thought of being one of the very first openly gay South Asian men on a major show. ...That pressure was so hard to handle," he says. But then he thought it was an opportunity to change the narrative about his community. "I've got to continue to show that Pakistanis are wonderful people, that we are caring people." His new memoir about his childhood in th...
Behind-The-Scenes Of The Weinstein Investigation
September 10, 2019 20:30 - 49 minutes - 44.8 MB'New York Times' reporters Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey, who broke the story of Harvey Weinstein's alleged sexual misconduct, talk about the obstacles Weinstein created to prevent their investigation, getting actors to speak on the record, and the final showdown at the 'NYT' before publishing. Their book is 'She Said: Breaking the Sexual Harassment Story That Helped Ignite a Movement.' Also, Kevin Whitehead reviews the album, 'Love & Liberation,' from jazz singer and composer Jazzmeia Horn.
The CIA's Secret Search For Mind Control
September 09, 2019 20:30 - 49 minutes - 44.8 MBStephen Kinzer's book, 'Poisoner in Chief,' exposes how CIA scientist Sidney Gottlieb worked in the 1950s and early '60s to develop mind control drugs and deadly toxins that could be used against enemies of the U.S. government. Gottlieb believed the key to mind control was LSD, and is credited with bringing the drug to the U.S. He also experimented on unwitting people in prisons and detention centers in Japan, Germany, and the Philippines. Also, book critic Maureen Corrigan reviews Margaret...
Best Of: Janet Mock On 'Pose' / Elvis' Guitarist James Burton
September 07, 2019 00:00 - 50 minutes - 46 MBJanet Mock made history as the first trans woman of color to write and direct an episode of TV for her work on Ryan Murphy's FX series 'Pose.' The show centers on the trans and queer ball culture in New York City in the '80s and '90s. Mock talks with Terry Gross about drawing from her own life to write for 'Pose' and growing up in Hawaii. Also, book critic Maureen Corrigan reviews 'The Yellow House,' Sarah M. Broom's extraordinary memoir about the New Orleans home in which she grew up. Gui...
Maggie Gyllenhaal On 'The Deuce'
September 06, 2019 20:30 - 49 minutes - 45.3 MBGyllenhaal produces and stars in the HBO series, 'The Deuce.' The show centers on sex work, porn, organized crime, politics and feminism in 1970s New York. The new season, which begins Sept. 9, jumps to the 1980s. (Originally broadcast Sept. 2018) Also, Ken Tucker reviews Lana Del Rey's new album, 'Norman F****** Rockwell!' And TV critic David Bianculli reviews two recently released DVDs about entertainment and entertainers from long ago: one featuring a singing satirist from the '60s, the o...
Trump's Businesses & Conflicts Of Interest
September 05, 2019 20:30 - 48 minutes - 44.3 MBPulitzer Prize-winning 'Washington Post' reporter David Fahrenthold says in the past, an honor system helped keep presidents from using the office to benefit themselves. Not Trump: "He exploits honor systems." Fahrenthold's beat is following the Trump businesses and the possible conflicts of interest that arise. Also, critic Kevin Whitehead reviews an album by Ben Goldberg that unites jazz and poetry.
Fentanyl & The Dark Web
September 04, 2019 20:30 - 48 minutes - 44.2 MB'Fentanyl, Inc.' author Ben Westhoff says the synthetic opioid, while useful in hospitals, is killing more Americans as a street drug than any other in U.S. history. More than 70,000 Americans died from drug overdoses last year. Westhoff talks about how it moves from China to your corner. Also, book critic Maureen Corrigan reviews 'The Yellow House,' Sarah M. Broom's extraordinary memoir about the New Orleans home in which she grew up.
Elvis' Guitarist James Burton
September 03, 2019 20:30 - 49 minutes - 45.1 MBBurton, who went professional at age 14, played in Ricky Nelson's band, and has been on hundreds of recordings, including those by Frank Sinatra and Johnny Cash. You can hear him on the new box set, 'Elvis: Live 1969.' Also, Ken Tucker reviews Chuck Cleaver's new solo album, 'Send Aid.' And Justin Chang reviews 'Give Me Liberty,' a screwball comedy by director Kirill Mikhanovsky. It follows the driver of a medical transport van and his passengers over the course of a busy 24 hours in Milwaukee.
Emmys Week: 'BoJack Horseman' Creator / 'Pen15' Creators
September 02, 2019 20:30 - 50 minutes - 45.7 MBRaphael Bob-Waksberg's Emmy-nominated animated Netflix series satirizes Hollywood using a mix of human and animal characters. "Part of the original pitch was like, 'What's Mr. Ed like behind the scenes?'" BoJack (a horse) is a depressed, alcoholic, sexist former sitcom star in the #MeToo era. From braces to bullies, middle school is a period of adolescence that might best be described as cringe-worthy. In the Emmy-nominated Hulu series 'PEN15,' actors Maya Erskine and Anna Konkle, who are i...