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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. Support public media by joining NPR+ at <a href="http://plus.npr.org/"target="_blank" >plus.npr.org.</a> 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 www.whyy.org/freshair

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Election experts share concerns about the midterms
21 oct 2026, 20:08 · 45 min
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, and Pennsylvania’s lead election official, Al Schmidt. Both are hoping the states, the courts and the public will ensure free and fair elections. They spoke with Fresh Air's Dave Davies. Subscribe to our free weekly <a href="https://support.whyy.org/page/39306/subscribe/1"target="_blank" >newsletter</a> Follow us on <a href="https://www.instagram.com/nprfreshair/"target="_blank" >Instagram</a> Subscribe to our <a href="https://www.youtube.com/@thisisfreshair"target="_blank" >YouTube channel</a> Check out the <a href="https://freshairarchive.org/"target="_blank" >Fresh Air Archives</a> See <a href="https://pcm.adswizz.com">pcm.adswizz.com</a> for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences. <a href="https://www.npr.org/about-npr/179878450/privacy-policy">NPR Privacy Policy</a>
David Treuer traces America's relationship with violence back to the frontier
20 oct 2026, 17:44 · 44 min
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 founding still influences who we are today. Treuer has spent much of his career challenging the idea that Native American history is a story of tragedy and disappearance, and that Native culture is a thing of the past. He spoke with Tonya Mosley about why he felt compelled to write the book now. Plus, rock critic Ken Tucker reviews an extended version of Stevie Wonder’s iconic 50 year-old album Songs in the Key of Life. Subscribe to our free weekly <a href="https://support.whyy.org/page/39306/subscribe/1"target="_blank" >newsletter</a> Follow us on <a href="https://www.instagram.com/nprfreshair/"target="_blank" >Instagram</a> Subscribe to our <a href="https://www.youtube.com/@thisisfreshair"target="_blank" >YouTube channel</a> Check out the <a href="https://freshairarchive.org/"target="_blank" >Fresh Air Archives</a> See <a href="https://pcm.adswizz.com">pcm.adswizz.com</a> for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences. <a href="https://www.npr.org/about-npr/179878450/privacy-policy">NPR Privacy Policy</a>
Meshell Ndegeocello turns familiar songs inside out
19 oct 2026, 17:53 · 45 min
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 labels placed on her and her music. Now, on her new album, Synonym, she's reimagining familiar songs, including duets made famous by Sonny and Cher and the Human League. But these aren't simply new arrangements. “This album is not just about rearranging chords and rhythms, but also about queerness and self-expression, visibility, liberation," she tells Tonya Mosley. Meshell talks about her "soulful" musical influences, growing up in the Baptist church, and why she loves 'Wicked.' Subscribe to our free weekly <a href="https://support.whyy.org/page/39306/subscribe/1"target="_blank" >newsletter</a> Follow us on <a href="https://www.instagram.com/nprfreshair/"target="_blank" >Instagram</a> Subscribe to our <a href="https://www.youtube.com/@thisisfreshair"target="_blank" >YouTube channel</a> Check out the <a href="https://freshairarchive.org/"target="_blank" >Fresh Air Archives</a> See <a href="https://pcm.adswizz.com">pcm.adswizz.com</a> for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences. <a href="https://www.npr.org/about-npr/179878450/privacy-policy">NPR Privacy Policy</a>
Best Of: Mahershala Ali / Writer Yiyun Li
17 oct 2026, 11:42 · 48 min
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 care for his children on his own. The role brings together a lot of what has shaped Ali as an actor, including an attraction to characters who live in morally complicated places. “That’s why I think someone like myself signs up to do a part like this,” he tells Tonya Mosley. “Because it isn’t simple. It isn’t easy. It’s a little nasty. It’s a little gray. But it just makes for great drama.” Also, we hear from writer Yiyun Li. She won a Pulitzer for her memoir about the suicides of her two teenage sons. In her new novel, she escapes the present and writes about two piano prodigies. “I’ve written everything I’ve known about life into this novel,” Li tells Terry Gross. Subscribe to our free weekly <a href="https://support.whyy.org/page/39306/subscribe/1"target="_blank" >newsletter</a> Follow us on <a href="https://www.instagram.com/nprfreshair/"target="_blank" >Instagram</a> Subscribe to our <a href="https://www.youtube.com/@thisisfreshair"target="_blank" >YouTube channel</a> Check out the <a href="https://freshairarchive.org/"target="_blank" >Fresh Air Archives</a> See <a href="https://pcm.adswizz.com">pcm.adswizz.com</a> for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences. <a href="https://www.npr.org/about-npr/179878450/privacy-policy">NPR Privacy Policy</a>
Remembering Eva Marie Saint / 'Interview with the Vampire' turns 50
16 oct 2026, 18:00 · 46 min
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 by Northwest she co-starred with Cary Grant. She said Hitchcock didn't give her much direction. “Things like lower your voice, don't use your hands… and look directly into Cary Grant's eyes at all times – which was not difficult.” She told Terry Gross in 2000. Also Anne Rice's debut novel Interview with the Vampire turns 50 this year. Terry spoke with Rice in 1990. “I think if a vampire were to come to me and say, 'I can make you immortal, we do exist,' I think I might find the offer irresistible,” she said. Film critic Justin Chang reviews Nathan Fielder’s highly-anticipated documentary about Elizabeth Holmes, You Can See Everything. See <a href="https://pcm.adswizz.com">pcm.adswizz.com</a> for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences. <a href="https://www.npr.org/about-npr/179878450/privacy-policy">NPR Privacy Policy</a>
Inside the Musk/Bezos space race
15 oct 2026, 17:51 · 42 min
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 competition is each other. “Ordinarily, we have entrusted the future of our civilizations to people we elect to office,” Tyrangiel tells Terry Gross. “We now have folks with a tremendous amount of power over our future, particularly if you view the future as being partially in space, and we have to reckon with it.” Subscribe to our free weekly <a href="https://support.whyy.org/page/39306/subscribe/1"target="_blank" >newsletter</a> Follow us on <a href="https://www.instagram.com/nprfreshair/"target="_blank" >Instagram</a> Subscribe to our <a href="https://www.youtube.com/@thisisfreshair"target="_blank" >YouTube channel</a> Check out the <a href="https://freshairarchive.org/"target="_blank" >Fresh Air Archives</a> See <a href="https://pcm.adswizz.com">pcm.adswizz.com</a> for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences. <a href="https://www.npr.org/about-npr/179878450/privacy-policy">NPR Privacy Policy</a>
Why the Arctic is a new source of global tension
14 oct 2026, 18:24 · 45 min
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 stakes. Her book is in Sea Change. Also, Maureen Corrigan reviews the new graphic book The Saddest Kitchens, by New Yorker cartoonists Roz Chast and Jason Adam Katzenstein. Subscribe to our free weekly <a href="https://support.whyy.org/page/39306/subscribe/1"target="_blank" >newsletter</a> Follow us on <a href="https://www.instagram.com/nprfreshair/"target="_blank" >Instagram</a> Subscribe to our <a href="https://www.youtube.com/@thisisfreshair"target="_blank" >YouTube channel</a> Check out the <a href="https://freshairarchive.org/"target="_blank" >Fresh Air Archives</a> See <a href="https://pcm.adswizz.com">pcm.adswizz.com</a> for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences. <a href="https://www.npr.org/about-npr/179878450/privacy-policy">NPR Privacy Policy</a>
After losing her sons, Yiyun Li learned to ‘suffer better’
13 oct 2026, 20:56 · 43 min
If you or someone you know may be considering suicide or is in crisis, call or text<a href="https://988lifeline.org/"target="_blank" > 988 to reach the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline</a>. Li’s teenage sons both died by suicide six years apart, Vincent in 2017 at age 16, and James in 2024 at age 19. Her Pulitzer-Prize winning 2025 memoir, Things in Nature Merely Grow, chronicled the loss of her sons and her effort to go on. Her new novel is about two piano prodigies in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. It’s called Music Against the Night. She spoke with Terry Gross about the “abyss” of sadness, finding comfort in piano and writing. Subscribe to our free weekly <a href="https://support.whyy.org/page/39306/subscribe/1"target="_blank" >newsletter</a> Follow us on <a href="https://www.instagram.com/nprfreshair/"target="_blank" >Instagram</a> Subscribe to our <a href="https://www.youtube.com/@thisisfreshair"target="_blank" >YouTube channel</a> Check out the <a href="https://freshairarchive.org/"target="_blank" >Fresh Air Archives</a> See <a href="https://pcm.adswizz.com">pcm.adswizz.com</a> for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences. <a href="https://www.npr.org/about-npr/179878450/privacy-policy">NPR Privacy Policy</a>
Mahershala Ali
12 oct 2026, 18:19 · 45 min
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 his children on his own. The role brings together a lot of what has shaped Ali as an actor, including an attraction to characters who live in morally complicated places. He spoke with Tonya Mosley about why the script blew him away, filming Moonlight, and his childhood. See <a href="https://pcm.adswizz.com">pcm.adswizz.com</a> for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences. <a href="https://www.npr.org/about-npr/179878450/privacy-policy">NPR Privacy Policy</a>
A John Prine Appreciation
9 oct 2026, 17:05 · 44 min
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 singer-songwriter spoke with Terry Gross in 2018 about how throat and neck surgery affected his voice, getting discovered by Roger Ebert, and his songwriting process. Film critic Justin Chang reviews the new film Fjord. The audio version of this story incorrectly states that John Prine’s song "Sam Stone” is about a Korean War veteran. In fact, it is about a veteran of the Vietnam War. Subscribe to our free weekly <a href="https://support.whyy.org/page/39306/subscribe/1"target="_blank" >newsletter</a> Follow us on <a href="https://www.instagram.com/nprfreshair/"target="_blank" >Instagram</a> Subscribe to our <a href="https://www.youtube.com/@thisisfreshair"target="_blank" >YouTube channel</a> Check out the <a href="https://freshairarchive.org/"target="_blank" >Fresh Air Archives</a> See <a href="https://pcm.adswizz.com">pcm.adswizz.com</a> for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences. <a href="https://www.npr.org/about-npr/179878450/privacy-policy">NPR Privacy Policy</a>
Veteran White House reporter April Ryan’s ‘Blacklash’
8 oct 2026, 18:14 · 44 min
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 Mosley about her book, Notes on a Blacklash. Also, TV critic David Bianculli reviews the new CBS legal drama set in Silicon Valley, Cupertino. See <a href="https://pcm.adswizz.com">pcm.adswizz.com</a> for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences. <a href="https://www.npr.org/about-npr/179878450/privacy-policy">NPR Privacy Policy</a>
How Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth brought the culture wars to the military
7 oct 2026, 17:59 · 44 min
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 he’s also been purging the military of transgender people. “Usually Secretaries of Defense do everything they can to protect the military from our divisive politics and those culture wars,” Jaffe tells Dave Davies. “Hegseth was really the first Secretary of Defense I've seen in my lifetime who invited that into the Pentagon, and made it a central plank of his identity and leadership.” Subscribe to our free weekly <a href="https://support.whyy.org/page/39306/subscribe/1"target="_blank" >newsletter</a> Follow us on <a href="https://www.instagram.com/nprfreshair/"target="_blank" >Instagram</a> Subscribe to our <a href="https://www.youtube.com/@thisisfreshair"target="_blank" >YouTube channel</a> Check out the <a href="https://freshairarchive.org/"target="_blank" >Fresh Air Archives</a> See <a href="https://pcm.adswizz.com">pcm.adswizz.com</a> for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences. <a href="https://www.npr.org/about-npr/179878450/privacy-policy">NPR Privacy Policy</a>
‘Showbiz!’ entertainer Murray Hill became what he didn’t see
7 oct 2026, 0:40 · 44 min
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 Gross. In real life, Murray has hosted drag king shows, queer cabarets, burlesque shows and performed his own act. He spoke with Terry Gross about finding and building his community, forgiveness, and how anti-trans rhetoric and policy has affected him. His new memoir is Showbiz! My Life as a Middle-Aged Man. Subscribe to our free weekly <a href="https://support.whyy.org/page/39306/subscribe/1"target="_blank" >newsletter</a> Follow us on <a href="https://www.instagram.com/nprfreshair/"target="_blank" >Instagram</a> Subscribe to our <a href="https://www.youtube.com/@thisisfreshair"target="_blank" >YouTube channel</a> Check out the <a href="https://freshairarchive.org/"target="_blank" >Fresh Air Archives</a> See <a href="https://pcm.adswizz.com">pcm.adswizz.com</a> for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences. <a href="https://www.npr.org/about-npr/179878450/privacy-policy">NPR Privacy Policy</a>
Michael Douglas
5 oct 2026, 18:51 · 44 min
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 Street, and his role as Gordon Gekko won him the Oscar for Best Actor. "When I went up and received my Oscar for Wall Street, I thanked my father because I finally felt I was out of his shadow. And those two pictures in that year was when I finally felt I was my own man,” he tells Tonya Mosley. Behind the accolades, Douglas was struggling –- drinking heavily and using cocaine. In his new memoir, One Helluva Ride, Douglas looks back at what his success cost him, and what it finally took to change. Also, TV critic David Bianculli reviews the new Netflix adaptation of East of Eden. The audio version of this story incorrectly states that the 1981 East of Eden miniseries featured Sam Bottoms as Cal. In fact, the actor playing Cal was Timothy Bottoms. Subscribe to our free weekly <a href="https://support.whyy.org/page/39306/subscribe/1"target="_blank" >newsletter</a> Follow us on <a href="https://www.instagram.com/nprfreshair/"target="_blank" >Instagram</a> Subscribe to our <a href="https://www.youtube.com/@thisisfreshair"target="_blank" >YouTube channel</a> Check out the <a href="https://freshairarchive.org/"target="_blank" >Fresh Air Archives</a> See <a href="https://pcm.adswizz.com">pcm.adswizz.com</a> for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences. <a href="https://www.npr.org/about-npr/179878450/privacy-policy">NPR Privacy Policy</a>
Best Of: Kyle MacLachlan / Inside the ‘romance scam’
3 oct 2026, 9:00 · 49 min
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 that [Lynch] creates are real in his mind — they exist,” he tells Terry Gross. MacLachlan's new memoir is Fictional Selves. Also, Wired reporter Andy Greenberg describes the story he broke about a cyber crime operation in Southeast Asia that entraps computer engineers into defrauding victims around the world of billions of dollars. And book critic Maureen Corrigan reviews Min Jin Lee’s new novel, American Hagwon. See <a href="https://pcm.adswizz.com">pcm.adswizz.com</a> for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences. <a href="https://www.npr.org/about-npr/179878450/privacy-policy">NPR Privacy Policy</a>
Celebrating minimalist composer Steve Reich
2 oct 2026, 16:00 · 45 min
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 commemorate his 90th birthday, there are worldwide performances and festivals in his honor, including an upcoming concert at Carnegie Hall. Reich spoke with Terry Gross in 1989 and 1999. We’ll listen back to his compositions, and hear about the sounds that have influenced him – from the rhythms of speech, to African drumming, Jewish cantorial singing and the sound of trains. Also, Justin Chang reviews the documentary NAZA. See <a href="https://pcm.adswizz.com">pcm.adswizz.com</a> for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences. <a href="https://www.npr.org/about-npr/179878450/privacy-policy">NPR Privacy Policy</a>
Sheryl Crow
1 oct 2026, 17:38 · 46 min
The Grammy-winning singer-songwriter has a new album, Pick You Up, out Oct. 9. She spoke with Fresh Air guest interviewer Sam Fragoso (<a href="https://talkeasypod.com/"target="_blank" >Talk Easy</a>) about touring with Michael Jackson in her 20s as a back-up singer, depression, and Bob Dylan’s advice for writer’s block. Also, John Powers reviews the Spanish language Netflix miniseries My Sad Dead. Subscribe to our free weekly <a href="https://support.whyy.org/page/39306/subscribe/1"target="_blank" >newsletter</a> Follow us on <a href="https://www.instagram.com/nprfreshair/"target="_blank" >Instagram</a> Subscribe to our <a href="https://www.youtube.com/@thisisfreshair"target="_blank" >YouTube channel</a> Check out the <a href="https://freshairarchive.org/"target="_blank" >Fresh Air Archives</a> See <a href="https://pcm.adswizz.com">pcm.adswizz.com</a> for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences. <a href="https://www.npr.org/about-npr/179878450/privacy-policy">NPR Privacy Policy</a>
New drones, deadlier attacks: Dystopian reality in Ukraine
30 sept 2026, 17:22 · 45 min
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, while Ukraine is desperately short of interceptors to resist the onslaught. “[Kyiv] has been under really extraordinary bombardment from the Russians, and they are basically trying to make life unlivable in a city of several million people,” she tells Dave Davies. They also discuss the state of relations between Europe, Canada and the U.S. in the Trump era. See <a href="https://pcm.adswizz.com">pcm.adswizz.com</a> for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences. <a href="https://www.npr.org/about-npr/179878450/privacy-policy">NPR Privacy Policy</a>
Mahmoud Khalil’s 104 days in ICE Detention
29 sept 2026, 19:04 · 44 min
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 the pro-Palestinian protests at Columbia University, where he had been a graduate student and a negotiator between the protesters and the administration. In 2025, he was arrested by ICE and sent to a detention center in Louisiana. He spoke with Tonya Mosley about the events, the pro-Palestine movement, and his hopes for the future. His memoir is No Land to Stand On. See <a href="https://pcm.adswizz.com">pcm.adswizz.com</a> for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences. <a href="https://www.npr.org/about-npr/179878450/privacy-policy">NPR Privacy Policy</a>
Kyle MacLachlan was David Lynch’s ‘submersible’ into dark places
28 sept 2026, 18:43 · 45 min
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 [Lynch] creates are real in his mind — they exist,” he tells Terry Gross. MacLachlan's new memoir is Fictional Selves. Also, Maureen Corrigan reviews the novel American Hagwon, by Min Jin Lee. Subscribe to our free weekly <a href="https://support.whyy.org/page/39306/subscribe/1"target="_blank" >newsletter</a> Follow us on <a href="https://www.instagram.com/nprfreshair/"target="_blank" >Instagram</a> Subscribe to our <a href="https://www.youtube.com/@thisisfreshair"target="_blank" >YouTube channel</a> Check out the <a href="https://freshairarchive.org/"target="_blank" >Fresh Air Archives</a> See <a href="https://pcm.adswizz.com">pcm.adswizz.com</a> for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences. <a href="https://www.npr.org/about-npr/179878450/privacy-policy">NPR Privacy Policy</a>
Best Of: Rhiannon Giddens / Investigating Diddy’s Rise & Fall
26 sept 2026, 9:00 · 47 min
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 tradition, is the artistic director of the Silk Road Ensemble, and studied opera in college. Giddens spoke with Terry Gross about channeling her ancestors through her instrument. Also, Rolling Stone investigative reporter Cheyenne Roundtree talks with Tonya Mosley about her new book, Bad Boy for Life. It tells the story of Sean Combs across the names he gave himself: Puffy, Puff Daddy, P. Diddy, Love, and the systems that allowed his alleged abuse to go on for decades. Film critic Justin Chang reviews the new film Your Mother Your Mother Your Mother, starring Mahershala Ali. Subscribe to our free weekly <a href="https://support.whyy.org/page/39306/subscribe/1"target="_blank" >newsletter</a> Follow us on <a href="https://www.instagram.com/nprfreshair/"target="_blank" >Instagram</a> Subscribe to our <a href="https://www.youtube.com/@thisisfreshair"target="_blank" >YouTube channel</a> Check out the <a href="https://freshairarchive.org/"target="_blank" >Fresh Air Archives</a> See <a href="https://pcm.adswizz.com">pcm.adswizz.com</a> for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences. <a href="https://www.npr.org/about-npr/179878450/privacy-policy">NPR Privacy Policy</a>
Bluegrass virtuoso Billy Strings
25 sept 2026, 16:05 · 46 min
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, inspired by his late mother. He spoke with producer Sam Briger about healing himself through songwriting, performing the day his mom died, and how being a father has changed him as a musician. "I sing now from a place of freedom and joy in my belly," Strings says. He brought his guitar to the interview. Originally broadcast Sept. 8, 2025. Ccritic at large John Powers reviews the new novel The Disappearers by Marlon James, which has been described as a masterpiece. See <a href="https://pcm.adswizz.com">pcm.adswizz.com</a> for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences. <a href="https://www.npr.org/about-npr/179878450/privacy-policy">NPR Privacy Policy</a>
Investigating the system that protected Sean “Diddy” Combs
24 sept 2026, 17:48 · 45 min
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 Roundtree spent years talking to the people who worked for him, many of them trying to break into the music business. In her new book, Bad Boy for Life: The Rise and Fall of Sean Combs, she lays out what those jobs actually required. "This was supposed to be their jobs and careers... keeping their boss' domestic violence of his girlfriends a secret,” she tells Tonya Mosley. Also, film critic Justin Chang reviews the new action thriller Your Mother Your Mother Your Mother. Subscribe to our free weekly <a href="https://support.whyy.org/page/39306/subscribe/1"target="_blank" >newsletter</a> Follow us on <a href="https://www.instagram.com/nprfreshair/"target="_blank" >Instagram</a> Subscribe to our <a href="https://www.youtube.com/@thisisfreshair"target="_blank" >YouTube channel</a> Check out the <a href="https://freshairarchive.org/"target="_blank" >Fresh Air Archives</a> See <a href="https://pcm.adswizz.com">pcm.adswizz.com</a> for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences. <a href="https://www.npr.org/about-npr/179878450/privacy-policy">NPR Privacy Policy</a>
Global power, rivalry, and A.I.; a preview of the U.S./China summit
23 sept 2026, 17:35 · 46 min
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 expect from this summit. Subscribe to our free weekly <a href="https://support.whyy.org/page/39306/subscribe/1"target="_blank" >newsletter</a> Follow us on <a href="https://www.instagram.com/nprfreshair/"target="_blank" >Instagram</a> Subscribe to our <a href="https://www.youtube.com/@thisisfreshair"target="_blank" >YouTube channel</a> Check out the <a href="https://freshairarchive.org/"target="_blank" >Fresh Air Archives</a> See <a href="https://pcm.adswizz.com">pcm.adswizz.com</a> for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences. <a href="https://www.npr.org/about-npr/179878450/privacy-policy">NPR Privacy Policy</a>
Inside the 'modern slavery' where cyber scammers are victims themselves
22 sept 2026, 18:19 · 46 min
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 scam involving Fresh Air. Also, jazz historian Kevin Whitehead reflects on John Coltrane for the centennial of his birth. Subscribe to our free weekly <a href="https://support.whyy.org/page/39306/subscribe/1"target="_blank" >newsletter</a> Follow us on <a href="https://www.instagram.com/nprfreshair/"target="_blank" >Instagram</a> Subscribe to our <a href="https://www.youtube.com/@thisisfreshair"target="_blank" >YouTube channel</a> Check out the <a href="https://freshairarchive.org/"target="_blank" >Fresh Air Archives</a> See <a href="https://pcm.adswizz.com">pcm.adswizz.com</a> for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences. <a href="https://www.npr.org/about-npr/179878450/privacy-policy">NPR Privacy Policy</a>
Rhiannon Giddens traces the banjo from her ancestors to Beyoncé
21 sept 2026, 18:15 · 46 min
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,” and a connection between Irish folk music and Dolly Parton. Giddens also sings and plays banjo and fiddle throughout the interview. Her latest album, Hope Is the Thing with Feathers, takes its name from an Emily Dickinson poem. See <a href="https://pcm.adswizz.com">pcm.adswizz.com</a> for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences. <a href="https://www.npr.org/about-npr/179878450/privacy-policy">NPR Privacy Policy</a>
Best Of: Colin Kaepernick / Danielle Brooks
19 sept 2026, 9:00 · 49 min
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 never played in the NFL again. He spoke with Tonya Mosley about his childhood, football career, and activism. His memoir is his The Perilous Fight. Actor Danielle Brooks first became known as Taystee on Orange Is the New Black. She spoke with Terry Gross about that series, growing up singing in her parents’ church, and landing the role of Sofia in "The Color Purple," both on Broadway and the film adaptation. Subscribe to our free weekly <a href="https://support.whyy.org/page/39306/subscribe/1"target="_blank" >newsletter</a> Follow us on <a href="https://www.instagram.com/nprfreshair/"target="_blank" >Instagram</a> Subscribe to our <a href="https://www.youtube.com/@thisisfreshair"target="_blank" >YouTube channel</a> Check out the <a href="https://freshairarchive.org/"target="_blank" >Fresh Air Archives</a> See <a href="https://pcm.adswizz.com">pcm.adswizz.com</a> for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences. <a href="https://www.npr.org/about-npr/179878450/privacy-policy">NPR Privacy Policy</a>
Looney Tunes animator Chuck Jones / Remembering singer Cassandra Wilson
18 sept 2026, 18:25 · 46 min
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 animator Chuck Jones. He created the characters, among others, and directed many Looney Tunes cartoons. He says they had specific rules for the characters: “The roadrunner can never harm the Coyote. The Coyote could only harm himself by buying these unfortunate things he gets from the ACME corporation.” Also, we remember singer and composer Cassandra Wilson who defied category but became a bona fide jazz star. Kevin Whitehead has an appreciation and we hear some of her interview with Terry. She died Sept. 2 at age 70. See <a href="https://pcm.adswizz.com">pcm.adswizz.com</a> for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences. <a href="https://www.npr.org/about-npr/179878450/privacy-policy">NPR Privacy Policy</a>
The Roy Cohn Playbook, from McCarthyism to Trump
17 sept 2026, 18:18 · 45 min
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 avoid a paper trail. His book, with co-author Susan Goldmark, is American Scoundrel. He spoke with Terry Gross. Also, Ken Tucker reflects on three of Dolly Parton’s performances that he says demonstrate her range and her unique takes on romance and heartbreak. See <a href="https://pcm.adswizz.com">pcm.adswizz.com</a> for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences. <a href="https://www.npr.org/about-npr/179878450/privacy-policy">NPR Privacy Policy</a>
Is Jared Kushner a 'walking conflict of interest'?
16 sept 2026, 17:29 · 46 min
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 business deals, raising billions in some of the same countries. “He's potentially a walking conflict of interest,” Filkins tells Tonya Mosley. Also, book critic Maureen Corrigan reviews Our Noble Selves, by Kate Atkinson. Subscribe to our free weekly <a href="https://support.whyy.org/page/39306/subscribe/1"target="_blank" >newsletter</a> Follow us on <a href="https://www.instagram.com/nprfreshair/"target="_blank" >Instagram</a> Subscribe to our <a href="https://www.youtube.com/@thisisfreshair"target="_blank" >YouTube channel</a> Check out the <a href="https://freshairarchive.org/"target="_blank" >Fresh Air Archives</a> See <a href="https://pcm.adswizz.com">pcm.adswizz.com</a> for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences. <a href="https://www.npr.org/about-npr/179878450/privacy-policy">NPR Privacy Policy</a>
Actor Danielle Brooks has blessings to count
15 sept 2026, 17:58 · 45 min
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 indie film If I Go Will They Miss Me? Brooks spoke with Terry Gross about singing in the church, playing gospel icon Mahalia Jackson, and why she hesitated to take her breakout role in Orange. Subscribe to our free weekly <a href="https://support.whyy.org/page/39306/subscribe/1"target="_blank" >newsletter</a> Follow us on <a href="https://www.instagram.com/nprfreshair/"target="_blank" >Instagram</a> Subscribe to our <a href="https://www.youtube.com/@thisisfreshair"target="_blank" >YouTube channel</a> Check out the <a href="https://freshairarchive.org/"target="_blank" >Fresh Air Archives</a> See <a href="https://pcm.adswizz.com">pcm.adswizz.com</a> for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences. <a href="https://www.npr.org/about-npr/179878450/privacy-policy">NPR Privacy Policy</a>
Colin Kaepernick is still fighting – for justice and for his football career
14 sept 2026, 17:51 · 45 min
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 ended, Kaepernick never played in the NFL again. "The NFL tried to send a very clear message that if you protest police killing Black folks, if you fight for a better society and better community, we're going to try to take your career from you," he tells Tonya Mosley. "I don't accept that that is going to be the end outcome of this, and will do everything I can to make sure that I change that narrative." Kaepernick has written a memoir called The Perilous Fight. It begins long before the anthem, with his experience as a Black boy adopted by white parents, learning to keep early experiences of racism to himself. He explains why, after all this time, he still wants to play in the NFL, and why he would keep his kids from playing the game. Subscribe to our free weekly <a href="https://support.whyy.org/page/39306/subscribe/1"target="_blank" >newsletter</a> Follow us on <a href="https://www.instagram.com/nprfreshair/"target="_blank" >Instagram</a> Subscribe to our <a href="https://www.youtube.com/@thisisfreshair"target="_blank" >YouTube channel</a> Check out the <a href="https://freshairarchive.org/"target="_blank" >Fresh Air Archives</a> See <a href="https://pcm.adswizz.com">pcm.adswizz.com</a> for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences. <a href="https://www.npr.org/about-npr/179878450/privacy-policy">NPR Privacy Policy</a>
Best Of: Life in the Mojave Desert / Director of ‘The Uprising’
12 sept 2026, 9:00 · 49 min
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, wreaking havoc on the environment. The locals protest, but the novel explores whether they actually have the power to defeat a corporate project already underway. Watkins spoke with Terry Gross. Director Paul Greengrass’s new film, The Uprising, examines what happens when people reach their breaking point. It takes us to 1381 when the peasants of England revolted against the king. Greengrass spoke with Tonya Mosley about how he first noticed the parallels to today during the pandemic. Also, film critic Justin Chang reviews the class satire film Filipiñana. Subscribe to our free weekly <a href="https://support.whyy.org/page/39306/subscribe/1"target="_blank" >newsletter</a> Follow us on <a href="https://www.instagram.com/nprfreshair/"target="_blank" >Instagram</a> Subscribe to our <a href="https://www.youtube.com/@thisisfreshair"target="_blank" >YouTube channel</a> Check out the <a href="https://freshairarchive.org/"target="_blank" >Fresh Air Archives</a> See <a href="https://pcm.adswizz.com">pcm.adswizz.com</a> for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences. <a href="https://www.npr.org/about-npr/179878450/privacy-policy">NPR Privacy Policy</a>
Stories of survival & loss at Ground Zero
11 sept 2026, 18:18 · 46 min
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 inside the North Tower when it collapsed. Firefighter Ken Haskell talks about losing his two brothers and his search at Ground Zero. Author (and former firefighter) Dennis Smith talks about the structure of the WTC itself, and how it contributed to deaths. In the second half of the show, we hear from artists who processed the tragedy in poetry and music: Poets Sekou Sundiata and Robert Pinsky, saxophonist Sonny Rollins. Subscribe to our free weekly <a href="https://support.whyy.org/page/39306/subscribe/1"target="_blank" >newsletter</a> Follow us on <a href="https://www.instagram.com/nprfreshair/"target="_blank" >Instagram</a> Subscribe to our <a href="https://www.youtube.com/@thisisfreshair"target="_blank" >YouTube channel</a> Check out the <a href="https://freshairarchive.org/"target="_blank" >Fresh Air Archives</a> See <a href="https://pcm.adswizz.com">pcm.adswizz.com</a> for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences. <a href="https://www.npr.org/about-npr/179878450/privacy-policy">NPR Privacy Policy</a>
How the WNBA became a political prop in the culture wars
10 sept 2026, 17:58 · 46 min
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 Sabreena Merchant says, “everything in the WNBA seems to take on a political lens far beyond what is actually happening on the court.” Merchant spoke with Fresh Air guest interviewer Sam Fragoso (host of <a href="https://talkeasypod.com/"target="_blank" >Talk Easy</a>) about the expansion of the WNBA, the race and gender politics consuming the narrative, and the departure of commissioner Cathy Engelbert. Merchant writes for The Athletic, from the New York Times. Also, film critic Justin Chang reviews Practical Magic 2. Subscribe to our free weekly <a href="https://support.whyy.org/page/39306/subscribe/1"target="_blank" >newsletter</a> Follow us on <a href="https://www.instagram.com/nprfreshair/"target="_blank" >Instagram</a> Subscribe to our <a href="https://www.youtube.com/@thisisfreshair"target="_blank" >YouTube channel</a> Check out the <a href="https://freshairarchive.org/"target="_blank" >Fresh Air Archives</a> See <a href="https://pcm.adswizz.com">pcm.adswizz.com</a> for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences. <a href="https://www.npr.org/about-npr/179878450/privacy-policy">NPR Privacy Policy</a>
How Sept. 11 changed American life
9 sept 2026, 17:50 · 46 min
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 hate crimes against Muslim Americans. Beck also argues the War on Terror laid the groundwork for Donald Trump to become president and “impunity culture in American politics.” He spoke with Tonya Mosley. Also, Maureen Corrigan reviews the novel Exit Party, by Emily St. John Mandel. Subscribe to our free weekly <a href="https://support.whyy.org/page/39306/subscribe/1"target="_blank" >newsletter</a> Follow us on <a href="https://www.instagram.com/nprfreshair/"target="_blank" >Instagram</a> Subscribe to our <a href="https://www.youtube.com/@thisisfreshair"target="_blank" >YouTube channel</a> Check out the <a href="https://freshairarchive.org/"target="_blank" >Fresh Air Archives</a> See <a href="https://pcm.adswizz.com">pcm.adswizz.com</a> for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences. <a href="https://www.npr.org/about-npr/179878450/privacy-policy">NPR Privacy Policy</a>
Casey Gerald says ruining his reputation saved his life
8 sept 2026, 17:50 · 45 min
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 disappeared from public life. Now, in a new book, The Great Refusal, he turns his leaving into an argument about the limits of the American dream. Also, TV critic David Bianculli reviews SCTV, which is now available to stream on Netflix. Subscribe to our free weekly <a href="https://support.whyy.org/page/39306/subscribe/1"target="_blank" >newsletter</a> Follow us on <a href="https://www.instagram.com/nprfreshair/"target="_blank" >Instagram</a> Subscribe to our <a href="https://www.youtube.com/@thisisfreshair"target="_blank" >YouTube channel</a> Check out the <a href="https://freshairarchive.org/"target="_blank" >Fresh Air Archives</a> See <a href="https://pcm.adswizz.com">pcm.adswizz.com</a> for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences. <a href="https://www.npr.org/about-npr/179878450/privacy-policy">NPR Privacy Policy</a>
Rosanne Cash on the gift her father, Johnny Cash, gave her
7 sept 2026, 16:00 · 46 min
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 thought she should know. At the time, she knew that it was an important document, “but it took me, I think until now, to realize that he was really giving me himself, a part of his heart and soul.” She made an album out of some of those songs called The List. See <a href="https://pcm.adswizz.com">pcm.adswizz.com</a> for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences. <a href="https://www.npr.org/about-npr/179878450/privacy-policy">NPR Privacy Policy</a>
Best Of: ‘Wonder Man’ actor Yahya Abdul-Mateen II / John Coltrane centennial
5 sept 2026, 9:00 · 49 min
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 return for a second season. But getting laid off is how he found acting in the first place. “I keep on getting laid off and losing jobs. What up that? But you know, every time I do it, it turns into something better,” he tells Tonya Mosley. Also, we’ll hear from saxophonist Ravi Coltrane, son of jazz great John Coltrane. This month marks the centennial of his father’s birth. He spoke with Terry Gross about this father's legacy. Plus, Ken Tucker reviews a new album by the trio The Womack Sisters, granddaughters of Sam Cooke and nieces of Bobby Womack, and an album from Margaret Glaspy. See <a href="https://pcm.adswizz.com">pcm.adswizz.com</a> for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences. <a href="https://www.npr.org/about-npr/179878450/privacy-policy">NPR Privacy Policy</a>
Feminist Icon Gloria Steinem
4 sept 2026, 15:13 · 46 min
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 pulls from three of those conversations: In 2015, Steinem talked about her unconventional childhood on the road with her parents, “My memory is that I learned how to read from ketchup bottles and labels and billboards along the highway,” she said. Steinem was a founding editor of Ms. magazine, the first feminist publication of its kind. In 1987, she spoke about the founding of the magazine and her early reporting. And in 1992, they discussed aging as she faced her golden years. You can find more Steinem tape <a href="https://freshairarchive.org/guests/gloria-steinem"target="_blank" >in our archive</a>. Also, John Powers reviews the new film Coyote vs. Acme. which he calls a spoof of the classic legal thriller, like The Verdict or Erin Brockovich — but steeped in the surreal anarchy of Looney Tunes. Subscribe to our free weekly <a href="https://support.whyy.org/page/39306/subscribe/1"target="_blank" >newsletter</a> Follow us on <a href="https://www.instagram.com/nprfreshair/"target="_blank" >Instagram</a> Subscribe to our <a href="https://www.youtube.com/@thisisfreshair"target="_blank" >YouTube channel</a> Check out the <a href="https://freshairarchive.org/"target="_blank" >Fresh Air Archives</a> See <a href="https://pcm.adswizz.com">pcm.adswizz.com</a> for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences. <a href="https://www.npr.org/about-npr/179878450/privacy-policy">NPR Privacy Policy</a>

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