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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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36 episodes
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Avg 49 min
English

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Yesterday · 48 min
Investigating the system that protected Sean “Diddy” Combs
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...
Wednesday · 49 min
Global power, rivalry, and A.I.; a preview of the U.S./China summit
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...
Tuesday · 49 min
Inside the 'modern slavery' where cyber scammers are victims themselves
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...
Monday · 50 min
Rhiannon Giddens traces the banjo from her ancestors to Beyoncé
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...
Saturday · 54 min
Best Of: Colin Kaepernick / Danielle Brooks
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...
September 18 · 50 min
Looney Tunes animator Chuck Jones / Remembering singer Cassandra Wilson
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...
September 17 · 48 min
The Roy Cohn Playbook, from McCarthyism to Trump
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...
September 16 · 50 min
Is Jared Kushner a 'walking conflict of interest'?
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...
September 15 · 48 min
Actor Danielle Brooks has blessings to count
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...
September 14 · 50 min
Colin Kaepernick is still fighting – for justice and for his football career
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...
September 12 · 53 min
Best Of: Life in the Mojave Desert / Director of ‘The Uprising’
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...
September 11 · 51 min
Stories of survival & loss at Ground Zero
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...
September 10 · 49 min
How the WNBA became a political prop in the culture wars
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...
September 9 · 50 min
How Sept. 11 changed American life
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...
September 8 · 45 min
Casey Gerald says ruining his reputation saved his life
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...
September 7 · 50 min
Rosanne Cash on the gift her father, Johnny Cash, gave her
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...
September 5 · 53 min
Best Of: ‘Wonder Man’ actor Yahya Abdul-Mateen II / John Coltrane centennial
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...
September 4 · 46 min
Feminist Icon Gloria Steinem
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...
September 3 · 48 min
Filmmaker Paul Greengrass on rage, rebellion and ‘The Uprising’
Paul Greengrass’ new film, The Uprising, stars Andrew Garfield as a 14th-century peasant who, in the wake of the Plague, leads a revolt against the king. It's a history Greengrass grew up learning, and now sees parallels with Covid and Jan 6th....
September 2 · 49 min
Back-to-school with Big Tech
Tech giants like Google and Microsoft have been competing for years to get their devices, software and AI into public schools, even offering free training programs for teachers and students. These brands are helping shape what and how children learn....

Showing 1–20 of 36 episodes