Podcast
Fresh Air
Hosted by NPR · EN
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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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
564episodes
Episodes
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"Masculinsim" goes mainstream: a movement to fight feminism
Yesterday00:44:37Summary readyMasculinism is a belief that feminism emasculates men, and men should be in control while women stay at home raising children. Atlantic staff writer Helen Lewis says the movement is becoming mainstream. She spoke with Terry Gross about her reporting. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.NPR Privacy Policy
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Wendell Pierce is a proud journeyman actor
2d ago00:43:35Summary readyWendell Pierce is working as hard as ever. He says he's motivated by the "ticking clock of mortality" — and the desire to challenge himself as an actor. He's currently starring in the Shakespeare Theatre Company production of “Othello.” He spoke with Tonya Mosley about aiming for a trifecta of TV, film and theater roles, why he almost left ‘The Wire,’ and caring for his late father. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.NPR Privacy Policy
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Laverne Cox
3d ago00:45:08Summary readyFor more than a decade, actor Laverne Cox has been one of the most visible trans women in America. But the ‘Orange Is the New Black’ star says she spent most of childhood keeping herself hidden. Cox spoke with Tonya Mosley about the bullying she endured, pursuing a dance career before acting, and the anti-trans culture shift of the last few years. Her memoir is ‘Transcendent.’ See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.NPR Privacy Policy
SummaryBest Of: A family split by race / Eddie Glaude Jr. on America at 250
5d ago00:48:26Summary readyPope Leo XIV’s Creole family roots inspired New Orleanian journalist Susan Saulny to research her Creole great-uncle who moved to Chicago, identified himself as white and never returned. She describes her journey to reunite her family. Her piece in the New York Times is called "A Family Secret No More."As the United States turns 250, scholar Eddie Glaude Jr. has blunt advice: “America has to grow up.” In ‘America, U.S.A.,’ the Princeton African American Studies professor looks at the country through the lens of its previous anniversaries and centennials. "The divided soul of the nation is in full view," he says.Book critic Maureen Corrigan shares three book recommendations: ‘The Family Man,’ by James Lasdun, ‘The Hill,’ by Harriet Clark and ‘A Beautiful Loan,’ by Mary Costello.See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.NPR Privacy Policy
SummaryThe collapse of Freedman’s Bank / Remembering Abdullah Ibrahim
6d ago00:45:15Summary ready‘In Savings and Trust,’ historian Justene Hill Edwards tells the story of the Freedman's Bank. Created for formerly enslaved people following the Civil War, its collapse cost depositors millions. She spoke with Tonya Mosley about how this part of history reverberates today.Also, we remember South African pianist, composer and bandleader Abdullah Ibrahim. He died Monday, at age 91. His song “Mannenberg” was an anthem during the fight to end apartheid. Jazz historian Kevin Whitehead shares an appreciation, and we listen back to Terry Gross’s 1989 interview with him. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.NPR Privacy Policy
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Comic Ali Siddiq on fatherhood, prison, and his biggest regret
1w ago00:44:53Summary readySiddiq grew up in Houston with a largely absent father. In his new stand-up special, he paints a picture of the flawed man he admired – and reflects on his own experience as a parent. Siddiq spoke with Tonya Mosley about his upbringing, his time selling drugs, and making the leap from prison to comedy. Also, film critic Justin Chang reviews ‘Toy Story 5.’ See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.NPR Privacy Policy
SummaryAn inside look at President Trump's campaign to acquire Greenland
1w ago00:44:54Summary readyNew Yorker writer Ben Taub tells Dave Davies that while the idea of acquiring Greenland is out of the headlines, it hasn’t been dropped by Trump. Taub describes how his ongoing efforts have broken the trust of our allies. "People are just completely exhausted and worn down. ... That trust cannot be rebuilt," Taub says.See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.NPR Privacy Policy
SummaryRemembering the nation's 'Lost Founder'
1w ago00:44:48Summary readyJesse Wegman talks to Dave Davies about James Wilson. A brilliant lawyer who helped craft the U.S. Constitution, Wilson lived a colorful life and died as a Supreme Court justice on the run from the law and creditors. Also, David Bianculli reviews the Prime Video series 'Spider-Noir.'See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.NPR Privacy Policy
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Scholar Eddie Glaude Jr. reflects on America at 250
1w ago00:44:38Summary readyGlaude's book, 'America, U.S.A.,' looks at the country through the lens of its previous anniversaries and centennials. Today, as in the past, he tells Tonya Mosley, "the divided soul of the nation is in full view." As the 250th anniversary approaches, he says it's time for the U.S. to acknowledge the ways it has failed to deliver on its founding principles. "America has to grow up. It can no longer hide in its adolescence," he says.Also, Maureen Corrigan recommends three books to help you jump into summer reading.See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.NPR Privacy Policy
SummaryBest Of: 'Book of Mormon' turns 15 / Actor Clarke Peters
2w ago00:48:05Summary readyFifteen years after ‘The Book of Mormon’ made its Broadway debut, original cast members Andrew Rannells and Josh Gad once again took the stage as Mormon missionaries — this time at the 2026 Tony Awards. The musical is a satirical — sometimes affectionate, sometimes offensive — look at Mormonism and youthful naïveté. Rannells and Gad spoke with Terry Gross about their first impressions of the show, how their voices have changed, and how the songs in 'The Book of Mormon' are a tribute to musical theater.Also, Clarke Peters played Det. Lester Freamon in ‘The Wire’ and now plays a retiree in the supernatural thriller ‘The Boroughs.’ He spoke to Terry Gross about both series, and about his continued work as an actor. “I picked this profession so that I would have longevity, so that I could still be acting at 100, if it comes to it,” he says. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.NPR Privacy Policy
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