Terry Gross

Somehow, we're almost at the end of 2025.

It's been a rough year for a lot of people and for NPR and all public radio stations because of the elimination of all federal funding for public media.

Despite that loss, and despite attacks on the free press, we are still here for you.

We will not shy away from exercising the right to editorial independence guaranteed by the First Amendment.

And with your support, we will not be silenced.

NPR will keep reporting the news without fear or favor.

And here at Fresh Air, we will keep bringing you interviews with investigative reporters, uncovering some of the most important stories of our time,

as well as interviews with authors, actors, directors, musicians, composers, scientists, health experts, religion scholars, and more.

If you're already an NPR Plus supporter, thank you so much.

We're so grateful for you.

If not, please join the community of public radio supporters now before the end of the year at plus.npr.org.

Signing up unlocks a bunch of perks like bonus episodes and more from across NPR's podcasts, including ours, and you get to feel good about supporting public media while you listen.

I know times are hard, but if you're in a position to give, please end the year by investing in a public service that matters to you and know how much we appreciate you for it.

Just go to plus.npr.org.

That's plus.npr.org.

Thank you so much.

This is Fresh Air.

I'm Terry Gross.

Today we continue our end of the year series featuring some of our favorite interviews of 2025.

This is an interview I recorded last September.