Fresh Air
Episodes
Oregon's Drug Decriminalization Experiment
27 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In 2020, Oregon voters overwhelmingly approved to decriminalize possession of small amounts of hard drugs, and mandate more spending on drug treatment...
Climate-Driven Migration In America
26 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
ProPublica reporter Abrahm Lustgarten says in the coming decades it's likely tens of millions of us will relocate to escape rising seas, punishing hea...
Sleater-Kinney
25 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Carrie Brownstein and Corin Tucker co-founded the band Sleater-Kinney together 30 years ago, and became an important part of the 1990s feminist punk s...
Best Of: The Life Of A Nun / A Foster Parent On Loving & Letting Go
23 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Catherine Coldstream spoke with Terry Gross about her years as nun in a Carmelite monastery. She talks about what drew her to the vocation, what it wa...
'Tokyo Vice' Journalist On Japan's Criminal Underworld
22 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Reporter Jake Adelstein's memoir, Tokyo Vice, is about covering the organized crime beat in Japan. The MAX series (based on the book) is now in its se...
The Chinese Mafia & The Illicit Marijuana Trade
21 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Marijuana has been legalized in some states, but ProPublica's Sebastian Rotella says there's still a thriving illicit market in the U.S., dominated by...
A Former Nun On Why She 'Cloistered' And Later Ran Away
20 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Catherine Coldstream spoke with Terry Gross about her years as nun in a Carmelite monastery. She talks about what drew her to the vocation, what it wa...
Christine Blasey Ford On Life Before And Since Testifying
19 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Christine Blasey Ford describes what it was like to come forward and testify that Brett Kavanaugh sexually assaulted her in high school. Her 2018 test...
An 'Exvangelical' On Loving & Leaving The Church
18 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
NPR Politics correspondent Sarah McCammon grew up in a white evangelical church that taught her to never question her faith. She spoke with Tonya Mosl...
Best Of: Jenny Slate / Julio Torres
16 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Jenny Slate talks about childbirth and motherhood, the subjects of her new comedy special, Seasoned Professional. She'll do the voices of some of her ...
A Maître D' Dishes On The Restaurant Industry
15 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Michael Cecchi-Azzolina has worked in several high-end New York City restaurants — adrenaline-fueled workplaces where booze and drugs are plentiful ...
What Makes Propaganda Effective?
14 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
We talk with Peter Pomerantsev, whose new book, How to Win an Information War, is about the man he describes as the "forgotten genius" of propaganda. ...
Eugene Levy Is A 'Reluctant Traveler'
13 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Schitt's Creek star Eugene Levy visits distant lands and tastes exotic foods as the host of the Apple TV+ series The Reluctant Traveler. Levy describe...
Jenny Slate
12 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The comic/actor returns. Now she has a 3-year-old daughter, who she sings to in the voice of her character Marcel the Shell with Shoes On. Slate spoke...
Julio Torres Spins Immigration Stress Into Satire
11 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Comic, actor and filmmaker Julio Torres came to the U.S. from El Salvador in his 20s. His new film, Problemista, draws from his personal experience st...
Best Of: Biden's Last Campaign / Trans Writer Lucy Sante
09 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
New Yorker staff writer Evan Osnos recently interviewed Biden for his new profile about the president's accomplishments and failures in office, his cu...
Emma Stone / Mark Ruffalo
08 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Emma Stone has two Oscar nominations for Poor Things: One for best actress and one for best picture, as a producer. She spoke with Terry Gross about w...
A Veteran Filmmaker Shares Secrets From The Set
07 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Writer, director and producer Ed Zwick has made dozens of films and TV shows including Legends of the Fall, The Last Samurai, and Blood Diamond. In hi...
Biden's Last Campaign
06 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In a wide-ranging conversation with The New Yorker, President Biden proclaimed that he is the best option to beat Donald Trump — despite polls indic...
A War Reporter Reckons With A Deadly Cancer Diagnosis
05 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
As a war correspondent, Rod Nordland faced death many times over. But in 2019, Nordland confronted a different type of danger when he was diagnosed wi...
RuPaul's House Of Hidden Meanings
04 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The Emmy-winning host of RuPaul's Drag Race describes himself as "an introvert masquerading as an extrovert." In a new memoir, he writes about growing...
Best Of: The Making Of 'Dune' / Why We Remember
02 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Denis Villeneuve remembers watching the 1984 movie version of Frank Herbert's 1965 sci-fi novel Dune and thinking, "Someday, someone else will do it a...
Paul Giamatti / Remembering Comic Richard Lewis
01 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Paul Giamatti stars in The Holdovers as a pompous and disliked teacher at a boys boarding school in the '70s. He's now up for an Oscar for best actor....
The Impact Of Christian Nationalism On American Democracy
29 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Why do many Christian nationalists think Trump is chosen by God to lead the country? We talk with Bradley Onishi about the ties between Christian nati...
'Dune' Director Denis Villeneuve
28 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Villeneuve remembers watching the 1984 movie version of Frank Herbert's 1965 sci-fi novel Dune and thinking, "Someday someone else will do it again" —...
Busy Philipps
27 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Busy Philipps plays Mrs. George, a "cool mom" seeking the approval of her teen daughter in the new movie musical version of Mean Girls. Philipps got h...
Why We Remember (And Forget)
26 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Charan Ranganath recently wrote an op-ed about President Biden's memory gaffes. He says forgetting is a normal part of aging. We also talk about PTSD,...
Best Of: Mark Ruffalo / Jeffrey Wright
24 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Mark Ruffalo is nominated for an Oscar for best supporting actor for his role in Poor Things. He plays a hilarious debauched lawyer who seduces Emma S...
Bradley Cooper & Conductor Yannick Nézet-Séguin
23 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In his Oscar-nominated biopic Maestro, Bradley Cooper was determined not to imitate the legendary Leonard Bernstein. Instead, the actor worked with co...
Trump's Legal Challenges, Explained
22 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
As Donald Trump seeks to gain the Republican presidential nomination, he faces 91 felony charges across four states and several lawsuits, many with da...
Writer Lucy Sante On Transitioning In Her Late 60s
21 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Lucy Sante has been writing books since the 1980s, exploring everything from photography to urban history. In a new memoir, she shares her story of tr...
Jeffrey Wright, From 'Basquiat' To 'American Fiction'
20 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Wright is up for an Oscar for best actor this year for the film American Fiction, where he plays a novelist who's frustrated with the publishing indus...
The History Of The Oscars
19 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
From relentless campaigning to snubs and speeches, the Academy Awards have often reflected a cultural conflict zone. Michael Schulman sifts through th...
Best Of: Molly Ringwald / Busy Philipps
17 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Actress Molly Ringwald came to represent '80s teen angst after starring in Sixteen Candles, The Breakfast Club, and Pretty in Pink. She's now in the n...
Sterling K. Brown / Colman Domingo
16 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Sterling K. Brown won an Emmy for his portrayal of Christopher Darden in The People v. O.J. Simpson, and another for This Is Us. He's now nominated fo...
The Migrant Crisis In NYC
15 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
How is New York City coping with the 175,000 migrants from the Southern border? New York Times reporter Andy Newman says the city's legal mandate to p...
Remembering Longtime NPR Host Bob Edwards
14 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
We remember Peabody award-winning broadcast journalist Bob Edwards, who died on Saturday at the age of 76. He was the first and longest-serving host o...
Mark Ruffalo
13 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Ruffalo plays a debauched cad in Yorgos Lanthimos' bawdy, dark comedy Poor Things. The role was a big departure from his previous work playing real pe...
Molly Ringwald
12 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Molly Ringwald became a film icon in the '80s after starring in a trio of films: Sixteen Candles, The Breakfast Club, and Pretty in Pink. "I don't lik...
Best Of: The Race Card Project / The Early AIDS Crisis
10 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Journalist Michele Norris has spent the last 14 years collecting what she describes as "an archive of the human experience" with The Race Card Project...
Remembering MC5 Guitarist Wayne Kramer / Carl Weathers
09 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
We remember Wayne Kramer, the guitarist of the late '60s proto-punk band MC5. The revolutionary band's idols were the Black Panther party, Malcolm X a...
The Surprisingly Lax Regulation Of Our Railroads
08 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Award-winning ProPublica reporter Topher Sanders has spent the last two years investigating America's aging freight train system. He says the Federal ...
The Life and Legacy Of Medgar & Myrlie Evers
07 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The civil rights leader Medgar Evers is maybe more known for his assassination in 1963 than the work he did to fight for voting rights and desegregati...
A Foster Parent On Loving & Letting Go
06 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
When Mark Daley and his husband, Jason, became foster parents to two brothers, they fell in love with the children right away. But Daley and his husba...
What Americans Really Think About Race
05 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Journalist Michele Norris has spent the last 14 years collecting what she calls "an archive of the human experience." She wanted to see how Americans ...
Best Of: Emma Stone / The Birth Of Psychedelic Science
03 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Emma Stone is nominated for an Oscar for her starring role in Poor Things. She spoke with Terry Gross about the film and her relationship to her anxie...
'Oppenheimer' Dir. Christopher Nolan / Mark Ronson On The 'Barbie' Soundtrack
02 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Oppenheimer and Barbie have been nominated for 13 and 8 Oscars, respectively. We feature our interview with Christopher Nolan, who wrote and directed ...
The Forgotten Heroes Of The AIDS Crisis
01 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Kai Wright's WNYC podcast, Blindspot, revisits the early years of the HIV/AIDS epidemic, focusing in particular on populations that are frequently ove...
Emma Stone
31 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Stone has two Oscar nominations for Poor Things: One for best actress and one for best picture, as a producer. She spoke with Terry Gross about workin...
Unpacking The Immigration Crisis
30 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Hundreds of thousands of people, mostly from Central America, arrive at the U.S.-Mexico border every year. What to do with these migrants is one of th...
Inside A Jim Crow-Era Asylum
29 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
NBC journalist Antonia Hylton spent more than a decade piecing together the history of Maryland's first segregated asylum, where Black patients were f...
Best Of: Tracee Ellis Ross / Racism In Medicine
27 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Tracee Ellis Ross co-stars in the new movie American Fiction, which is nominated for five Oscars, including Best Picture. For eight seasons, she starr...
Remembering Composer Peter Shickeley / Shangri-Las Lead Mary Weiss
26 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
We remember composer and classical music satirist Peter Schickele, whose alter ego was "P.D.Q. Bach." His comic music arrangements were funny, but the...
How The War Between Israel And Hamas Is Widening
25 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
New York Times correspondent David Sanger says that Iran and its proxies are posing new challenges: "We're seeing outbreaks of low-level but highly da...
Tracee Ellis Ross
24 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Tracee Ellis Ross co-stars in the Oscar-nominated movie American Fiction. For eight seasons, she starred in the ABC comedy series Black-ish. We talk a...
How War Changed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy
23 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Time correspondent Simon Shuster has been interviewing Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy since 2019, when Zelenskyy was still a famous entertain...
Reckoning With Racism In Medicine
22 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Dr. Uché Blackstock was one of the first doctors to raise the alarm that COVID-19 was disproportionately impacting Black people. She spoke with Tonya...
Best Of: 'Origin' Dir. Ava DuVernay / How Algorithms 'Flatten' Culture
20 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Ava DuVernay's new film Origin explores a new way to consider the historical subjugation of Black people in America: as the adverse result of a caste ...
A 'Succession' Appreciation
19 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
HBO's Succession swept at the Emmys, winning six awards for its fourth and final season. We compiled interviews with show creator/head writer Jesse Ar...
The Home Schooling Surge
18 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Home schooling is now America's fastest growing form of education, but Washington Post reporter Peter Jamison tells Dave Davies, "It's remarkable how ...
How Algorithms 'Flatten' Culture
17 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Filterworld author Kyle Chayka examines the algorithms that dictate what we watch, read and listen to. He argues that machine-guided curation makes us...
The Birth Of Psychedelic Science
16 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
You may have heard about the pioneering research of anthropologist Margaret Mead, but do you know about her work with psychedelics? Mead and her husba...
Ava DuVernay Illuminates America's Caste System with 'Origin'
15 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Award-winning director Ava DuVernay's new film Origin explores a new way to consider the historical subjugation of Black people in America: As the adv...
Best Of: Sterling K. Brown / Paul Giamatti
13 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Actor Sterling K. Brown co-stars in the new film American Fiction. We'll talk about his role in that, as well as playing O.J. Simpson prosecutor Chris...
Josh Groban's Sweeney Todd
12 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The Grammy-Award winning baritone first auditioned to play the Demon Barber of Fleet Street back in high school. He didn't get the part then; but he s...
The Movement To Dismantle Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Initiatives
11 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Washington Post reporter Julian Mark talks about the resignation of Harvard President Claudine Gay, and the broader movement to dismantle DEI practice...
Paul Giamatti On 'The Holdovers'
10 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Giamatti says his latest movie, filmed at various prep schools in Massachusetts and directed by Alexander Payne, triggered memories of the time he spe...
The Long Recovery Back From Traumatic Brain Injury
09 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Annie Liontas experienced three brain injuries in the span of one year, which led to dizziness, memory fog and anger — and impacted Liontas' marriag...
Sterling K. Brown
08 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Brown won an Emmy for his portrayal of Christopher Darden in The People v. O.J. Simpson, and another for This Is Us. He now appears in the film Americ...
Best Of: Making 'Maestro' / A Restaurateur's Journey
06 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Bradley Cooper talks about writing, directing, and starring in the new film Maestro, in which he portrays conductor and composer Leonard Bernstein. Al...
Remembering The Smothers Brothers, Who Changed TV
05 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
We remember Tom Smothers, of the comic folk duo the Smothers Brothers, who died last week at the age of 86. Their popular TV variety show in the lat...
The Ozempic Revolution
04 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Bloomberg News reporter Emma Court explains how these so-called "miracle" weight loss drugs work, and discusses side effects, long-term impacts, and w...
Restaurateur Rose Previte's Lessons Learned From Around The World
03 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In her new cookbook, Maydān: Recipes from Lebanon and Beyond, Rose Previte writes about what it's like to be a women restauranteur in a male-dominate...
Bradley Cooper & Yannick Nézet-Séguin On 'Maestro'
02 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In his new biopic Maestro, Bradley Cooper was determined not to imitate the legendary Leonard Bernstein. Instead, the actor worked with conductor Yann...
Barbra Streisand
01 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
We start the new year with Barbra Streisand, and listen back to the interview we recorded in November. Throughout her career, her mother would send he...
Taraji P. Henson / Pianist Brad Mehldau
30 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Taraji P. Henson stars as jazz singer Shug Avery in the new musical adaptation of The Color Purple. She spoke with Tonya Mosley about what the play me...
Jazz With The EarRegulars
29 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Our dark week continues with a performance by and conversation with two of the best traditional jazz musicians around, trumpeter Jon-Erik Kellso and g...
Roots Co-Founder, Black Thought (Tariq Trotter)
28 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
We continue our series of some of our favorite interviews of the year with co-founder and lead MC of the Roots, Tariq Trotter, a.k.a. Black Thought. W...
Brooke Shields
27 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
When Shields was 11 months old, she was in soap commercials and print ads. At the age of 12, she starred as a child prostitute in the film Pretty Baby...
Allison Russell's Road To Self-Love
26 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Canadian musician Allison Russell talks and sings about the abuse she endured from her racist adoptive father — and about how she learned she was wo...
Merry Questlove Christmas
25 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson has put together a playlist of some of his favorite Christmas recordings. Questlove is co-founder of The Roots, which is a...
Best Of: David Byrne's Xmas Playlist / Nicolas Cage
23 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
It's a David Byrne Christmas. The cofounder and frontman of Talking Heads has put together a playlist of his favorite Christmas songs for us. Also, we...
Timothy Olyphant On 'Justified'
22 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
From now until the end of 2023, we're listening back to some stand-out interviews from this year. Timothy Olyphant is best known for portraying lawmen...
Nicolas Cage
21 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Cage has been acting for almost 45 years, and has appeared in more than 100 films. Dream Scenario is one of five scripts he's encountered in his caree...
A David Byrne Christmas Special
20 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The singer-songwriter and Talking Heads frontman presents some of his favorite holiday music — including songs by The Pogues, James Brown, LCD Sound...
Remembering Actor Andre Braugher
19 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Braugher died of lung cancer last week at age 61. He's best known for his portrayals of police in two opposite genres: in the comedy series Brooklyn...
Taraji P. Henson On 'The Color Purple'
18 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
This Christmas, the film adaptation of the musical The Color Purple hits the big screen. For award-winning actress Taraji P. Henson, starring as Shug ...
David Sedaris Can't Wait To Watch You Panic Shop This Week
17 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Humorist and author David Sedaris is a public radio regular – his 'Santaland Diaries' first aired on NPR's Morning Edition in 1992 and has gone on t...