Fresh Air

Episoder

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  Best Of: Broadway legend André De Shields / Apache Chef Nephi Craig 25.07.2026 49min

  At the age of 80, André De Shields is now on Broadway in “CATS: The Jellicle Ball.” He won a Tony in 2019 for his performance in “Hadestown” and co-stars in the new movie of the revival. He talks with Terry Gross about his Broadway debut in the original production of ‘The Wiz,’ living with HIV for almost 50 years, and why he walks like a king. Also, White Mountain Apache Chef Nephi Craig explains how cooking and teaching about indigenous foods saved his life. His memoir is ‘Our Knives Will Save Us.’  John Powers reviews Will Ferrell’s new series ‘The Hawk.’Subscribe to our free weekly newsletter Follow us on Instagram Subscribe to our YouTube channel Check out the Fresh Air ArchivesSee 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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  A former nun on why she ran away from her 'Cloistered' life 24.07.2026 45min

  Poverty, chastity, obedience, total devotion – and rebellion. Catherine Coldstream talks with Terry Gross about her years as a Carmelite nun and why she left the monastery. Her memoir is ‘Cloistered: My Years as a Nun.’ John Powers reviews the series ‘The Hawk,’ starring Will Ferrell.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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  Lee Sung Jin on the breakthrough that led him to ‘BEEF’ 23.07.2026 45min

  The second season of Lee Sung Jin’s Netflix series ‘BEEF’ earned 16 Emmy nominations. Set at an exclusive country club, it stars Oscar Isaac and Carey Mulligan in a story about class struggles and generational differences. The storylines of both seasons were inspired by real events in Lee's life. Before ‘BEEF,’ he spent two decades in comedy writers' rooms, often feeling alienated as the only Asian person on staff. “That's what people first thought of me when I first started – I was the diversity hire." He spoke with Tonya Mosley about the years he spent masking to fit in, and the breaking point that changed how he writes. TV critic David Bianculli reviews the new Apple TV series ‘Lucky.’ Subscribe to our free weekly newsletter Follow us on Instagram Subscribe to our YouTube channel Check out the Fresh Air ArchivesSee 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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  Jia Tolentino on ‘Our Plastic Surgery Nightmare’ 22.07.2026 46min

  Botox, fillers, facelifts: Plastic surgery is becoming so normalized and undetectable, it's changing our relationship to reality. ‘New Yorker’ staff writer Jia Tolentino considers how beauty standards have dovetailed with AI. Subscribe to our free weekly newsletter Follow us on Instagram Subscribe to our YouTube channel Check out the Fresh Air ArchivesSee 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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  Broadway legend André De Shields doesn't walk, he floats 21.07.2026 45min

  At the age of 80, Broadway legend André De Shields now starring in "CATS: The Jellicle Ball." He won a Tony in 2019 for his performance in "Hadestown," and co-stars in the new film of last year’s London revival. He made his Broadway debut in the title role of the 1975 original production of "The Wiz." De Shields describes himself as Afro Queer, a longtime HIV survivor, and unreformed hippie, who grew up in inner city Baltimore. He’s always gone his own way in how he thinks, speaks, dresses and moves. "I don’t rush anywhere. I walk slowly. My reputation is that Andre DeShields doesn’t walk, he floats." He spoke with Terry Gross. 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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  Harriet Clark spent 37 years visiting her mom in prison 20.07.2026 46min

  In 1981, members of radical offshoots of the Weather Underground and the Black Panthers robbed a Brinks truck carrying over $1.5 million. It ended in a shootout, killing two police officers and a security guard. Judith Clark was driving a getaway car. She was sentenced to a minimum of 75 years. Her 11-month-old daughter was left to be raised by Judith’s collective and later by Judith’s parents. Terry Gross talks with her daughter, Harriet Clark, whose new acclaimed novel is drawn from childhood experiences visiting her mother in prison. “I think she figured out how to mother me in some of the most difficult conditions possible,” she says.  Also, Ken Tucker reviews two albums that draw on rock's past: The Dirty Knobs’ ‘Mission of Mercy’ and Low Cut Connie's ‘Livin in the USA.’Subscribe to our free weekly newsletter Follow us on Instagram Subscribe to our YouTube channel Check out the Fresh Air ArchivesSee 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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  Best Of: ‘The Invite’ screenwriters / Guitarist Lenny Kaye 18.07.2026 48min

  Rashida Jones and Will McCormack are the screenwriting duo behind ‘The Invite.’ It takes on the realities of marriage in middle age, told over the course of one dinner party that spirals out of control. They’ve been mining stories like this together for decades, finding the funny inside the painful. “We are never above a laugh. There's nothing that's grave enough for us not to laugh about, because that's how we release. That's how we process our pain,” Jones tells Tonya Mosley. Also, Lenny Kaye, Patti Smith’s longtime guitarist, has his first solo album at age 79. It’s called ‘Goin’ Local.’ He spoke with Terry Gross about his decades-long collaboration with Smith and evolving with age and experience. Subscribe to our free weekly newsletter Follow us on Instagram Subscribe to our YouTube channel Check out the Fresh Air ArchivesSee 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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  Ebon Moss-Bachrach on ‘The Bear’ 17.07.2026 46min

  As ‘The Bear’ wraps its final season, TV critic David Bianculli reflects on the show’s run. Also, we listen back to our interview with Ebon Moss-Bachrach, who plays Cousin Richie, the abrasive and ornery cook/maître d'. The show is known for kitchen chaos, but he says the set is calm. He spoke with 'Fresh Air' producer Ann Marie Baldonado. Film critic Justin Chang reviews Christopher Nolan’s epic ‘The Odyssey.’ Subscribe to our free weekly newsletter Follow us on Instagram Subscribe to our YouTube channel Check out the Fresh Air ArchivesSee 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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  Apache Chef Nephi Craig says cooking saved his life 16.07.2026 45min

  White Mountain Apache chef Nephi Craig had an unconventional culinary path: from a reservation to a fine dining restaurant to cooking for 7,800 inmates while in county jail. Now he's the executive chef at Café Gozhóó. He spoke with Terry Gross about Native cuisine, getting sober, and bringing nutrition education and addiction treatment to his community on the reservation. His memoir is ‘Our Knives Will Save Us.’ Also, John Powers reviews the big tech heist novel ‘Cloudthief’ by Nathaniel Rich. Subscribe to our free weekly newsletter Follow us on Instagram Subscribe to our YouTube channel Check out the Fresh Air ArchivesSee 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
• 
  Gold, secrets, never-ending meetings: Inside the Trump White House 15.07.2026 45min

  Journalist Jonathan Swan’s book, ‘Regime Change,’ co-written with fellow ‘New York Times’ reporter Maggie Haberman, is a portrait of President Trump’s second term – which Swan calls "unrecognizable" from term one. The reporting duo interviewed over 1,000 sources for the book, including the president himself. Their work adds rich detail to developments that were generally known, and explores stories that had somehow slipped under the radar. Swan spoke with Fresh Air contributor and former politics reporter Dave Davies. Subscribe to our free weekly newsletter Follow us on Instagram Subscribe to our YouTube channel Check out the Fresh Air ArchivesSee 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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  Uncovering abuse inside America's largest ICE detention center 14.07.2026 45min

  ‘New Yorker’ staff writer Jonathan Blitzer says thousands of people are being held in tents in the El Paso, Texas, desert, where inhumane conditions have become a tool to pressure people to accept deportation. There have been 52 deaths in detention centers since President Trump took office, and a significant number of them are suicides. Blitzer spoke with co-host Tonya Mosley. Subscribe to our free weekly newsletter Follow us on Instagram Subscribe to our YouTube channel Check out the Fresh Air ArchivesSee 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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  'The Invite' screenwriters Rashida Jones & Will McCormack 13.07.2026 45min

  The new film, ‘The Invite,’ directed by Olivia Wilde, offers a portrait of a marriage in middle age, told over the course of one dinner party that spirals out of control. Screenwriters Rashida Jones and Will McCormack have been mining this territory together for decades, while finding the funny inside the painful. “We are never above a laugh,” Jones says. “There's nothing that's grave enough for us not to laugh about, because that's how we release. That's how we process our pain.” They spoke with Tonya Mosley about their creative process and their other films, ‘Celeste & Jesse Forever,’ ‘Quincy,’ and ‘If Anything Happens I Love You.’ Subscribe to our free weekly newsletter Follow us on Instagram Subscribe to our YouTube channel Check out the Fresh Air ArchivesSee 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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  Best Of: Record producer Peter Asher / Romance writer Kennedy Ryan 11.07.2026 49min

  Record producer and manager Peter Asher discovered James Taylor and launched Carole King’s career. Paul McCartney and John Lennon wrote “I Want to Hold Your Hand” in his family’s basement. He spoke with Terry Gross about having a front-row seat to some of the biggest moments in recording history.Also, romance novelist Kennedy Ryan talks about how she fell for the genre in middle school, even though her mother, a preacher, didn't approve. Ryan’s best-selling books center on people who are usually at the margins – Black women, queer women, and women with chronic illnesses and disabilities. TV critic David Bianculli has a review of the ‘Little House on the Prairie’ remake.Subscribe to our free weekly newsletter Follow us on Instagram Subscribe to our YouTube channel Check out the Fresh Air ArchivesSee 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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  Remembering musical theater historian Robert Kimball 10.07.2026 46min

  Kimball, who died July 2, was artistic advisor to Ira Gershwin. He wrote books about the Gershwins, Cole Porter and Irving Berlin, and helped unearth unknown songs and manuscripts by them and other early 20th-century songwriters. Kimball also rescued and rediscovered the music of the Black Broadway team of Noble Sissle and Eubie Blake. He spoke with Terry Gross in 1994. David Bianculli reviews the remake of ‘Little House on the Prairie,’ and John Powers reviews the second season of ‘Sugar,’ starring Colin Farrell.  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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  Guitarist Lenny Kaye on Patti Smith, Nuggets, and his solo debut 09.07.2026 45min

  Kaye's collaboration with Patti Smith began in 1971 and continues to this day. He says she taught him to trust his musical sensibilities — and to always keep evolving. Now 79, he has his first solo album, called ‘Goin’ Local.’ He spoke with Terry Gross. Subscribe to our free weekly newsletter Follow us on Instagram Subscribe to our YouTube channel Check out the Fresh Air ArchivesSee 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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  A look at new barriers at the ballot box 08.07.2026 46min

  The rules of the midterms are being rewritten, from redistricting to campaign money. Mother Jones journalist Ari Berman explains why President Trump seems "obsessed with the mechanics of voting." He spoke with Tonya Mosley about the SCOTUS decision that he calls the "final blow" to the Voting Rights Act, how the SAVE Act could disenfranchise thousands, and what keeps him up at night.Subscribe to our free weekly newsletter Follow us on Instagram Subscribe to our YouTube channel Check out the Fresh Air Archives 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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  Legendary record producer & manager Peter Asher 07.07.2026 46min

  Asher remembers when Paul McCartney and John Lennon played “I Want to Hold Your Hand” for him for the first time. “I thought, am I losing my mind, or is this one of the best songs I've ever heard in my life?” McCartney, who was dating Asher’s sister at the time, was living with his family. A new documentary, ‘Peter Asher: Everywhere Man,’ chronicles Asher’s life in the record industry. He spoke with Terry Gross about his own band in the British Invasion (Peter and Gordon), discovering James Taylor and launching Linda Ronstadt. Subscribe to our free weekly newsletter Follow us on Instagram Subscribe to our YouTube channel Check out the Fresh Air ArchivesSee 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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  Writer Rachel Aviv explores the complexity of the mother-daughter bond 06.07.2026 45min

  ‘New Yorker’ staff writer Rachel Aviv spent years reporting stories about mothers and daughters searching for each other. When she became a mom, she saw everything she wrote differently. Her book is ‘You Won’t Get Free of It.’ She spoke with Tonya Mosley. Also, John Powers reviews ‘Alice and Steve,’ starring Jemaine Clement. Subscribe to our free weekly newsletter Follow us on Instagram Subscribe to our YouTube channel Check out the Fresh Air ArchivesSee 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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  Best Of: Tennis stars Chris Evert & Martina Navratilova / American Culture Wars 04.07.2026 49min

  The two most famous women’s tennis champions of their generation, Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova, talk about being friends and rivals. After they had retired, they were both diagnosed with cancer. A new Netflix documentary follows their careers and friendship as they navigate their lives on and off the court. Also, we talk about religious and political attacks on the arts with cultural historian Isaac Butler. His book is ‘The Perfect Moment: God, Sex, Art and the Birth of America’s Culture Wars.’ Critic John Powers  reviews ‘Alice and Steve,’ a British comedy series  about a 50-something man who starts dating his best friend’s much younger daughter.Subscribe to our free weekly newsletter Follow us on Instagram Subscribe to our YouTube channel Check out the Fresh Air ArchivesSee 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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  Steven Spielberg 03.07.2026 46min

  After making ‘ET’ and ‘Close Encounters of the Third Kind’ in the ‘70s and ‘80s, Steven Spielberg returns to the theme of extraterrestrials in his new film, ‘Disclosure Day.’ He spoke with Terry Gross in 2022 about how he fell in love with movies, became a filmmaker, and about growing up Jewish in the aftermath of World War II and the Holocaust.Also, book critic Maureen Corrigan reviews ‘Two Ships,’ a new book about two conflicting versions of American identity.Subscribe to our free weekly newsletter Follow us on Instagram Subscribe to our YouTube channel Check out the Fresh Air ArchivesSee 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