Fresh Air
NPR
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. 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
Episodes
Mentioned books
May 13, 2026 • 46min
Boots Riley wants to 'compel and repel' you
Boots Riley, filmmaker, rapper, and longtime organizer, discusses his new film I Love Boosters. He talks about turning a song into a film about shoplifters and community service. He explores cultural appropriation in fashion, teen organizing and family influences, and how to make radical art that both attracts and unsettles audiences.
19 snips
May 12, 2026 • 46min
Inside a journalist’s year of using AI for (almost) everything
Joanna Stern, tech journalist and NBC News chief technology analyst who wrote I Am Not a Robot, spent a year offloading daily life to AI. She describes wearing AI wearables, running medical scans through algorithms, and relying on chatbots for texts and emotional support. She also explores privacy, job risks, scams, and how fast AI tools change.
6 snips
May 11, 2026 • 46min
Will Sharpe imagines Mozart's day-to-day in 'Amadeus'
Will Sharpe, award-winning actor, writer, and director, imagines Mozart’s daily life and inner world. He talks about preparing musically for the role and portraying Mozart’s awkward public persona. He reflects on collaborating with fellow actors, early creative influences, and feeling like an outsider while shaping complex characters.
11 snips
May 9, 2026 • 48min
Best Of: Novelist Douglas Stuart / ‘Half Man’ Actor Richard Gadd
Douglas Stuart, Glasgow-born novelist and Booker Prize winner, talks about class, sexuality, and family roots. Richard Gadd, actor-writer-comedian behind Baby Reindeer and Half Man, discusses male bonds, repression, and fraught relationships. David Bianculli, TV critic, reviews the new Lord of the Flies adaptation. Multiple short conversations on identity, secrecy, and storytelling.
35 snips
May 8, 2026 • 46min
Broadway producer Jeffrey Seller, from ‘RENT’ to ‘Hamilton’
Jeffrey Seller, a Broadway producer behind Rent, In the Heights and Hamilton, and author of Theater Kid. He recalls how In the Heights led to Hamilton and the cabaret moments that proved it could work. He explains his hands-on producing style and the tough edits that tightened Hamilton. He tells the story of discovering Jonathan Larson and the emotional aftermath of Rent's early nights.
May 7, 2026 • 45min
Nathan Lane is being tested (and he loves it)
Nathan Lane, a three-time Tony-winning actor famed for comic hits like The Producers and recent dramatic turns, talks about his shift into serious roles and why Willy Loman moved him at 70. He recounts childhood struggles, theatrical roots, the physical and emotional toll of big parts, and the surprising power of live audiences. Short performances and reflections punctuate the conversation.
73 snips
May 6, 2026 • 44min
How Silicon Valley has profited by aligning with MAGA
George Packer, Atlantic staff writer and author of The Unwinding, explains why powerful tech investors gravitated toward Trump. He traces PayPal-era networks, a pivotal fundraiser that normalized support, and how crypto and AI interests shaped policy moves. He also touches on immigration debates, regulatory fights, and growing public alarm about AI safety.
6 snips
May 5, 2026 • 44min
Kimberlé Williams Crenshaw’s path from ‘Backtalker’ to legal scholar
Kimberlé Williams Crenshaw, a legal scholar who coined intersectionality and helped shape critical race theory, reflects on her memoir Backtalker. She recalls Canton dinner-table lessons, the night Martin Luther King Jr. died, and sketching an intersection to explain Black women’s legal invisibility. She discusses urban renewal, Anita Hill, and how ideas like critical race theory have been weaponized.
May 4, 2026 • 46min
Scottish novelist Douglas Stuart on the isolation of secret-keeping
Douglas Stuart, Booker Prize-winning Scottish novelist known for working-class and queer stories. He talks about how the Hebrides sparked John of John. He explores secret-keeping across generations, masculinity and style, and the ties between textile design and storytelling. He reflects on family, religion, caregiving, and finding liberation through honesty.
May 2, 2026 • 49min
Best Of: Flea / Nick Offerman
Nick Offerman, actor and woodworker, talks about transforming into a former pro wrestler wrestling with addiction and family. Flea, bassist and multi-instrumentalist, discusses his jazz-tinged solo album Honora and how aging and varied musical worlds reshaped his art. They explore performance, physical transformation, and musical evolution in short, lively conversations.
