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
22 snips
Feb 20, 2026 • 46min
Remembering actor Robert Duvall & filmmaker Frederick Wiseman
Robert Duvall, veteran actor known for The Godfather and Tender Mercies, reflects on iconic roles, on-set stories, and his immersive approach to performance. Frederick Wiseman, pioneering documentary filmmaker behind Titicut Follies and High School, discusses choosing institutions as subjects, his long-form observational style, and why he avoids narration. Short, candid conversations about craft, memory, and storytelling.
133 snips
Feb 19, 2026 • 46min
Michael Pollan’s journey to understand consciousness
Michael Pollan, journalist and author known for exploring food, plants, and the mind. He traces how psychedelics pushed him to probe consciousness. He discusses what consciousness means, the limits of science, whether AI or plants might be conscious, and promising psychedelic therapies. Short, curious, and wide-ranging.
85 snips
Feb 18, 2026 • 45min
A look at the ethical implications of AI
Gideon Lewis-Kraus, New Yorker staff writer who investigated Anthropic and its chatbot Claude. He explores Anthropic’s limits on military and surveillance use. He describes the company’s secretive culture, Claude’s capabilities and ethical design, experiments probing its inner goals, and tensions between safety ideals and commercial pressures.
8 snips
Feb 17, 2026 • 46min
A daughter's rebellion against a regime and her father
Lubna Mirai, Syrian photojournalist and activist who joined the Arab Spring and wrote Defiance. Arthi Shahani, former NPR tech reporter who conducts the interview. John Powers, film critic who reviews Crime 101. They discuss family abuse and political awakening in Syria. They cover joining protests, documenting war, and a movie review of a heist thriller.
56 snips
Feb 16, 2026 • 45min
The American Presidency, Redefined
Jon Meacham, Pulitzer Prize–winning presidential historian and biographer, reflects on presidential tone, executive power, and threats to democratic norms. He contrasts FDR and Reagan visions, examines media-driven polarization, and weighs when federal intervention is warranted. Short, sharp conversations probe how history, rhetoric, and institutions shape America’s political future.
5 snips
Feb 14, 2026 • 48min
Best Of: Mixed Marriage Project / How Racism Costs Everyone
Dorothy Roberts, legal scholar who unearthed her father’s 1930s interracial marriage research and turned it into a memoir. Heather McGhee, policy scholar and author exploring how racism harms everyone economically and socially. They discuss discovering archival interviews, debates over whether love can dismantle racism, the origins of zero-sum thinking, and how racial inequality drains the economy.
21 snips
Feb 13, 2026 • 46min
‘Sinners’ Songwriter Raphael Saadiq
Raphael Saadiq, Grammy-winning singer, songwriter and producer known for Tony! Toni! Toné! and work with Beyoncé and Solange, talks about finding his voice in church, his love of vintage blues and Motown bass, writing the Oscar-nominated song "I Lied to You" for Sinners, and collaborating in the studio while embracing risk and stagecraft.
21 snips
Feb 12, 2026 • 45min
Fela Kuti and the music of political resistance
Jad Abumrad, public radio producer best known for Radiolab, presents a deep dive into Fela Kuti’s life and music. He explores Afrobeat’s trance grooves, how songs became political education, the risks around “Zombie,” Kalakuta Republic’s raids, and Fela’s complex relationships and legacy. Multiple vivid stories illuminate art under authoritarianism.
53 snips
Feb 11, 2026 • 45min
Excavating the Epstein files
Vicky Ward, an investigative journalist who has followed Jeffrey Epstein for over two decades. She recounts early reporting and censorship. She explores what's revealed in the unredacted files. She probes Ghislaine Maxwell's role, powerful people tied to Epstein, and how his wealth and networks were built. She critiques official responses and discusses why the story keeps resurfacing.
12 snips
Feb 10, 2026 • 44min
Love, Race & the ‘Mixed Marriage Project’
Dorothy Roberts, legal scholar and author known for work on race and reproduction, reflects on her parents' interracial marriage research and her new memoir. She recounts uncovering archival interviews, family ties to the project, the complexities of interracial intimacy, and how personal history shaped her identity. The conversation probes whether love alone can challenge racial structures.
