Fresh Air

Latest Episodes:

Star Of ‘Pluribus’ Rhea Seehorn Dec 09, 2025

Show notes

The new Apple TV+ series was created by Vince Gilligan, who also created ‘Breaking Bad’ and co-created ‘Better Call Saul.’ He liked her work in ‘Saul’ so much, he wrote the lead in ‘Pluribus’ for her. The story has a sci-fi premise, but the themes of the show are more existential – like what is happiness? What is the importance of individuality? Seehorn spoke with Terry Gross about the show, her secretive father who worked in counter intelligence, and her memories of Bob Odenkirk’s nearly fatal heart attack on set.
Also, critic Ken Tucker shares Christmas music from Brad Paisley, Mickey Guyton, Leon Bridges, and Old Crow Medicine Show.
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

Homelessness In The New Gilded Age Dec 08, 2025

Show notes

In New York City, 100,000 people sleep in shelters every night. Patrick Markee has spent decades fighting for them with the Coalition for the Homeless. He’s written a new book that gives an on-the-ground view of what he’s learned. It’s called ‘Placeless: Homelessness in the New Gilded Age.’ He asks, what if homelessness isn't a personal failing, but the result of policy choices?

Also, Maureen Corrigan shares her picks for the 10 best books of the year. You can see her list here.

Follow Fresh Air on instagram @nprfreshair, and subscribe to our weekly newsletter for gems from the Fresh Air archive, staff recommendations, and a peek behind the scenes.
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

Best Of: George Clooney / Costume Designer Paul Tazewell Dec 06, 2025

Show notes

George Clooney stars in ‘Jay Kelly’ as a famous actor at a crossroads. He talks about his own relationship to fame and what drew him to the role. Also, Oscar-winning costume designer Paul Tazewell talks about his road to ‘Wicked.’ He’s spent more than three decades shaping looks for the stage and screen.

And rock critic Ken Tucker has a round up of some of this year’s new Christmas songs.
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

Remembering Steve Cropper / Playwright Tom Stoppard Dec 05, 2025

Show notes

We remember guitarist, songwriter, and producer Steve Cropper, who helped create the Memphis soul sound of the ‘60s and ‘70s. He died this week at age 84. Stax Records produced soul hits by Booker T. & the M.G.s, Sam & Dave, Isaac Hayes, and more. Cropper spoke with Terry Gross in 1990 about how he became part of the house rhythm section, and went on to help write hits for Otis Redding and Wilson Pickett.

Also, we remember the celebrated English playwright Tom Stoppard, who was considered a giant of theatre. He died at age 88. Stoppard wrote ‘Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead’ and ‘The Real Thing,’ and the screenplays for ‘Empire of the Sun’ and ‘Shakespeare in Love.’

Jazz historian Kevin Whitehead pays tribute to jazz organist Jimmy Smith, and John Powers reviews the new Brazilian film ‘The Secret Agent.'
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

George Clooney Dec 04, 2025

Show notes

Clooney stars as an aging movie star who has neglected his family life in favor of his career in Noah Baumbach’s new film ‘Jay Kelly. ' He spoke with Tonya Mosley about his own journey with fame, his Broadway rendition of “Good Night, and Good Luck,” and his op-ed calling for Biden to withdraw from the 2024 presidential race.

Was The U.S. Attack On A Venezuelan Boat A War Crime? Dec 03, 2025

Show notes

Washington Post reporter Alex Horton talks about the Sept. 2 US military strike on a boat with alleged "narco terrorists," in which a second strike was ordered to kill two survivors in the water.
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

War Photographer Lynsey Addario Still Has Hope Dec 02, 2025

Show notes

For 25 years, Pulitzer Prize-winning photojournalist Lynsey Addario has covered conflicts and humanitarian crises across the globe, from Sudan to Syria. She’s been kidnapped twice, thrown from a car, and shelled in war zones more times than she can count. A new Nat Geo/Disney+ documentary called 'Love+War' follows Addario as she is torn in two directions – her all-consuming reporting in Ukraine and her life at home as a wife and mother of two young kids. Addario spoke with Fresh Air contributor, host of Talk Easy, Sam Fragoso.
Also, book critic Maureen Corrigan reviews 'Some Bright Nowhere,' by Ann Packer.
Follow Fresh Air on instagram @nprfreshair, and subscribe to our weekly newsletter for gems from the Fresh Air archive, staff recommendations, and a peek behind the scenes.
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

‘Wicked’ Costume Designer Paul Tazewell Dec 01, 2025

Show notes

Tazewell made history as the first Black man to win the Oscar for costume design for the first installment of Wicked. He talks with Tonya Mosley about Wicked: For Good, the movies that inspired him, and learning to sew as a child. “I made the decision that I would devote myself to costume design and live vicariously through other characters,” he says. “Where I might not be cast in certain roles because of how I looked, as a designer, I could be anyone.

Best Of: Nutritionist Marion Nestle / Science Writer Mary Roach Nov 29, 2025

Show notes

Food policy expert and nutritionist Marion Nestle's 2006 book, ‘What to Eat,’ became a consumer bible of sorts when it came out, guiding readers through the supermarket while exposing how industry marketing and policy steer our food choices. Now, two decades later, she's back with ‘What to Eat Now,’ a revised field guide for the supermarket of 2025.
Also, film critic Justin Chang reviews the new film Hamnet.

Science writer Mary Roach’s latest book, ‘Replaceable You,’ is about innovations in transplant medicine thanks to promising research and breakthroughs. She tells us about organs transplanted from pigs and attempts to replace bald spots on the scalp with hair from other parts of our bodies.
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

Grand Ole Opry At 100: Earl Scruggs & Loretta Lynn Nov 28, 2025

Show notes

We mark the 100th anniversary of The Grand Ole Opry, country music’s biggest stage, and feature interviews with two of its members. First up, bluegrass banjo player Earl Scruggs. He and guitarist Lester Flatt had a hit with “Foggy Mountain Breakdown.” Scruggs told Terry Gross how he developed his famous three-finger picking style while absent-mindedly playing the banjo one day. Also, we listen back to Terry’s interview with country music star, “Honky Tonk Girl” Loretta Lynn.

Film critic Justin Chang reviews a new documentary about Russia's crackdown on independent journalists. It’s called ‘My Undesirable Friends: Part I — Last Air in Moscow.’
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

Our TOPPODCAST Picks

Follow Us

Stay Connected

Related Podcasts

Links

Stay Connected