Fresh Air

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 thou...

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 th...

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 Archives See pcm.ad...

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...

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 wi...

‘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   Subs...

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 histo...

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 Ship...

The romance books Kennedy Ryan read growing up rarely included characters who looked like her. Now she deliberately centers people the genre has left out – like women of color and women with chronic illness and disabilities. The award-winning novelist spoke with Tonya Mosley about her “Trojan horse” storylines, the value of the sex scene, and giving people happily-ever-afters.  Also, TV critic Dav...

The lone star tick seeks out its blood meal and transmits a potentially dangerous allergy to red meat. ‘New Yorker’ staff writer Burkhard Bilger talks with Terry Gross about his reporting on the tick-borne alpha-gal syndrome, and how doctors, scientists and pest control experts are responding.  Subscribe to our free weekly newsletter   Follow us on Instagram   Subscribe to our YouTube channel   Ch...

“The culture wars have completely eaten America,” says author Isaac Butler. His new book, ‘The Perfect Moment: God, Sex, Art, and the Birth of America’s Culture Wars,’ looks at how the religious right made a template for expressing grievance over art, and how that is used to this day to defund the National Endowment of the Arts. Butler spoke with Terry Gross.  Subscribe to our free weekly newslett...

Once the most successful women’s tennis champions of their generation, Evert and Navratilova open up about friendship, cancer and retirement in the Netflix documentary ‘Chris & Martina: The Final Set.’ They spoke with Terry Gross.  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 infor...

For over a decade, Laverne Cox has been one of the most visible trans women in America. In her new memoir, ‘Transcendent,’ she writes about growing up in Mobile, Ala., and the bullying and harassment she faced. She says she survived it by going somewhere else in her mind, often through music and dance. Also, we hear from comic Ali Siddiq. He served six years in a Texas prison and turned his life i...

We remember one of the most sought-after directors in television, James Burrows. He died June 19 at age 85. Burrows worked on many classic sitcoms including ‘Taxi,’ ‘Frasier,’ ‘Friends,’ ‘Will and Grace’ and ‘Cheers.' He was known for his comedic instincts, his visual style, and for insisting the comedy be believable. Burrows spoke with Terry Gross in 2006. Also, we hear an appreciation from TV cr...

For more than 50 years, Anna Deavere Smith has pioneered a type of theater built from real people's words, interviewing hundreds of Americans and then performing their words verbatim. Now she's telling a story from her own family with ‘Basil Biggs.’ It’s about her great-great-grandfather, a free Black man, who reburied the Union dead at Gettysburg and prepared the ground for Lincoln's most famous...

Masculinism is a belief that feminism emasculates men, and men should be in control while women stay at home raising children. Atlantic staff writer Helen Lewis says the movement is becoming mainstream. She spoke with Terry Gross about her reporting.  See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences...

Wendell Pierce is working as hard as ever. He says he's motivated by the "ticking clock of mortality" — and the desire to challenge himself as an actor. He's currently starring in the Shakespeare Theatre Company production of “Othello.” He spoke with Tonya Mosley about aiming for a trifecta of TV, film and theater roles, why he almost left ‘The Wire,’ and caring for his late father. See pcm.adswiz...

For more than a decade, actor Laverne Cox has been one of the most visible trans women in America. But the ‘Orange Is the New Black’ star says she spent most of childhood keeping herself hidden. Cox spoke with Tonya Mosley about the bullying she endured, pursuing a dance career before acting, and the anti-trans culture shift of the last few years. Her memoir is ‘Transcendent.’  See pcm.adswizz.com...

Pope Leo XIV’s Creole family roots inspired New Orleanian journalist Susan Saulny to research her Creole great-uncle who moved to Chicago, identified himself as white and never returned. She describes her journey to reunite her family. Her piece in the New York Times is called "A Family Secret No More." As the United States turns 250, scholar Eddie Glaude Jr. has blunt advice: “America has to grow...

‘In Savings and Trust,’ historian Justene Hill Edwards tells the story of the Freedman's Bank. Created for formerly enslaved people following the Civil War, its collapse cost depositors millions. She spoke with Tonya Mosley about how this part of history reverberates today. Also, we remember South African pianist, composer and bandleader Abdullah Ibrahim. He died Monday, at age 91. His song “Manne...

Siddiq grew up in Houston with a largely absent father. In his new stand-up special, he paints a picture of the flawed man he admired – and reflects on his own experience as a parent. Siddiq spoke with Tonya Mosley about his upbringing, his time selling drugs, and making the leap from prison to comedy.  Also, film critic Justin Chang reviews ‘Toy Story 5.’  See pcm.adswizz.com for information abou...

New Yorker writer Ben Taub tells Dave Davies that while the idea of acquiring Greenland is out of the headlines, it hasn’t been dropped by Trump. Taub describes how his ongoing efforts have broken the trust of our allies. "People are just completely exhausted and worn down. ... That trust cannot be rebuilt," Taub says. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal da...

Jesse Wegman talks to Dave Davies about James Wilson. A brilliant lawyer who helped craft the U.S. Constitution, Wilson lived a colorful life and died as a Supreme Court justice on the run from the law and creditors. Also, David Bianculli reviews the Prime Video series 'Spider-Noir.' See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage you...

Glaude's book, 'America, U.S.A.,' looks at the country through the lens of its previous anniversaries and centennials. Today, as in the past, he tells Tonya Mosley, "the divided soul of the nation is in full view." As the 250th anniversary approaches, he says it's time for the U.S. to acknowledge the ways it has failed to deliver on its founding principles. "America has to grow up. It can no longe...

Fifteen years after ‘The Book of Mormon’ made its Broadway debut, original cast members Andrew Rannells and Josh Gad once again took the stage as Mormon missionaries — this time at the 2026 Tony Awards. The musical is a satirical — sometimes affectionate, sometimes offensive — look at Mormonism and youthful naïveté. Rannells and Gad spoke with Terry Gross about their first impressions of the show,...