American radio host and producer
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Tech giants like Google and Microsoft have been competing for years to get their devices, software and AI into public schools, even offering free training programs for teachers and students. These brands are helping shape what and how children learn. NYT reporter Natasha Singer says, “Some teachers are using AI to generate their lesson plans and assignments and their quizzes, and then kids are using AI to do them and then teachers are using AI to grade them. So we just have bots talking to bots. Is that what we want education to look like?”Singer is the author of Coding Kids: Big Tech's Battle to Remake Public Schools. She 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
Coltrane was one of the most influential musicians in the history of jazz, from his beautiful ballads, to his more spiritual music, and his role in the forefront of free jazz. September 23 marks 100 years since his birth. We speak with his son Ravi Coltrane, who is a highly regarded tenor saxophonist—the same instrument his father played. Growing up, he was just known as Ravi, "But as soon as I picked up the saxophone I was suddenly John Coltrane's son,” he tells Terry Gross. Ravi edited a new book of photographs of his father.Later we'll hear drummer Elvin Jones describe performing and recording with John Coltrane, in a 1998 interview from our archive.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
Jason Segel returns to talk with Terry Gross about his Emmy-nominated series Shrinking, in which he plays a therapist who suffered a nervous breakdown in the wake of his wife's death. Segel opens up about his own therapy and acting opposite Harrison Ford. Also, Lisa Kudrow talks about her Emmy-nominated series The Comeback. She plays an actress who is delusional about her career and desperate to be onscreen. Kudrow spoke with Tonya Mosley about shifts in Hollywood, Friends, and what she was like when she was a young girl. Book critic Maureen Corrigan recommends three new suspense novels. 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
Actor Tim Curry, best-known for playing mad scientist Dr. Frank-N-Furter in The Rocky Horror Picture Show, died this week at age 80. He spoke with Terry Gross in 2005 about finding the character's look and voice. Also, actor Rhea Seehorn has been nominated for an Emmy for her leading role in the sci-fi series Pluribus. She spoke with Terry about that series and Better Call Saul. 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
The beloved country superstar died Tuesday at age 80. Parton spoke with Terry Gross in 2001 about growing up in rural poverty with 11 siblings, leaving for Nashville to become a star, and coming up with her signature look. "I've always believed that a part of my magic, if there was any, was the fact that I look so artificial — but I am so totally real," she said. Also, jazz critic Martin Johnson reviews jazz singer Cécile McLorin Salvant's new album, With Every Breath I Take, which he calls her most daring yet. Support public media with NPR+ and enjoy perks for over 25 podcasts like this one. This show's perks include bonus episodes and curated playlists of archive interviews. Learn more at plus.npr.org.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
Public radio icon Terry Gross talks about why she chose to never have children. And her recurring nightmare about a baby. ⭐️ This episode originally ran on April 19, 2016 and is a favorite from the archives. We hope you enjoy, and we'll be back next week with a brand new episode. … • Join LST+ for community and access to You Know What, another show in the Longest Shortest universe! • Follow us on Instagram • Sign up for our newsletter, where we recommend other parenting + reproductive health media • Buy books by LST guests (your purchase supports the show!) • Website: longestshortesttime.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
The Supreme Court is not a Trump court – at least not on several issues - but where do they stand on voting rights? And what exactly did the court say on Monday about the postal service cooperating with Trump in his effort to restrict voting by mail? David Cole explains - he's the former National Legal Director of the ACLU, and The Nation's legal affairs correspondent.Also: Colson Whitehead won two Pulitzer prizes for his novels, and then wrote three crime stories about Harlem – the latest is Cool Machine. John Powers comments--he's critic at large for NPR's Fresh Air with Terry Gross.Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy
The Supreme Court is not a Trump court – at least not on several issues - but where do they stand on voting rights? And what exactly did the court say on Monday about the postal service cooperating with Trump in his effort to restrict voting by mail? David Cole explains - he's the former National Legal Director of the ACLU, and The Nation's legal affairs correspondent.Also: Colson Whitehead won two Pulitzer prizes for his novels, and then wrote three crime stories about Harlem – the latest is Cool Machine. John Powers comments--he's critic at large for NPR's Fresh Air with Terry Gross.Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy
Colman Domingo is nominated for two Emmy Awards this year, for two very different roles: in the Netflix comedy The Four Seasons and in the final season of HBO's Euphoria. He spoke with Tonya Mosley about the transition from dramatic roles to comedy, and guest hosting Jimmy Kimmel Live! for a week. Award-winning writer Leïla Slimani grew up in Morocco, where women were second-class citizens, but inside her home and with her family, she was free to speak her mind. Her mother, a doctor, pushed her to go to France to study. Slimani spoke with Terry Gross about her trilogy of novels inspired by her own French-Moroccan roots.Rock critic Ken Tucker looks back on the soundtrack of the 1976 film Sparkle, sung by Aretha Franklin. 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
Segel returns to talk with Terry Gross about his Emmy-nominated series Shrinking, in which he plays a therapist who suffered a nervous breakdown in the wake of his wife's death. Segel opens up about his own therapy, acting opposite Harrison Ford, and overcoming writer's block. He thinks of his vulnerability as a super power. "I'm kind of devoid of pride or shame about the dirty underneath. I'll say the stuff that a lot of people are trying to hide." Segel wrote and starred in the hit comedy film Forgetting Sarah Marshall, and played David Foster Wallace in The End of the Tour. 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
When you're dieting to lose weight, human evolution is often working against you. We'll talk about why with Daniel Lieberman, author of Fed Up and founder of Harvard's Department of Evolutionary Biology. He spoke with Terry Gross about diets he's tested, and the often contradictory information about what's healthy to eat and what's not.Also, book critic Maureen Corrigan reviews Etna, a novel that looks at war through the narration of a dog. 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
Spider-Man: Brand New Day continues to break box office records, after having the biggest U.S. opening weekend in history. Tonya Mosley talks with the film's director, Destin Daniel Cretton. Long before Marvel, he worked in a group home for at-risk teens. He says it's an experience that shaped everything he's made since then, and became the movie Short Term 12.Also, we hear from Harriet Clark. She was a baby when her mother was a getaway driver of a robbery of a Brink's truck in 1981. The robbers were members of a radical offshoot of the Weather Underground and the Black Panthers. For 37 years, Clark spent Saturdays visiting her mother in prison. “She figured out how to mother me in some of the most difficult conditions possible,” Clark tells Terry Gross. Her novel, The Hill, draws on her experience visiting her mother in prison. Subscribe to our free weekly newsletter Follow us on Instagram Subscribe to our YouTube channel Check out the Fresh Air ArchivesSupport public media with NPR+ and enjoy perks for over 25 podcasts like this one. This show's perks include bonus episodes and curated playlists of archive interviews. Learn more at plus.npr.org.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
Poet and writer Clint Smith says we are taught to think of slavery as something that happened a long, long time ago. But then he learned that his grandfather's grandfather had been enslaved. “This person who was so central to my life and my own identity is someone who was only a generation or two removed from a family member who had been born into slavery," he tells Terry Gross. Smith is the author of the bestselling book How the Word Is Passed, about distortions in how the history of slavery was taught to him and other children -- and the ways many Americans deceive themselves about that history. He's also the author of the collection of poetry called Above Ground.Also, critic at large John Powers reviews the new TV series Lanterns. Support public media with NPR+ and enjoy perks for over 25 podcasts like this one. This show's perks include bonus episodes and curated playlists of archive interviews. Learn more at plus.npr.org.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
China produces at least 70% of the world's drones, electric vehicles, lithium-ion batteries and solar cells. And with the U.S. stockpile of munitions diminished from the Iran war, would the U.S. have what it needs to defend Taiwan if China invaded? Terry Gross talks with New Yorker staff writer Evan Osnos about his latest story, “The Future Made in China.” “The irony here is that we are in some ways beholden right now to the Chinese factory in order to produce the munitions that we need to defend American interests from China. That's the exquisite problem that we've found ourselves in,” Osnos says. 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
China produces at least 70% of the world's drones, electric vehicles, lithium-ion batteries and solar cells. And with the U.S. stockpile of munitions diminished from the Iran war, would the U.S. have what it needs to defend Taiwan if China invaded? Terry Gross talks with New Yorker staff writer Evan Osnos about his latest story, “The Future Made in China.” “The irony here is that we are in some ways beholden right now to the Chinese factory in order to produce the munitions that we need to defend American interests from China. That's the exquisite problem that we've found ourselves in,” Osnos says. 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
The internationally acclaimed horseman Monty Roberts defied the conventional method of breaking horses and developed his own gentler approach — based on horses' non-verbal language. He died on July 31st at 91. Roberts spoke with Terry Gross in 1997, at the time of his memoir. Also, jazz critic Martin Johnson reviews Jason Moran's record of Duke Ellington tracks, and John Powers reviews Tony, the Anthony Bourdain biopic that focuses on his first time working in a kitchen. Subscribe to our free weekly newsletter Follow us on Instagram Subscribe to our YouTube channel Check out the Fresh Air ArchivesSupport public media with NPR+ and enjoy perks for over 25 podcasts like this one. This show's perks include bonus episodes and curated playlists of archive interviews. Learn more at plus.npr.org.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
The internationally acclaimed horseman Monty Roberts defied the conventional method of breaking horses and developed his own gentler approach — based on horses' non-verbal language. He died on July 31st at 91. Roberts spoke with Terry Gross in 1997, at the time of his memoir. Also, jazz critic Martin Johnson reviews Jason Moran's record of Duke Ellington tracks, and John Powers reviews Tony, the Anthony Bourdain biopic that focuses on his first time working in a kitchen. Subscribe to our free weekly newsletter Follow us on Instagram Subscribe to our YouTube channel Check out the Fresh Air ArchivesSupport public media with NPR+ and enjoy perks for over 25 podcasts like this one. This show's perks include bonus episodes and curated playlists of archive interviews. Learn more at plus.npr.org.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
Claire Vaye Watkins' new novel, 'Yellow Pine,' is about a group of misfits and activists in the Mojave desert, fighting a corporate solar development. Living in the desert is "not for everybody," she tells Terry Gross. Her home, near Death Valley, is staggeringly beautiful and brutal. She talks about growing up around environmental activism, solitude, and her father's escape from the Manson Family.Also, TV critic David Bianculli reviews the new thriller series ‘Furious,' starring Emmy Rossum, by ‘New Girl' creator Elizabeth Meriwether. 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
Claire Vaye Watkins' new novel, 'Yellow Pine,' is about a group of misfits and activists in the Mojave desert, fighting a corporate solar development. Living in the desert is "not for everybody," she tells Terry Gross. Her home, near Death Valley, is staggeringly beautiful and brutal. She talks about growing up around environmental activism, solitude, and her father's escape from the Manson Family.Also, TV critic David Bianculli reviews the new thriller series ‘Furious,' starring Emmy Rossum, by ‘New Girl' creator Elizabeth Meriwether. In the audio version of this story, we incorrectly use she/her pronouns for the actor Lola Petticrew. Petticrew uses they/them pronouns.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
New York Times reporter Eric Lipton discusses his Pulitzer Prize-winning investigations into Trump's conflicts of interest and whether he's exploiting the power of the presidency for self-enrichment. Lipton 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
New York Times reporter Eric Lipton discusses his Pulitzer Prize-winning investigations into Trump's conflicts of interest and whether he's exploiting the power of the presidency for self-enrichment. Lipton 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
Irish musician Glen Hansard, best-known for his band The Frames and his part in the 2007 film ‘Once,' died July 29 in a motorcycle crash. He was 56. Hansard got his start busking in the streets of Dublin. Ironically, it was his headmaster who urged him to drop out of school to pursue music. He spoke with Terry Gross in 2008, with his ‘Once' co-star Markéta Irglová. Their song from the film, “Falling Slowly,” won an Oscar for Best Original Song. Also, Kevin Whitehead pays tribute to Tony Bennett, who would have been 100 next week, and film critic Justin Chang reviews ‘I Want Your Sex.' 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
Trump's trouble this week is getting the Senate committee to advance his nomination of Todd Blanche as Attorney General. Two key Republican senators are refusing to vote for Blanche unless Trump gives up on his deal that gives him immunity from tax audits – Harold Meyerson comments.Also: An impressive alliance of groups have been preparing for months to counter Trump's threats to Democrats in the midterms. Skye Perryman, President and CEO of Democracy Forward and a member of The Senate Democrats' Election Protection Task Force, explains why “we are going to have free and fair elections” in November.Plus: Elon Musk calls Christopher Nolan's film “The Odyssey” “part of a left-wing plan” to “destroy Western Civilization.” John Powers has a different view – he's critic-at-large on NPR's “Fresh Air” with Terry Gross.
An impressive alliance of groups have been preparing for months to counter Trump's threats to Democrats in the midterms. Skye Perryman, President and CEO of Democracy Forward and a member of The Senate Democrats' Election Protection Tast Force, explains why “we are going to have free and fair elections” in November. Also: Elon Musk calls Christopher Nolan's film “The Odyssey” “part of a left-wing plan” to “destroy Western Civilization.” John Powers has a differnet view – he's critic-at-large on NPR's “Fresh Air” with Terry Gross.Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy
An impressive alliance of groups have been preparing for months to counter Trump's threats to Democrats in the midterms. Skye Perryman, President and CEO of Democracy Forward and a member of The Senate Democrats' Election Protection Tast Force, explains why “we are going to have free and fair elections” in November. Also: Elon Musk calls Christopher Nolan's film “The Odyssey” “part of a left-wing plan” to “destroy Western Civilization.” John Powers has a differnet view – he's critic-at-large on NPR's “Fresh Air” with Terry Gross.Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy
Pulitzer Prize-winning ‘New York Times' reporter Mike McIntire says gun companies and the NRA are broadening the scope of the Second Amendment, socializing kids to appreciate guns and marketing a new brand of masculinity. McIntire spoke with Terry Gross about his book, ‘Ricochet: Guns, Greed, and the American Way of Violence.' 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
Award-winning writer Leïla Slimani grew up in Morocco, where women were second-class citizens, but inside her home and with her family, she was free to speak her mind. Her mother, a doctor, pushed her to go to France to study. Slimani spoke with Terry Gross about her trilogy of novels inspired by her own French-Moroccan roots and her search for belonging. Her books include ‘I'll Take the Fire' and ‘The Perfect Nanny.' 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
Full episodes and much more available on Patreon.com/slopquest Andy remembers an old racy flyer he wanted to make for his old sketch troupe. Ryan has a bone to pic with French authors and doesn’t hold back. Ryan won’t even fist bump anymore and Andy filters out a related term on social media so he doesn’t see it. Ryan tries to defend Denzel Washington’s character in “Philadelphia”. Andy compares the movie to “Dumb and Dumber” and shocks Ryan with the fact that Antonio Banderas was in Playgirl. Andy and Ryan come up with a new format for a movie review show. Ryan talks about more childhood vandalism and they imagine him as a famous film maker being interviewed by Terry Gross again. Andy gets a series of truly unhinged voicemails with a review of “Morning Glory Milking Farm” and the boys lose their minds. The boys start with a review of part 2 “Sweet Berries” and Ryan cannot believe what he’s hearing. The story revolves around a “social media manager” for a berry farm who can’t get her libido under control. Ryan has an idea for life size dragon companion doll.
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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 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
“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 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
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 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
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 critic and historian David Bianculli. Film critic Justin Chang reviews ‘The Invite,' starring Seth Rogen and Olivia Wilde. 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
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.NPR Privacy Policy
‘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 “Mannenberg” was an anthem during the fight to end apartheid. Jazz historian Kevin Whitehead shares an appreciation, and we listen back to Terry Gross's 1989 interview with him. 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
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, how their voices have changed, and how the songs in 'The Book of Mormon' are a tribute to musical theater.Also, Clarke Peters played Det. Lester Freamon in ‘The Wire' and now plays a retiree in the supernatural thriller ‘The Boroughs.' He spoke to Terry Gross about both series, and about his continued work as an actor. “I picked this profession so that I would have longevity, so that I could still be acting at 100, if it comes to it,” he says. 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
In the new film 'Pressure,' Scott plays an Army meteorologist advising military officials on the date for the D-Day invasion. He spoke to Terry Gross in 2024 about playing a killer conman in ‘Ripley' and the “hot priest” in ‘Fleabag.' Plus, we listen back to Terry Gross' 2003 interview with French-Iranian artist and writer Marjane Satrapi, who died June 4. Satrapi's groundbreaking graphic novel ‘Persepolis' introduced readers to life in Iran during the Islamic revolution and the Iran/Iraq war. And Justin Chang reviews ‘Disclosure Day.' 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
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. Created and written by Trey Parker and Matt Stone (the duo behind ‘South Park'), along with veteran Broadway composer Robert Lopez, ‘The Book of Mormon' follows two young missionaries sent to try and bring Mormonism to a Ugandan village. 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, mishaps onstage, and regretting their decision to leave when they did. 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
Peters' credits include police Detective Lester Freamon in ‘The Wire,' a Vietnam veteran in Spike Lee's ‘Da 5 Bloods,' and now a retiree in the supernatural thriller ‘The Boroughs' on Netflix. Peters spoke with Terry Gross about his long career on stage and screen, his singing voice, and why he relocated to London in the ‘70s. “I picked this profession so that I would have longevity, so that I could still be acting at 100, if it comes to it,” he says. Also, David Bianculli reviews the Apple 10-part miniseries ‘Cape Fear.'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
The great jazz saxophonist Sonny Rollins died Monday at the age of 95. He was known for his improvisation and technique, his full bodied sound that could erupt into grunts and brays, and his love of songs. Rollins said of improvising: “When I'm actually on the stage and performing, the optimum condition is not to think. I just want the music to play itself. I didn't want to have to think about it.” We listen back to Terry Gross's 1994 interview with Rollins. Also, jazz historian Kevin Whitehead pays tribute. Finally, critic Justin Chang tells us about the highlights from the Cannes Film Festival. 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