Fresh Air
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Fresh Air with Terry Gross, the Peabody Award-winning weekday magazine of contemporary arts and issues, is one of public radio's most popular programs.
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Episodes
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Springsteen's label was about to drop him. Then came 'Born to Run'
Biographer Peter Ames Carlin describes the making of Born to Run as an "existential moment" for Springsteen: "If this didn't work, he was done." Carlin's new book is Tonight in Jungleland.
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Journalist says greed, nihilism and transnationalism are fueling Sudan's conflict
Fourteen million people in Sudan have been displaced by war and famine. The Atlantic's Anne Applebaum writes about the scale of destruction in her article, "The Most Nihilistic Conflict on Earth."
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Her parents died 9 days apart, but Sarah Silverman gets the last laugh in 'PostMortem'
Silverman's father and stepmother are buried under one tombstone that reads: "Janice and Donald, who loved to laugh." Originally broadcast May 29, 2025.
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HBO documentary offers an unflinching take on Billy Joel's life and music
Billy Joel: And So It Goes reveals the inspiration and process behind certain songs. But it also digs into Joel's alcoholism, multiple marriages and divorces, and his conflicts with fellow musicians.
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From allies to enemies: How the 1979 revolution transformed U.S.-Iranian relations
In his new book, King of Kings, Scott Anderson chronicles the upheaval that deposed Iran's reigning monarch — and the blunders by American policymakers that played a key role in the outcome.
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Fresh Air Weekend: Mariska Hargitay; Marc Maron
Hargitay recounts seeking out the truth behind her bombshell mom, Jayne Mansfield. Ken Tucker offers and appreciation of George Clinton. Maron talks about the decision to end his WTF podcast.
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Remembering composer and musical satirist Tom Lehrer
Lehrer, who died July 26, wrote numerous satirical songs, including "Pollution" and "The Vatican Rag." In the latter half of his life, he also taught math at Harvard and MIT.
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Actor Griffin Dunne revisits his Hollywood childhood in 'The Friday Afternoon Club'
Dunne talks about fame, growing up in a family of storytellers, and the trauma the family experienced after the 1982 murder of his sister, Dominique. Originally broadcast June 10, 2025.
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'Code of Silence' is a twisty crime series with an unsentimental take on deafness
A new BritBox series centers on a deaf woman who works in a police station, and whose lip-reading abilities come in handy when the precinct needs help interpreting surveillance footage.
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'The Colonel and The King' dives into the relationship between Elvis and his manager
Biographer Peter Guralnick paints a surprising portrait of Presley's long-time manager, Col. Tom Parker: "He had nothing whatsoever to do with the music other than to defend Elvis' choices."
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Has NASA ceded its mission to Elon Musk?
The Atlantic journalist Franklin Foer explains how SpaceX and the Trump administration are changing the face of NASA, and why Musk's dream of Mars may come at the cost of the agency's mission.
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50 years after 'Mothership Connection,' George Clinton remains an artistic force
Clinton is the leader of two important funk bands, Parliament and Funkadelic. In 1975, Parliament released Mothership Connection, a loose concept album about funk musicians as galactic invaders.
