Accessibility links
Fresh Air 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
Fresh Air

Podcast Directory

Fresh Air

From 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

Most Recent Episodes

Someone Once Told Elton John He Would Never Be A Pop Star

Pop sensation Elton John wrapped up his farewell tour in 2023, only to pop up in a surprise concert at the October 2024 New York City premiere of the new documentary, "Elton John: Never Too Late." Still, as John reduces his public output — and as that documentary drops on the Disney+ streaming platform — we thought our listeners might like to hear again from the British music legend himself. Weekly bonus episodes like this, curated from our vast archive, are usually only available for our Fresh Air+ supporters. But today, in the spirit of giving, we're making this episode available to all. Not a Fresh Air+ supporter yet? Find out more, and join for yourself, at https://plus.npr.org/freshair. Listen to Elton John in 2013: https://n.pr/3BoEEYT| Listen to Elton John in 2019: https://n.pr/49ssSJG | Listen to 40+ years of Fresh Air's archives at https://FreshAirArchive.org.

Someone Once Told Elton John He Would Never Be A Pop Star

Listen · 21:51
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1197998044/1263346700" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">

Comic Bill Burr [Extended Version]

Burr talks with Terry Gross about processing his abusive childhood, a therapeutic mushroom trip, and why he's angry at liberals. "You can get canceled as a comedian for doing a friggin' Caitlyn Jenner joke, but this a**hole [Elon Musk] can 'Seig heil' and nothing. Where are all the liberals?" His new Hulu stand-up special is called Bill Burr: Drop Dead Years.

Comic Bill Burr [Extended Version]

Listen · 58:48
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1197998073/1267844181" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">

Starvation In American Jail Cells

New Yorker staff writer Sarah Stillman says she's discovered dozens of cases where people in county jails across the U.S. have died of starvation, dehydration, or related medical crises. Many were people with mental health issues arrested for minor crimes who languished behind bars without treatment, unable to make bail.

Starvation In American Jail Cells

Listen · 44:27
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1245273495/1269174842" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">

The Real-Life Russian Spies Who Inspired 'The Americans'

In The Illegals: Russia's Most Audacious Spies and Their Century-Long Mission to Infiltrate the West, journalist Shaun Walker shares how agents were trained to blend into a target country and posed as citizens. Walker tells the story of Andrei Olegovich Bezrukov, aka "Donald," and Elena Vavilova, aka "Tracey," who were embedded in Cambridge, Mass. until a 2010 FBI raid. Even their two children didn't know their parents' true identities.

The Real-Life Russian Spies Who Inspired 'The Americans'

Listen · 45:09
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1245044446/1269166073" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">

Melinda French Gates On Giving Away Her 'Absurd' Wealth

In a new memoir, billionaire Melinda French Gates writes about the end of her marriage to Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, and her ongoing philanthropic work, directing funds and attention to women's health initiatives. Her book is The Next Day.

Melinda French Gates On Giving Away Her 'Absurd' Wealth

Listen · 45:44
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1244802146/1269148172" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">

Richard Kind Is Glad He's Not That Famous

Kind is the announcer and host sidekick on the Netflix show Everybody's Live with John Mulaney. "I don't know what the hell I'm doing. You must understand — it's anarchy," he says of the show. He spoke with Terry Gross about having ego but no confidence, working with Sondheim, and working in his father's jewelry store as a teen.

Richard Kind Is Glad He's Not That Famous

Listen · 46:07
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1244690935/1269127208" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">

Best Of: Jason Isbell / David Tennant

Grammy-winning singer-songwriter Jason Isbell sings about his split from musician Amanda Shires on his latest album, Foxes in the Snow. "What I was attempting to do is document a very specific time where I was going through a lot of changes," he tells Terry Gross.

Best Of: Jason Isbell / David Tennant

Listen · 48:59
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1244295227/1269024981" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">

'Hacks' Returns! With Jean Smart, Hannah Einbinder, Paul W. Downs

The Emmy and Peabody Award-winning comedy series returns for a fourth season this week. It's about two women — a successful comic/TV personality in her 70s, and her 20-something comedy writer — and the generational clashes that ensue. We're revisiting interviews with stars Jean Smart and Hannah Einbinder, and Paul W. Downs who co-created the series and plays their manager.

'Hacks' Returns! With Jean Smart, Hannah Einbinder, Paul W. Downs

Listen · 46:31
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1244093032/1269070059" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">

The Dark Secrets Of Johnson & Johnson

Johnson & Johnson recently lost a bid to settle lawsuits that claimed its talc powder products, including baby powder, caused cancer. Author Gardiner Harris says the company's defense "is beginning to crumble." His book is No More Tears.

The Dark Secrets Of Johnson & Johnson

Listen · 44:32
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1243870143/1269063483" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">

Trump's Tariffs & The Radical Remaking Of The Global Economy

President Trump's sweeping tariff policy has upended the global economy. Zanny Minton Beddoes, the editor-in-chief of The Economist, likens it to The Art of the Deal — on steroids.

Trump's Tariffs & The Radical Remaking Of The Global Economy

Listen · 44:53
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1243652735/1269045256" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
Fresh Air

Podcast Directory
or search npr.org