Fresh Air from WHYY

Schedule

88.5-1

Monday - Thursday

3:00 pm

88.3

Monday - Thursday

3:00 pm

88.5-3

Friday

3:00 pm

Fresh Air opens the window on contemporary arts and issues with guests from worlds as diverse as literature and economics.

Terry Gross hosts this multi-award-winning daily interview and features program. The veteran public radio interviewer is known for her extraordinary ability to engage guests of all dispositions. Every weekday she delights intelligent and curious listeners with revelations on contemporary societal concerns.

Find more information about Fresh Air.

Wednesday, April 3, 2013

'Burgess Boys' Family Saga Explores The Authenticity Of Imperfection

Elizabeth Strout is best known for her short story collection Olive Kitteridge, which won the Pulitzer Prize for fiction in 2009. Her new book is a novel, and critic Maureen Corrigan says it's a different type of winner.

A Father Tells The Story Of His Son's Struggle To Stay 'Clean'

"The view that drug use is a moral choice is pervasive, pernicious and wrong," writes David Sheff in Clean, a critical look at the nation's approach to drug treatment. Sheff argues that we should not wait for "rock bottom" — that addiction should be treated promptly, just like any other disease.

Tuesday, April 2, 2013

Kacey Musgraves: Country's Blunt And Poetic New Voice

The talented young singer-songwriter has as much in common with John Prine as she does with Kenny Chesney. With any luck, Same Trailer, Different Park is the start of a long career that will make both Musgraves' core audience and other open-minded listeners sit up and take notice.

Hisham Matar: A 'Return' To Libya In Search Of His Father

The writer's family was living in Egypt, in exile from Libya, when Matar's father, a prominent opponent of the Qaddafi regime, was kidnapped, taken back to Libya, and imprisoned. That was in March 1990, and it was the last time Matar saw his father. After the revolution in March 2012, Matar returned to look for his father or at least try to find out what became of him.

Monday, April 1, 2013

Listening Back To An Interview With Phil Ramone

Ramone started out as a sound engineer for Lesley Gore, and went on to work with Simon and Garfunkel, Barbra Streisand and Frank Sinatra. He died Saturday at the age of 79. Fresh Air remembers him by listening back to a 1995 interview. He talks about losing old demos and being mistaken for a member of The Ramones.

In Digestion: Mary Roach Explains What Happens To The Food We Eat

With books like Stiff and Spook, Roach has built a reputation for making unpalatable subjects entertaining. In her new book, Gulp, she tackles the human digestive system, from the mouth on down. Along the way, she gets a sedation-free colonoscopy and goes on location for a fecal transplant.

Saturday, March 30, 2013

Fresh Air Weekend: Emmylou Harris, Rodney Crowell, Chris Hayes And 'Room 237'

Harris and Crowell always wanted to make an album together, but they never got around to it until now. After hosting a Sunday morning show on MSNBC, Hayes is making the move to weeknights. Obsessive fans of Kubrick's The Shining search for clues as to what the film is really about.

Thursday, March 28, 2013

Emmylou Harris And Rodney Crowell: Harmonizing To That 'Old Yellow Moon'

Emmylou Harris and Rodney Crowell have been friends and collaborators since they first met in 1974. While they always wanted to make an album together, they never got around to it until now. Old Yellow Moon includes songs by Crowell, Patti Scialfa, Johnny Cash, and Kris Kristofferson among others.

Wednesday, March 27, 2013

The Apathy In 'A Thousand Pardons' Is Hard To Forgive

The rich and good-looking get a taste of life among the 99 percent in Jonathan Dee's novels. In A Thousand Pardons, his protagonist, Helen Armstead, finds a secret talent for getting powerful men to apologize after her marriage falls apart and she is forced to enter the working world.

Chris Hayes: From 'Up' In The Morning To 'All In' At Night

After hosting his Sunday morning show on MSNBC for the past year and a half, Hayes is making the move to a weeknight news show that premieres April 1. At 34, Hayes will be the youngest prime-time anchor on any of the major cable news channels.

Tuesday, March 26, 2013

'Angry Days' Shows An America Torn Over Entering World War II

World War II is often thought of as a good and just war — a war the U.S. had to fight. But the decision wasn't that simple. Public debate was heated between interventionism, which President Roosevelt supported, and isolationism, which aviator Charles Lindbergh became an unofficial spokesman for.

Fresh Air Remembers Journalist Anthony Lewis

Anthony Lewis, the New York Times columnist and reporter who covered the Supreme Court in the late 1950s and early 1960s, died Monday. Fresh Air remembers him by listening back to a 1991 interview in which Lewis talks about the responsibilities of a columnist and the importance of a correctly-spelled name.

Monday, March 25, 2013

How And Why The Hollywood Star Machine Made 'Gods Like Us'

In a new book about movie stardom and fame, Boston Globe film critic Ty Burr looks at the evolving history of the relationship between movie stars and the people who love them, as well as at how changing technology influences the kinds of stars the public wants.

Remembering Chinua Achebe And The Importance Of Struggle

To remember Chinua Achebe who died last Thursday, Fresh Air listens back to an interview with the great African writer that originally aired on May 10, 1988. In it, Achebe talks about the literary trope of the white explorer or missionary living amongst the savages, and the importance of struggle.

Saturday, March 23, 2013

Fresh Air Weekend: Emily Rapp, Phil Spector, Philip Roth And Sea Chanteys

In The Still Point of the Turning World Rapp writes about caring for a terminally ill child. Phil Spector is based on the music producer, but it's fiction. Philip Roth is the subject of a PBS documentary. Tom Waits, Patti Smith and others appear on a new compilation of sea songs from Hal Willner.

Pages

Arts & Culture

NPR

More Time Together, Though 'Midnight' Looms

Julie Delpy and Ethan Hawke return for the third in Richard Linklater's loosely peerless Before series, and they've never been more persuasive — nor has the storytelling. (Recommended)

Food

NPR

The Great Charcoal Debate: Briquettes Or Lumps?

Does the kind of charcoal you use really make a difference when it comes to grilling up a tasty steak or other food on the grill? Yes — but deciding which one to use depends on what you're after. Both briquettes and lump charcoal — aka "natural" hardwood charcoal — have their advantages and disadvantages.

Politics

NPR

Obama's Terrorism Fight Is Colored Gray, Not Black And White

If President Obama's newly recalibrated counterterrorism strategy demonstrates anything, it is his penchant for nuance.

Technology

NPR

Google Reportedly Faces FTC Antitrust Probe Over Display Ads

The Federal Trade Commission is in the early stages of opening an antitrust probe into how Google runs its online display advertising business, according to a report by Bloomberg News, citing sources who want to remain anonymous because the FTC has not announced the probe.

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Fresh Air from WHYY

Arts & Culture

More Time Together, Though 'Midnight' Looms

Food

The Great Charcoal Debate: Briquettes Or Lumps?

Politics

Obama's Terrorism Fight Is Colored Gray, Not Black And White

Technology

Google Reportedly Faces FTC Antitrust Probe Over Display Ads

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