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.

Thursday, December 22, 2011

Hugh Martin's 'Hidden Treasures' Explored

Martin wrote "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" for Judy Garland's 1944 movie Meet Me in St. Louis, along with dozens of other songs for MGM and Broadway musicals. His career is celebrated on a new CD and 88-page booklet with essays by Stephen Sondheim and Michael Feinstein.

Wednesday, December 21, 2011

El Rego: A Singer From Benin With Soul And Funk

For many years, the search for unknown or forgotten soul singers has dug deeply into music archives. But surprises still turn up. Music critic Milo Miles says this year's best discovery is a West African singer and bandleader named El Rego.

A Foreign Correspondent Reflects On The Arab Spring

For the past year, veteran war correspondent Anthony Shadid has been reporting on the Arab uprisings in Egypt, Libya, Syria, Bahrain and Tunisia. Last March, he was kidnapped and beaten by security forces in Libya. "It remains one of the scariest moments of my life," he says.

Tuesday, December 20, 2011

Ken Tucker's Top 10: The Year In Music

Fresh Air's critic looks back on a fruitful year and lists his favorite music releases of 2011.

Bianculli Picks The Best (And Worst) TV Of 2011

Fresh Air's TV critic reveals his top 10 list of the year's best shows, from a political drama on Showtime to a "risky" comedy on ABC. Bianculli also reveals which shows are the worst to hit screens this year — including not one but two shows featuring Snooki.

The Story Of The Chitlin' Circuit's Great Performers

Before the Civil Rights movement, segregated American cities helped give birth to the Chitlin' Circuit, a touring revue that provided employment for hundreds of black musicians. Rock historian Ed Ward profiles two recent books which illuminate the conditions these musicians endured.

Monday, December 19, 2011

The Left Banke: Teenage Pioneers Of Jangle-Pop

In the 1960s, it was hard to form a rock band, especially in New York. With connections, though, you could make it — and that's how one of the most mysterious and legendary New York bands, The Left Banke, came to be.

Trent Reznor: The Fresh Air Interview

The man behind Nine Inch Nails composed the music for the U.S. film adaption of The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo. Here, he discusses composing the film's unsettling score, his early days making music in Cleveland and his work with Nine Inch Nails.

Saturday, December 17, 2011

Fresh Air Weekend: Louis C.K., Sports Journalism

Louis C.K reflects on his award-winning TV series, his relationship with other comedians and his USO appearances. Also, sports journalist John Feinstein explains how he's gotten some of the most talented and temperamental athletes and coaches in the world to talk to him.

Friday, December 16, 2011

An 'Impossible' Mission Full Of Fun And Wonder

Director Brad Bird makes his live-action debut with Ghost Protocol, the latest film in the Mission: Impossible franchise starring Tom Cruise. Critic David Edelstein says the movie is "wonderful fun" and "in a different league than its predecessors."

Wilhelm Furtwangler: A Complex German Composer

German conductor Wilhelm Furtwangler is regarded as one of the greatest musicians of the 20th century, but his legacy was affected by his decision to stay in Germany during WWII. Classical music critic Lloyd Schwartz looks at how Furtwangler is seen today.

Tracing Ballet's Cultural History Over 400 Years

Ballet's history is not just about choreography and technique — it's also a history of nationalization, the changing ways we view the body, shifting gender norms and class struggles. Historian Jennifer Homans chronicles the art form in a cultural history, Apollo's Angels.

Thursday, December 15, 2011

Reviving 'Songs For The Jewish-American Jet Set'

Tikva Records was founded as an independent Jewish record label in 1947. For the next 30 years, it would record everything from folk songs to klezmer pop. A new compilation celebrates the now-defunct label, which once recorded some of the Jewish music world's biggest names.

Kevin Clash: The Man Behind Elmo

For more than 20 years, puppeteer Kevin Clash has been the voice behind the lovable red monster on Sesame Street. Both Clash "and" Elmo talk with Terry Gross about performing with Jim Henson, and creating a fun, educational experience for preschool-aged children.

Wednesday, December 14, 2011

'Three Views' Of Trumpeter Dave Douglas

Douglas' three very different quintet albums sound very good together, says critic Kevin Whitehead.

Pages

Arts & Culture

NPR

'Lunch Lady' Author Helps Students Draw Their Own Heroes

Can you imagine your own superhero? That's the question author and illustrator Jarrett Krosoczka posed to kids on a recent afternoon at a school in Washington, D.C. Krosoczka also described how he overcame a difficult childhood to become the author of the beloved Lunch Lady series.

Food

NPR

Oprah Winfrey's Latest Venture Is Farming In Hawaii

After Oprah Winfrey's friend and health adviser learned that 90 percent of the food on Maui is flown or shipped in from outside, he convinced her to turn a portion of her estate on the island into a farm. Winfrey is giving away the food she's now growing on 16 acres of land, but it may soon be for sale.

Politics

NPR

Health Officials Decry Texas' Snubbing Of Medicaid Billions

The state is turning down an estimated $100 billion of federal funds that would have paid for health care coverage for more than a million poor Texans. For Gov. Rick Perry and the state's Republican-dominated Legislature, the potential appearance of supporting "Obamacare" was too much.

Technology

NPR

3-D Printer Makes Life-Saving Splint For Baby Boy's Airway

A 3-D printer is being credited with helping to save an Ohio baby's life, after doctors "printed" a tube to support a weak airway that caused him to stop breathing. The innovative procedure has allowed Kaiba Gionfriddo, of Youngstown, Ohio, to stay off a ventilator for more than a year.

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Fresh Air from WHYY

Arts & Culture

'Lunch Lady' Author Helps Students Draw Their Own Heroes

Food

Oprah Winfrey's Latest Venture Is Farming In Hawaii

Politics

Health Officials Decry Texas' Snubbing Of Medicaid Billions

Technology

3-D Printer Makes Life-Saving Splint For Baby Boy's Airway

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