Fresh Air from WHYY

Schedule

88.5-3

Friday

3:00 pm

88.5-1

Monday - Thursday

3:00 pm

88.3

Monday - Thursday

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.

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Saturday, December 24, 2011

Fresh Air Weekend: Trent Reznor, Elmo

The man behind Nine Inch Nails discusses composing film music, his early days making music in Cleveland and his music. Also, Kevin Clash, the man behind Elmo,talks about performing with Jim Henson, and creating a fun, educational experience for preschool-aged children.

Friday, December 23, 2011

Singer Darrell Scott Reflects On His Father's Death

Country singer-songwriter Darrell Scott grew up performing with his father, Wayne. Last month, Darrell was in Texas in between gigs when he learned that his father had died in a car accident. Here, he reflects on his father's life and death, and reads a poem he wrote about his dad.

Thursday, December 22, 2011

Flicks, Picked (Redux): Edelstein's 2011 Top 10 Films

From a white-knuckle Wall Street chronicle to a modernized Shakespearean war story, the films on David Edelstein's best-of-the-year list tell solid stories new and old.

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.

Pages

Arts & Culture

NPR

Where's Jimmy Hoffa? Everywhere And Nowhere

FBI agents believe they have a credible lead on the whereabouts of Jimmy Hoffa's body. If they're right, it will solve a longstanding mystery, which will also deflate Hoffa's resonance in popular culture.

Food

WAMU 88.5

After Four Years Of Fighting, D.C. Council Approves New Rules For Food Trucks

The new rules create a long-awaited regulatory framework for what has become a popular and industry made up of over 150 food trucks.

Politics

WAMU 88.5

Virginia Democrats Seek To Chip Away At Republican Majority In House of Delegates

Thirteen first-time Democratic candidates said yesterday that they hoped to unseat Northern Virginia Republicans as part of a plan to get closer to a majority in the House of Delegates.

Technology

NPR

U.S. Automakers Are On A Roll, But Hiring Is Slow And Steady

Profits for the nation's carmakers are on the rise, but after years of doing more with less, higher profits are unlikely to translate into significant numbers of new jobs. There are eight fewer plants and hundreds of thousands fewer workers in the industry than before the Great Recession.

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Fresh Air from WHYY

Arts & Culture

Where's Jimmy Hoffa? Everywhere And Nowhere

Food

After Four Years Of Fighting, D.C. Council Approves New Rules For Food Trucks

Politics

Virginia Democrats Seek To Chip Away At Republican Majority In House of Delegates

Technology

U.S. Automakers Are On A Roll, But Hiring Is Slow And Steady

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