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.
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When Oscar-winning filmmaker Guillermo del Toro was a kid growing up in Guadalajara, Mexico, he would draw monsters all day. His deeply Catholic grandmother even had him exorcised because of it. But when del Toro saw the 1931 film Frankenstein , his life changed. "I realized I understood my faith or my dogmas better through Frankenstein than through Sunday mass." His new adaptation of Mary Shelley's classic book drops on Netflix Nov. 7. He spoke with Terry Gross about getting over his fear of de...
How are changing tariffs, the AI boom, immigration policies and uncertainty in employment and the stock market impacting the economy? Zanny Minton Beddoes, editor-in-chief of The Economist , explains. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences. NPR Privacy Policy...
After surviving the Taliban's 2012 attempted assassination, activist Malala Yousafzai didn't back down. She continued to advocate for girls' education across the globe. In 2014, Yousafzai became the youngest person to win a Nobel Prize, an honor that weighed on her when she went off to college. In Finding My Way , she writes about her life at Oxford and beyond. She spoke with Tonya Mosley about reliving childhood, PTSD, and her decision to get married. Also, TV critic David Bianculli reviews the...
Burns' new six-part PBS documentary series includes the perspectives of women, Native Americans and enslaved and free Black people — all of whom were initially excluded from the declaration "all men are created equal." The series begins Nov. 16. Also, Lloyd Schwartz reviews a recording of Handel arias from soprano Julia Lezhneva. Follow Fresh Air on instagram @nprfreshair , and subscribe to our weekly newsletter for gems from the Fresh Air archive, staff recommendations, and a peek behind the sc...
Journalist and filmmaker Julian Brave Noisecat shares his personal and historical journey exploring Canadian missionary boarding schools, revealing his father's abandonment and the deep-seated trauma within Indigenous communities, alongside his path to reconciliation. The episode also features an interview with Grammy-winning Icelandic musician Laufey, who discusses her unique blend of jazz, classical, and pop music, her inspirations, and how her multicultural upbringing shaped her artistic identity. Additionally, there's a review of the documentary "John Candy, I Like Me," paying tribute to the beloved comic actor.
The new movie Fairyland , produced by Sofia Coppola, is adapted from the memoir by Alysia Abbott. She wrote about being the child of a gay single father at the dawn of the gay liberation movement. He raised her in 1970’s San Francisco, after her mother died. He later died from complications from AIDS. Abbott spoke with Terry Gross in 2013. John Powers reviews the new film Blue Moon , directed by Richard Linklater. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data ...
Filmmaker and writer Julian Brave NoiseCat is the son of an Indigenous Canadian father and white mother. After a cultural genocide, he says, living your life becomes an existential question. "To live a life in an Indigenous way is a kind of profound thing, and it has been really beautiful to get to make art and tell stories from that position." NoiseCat spoke with Terry Gross about his father's origin story, dancing at powwows, and the bonds of kinship. His new memoir, We Survived the Night , ta...
Former State Department negotiator Aaron David Miller, now a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, attributes the Gaza deal in part to Trump's transactional nature and breaking of traditional diplomatic crockery. Miller spoke with Dave Davies about the prospects for lasting peace and recovery in the territory. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences. NPR Privacy...
The incomparable Diane Keaton died last week at age 79. Her career spanned more than five decades and 60 film and TV roles, including standout performances in Marvin's Room, Reds , The First Wives Club and Something’s Gotta Give . But it was her starring role in the Woody Allen classic Annie Hall that made Keaton an American film icon. The Oscar-winning actor spoke with Terry Gross in 1997 about finding the character's voice, her audition for The Godfather , and what she wants in a director. Als...
Albom's new novel, Twice , asks a question most of us have daydreamed about: what if you could go back and relive any moment of your life? In the book, a man is born with that exact power, but every second chance comes with a cost. Albom talks with Tonya Mosley about his new book, and the lasting influence of Morrie Schwartz, his old college professor who died in 1995 of ALS. Nearly 30 years ago, Albom chronicled their weekly visits in his bestselling book Tuesdays With Morrie . Since then, he h...
WWE superstar Dwayne Johnson plays MMA fighter Mark Kerr in Benny Safdie's The Smashing Machine . "The Rock" spoke with Terry Gross about the role, his many injuries, and his wrestling personas. For the first seven years of her life, Cristela Alonzo lived in an abandoned diner in a south Texas border town. She spoke with Terry Gross about the culture shock of having money after growing up so poor and the recent ICE raids in L.A. Her new Netflix stand-up special is called Upper Classy . See pcm.a...
Today we’re remembering renowned primatologist Jane Goodall, known for her work researching the behavior of chimpanzees and protecting their habitats. She died last week at the age of 91. "Every time somebody discovers an animal doing something that we used to think was unique to us, there is this scientific uproar, because we [humans] have to keep our uniqueness. And of course the chimps have challenged this belief again and again and again," Goodall told Terry Gross in 1999. John Powers review...
President Trump has deployed National Guard troops to Portland, Chicago and D.C., and while Democrat-led states are fighting back, some Republican-led states are welcoming the troops -- even requesting them. Tonya Mosley talks with Atlantic national security staff writer Nancy Youssef about these deployments and the tensions building inside the Pentagon. Defense Secretary Hegseth has told military leaders the “old military is over." "The decisions that are being made now will reshape the militar...
Icelandic jazz-pop star Laufey spoke with Terry Gross about her classical training in cello, breaking out online during COVID, and her first arena tour. "I've been inspired by Golden Age films, the va-va-voom of it all," the Grammy-winning artist says. Laufey sings and plays in the studio throughout the conversation. Her new album is A Matter of Time . Also, Ken Tucker reviews Taylor Swift's The Life of a Showgirl . Follow Fresh Air on instagram @nprfreshair , and subscribe to our weekly newslet...
Journalist and Dopesick author Beth Macy returned to the Ohio factory town where she grew up to find jobs have left, families are struggling and old friends now embrace conspiracy theories. She spoke with Dave Davies about her new memoir, Paper Girl: A Memoir of Home and Family in a Fractured America. Also, TV critic David Bianculli shares an appreciation of Twilight Zone writer/producer Rod Serling. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorshi...
As the nation’s 24th Poet Laureate, Ada Limón has spent her career writing about the hardest parts of being human: loss, grief, longing, and our relationship to nature. She believes that poetry can sometimes tell a better story than a traditional memoir. Limón spoke with Tonya Mosley about her new collection, Startlement . Also, Ken Tucker reviews the re-release of the album Buckingham Nicks . Follow Fresh Air on instagram @nprfreshair , and subscribe to our weekly newsletter for gems from the F...
Oscar-nominated actors Scarlett Johansson and June Squibb talk about their new film, Eleanor The Great. In Johansson's directorial debut, a woman starts passing off her deceased friend's Holocaust survival story as her own. Also, Grammy-winning producer Mark Ronson talks about his memoir Night People —a love letter to the '90s club scene in New York City. He's 50 now and still DJing, but some things have definitely changed. "I used to be leaving the club and dialing the dealer on the way out of ...
A film about a man trying to fund a gender-affirming operation by robbing a bank sounds like a modern-day plot. But 50 years ago, that was the scenario for the classic film Dog Day Afternoon . We're featuring our interviews with director Sidney Lumet and with Al Pacino, who starred as the bank robber. Lumet gave his lead license to take the role as far as he wanted, and then pushed Pacino to do more. "It's really one of the best pieces of movie acting I've ever seen. It was blinding in its inten...
The WWE superstar considered pursuing a career in mixed martial arts before realizing, "I don't like getting punched in the face." Johnson plays MMA fighter Mark Kerr in Benny Safdie's The Smashing Machine . He spoke with Terry Gross about his many injuries, his relationship with his late father, and his wrestling personas. Follow Fresh Air on instagram @nprfreshair , and subscribe to our weekly newsletter for gems from the Fresh Air archive, staff recommendations, and a peek behind the scenes. ...
President Trump is pressuring the Department of Justice to pursue his political enemies, like former FBI director James Comey. Legal scholar (and former U.S. attorney) Barbara McQuade explains how this damages the rule of law. Follow Fresh Air on instagram @nprfreshair , and subscribe to our weekly newsletter for gems from the Fresh Air archive, staff recommendations, and a peek behind the scenes. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship a...
Oscar and Grammy-winning music producer Mark Ronson says nothing beats the rush of a great DJ set. "You can call it the scream, the chant, whatever it is. It's like clay or Play-Doh, like the whole crowd is this thing that you're able to mold together. It's incredible. It's kind of why I can't stop DJing," he tells Tonya Mosley. "It's still a feeling that I only get from this one thing, no matter what else I do in my work as a producer." His new memoir, Night People, is a love letter to the 1990...
For the first seven years of her life, Cristela Alonzo lived in an abandoned diner in a south Texas border town. She spoke with Terry Gross about ICE raids, being mentored by labor activist Dolores Huerta, and the culture shock of having money after growing up so poor. Her new Netflix stand-up special is called Upper Classy . See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences. NPR Privacy Policy...
After the tremendous success of Salt Fat Acid Heat , chef and author Samin Nosrat realized she needed to recalibrate her life. "I really believed on some level if I achieved all of these things, that that would fill this hole of loneliness in my heart," she tells Fresh Air's Sam Briger. Nosrat's new book, Good Things , is about sharing food with the people you love. Elizabeth Gilbert, the bestselling author of Eat Pray Love , talks to Tonya Mosley about her new memoir, All the Way to the River ....
With Jimmy Kimmel Live! at the center of a free speech debate, we're revisiting Kimmel's 2013 interview with Terry Gross. The late night host talked about his David Letterman obsession as a teen and the pressure of putting on a late night show. Also, TV critic David Bianculli reviews House of Guinness , the new Netflix series by Stephen Knight, who brought us the shows Peaky Blinders and A Thousand Blows . Film critic Justin Chang reviews the new action-thriller One Battle After Another , by dir...
Actor Scarlett Johansson makes her directorial debut with Eleanor The Great , about a 94-year-old woman who claims her dead friend's Holocaust story as her own. "It's rare to feel surprised when you read a script," Johansson says. Squibb stars as Eleanor. They spoke with Tonya Mosley about Squibb's Broadway nickname, Johansson's memories of working with the late Robert Redford, and hosting SNL . See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and...
After the tremendous success of Salt Fat Acid Heat , chef and author Samin Nosrat realized she needed to recalibrate her life. "I really believed on some level if I achieved all of these things, that that would fill this hole of loneliness in my heart," she tells Fresh Air 's Sam Briger. Nosrat's new book, Good Things , is about sharing food with the people you love. Also, Justin Chang reviews Big Bold Beautiful Journey , starring Colin Farrell and Margot Robbie. See pcm.adswizz.com for informat...
Elizabeth Gilbert's new memoir, All the Way to the River , is an unflinching personal account of addiction, grief, and healing. The book tells the story of her relationship with Rayya Elias, first her hairstylist and friend, and later her romantic partner, who died of pancreatic and liver cancer in 2018. Gilbert writes about leaving her marriage for Rayya, the devotion and chaos of that love, and her own dangerous impulses. The Eat, Pray, Love author spoke with Tonya Mosley about her recovery fr...
Jude Law now stars in the thriller series Black Rabbit on Netflix. He spoke with Tonya Mosley about the show, working with a dialect coach, and why he worked with a perfumer to play Henry VIII. Rock critic Ken Tucker shares some of his favorite music releases of the fall, and Pedro Pascal talks about how his dance training helped him become a better actor in action roles. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast ...
The legendary actor died Tuesday at age 89. He spoke with Terry Gross about his movies, creating the Sundance Film Festival and Institute, and why he couldn't wait to leave school and Southern California. "I wasn't learning the way I was supposed to learn. I realized that my education was going to happen when I got out in the world." Interviews are from 1998 and 2013. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast spon...
Jude Law's new Netflix series Black Rabbit with Jason Bateman follows two brothers in New York City, one a successful restaurateur, the other on the run and in debt. He spoke with Tonya Mosley about the series, using a perfumer to get into character to play Henry VIII and why he almost turned down his break-out role in The Talented Mr. Ripley. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences. NPR ...
