
Fresh Air
Weekdays at 7:00pm
Opening the window on contemporary arts and issues with guests from worlds as diverse as literature and economics.

Jason Isbell confronts the pain of divorce, and the possibility of new love
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 says.
'Lights on a Satellite' revisits a three-set Sun Ra show from 1978
by Kevin Whitehead
The Philadelphia bandleader didn't always connect with traditional jazz audiences, but he found a second home doing so in Baltimore. A new double album revisit a show he and his "Arkestra" gave there.
Miranda July talks 'All Fours' -- and the risks and rewards of changing your life
by Terry Gross
July's been surprised by the reaction to her novel, which centers on a 45-year-old married woman who has an erotic affair: "I've had people tell me that ... it was all there, all their true feelings."
With a January ban looming, TikTok's future in the U.S. is more uncertain than ever
by Tonya Mosley
A new law gives TikTok a Jan. 19 deadline to sell to a non-Chinese company or face a nationwide ban. Law professor Alan Rozenshtein explains what this means and how President-elect Trump might intervene.
A critic looks back at some of the year's most striking culture moments
by John Powers
John Powers celebrates the books, shows and performances that stayed with him, including Miranda July's novel All Fours, Interior Chinatown on Netflix and an iconic Olympic moment with Simone Biles.
Women hit-makers brought aggression and vulnerability to pop music in 2024
by Ken Tucker
The year in pop pivoted around a trio of artists — Charli XCX, Sabrina Carpenter and Chappell Roan — whose music hinged upon assertions of creative ambition and admissions of romantic weakness.
Why comic Ronny Chieng initially didn't tell his parents about his 'Daily Show' gig
by Terry Gross
"I didn't want to brag," the Malaysian-born comic says. "I just wanted to do the work." Chieng now costars in the series Interior Chinatown, and has a new Netflix comedy special, Love to Hate It.
'Wicked' star Cynthia Erivo says she often sings 'with a bit of a smile'
The British actor and singer played abolitionist Harriet Tubman in Harriet, and Aretha Franklin in Genius: Aretha. Now she's defying gravity as Elphaba in Wicked. Originally broadcast Oct. 18, 2021.
Holiday offerings by Ben Folds and others offer devout takes on the season
by Ken Tucker
Rock critic Ken Tucker picks his favorite new Christmas songs, including "Christmas Time Rhyme," by Ben Folds; "Glow," by Little Big Town; and "Maybe this Christmas," by Jason Kelce and Stevie Nicks.