Fresh Air
Weekdays at 7:00pm
Opening the window on contemporary arts and issues with guests from worlds as diverse as literature and economics.
A woman invented the rape kit. So why was a man given credit for it?
Rape kits were widely known as "Vitullo Kits" after a Chicago police sergeant. But a new book tells the story of Marty Goddard, a community activist who worked with runaway teenagers in the 1970s.
Remembering jazz pianist and composer Jessica Williams
by Terry Gross
Williams was a dazzling player and a favorite at Fresh Air. She died March 10 at 73. We'll listen back to her 1997 performance and interview.
Remembering comic Gilbert Gottfried
by Terry Gross
Gottfried was known for his unusual voice and cranky stage persona — which made him a perfect fit to play the evil parrot Iago in Disney's Aladdin. He spoke with Fresh Air in 1992.
The midterm elections will show if Trump is still a 'kingmaker'
by Terry Gross
NYT's Shane Goldmacher says Trump doles out endorsements to Republican candidates to elevate allies, punish enemies and make the 'Big Lie', that the 2020 election was stolen, into a party litmus test.
Kazuo Ishiguro draws on his songwriting past to write novels about the future
by Terry Gross
The Nobel Prize-winning novelist explains how he honed his craft earlier in his career. His book, Klara and the Sun, is set in the future and has an A.I. narrator. Originally published March 17, 2021.
Emily St. John Mandel tackles the big questions in 'Sea of Tranquility'
by Maureen Corrigan
Mandel's latest work is an ingeniously constructed, deeply absorbing novel that summons up three fully realized worlds in three distinct time periods — including the 25th century.