Fresh Air
Weekdays at 7:00pm
Opening the window on contemporary arts and issues with guests from worlds as diverse as literature and economics.
Film offers 'Hard Truths' about why some people are happy — and others are miserable
Marianne Jean-Baptiste gives a phenomenal performance as a profoundly unhappy woman. There isn't a lot of plot, but director Mike Leigh builds his stories from the details and detritus of daily life.
How Trump sought to use fake electors, conspiracy theories to remain in power
by Terry Gross
New York Times reporter Luke Broadwater says Trump and his allies were fixated on reversing the election: "It seemed like crazy stuff at the time ... but obviously it got extremely serious on Jan. 6."
How did the Republican Party become the party of Trump?
by Terry Gross
New York Times reporter Jeremy Peters says the religious right and social conservatives "got basically everything that they wanted" from Trump's presidency. Peters' new book is Insurgency.
'Pam & Tommy' asks smart questions about gossip, sexism and technology
by David Bianculli
Hulu's new series tells the story of Baywatch actress Pamela Anderson and Mötley Crüe drummer Tommy Lee, whose private sex tape was stolen in 1995 and subsequently distributed over the Internet.
Connie Smith shines as an interpreter of heartbreak on 2 new releases
by Ken Tucker
No woman in the history of country has cried as eloquently as Smith has. The album title, The Cry from the Heart, is the answer she's given over the years when asked to define country music.
'The Worst Person in the World' takes millennial angst to an exquisite new level
by Justin Chang
At first glance, the commitment-phobic woman at the film's center may seem to embody stereotypes about people her age, but this perceptive Norwegian dramedy doesn't reduce her to those assumptions.
From comedy to drama, 'Gilded Age' co-star Christine Baranski always finds her voice
Baranski started her career in theater and now co-stars in The Gilded Age on HBO. "I was a passionate acting student and nothing was going to stop me," she says. Originally broadcast June 25, 2020.
Remembering 'WKRP in Cincinnati' actor Howard Hesseman
by Terry Gross
Hesseman, who died Jan 29, performed in the San Francisco improv troupe The Committee in the 1960s and later played DJ Johnny Fever on WKRP from 1978 to 1982. Originally broadcast in 1988.