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Fresh Air
Weekdays at 7:00pm
Opening the window on contemporary arts and issues with guests from worlds as diverse as literature and economics.
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Rachel Kushner's new espionage thriller may be her coolest book yet
In Creation Lake, a hard-drinking American spy infiltrates a radical farming collective in a remote region of France. Kushner challenges readers to keep up with her and not to flinch.
A Filmmaker's 'Quest' For A Quiet Family Portrait Is Pierced By Unforeseen Trauma
Jonathan Olshefski spent 10 years filming Christopher Rainey and his family, who run a recording studio in a working-class African-American section of North Philadelphia. Then their daughter was shot.
'The Post' Is A Crackling Newsroom Thriller With Electrifying Relevance
by Justin Chang
Steven Spielberg's new drama revisits The Washington Post's 1971 decision to publish the Pentagon Papers in defiance of the Nixon administration. Justin Chang calls it "terrifically entertaining."
A Look Back At 4 Jazz Luminaries Who Died In 2017
by Kevin Whitehead
Kevin Whitehead remembers alto saxophonist Arthur Blythe, pianist Geri Allen, guitarist John Abercrombie and singer Jon Hendricks. Each "helped shape jazz after the upheavals of the 1960s," he says.
A Writer Remembers The Quake That Rocked Mexico City, And Brought Its People Together
by Dagoberto Gilb
Dagoberto Gilb was fulfilling a dream to be in Mexico City for an extended stay when an earthquake struck on Sept. 19, 2017. Amidst the destruction, he says, there was a feeling of collective resolve.
How Battles Over Sex, Gender And Sexual Orientation 'Fractured American Politics'
Moral Combat author R. Marie Griffith says the fight for women's suffrage and legal birth control in the early 20th century helped create a political divide in the U.S. that still exists today.
In A Year Of Heartbreak And Reckoning, 12 Films Remind Us Of Cinema's Greatness
by Justin Chang
Film critic Justin Chang picks his top 12 movies of the year, pairing them thematically, from Call Me By Your Name and The Florida Project, to War For The Planet of the Apes and Dunkirk.
'American Seafood' Author Recommends Putting 'Underloved' Fish On the Plate
Chef and sustainable seafood advocate Barton Seaver works to get people excited about fish. He says there are lots of species that are not endangered that we should be eating, like Hake.
For Novelist Jennifer Egan, 'The Joy Of Writing Is Being Delivered Out Of My Life'
by Sam Briger
"I don't use my life as inspiration," says the Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist. Her new book, Manhattan Beach, imagines the lives of the women who worked on the Brooklyn Navy Yard during World War II.
'Last Jedi' Puts The Smarts — And The Heart — Back Into The 'Star Wars' Franchise
by David Edelstein
The late Carrie Fisher makes her final appearance — now as General Leia — in Star Wars Episode VIII. Critic David Edelstein says The Last Jedi is nothing short of terrific.
How Katharine Graham Defied A Federal Judge To Publish The Pentagon Papers
Graham, who died in 2001, held the title of publisher at The Washington Post from 1969 until 1979. She spoke to Fresh Air in 1997 about her 1971 decision to publish the top-secret documents.