Fresh Air
Weekdays at 7:00pm
Opening the window on contemporary arts and issues with guests from worlds as diverse as literature and economics.
Questlove charts 50 years of SNL musical hits (and misses)
Questlove's documentary, Ladies & Gentlemen... 50 Years of SNL Music, highlights the show's most iconic musical performances and comedy sketches — and addresses the show's "unhummable" theme song.
Ornette Coleman Returns With His Unmistakable Sound
by Kevin Whitehead
Jazz saxophonist Coleman, who is almost 85, rarely makes records any more. In New Vocabulary, he joins up trumpet and drums — and peppers his solos with his signature catchy and earthy pet phrases.
Fresh Air Remembers Former U.S. Poet Laureate Philip Levine
Levine's work often reflected the hardships and dignity of manual labor. He died Feb. 14 in Fresno, Calif. He was 87. In 1991, Levine spoke with Terry Gross about his collection What Work Is.
Fresh Air Remembers Lesley Gore Who Sang Hits Including 'You Don't Own Me'
Gore is known for her Top 40 sensations such as It's My Party, produced by Quincy Jones. Her last album was released in 2005, the year she came out as a lesbian. She died Monday at the age of 68.
In These Six 'Wild Tales,' Humans Morph Into Destructive Forces Of Nature
by David Edelstein
The Argentinean film co-produced by Pedro Almodovar is up for an Oscar for best foreign language film. It features a drunk teenager who runs over a woman and an angry bride at a glitzy Jewish wedding.
Robert Earl Keen Delves Into Bluegrass With A Texan Twang
by Ken Tucker
The singer-songwriter usually follows in the story-song tradition of his forebears Townes Van Zant and Guy Clark. But in Happy Prisoner he brings enthusiastic curiosity to covers of bluegrass greats.
The Furniture Company That Sang The Blues
by Ed Ward
In the mid-1920s, Paramount Records was the leading blues label in America. The second box set featuring this music was released in late 2014.
The Politics Of Passing 1964's Civil Rights Act
The act, which turned 50 last year, ended the era of legal segregation in public accommodations, like restaurants and hotels. Author Todd Purdum talks about the battles that surrounded it.
If You Strip The Bondage, '50 Shades' Is A Conventional Love Story
by David Edelstein
The film, based on E.L. James' best-selling novel, has been denounced by decency brigades. But it's a surprisingly mild, corny romance that affirms traditional values: It's Jane Eyre with ropes.