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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Fresh Air Weekend: Tilda Swinton; Adrien Brody

5:00am January 11, 2025

Swinton plays a woman dying of cancer in The Room Next Door. Justin Chang reviews Hard Truths. Brody drew on his family's immigration story for his role in The Brutalist.

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Frozen is the tale of sisters Anna and Elsa, whose relationship is captured in music by songwriters Robert Lopez and Kristen Anderson-Lopez.

Songwriters Behind 'Frozen' Let Go Of The Princess Mythology

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Edie Falco plays ER nurse Jackie Peyton, who is competent at her high-stress job but struggles with addiction. The sixth season of Nurse Jackie starts Sunday on Showtime.

Arts

Edie Falco On Sobriety, The Sopranos, And Nurse Jackie's Self-Medication

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Family dramas have always been one of television's most difficult genres to do properly, without getting too sweet, too overwrought, or too predictable — but NBC's Parenthood finds the right balance. Above, Ray Romano as Hank, Mae Whitman as Amber, and

Arts

'Parenthood' Is Hard, But NBC Gets This Family Drama Right

by David Bianculli

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In her memoir Living With a Wild God, Barbara Ehrenreich describes the mystical visions she had as a teenager.

A Nonbeliever Tries To Make Sense Of The Visions She Had As A Teen

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"If Jesus had not been declared God by his followers, his followers would've remained a sect within Judaism, a small Jewish sect," says historian Bart Ehrman.

If Jesus Never Called Himself God, How Did He Become One?

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Books
Arts

Peter Matthiessen On Writing And Zen Buddhism

Fresh Air listens back to our 1989 interview with Snow Leopard author and Paris Review co-founder Peter Matthiessen, who died Saturday at age 86. His new novel In Paradise comes out Tuesday.

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Demonstrators march down Constitution Avenue during the March on Washington on Aug. 28, 1963.

The Politics Of Passing 1964's Civil Rights Act

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Music & Culture

Carlene Carter Carries The Heavy Burden Of History Lightly

by Ken Tucker

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Arts

HBO Fills Sunday Night Lineup With Entertaining Power Struggles

by David Bianculli

This week, HBO airs the season premieres of two returning series — Game of Thrones and Veep -- and launches a new series called Silicon Valley. Fresh Air's TV critic has seen them all.

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Jolie Kerr says when you have a fresh red wine stain, pouring table salt — no water — on it will suck it right up. "You can go pour some wine on your carpet tonight and try it out!" she says.

Books
Arts

Embarrassing Stains? This Housekeeping Guide Gets That Life Is Messy

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While Warning Of Chinese Cyberthreat, U.S. Launches Its Own Attack

The NSA managed to penetrate the networks of the giant Chinese telecommunications firm Huawei, documents show. Journalist David Sanger says cyber-espionage is an "entirely new field of conflict."

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Music & Culture

Jon Langford Sings Our Impulse To Destroy

by Ken Tucker

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