Fresh Air

Weekdays at 7:00pm

Opening the window on contemporary arts and issues with guests from worlds as diverse as literature and economics.

These 2 funny books give readers a reason to smile in tough times

1:35pm April 21, 2025

Dorothy Parker's posthumously published collection is Poems; Camilla Barnes' debut novel is The Usual Desire to Kill. Both affirm: sharp humor can be grounded in pain.

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Eleven-year-old Jaron "Bear" Williams practices trumpet before marching in his first Mardi Gras season. The Whole Gritty City follows young student marching bands as they prepare for coveted spots in the New Orleans parade.

Arts

In 'Whole Gritty City,' Marching Bands Vie For Coveted Mardi Gras Spots

by David Bianculli

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Most of us have never been submerged under more than a few feet underwater. But just a few meters down, the water compresses the tissues of your body so that you become more dense. At that point, "You're more likely to sink than float," says Dr. Kevin Fon

Books
Arts

Practicing 'Extreme Medicine,' From Deep Sea To Outer Space

by NPR Staff

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Music & Culture

In Session: Frank Wess' 'Magic 201' Offers One Last Lesson

by Kevin Whitehead

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Brian McGough and Kayla Williams met in Iraq in 2003.

Books
Arts

For Military Couples, It's A Long Recovery 'When We Get Home'

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Music & Culture

Hangin' Tuff: Eric Church Takes A Chance On 'The Outsiders'

by Ken Tucker

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"The term 'vegan leather' makes me think that you peeled a carrot and took the skin and made a jacket out of it," says Tim Gunn, pictured above at the Under the Gunn finale fashion show.

Fresh Air Weekend: Tim Gunn, 'Borgen' And The Parenting Paradox

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Members of The Beatles play in the snow outside Washington, D.C.'s Coliseum where they were scheduled to perform before a sell-out audience in 1964.

Music & Culture

Fresh Air Celebrates The 50th Anniversary Of The Beatles' Arrival

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Critic David Edelstein says that The Monuments Men has "an all-star cast" — including Matt Damon and Cate Blanchett — but that "the stars are all low-wattage."

Arts

Masterpieces In Peril, 'Monuments Men' Protects, But Also Panders

by David Edelstein

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Susan Crawford says that in cities like Seoul and Stockholm, high-speed, high-capacity networks are taken for granted. "It really is astonishing what's going on in America," she says. "We're falling way behind in the pack of developed nations when it come

National

Author: When It Comes To High-Speed Internet, U.S. 'Falling Way Behind'

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Music & Culture

Before He Joined Congress, A South African Janitor's Disco Past

by Milo Miles

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Arts

Tim Gunn: On And Off The Runway, 'Life Is A Big Collaboration'

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detail from cover of The Yellow Eyes of Crocodiles

Books
Arts

Triumph Of The Bookworms: Two Novels To Cure Your Winter Blues

by Maureen Corrigan

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