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.

Queue Listen Now

In Saving Mr. Banks, Emma Thompson plays Mary Poppins author P.L. Travers, who, Thompson says, hated the whole idea of having her book made into a film.

Arts

Not-So-Cheery Disposition: Emma Thompson On Poppins' Cranky Creator

Queue Listen Now

Music & Culture

Kenny Clarke, Inventor Of Modern Jazz Drumming, At 100

by Kevin Whitehead

Queue Listen Now

IFC's The Spoils Of Babylon follows a sister (Kristin Wiig) and adopted brother (Tobey Maguire) caught up in a passionate romance.

Arts

On TV This Week: 'Babylon' Has Good Fun, 'Detective' Is The Real Deal

by David Bianculli

Queue Listen Now

Pussy Riot members Yekaterina Samutsevich (left), Maria Alyokhina and Nadezhda Tolokonnikova sit in a glass-walled cage in a Moscow court on Oct. 10, 2012.

The 'Pussy Riot' Arrests, And The Crackdown That Followed

Queue Listen Now

Gary Shteyngart's work has been translated into 26 languages.

Books
Arts

'You Can't Be This Furry' And Other Life Lessons From Gary Shteyngart

Queue Listen Now

Graham Nash Has 'Wild Tales' To Spare

Queue Listen Now

Michelle Dockery's Lady Mary is in deep mourning as Downton Abbey returns for a fourth season on PBS.

Arts

'Downton' Returns, And It's As Rich As Ever

by David Bianculli

Queue Listen Now

A young man looking sad while sitting on the ground with his head on his hands

Fear Of Fainting, Flight And Cheese: One Man's 'Age Of Anxiety'

Queue Listen Now

Alex Borstein (left) and Niecy Nash star as nurses in the HBO comedy series Getting On, which was modeled after the hit BBC series of the same name.

Fresh Air Weekend: Mark Mulcahy, Netflix And 'Getting On'

Queue Listen Now

an old typewriter with a blank page and a brandy snifter with liquor on a desk, with a retro effect

Books
Arts

A Critic Tours 'Echo Spring,' Home Of Beloved Boozy Writers

by Maureen Corrigan

Queue Listen Now

Lynne Olson, a former journalist for The Baltimore Sun, is also the author of Citizens of London.

'Angry Days' Shows An America Torn Over Entering World War II

Queue Listen Now

Label for Warren Smith's "Ubangi Stomp" on Sun Records.

Music & Culture

When Memphis Made A Move On Nashville's Country Monopoly

by Ed Ward

Queue Listen Now