Fresh Air
Weekdays at 7:00pm
Opening the window on contemporary arts and issues with guests from worlds as diverse as literature and economics.
Fresh Air Weekend: Tilda Swinton; Adrien Brody
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.
How the recent SCOTUS session renewed questions about the Court's legitimacy
by Terry Gross
NY Times legal reporter Adam Liptak says the Court's liberal members have accused the conservative supermajority of engaging in politics and not applying established law to the questions before them.
Janelle Monáe explores masculine and feminine energies on 'The Age of Pleasure'
by Terry Gross
Monáe has been releasing albums that mix R&B, pop and rap since 2007 — this is her first since 2018. Ken Tucker reviews the new album, then we listen back to our 2020 interview with the artist.
Remembering Oscar-winning actor and British Parliament member Glenda Jackson
by Terry Gross
Jackson, who died June 15, won Oscars for her performances in the 1969 movie Women in Love and the 1973 comedy A Touch of Class. She was elected to Pariament in 1992. Originally broadcast in 2019.
Neil Diamond: The 'Fresh Air' interview
by Terry Gross
Diamond's life and music are the subject of a new Broadway show, A Beautiful Noise. In 2005, Diamond spoke to Terry Gross about his guilty-pleasure hits, include "Sweet Caroline" and "Cherry Cherry."
Fresh Air Weekend: Actor Laura Dern; Playwright Jeremy O. Harris
Thinking she had months to live, Laura Dern's mother Diane Ladd "spilled the beans." Their new book is Honey, Baby, Mine. Slave Play playwright Jeremy O. Harris is on a mission to diversify theater.
Remembering Broadway legend and 'Fiddler on the Roof' lyricist Sheldon Harnick
by Terry Gross
Harnick, along with composer Jerry Bock, wrote the enduring music for Fiddler, as well as Fiorello and She Loves Me. He died June 23. Originally broadcast in 1988, 2004 and 2014.
Central Park birder Christian Cooper on being 'a Black man in the natural world'
by Terry Gross
Cooper was birdwatching in Central Park in 2020 when a white woman falsely accused him of threatening her. His book chronicles life as a Black birder, gay activist and Marvel comics writer and editor.
How school systems, educators and parents can support transgender children
by Tonya Mosley
Aidan Key explains why U.S. schools are seeing an increase in transgender students and how educators can respond to anti-LGBTQ curriculum measures. His book is Trans Children in Today's Schools.
'Slave Play' playwright Jeremy O. Harris is on a mission to diversify theater
by Tonya Mosley
The award-winning playwright helped bring Lorraine Hansberry's The Sign in Sidney Brustein's Window to Broadway. He also talks about his provocative Slave Play, which earned 12 Tony nominations.