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Fresh Air from WHYY, the Peabody Award-winning weekday magazine of contemporary arts and issues, is one of public radio's most popular programs. Hosted by Terry Gross and Tonya Mosley, the show features intimate conversations with today's biggest luminaries. Support public media by joining NPR+ at plus.npr.org. You’ll get perks for over 25 NPR podcasts, including weekly bonus episodes and curated playlists of archive interviews from Fresh Air.And subscribe to our weekly newsletter, Fresh Air Weekly, to get interview highlights, staff recommendations, gems from the archive, and the week's inter

• 2026-10-05 Michael Douglas Michael Douglas is one of the most recognizable actors of our time, but in 1987, many still knew him as Kirk Douglas's son. That year, he starred in Fatal Attraction and Wall Street, and his role as Gordon Gekko won him the Oscar for Best Actor. "When I went up and received my Os Transcript →
• 2026-10-04 How Aaron Sorkin developed the 'walk and talk' (NPR+) Aaron Sorkin has written and directed a new movie coming out this month. A companion to 2010’s “The Social Network”—which Sorkin also wrote—“The Social Reckoning” dramatizes a later era in the story of Facebook. So in this bonus episode, we’re looking back to Sorkin’s 2012 Fresh Transcript →
• 2026-10-03 Best Of: Kyle MacLachlan / Inside the ‘romance scam’ Kyle MacLachlan was just 23 when he auditioned for Lynch's adaptation of Dune. The two would go on to work together on the cult classics Blue Velvet and Twin Peaks. “The worlds that [Lynch] creates are real in his mind — they exist,” he tells Terry Gross. MacLachlan's new memoir Transcript →
• 2026-10-02 Celebrating minimalist composer Steve Reich Often called one of the fathers of minimalist music, Reich created a vocabulary that has influenced nearly every form of music: Classical, electronic, jazz, and pop. To commemorate his 90th birthday, there are worldwide performances and festivals in his honor, including an upcomi Transcript →
• 2026-10-01 Sheryl Crow The Grammy-winning singer-songwriter has a new album, Pick You Up, out Oct. 9. She spoke with Fresh Air guest interviewer Sam Fragoso (Talk Easy) about touring with Michael Jackson in her 20s as a back-up singer, depression, and Bob Dylan’s advice for writer’s block. Also, John P Transcript →
• 2026-09-30 New drones, deadlier attacks: Dystopian reality in Ukraine Zanny Minton Beddoes, editor-in-chief of The Economist, is just back from her fourth visit to Ukraine. She says Russia has ramped up production of missiles and deadly drones, while Ukraine is desperately short of interceptors to resist the onslaught. “[Kyiv] has been under really Transcript →
• 2026-09-29 Mahmoud Khalil’s 104 days in ICE Detention Khalil was born in a Palestinian refugee camp in Syria and fled the country at 18. He had a green card to be in the United States, and had become one of the most visible faces of the pro-Palestinian protests at Columbia University, where he had been a graduate student and a negot Transcript →
• 2026-09-28 Kyle MacLachlan was David Lynch’s ‘submersible’ into dark places MacLachlan was just 23 when he auditioned for Lynch's adaptation of Dune. The two would go on to work together on the cult classics Blue Velvet and Twin Peaks. “The worlds that [Lynch] creates are real in his mind — they exist,” he tells Terry Gross. MacLachlan's new memoir is Fi Transcript →
• 2026-09-27 CC Sabathia blames himself for the 2007 World Series loss (NPR+) The New York Yankees retired its 23rd number this weekend. It was number 52, worn by former left-handed pitcher CC Sabathia. Sabathia played 11 seasons for the Yankees, and was part of the team’s World Series–winning roster in 2009. In this Fresh Air interview, he spoke about com Transcript →
• 2026-09-26 Best Of: Rhiannon Giddens / Investigating Diddy’s Rise & Fall Rhiannon Giddens doesn’t usually make pop music, but she wrote and played the banjo riff on Beyoncé’s country single, “Texas Hold ‘Em.” She comes from the Black string band tradition, is the artistic director of the Silk Road Ensemble, and studied opera in college. Giddens spoke Transcript →
• 2026-09-25 Bluegrass virtuoso Billy Strings The Grammy-winning singer, songwriter and guitarist has one foot in traditional bluegrass and another in improvisational jam music. He has a new album, So Much for Goodbyes, inspired by his late mother. He spoke with producer Sam Briger about healing himself through songwriting, Transcript →
• 2026-09-24 Investigating the system that protected Sean “Diddy” Combs Sean Combs founded Bad Boy Records and spent three decades as one of the most powerful men in hip hop. Now he's serving a federal prison sentence. Rolling Stone reporter Cheyenne Roundtree spent years talking to the people who worked for him, many of them trying to break into the Transcript →
• 2026-09-23 Global power, rivalry, and A.I.; a preview of the U.S./China summit As President Trump and China's President Xi prepare to meet tomorrow, Rush Doshi of the Council on Foreign Relations explains the current state of US-China relations and what to expect from this summit. Subscribe to our free weekly newsletter Follow us on Instagram Subscribe to o Transcript →
• 2026-09-22 Inside the 'modern slavery' where cyber scammers are victims themselves WIRED’s Andy Greenberg explains how a cybercrime operation in Southeast Asia trapped computer engineers into defrauding victims of billions of dollars. Plus he discusses the scam involving Fresh Air. Also, jazz historian Kevin Whitehead reflects on John Coltrane for the centennia Transcript →
• 2026-09-21 Rhiannon Giddens traces the banjo from her ancestors to Beyoncé A self-described "folkie to the bone," Giddens talks with Terry Gross about channeling her ancestors through her instrument, playing on Beyoncé’s country single “Texas Hold ‘Em,” and a connection between Irish folk music and Dolly Parton. Giddens also sings and plays banjo and fi Transcript →
• 2026-09-20 Richard Pryor taught Gene Wilder how to improvise on camera (NPR+) The voice of Gene Wilder—that is, an AI simulation of his voice—will be used in a new reality competition series that’s based on the 1971 film “Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory,” and debuting on Netflix this month. So in this bonus episode, we’re featuring the real voice of Transcript →
• 2026-09-19 Best Of: Colin Kaepernick / Danielle Brooks 10 years ago, former 49ers NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick took a knee during the national anthem to protest police violence against Black people. After the season ended, he never played in the NFL again. He spoke with Tonya Mosley about his childhood, football career, and activ Transcript →
• 2026-09-18 Looney Tunes animator Chuck Jones / Remembering singer Cassandra Wilson The new film Coyote vs. ACME is based on the classic Warner Bros. cartoons featuring the Roadrunner and Wile E. Coyote. Today, we listen back to Terry’s 1989 interview with animator Chuck Jones. He created the characters, among others, and directed many Looney Tunes cartoons. He Transcript →
• 2026-09-17 The Roy Cohn Playbook, from McCarthyism to Trump In a biography of Roy Cohn, Kai Bird looks at how the lawyer taught President Trump to deny, delay, attack, sue and countersue, never admit defeat, side step paying bills and avoid a paper trail. His book, with co-author Susan Goldmark, is American Scoundrel. He spoke with Terry Transcript →
• 2026-09-16 Is Jared Kushner a 'walking conflict of interest'? Pulitzer Prize-winning New Yorker staff writer Dexter Filkins says while Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner is a U.S. special envoy negotiating peace, he's also working on private business deals, raising billions in some of the same countries. “He's potentially a walking conflict o Transcript →