887 episodes
Fresh Air Fresh Air
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- Arts
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4.3 • 33.4K Ratings
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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, the show features intimate conversations with today's biggest luminaries.Subscribe to Fresh Air Plus! You'll enjoy bonus episodes and sponsor-free listening - all while you support NPR's mission. Learn more at plus.npr.org/freshair
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Best Of: 'Wicked' Director Jon M. Chu / Stunt Performer-Turned-Filmmaker David Leitch
Jon M. Chu, the director of Crazy Rich Asians and In the Heights is now directing the film adaptation of the broadway musical Wicked. We'll talk about making movies, and being raised by immigrant parents who owned a Chinese restaurant in Silicon Valley.
Also, we hear from stunt performer-turned-director David Leitch. He directed the film The Fall Guy, starring Ryan Gosling as a stuntman.
Ken Tucker continues his series of great albums turning 50 this year with an album by Roxy Music.
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Remembering Comic Bob Newhart
We remember comic and actor Bob Newhart, who died last week at the age of 94. In his stand-up comedy and hit TV series, some of the laughs came from his an awkward, stammering way of speaking. "It isn't an affectation. It's the way I speak," he told Terry Gross in 1998.
Also, Justin Chang reviews Deadpool & Wolverine.
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Will Hezbollah And Israel Go To War?
Hezbollah, the militant group based in Lebanon, shares Hamas' goal of destroying the state of Israel. We'll talk with New Yorker staff writer Dexter Filkins, about his reporting trip to both sides of the Lebanese/Israeli border. Israel and Hezbollah have escalated their shelling and bombing attacks on each other. Filkins says that's leading to fears of an all-out war that would devastate both sides, and could draw in Iran and the U.S.
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'Wicked' Director Jon M. Chu On The Hard Work Of Creativity
Chu takes his inspiration from his dad, a Chinese immigrant who worked both the front room and the kitchen of their family-run restaurant: "The guy that in the back of the kitchen, that was my hero." The director of Crazy Rich Asians and In the Heights talks with Terry Gross about growing up in Silicon Valley, seeing Wicked for the first time, and learning to be adaptable.
Maureen Corrigan reviews Dinaw Mengestu's new novel, Someone Like Us.
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The Dictator Playbook
Autocracy, Inc. author Anne Applebaum says today's dictators — including Putin and Xi — are working together in a global fight to dismantle democracy, and Trump is borrowing from their playbook: "We're going to have to defend and protect our political system if we want to keep it."
Also, David Bianculli reviews the Apple TV series Time Bandits.
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A Former Stunt Performer Shares Tricks Of The Trade
Filmmaker and stunt coordinator David Leitch says it's easier to do stunts himself than direct his stunt performer friends. "You are responsible for their safety," he explains. "Your heart goes through your chest." His film The Fall Guy is about the unknown performers who put their lives on the line. He talks with Terry Gross about barrel rolling cars, being lit on fire, and doing another take when everything hurts.
Also, Ken Tucker marks the 50th anniversary of Roxy Music's Country Life.
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Customer Reviews
Stevie Wonder!♥️
The Ken Tucker Stevie Wonder retrospective was wonderful, Bravo!
Great show, but poorly edited as podcast
I was very excited to have access to Fresh Air as a podcast since I'm usually working when the show airs. The interviews are great, but the editing has been disappointing. Segment changes are choppy and episodes often end mid-sentence. The Ken Burns segment of March 15 was a particular disappointment, ending less than 10 minutes into the episode. I love the show! I just hope the editing improves.
Losing Ground
Fresh Air was the first podcast I ever listened & subscribed to. I always looked forward to listening to latest episode during my 90 min daily commute. I learned so much, was introduced to so many interesting people/topics and always felt it was time well spent. Teri Gross is a master storyteller & interviewer. Dave Davies was always delightful to listen to when Teri was vacationing, ill or on another assignment. Not too long ago Teri was away from her interview chair for quite some time tending to a personal matter. Not long after she returned it was announced that Teri would share hosting duties with Tanya Mosley. That’s when the show seemed to have taken on a different identity. There are now a lot more “celebrity” and other “entertainment-focused” interviews. The show has changed a lot and in my opinion not for the best. No offense meant to Tanya Mosley but I don’t find her interviews or the shows she hosts to be of the same quality as when Teri or Dave host. Fresh Air podcasts are an institution but the producers seem to have lost their way lately. Please bring back the old Fresh Air. The new version is not as interesting, stimulating or substantive. I find myself listening very rarely these days and am sad to see the deterioration that’s taken place.