
Fresh Air
Weekdays at 7:00pm
Opening the window on contemporary arts and issues with guests from worlds as diverse as literature and economics.

What's behind the 'pronatalist' movement to boost the birth rate?
by Tonya Mosley
A once-fringe movement claims having more babies is the only way to save civilization. NPR reporter Lisa Hagen and sociologist Karen Guzzo explain who's empowering pronatalism today.
'The Lighthouse': A Brashly Funny Thriller, Soaked In Rain, Rum And Testosterone
by Justin Chang
Willem Dafoe and Robert Pattinson play 19th-century seamen stationed at a remote lighthouse in Maine. Shot in black and white, it's an exquisitely old-fashioned study of souls in isolation.
The Battle For Mosul — And Why The Threat Of ISIS Won't Go Away
by Dave Davies
Journalist James Verini offers a first-hand account of the 2017 battle to drive ISIS from Mosul, the second-largest city in Iraq. His new book is They Will Have to Die Now.
U.S. Withdrawal From Syria Leaves A 'Tangled Mess,' Journalist Says
by Terry Gross
Washington Post Beirut Bureau Chief Liz Sly has covered the Syrian civil war since it began in '11. "There is an inevitability that Russia is going to emerge as the dominant power in Syria," she says.
Essayist Ventures 'From The Greeks To Game Of Thrones' — And Back Again
by Maureen Corrigan
Despite Helen Mirren's Star Turn, 'Catherine The Great' Is Just OK
by David Bianculli
HBO's new series has plenty of court intrigue, scandals and betrayals, but the script amounts to little more than a historical greatest hits, bouncing from well-known event to event.
Remembering 'Jackie Brown' Actor Robert Forster
by Terry Gross
The Oscar-nominated actor, who died Oct. 11, often played police officers and private eyes. "These guys are straight shooters," he said in 2003. "I take the mantle of that and pretend it's me."
Satirical Nazi Film 'Jojo Rabbit' Treats The Viewer Like A Child
by Justin Chang
For all its good intentions, Jojo Rabbit comes across painfully one-note as comedy, bogus and manipulative as drama and with an archly whimsical visual style that feels like imitation Wes Anderson.
'Fresh Air' Marks The Centenary Of The Birth Of Jazz Singer Anita O'Day
Jazz critic Kevin Whitehead offers an appreciation of the singer, who died in 2006, then we listen back to a 1987 interview. O'Day first became known in 1941 when she joined Gene Krupa's band.
Energetic And Ambitious, 'Watchmen' Taps Into A Slew Of Today's Anxieties
by John Powers
Rather than rehash the 1980s superhero comic, series creator Damon Lindelof preserves the original's mood, themes and tricky structure — but uses them to tell an engrossing, totally new story on HBO.