Fresh Air
Weekdays at 7:00pm
Opening the window on contemporary arts and issues with guests from worlds as diverse as literature and economics.
Beautifully acted 'Shardlake' brings 500-year-old Tudor intrigue into the present day
by John Powers
A London barrister in Henry VIII's England finds himself investigating a murder in a monastery. Hulu's new four-part series, based on C.J. Sansom's 2003 novel, feels strikingly contemporary.
How An Israeli Journalist's Coverage Of The Palestinian Conflict Inspired 'Fauda'
by Dave Davies
After years as a reporter, Avi Issacharoff co-created an action series about an elite unit of the Israeli military whose members work undercover in the West Bank. Fauda is now streaming on Netflix.
'Wild! Wild! Wild!' Coheres As A Carefully Conceived Lark
by Ken Tucker
Linda Gail Lewis and Robbie Fulks have teamed up on a shrewd, witty album that's a throwback to the earliest era of rock n' roll — but it's not pickled in nostalgia.
Witty, Imaginative, Risky And Relentless — 'Flights' Soars
by John Powers
Olga Tokarczuk's book won the 2018 Man Booker International Prize. Critic John Powers says the hard-to-classify work is positively exploding with maps, remembrances, riffs, history and more.
Novelist John Le Carré Reflects On His Own 'Legacy' Of Spying
Le Carré worked for MI5 and MI6 early in his career. "I felt I had to suppress my humanity," he said of those years. His novel A Legacy of Spies came out in 2017. Originally broadcast Sept. 5, 2017.
Satire, Soap Opera, Duty, Devotion: 'Crazy Rich Asians' Is A Movie Milestone
by Justin Chang
The romantic comedy based on Kevin Kwan's 2013 novel has been saddled with cultural and commercial expectations. Critic Justin Chang was happy to find the film doesn't collapse under the weight.