Fresh Air
Weekdays at 7:00pm
Opening the window on contemporary arts and issues with guests from worlds as diverse as literature and economics.
Remembering novelist, screenwriter and memoirist Paul Auster
by Terry Gross
Auster, who died April 30, rose to fame in the 1980s with The New York Trilogy novels. His memoir, Winter Journal, focused on the history of his body. Originally broadcast in 1997, 2004 and 2012.
Former Ambassador To Russia Looks Ahead To Trump's Summit With Putin
by Terry Gross
Michael McFaul, who sat in on meetings between Putin and Obama, warns that the Russian president "doesn't meet just for the sake of a meeting; he seeks to advance Russian interests."
Boots Riley Mines His Experiences As A Telemarketer In 'Sorry To Bother You'
by Terry Gross
The social satire takes aim at corporations that underpay and exploit workers. This is Riley's first film — he has a long career as a rapper — and his band, The Coup, plays on the film's soundtrack.
'Lost Album' Offers A Fresh Look At Peak Coltrane
by Kevin Whitehead
A new album revives the lost tracks of a studio session Coltrane recorded with his quartet in 1963. Critic Kevin Whitehead says Both Directions At Once: The Lost Album is solid — but not revelatory.
'Leave No Trace' Follows A Father And Daughter Off The Grid
by David Edelstein
Director Debra Granik's new film is based on a true story about a veteran suffering from PTSD who lives secretly in a municipal forest with his teenage daughter.
Remembering Former Poet Laureate Donald Hall
by Terry Gross
Hall, who died on Saturday, wrote about farm work and his wife, poet Jane Kenyon, in the 1993 memoir Life Work. He and Kenyon spoke to Fresh Air in 1996, and Hall was interviewed again in '02 and '12.
Reporter Covering Immigration Warns Government Is 'Ill Equipped' To Reunite Families
by Terry Gross
New Yorker writer Jonathan Blitzer has been in El Paso, Texas, reporting on immigration and family separation. "I've been meeting women who are crying so violently they can barely speak," he says.
Beyoncé And Jay-Z Present A Unified Front On 'Everything Is Love'
by Ken Tucker
The Carters, who married in 2008, celebrate their union with a heavily autobiographical new album. Critic Ken Tucker is impressed by the record's easy shifts between hip-hop and R&B.
'Sicario: Day Of The Soldado' Is A Swaggering Sequel That's Short On Precision
by Justin Chang
The war on drugs has gone from bad to worse in this follow-up to the 2015 film. Justin Chang says that though its "bigger and brasher" than the original, the story in this sequel doesn't fully engage.
Betrayal, Ruination And Dark Comedy Converge In 'A Very English Scandal'
by John Powers
A new BBC miniseries streaming on Amazon and starring Hugh Grant tells the story of Britain's Thorpe affair, a 1970s tabloid fiesta that brought together politics, illicit sex and a criminal trial.