Fresh Air
Weekdays at 7:00pm
Opening the window on contemporary arts and issues with guests from worlds as diverse as literature and economics.
Why are so many government officials concerned about TikTok?
Congress and President Biden say TikTok must shed its financial ties to China or face a ban in the U.S. But Washington Post tech reporter Drew Harwell says selling the company is complicated.
Bleak, Mournful 'Manchester By The Sea' Packs An Emotional Punch
by David Edelstein
Casey Affleck is a man returning to his hometown to bury his brother and reconnect with his teen nephew in Manchester by the Sea. Critic David Eldestein calls the film draining, but also worth seeing.
Colson Whitehead's 'Underground Railroad' Is A Literal Train To Freedom
Whitehead was recently awarded the National Book Award for his novel about a young slave who has escaped a Georgia plantation and is heading north. Originally broadcast Aug. 8, 2016.
Rep. John Lewis Looks Back On The Struggle For Voting Rights
Lewis speaks of growing up in Alabama in this 2009 interview. At the time, there was a county whose population was 80 percent African American that didn't have a single registered black voter.
Journalist Says Steve Bannon Had A 'Years-Long Plan' To Take Down Hillary Clinton
Bloomberg's Joshua Green discusses Bannon's work in the far right wing of the Republican party. Trump's chief strategist, Green says, was "one of the major figures" in Clinton's defeat.
Could Trump 'Undermine The Legacy Of The Obama Presidency' With The Stroke Of A Pen?
New Yorker writer Evan Osnos talks about the executive orders and other actions that Trump can use to undo existing agreements on climate change, immigration and foreign policy.
The Deceptively Simple Sound Of Scott And Charlene's Wedding
by Ken Tucker
Mid-Thirties Single Scene, the new album by the Australian group Scott and Charlene's Wedding, describes the thoughts and actions of a character who has just turned 34. Critic Ken Tucker has a review.
Veterans Share Their Stories Of War And Its Consequences
To mark Veterans Day, Fresh Air presents interviews with Iraq War veterans Brian Castner and Kayla Williams, and WWII veteran Robert Kotlowitz. Also, Brian Turner reads his poem Here, Bullet.
Sci-Fi Saga 'Arrival' Asks: Can Humans Learn To Speak The Language Of Aliens?
by David Edelstein
Amy Adams plays a professor tasked with talking to eight-tentacled aliens in Denis Villeneuve's new film. Critic David Edelstein says Arrival is a strange and tantalizing puzzle.