Fresh Air

Last updated
Fresh Air
Fresh Air logo 2017.png
Genre Interview
Running timec. 50 min.
Country of originUnited States
Language(s)English
Home station WHYY
Syndicates NPR, WHYY
Hosted by Terry Gross
Tonya Mosley
Recording studio Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Original release1975 –
present
Audio format Stereophonic
Website Official website
Podcast www.npr.org/podcasts/381444908/fresh-air

Fresh Air is an American radio talk show broadcast on National Public Radio stations across the United States since 1985. It is produced by WHYY-FM in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The show's hosts are Terry Gross and Tonya Mosley. As of 2017, the show was syndicated to 624 stations and claimed nearly 5 million listeners. [1] The show is fed live weekdays at 12:00 noon ET.[ not verified in body ] In addition, some stations carry Fresh Air Weekend, a re-programming of highlights of the week's interviews. [2] [3] In 2016, Fresh Air was the most-downloaded podcast on iTunes. [4]

Contents

Overview

Terry Gross, host of the NPR radio program Fresh Air, in the WHYY studios in Philadelphia in 2004 Terry gross fresh air npr radio host.jpg
Terry Gross, host of the NPR radio program Fresh Air, in the WHYY studios in Philadelphia in 2004

The show began in 1975 at WHYY (then called WUHY), with Judy Blank as host. In September of that year, Terry Gross took over as presenter and producer; nearly 50 years later she remains its chief presenter. In 1985, WHYY launched a weekly half-hour edition of Fresh Air, which was distributed nationally by NPR. [5] The show began daily national broadcasts in 1987. [5] The show is composed primarily of interviews with prominent figures in various fields, among them entertainment and the arts, culture, journalism, and global current affairs. This main segment is followed by shorter segments, most often comprising coverage and reviews of events and new releases in various cultural and entertainment spheres. The subjects of these shorter segments include movies, books, stage plays, television programs, as well as recordings of popular music, jazz, and classical music. The program also features commentary and interviews from a range of regular contributors, including Maureen Corrigan, David Bianculli, Dave Davies, Ken Tucker, Kevin Whitehead, John Powers, Lloyd Schwartz, Geoffrey Nunberg, Justin Chang, and Nick Quah. [6] Past contributors include Geoff Nunberg, [7] Milo Miles, and Ed Ward. [8] Tonya Mosley, who co-hosted WBUR's Here & Now , was named co-host of Fresh Air in 2023. [9] The show was formerly titled "Fresh Air with Terry Gross" but is now simply branded "Fresh Air". [10]

David Edelstein was let go from his position as film critic for the show on November 27, 2018, for comments made in the wake of Bernardo Bertolucci's death. [11]

The executive producer of Fresh Air is Danny Miller. The program is produced and edited by Amy Salit, Phyllis Myers, Ann Marie Baldonado, Sam Briger, Lauren Krenzel, Heidi Saman, Therese Madden, Seth Kelley, Thea Chaloner, and Susan Nyakundi. The show is directed by Roberta Shorrock. Audrey Bentham is the engineer. Molly Seavy-Nesper is the producer of Digital Media. [12]

Background

The program's interviews are pre-recorded and edited, not broadcast live. [13] As with many such radio programs, guests are often not in the studio during recording, and often speak remotely from a local affiliate station, or a home studio. [14] When pressing news requires, the show has gone live, such as during the Soviet coup attempt of 1991, and in the aftermath of the Boston Marathon bombing on April 19, 2013.

Fresh Air interviews are generally first aired on the Monday through Thursday shows. The Friday shows are rebroadcasts of past interviews.

The show's theme song, a jazz piece called "Fresh Air", was composed for the program by Joel Forrester of The Microscopic Septet.

Controversial interviews

Fresh Air has become a premiere source of audio journalism. Politicians, public intellectuals, and celebrities (such as R.E.M.'s Michael Stipe, pictured) are among those who have been interviewed by its host, Terry Gross. Fresh Air with R.E.M..jpg
Fresh Air has become a premiere source of audio journalism. Politicians, public intellectuals, and celebrities (such as R.E.M.'s Michael Stipe, pictured) are among those who have been interviewed by its host, Terry Gross.

In February 2002, when Gross interviewed Gene Simmons of Kiss, Simmons discussed his sexual experimentation with women of all age groups and propositioned Gross in demonstration; according to NPR's website, Simmons withheld permission to supply transcripts or audio of the interview on their website. [15] [16] [17]

In July 2010, Fresh Air was removed from Mississippi Public Broadcasting radio because of "recurring inappropriate content", shortly after the broadcast of an interview with comedian Louis C.K. in which he discussed his sex life. [18] By mid-2011, it had returned to the state network's evening line-up. [19]

Awards

In 1993, NPR, Fresh Air, and Gross were presented with the George Foster Peabody Award with praise for her "probing questions, revelatory interviews, and unusual insights". [20] The show was inducted into the National Radio Hall of Fame in 2012. [21] The show also won an institutional Peabody in 2022. [22]

In 2004, Gross published a book of her favorite interviews from the show under the title All I Did Was Ask. [23]

In 2016, Gross received the National Humanities Medal from President Barack Obama, "For her artful probing of the human experience. Her patient, persistent questioning in thousands of interviews over four decades has pushed public figures to reveal personal motivations behind extraordinary lives—revealing simple truths that affirm our common humanity." [24]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gene Simmons</span> Musical artist

Gene Simmons is an American musician. Also known by his stage persona "The Demon", he was the bassist and co-lead singer of the hard rock band Kiss, which he co-founded with Paul Stanley, Ace Frehley and Peter Criss in the early 1970s until their retirement in 2023. Simmons was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2014 as a member of Kiss.

Morning Edition is an American radio news program produced and distributed by NPR. It airs weekday mornings and runs for two hours, and many stations repeat one or both hours. The show feeds live from 5:00 to 9:00 AM ET, with feeds and updates as required until noon. The show premiered on November 5, 1979; its weekend counterpart is Weekend Edition. Morning Edition and All Things Considered are among the highest rated public radio shows.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WNYC</span> New York Public Radio audio service brand

WNYC is an audio service brand, under the control of New York Public Radio, a non-profit organization. Radio and other audio programming is primarily provided by a pair of nonprofit, noncommercial, public radio stations: WNYC (AM) and WNYC-FM, located in New York City. Both stations are members of NPR and carry local and national news/talk programs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Terry Gross</span> American radio host and producer (born 1951)

Terry Gross is an American journalist who is the host and co-executive producer of Fresh Air, an interview-based radio show produced by WHYY-FM in Philadelphia and distributed nationally by NPR. Since joining NPR in 1975, Gross has interviewed thousands of guests.

WUNC is a listener-supported public radio station, serving the Research Triangle area of North Carolina. It is licensed to Chapel Hill and is operated by the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. On weekdays, WUNC carries National Public Radio, American Public Media, Public Radio Exchange, and BBC programming in an "all-news-and-information" format, including shows such as All Things Considered, Morning Edition and Fresh Air. On weekends, in addition to NPR weekend shows, WUNC broadcasts locally produced folk music programming. The longest-running continuously produced program offered by the station is Back Porch Music, a weekly folk and traditional music program. WUNC holds periodic on-air fundraisers seeking listener contributions.

<i>The Diane Rehm Show</i> Radio show

The Diane Rehm Show was a call-in show based in the United States that aired nationally on NPR. In October 2007, The Diane Rehm Show was named to the Audience Research Analysis list of the top ten most powerful national programs in public radio, the only talk show on the list. ACT 1 Systems Inc., using Nielsen audience data, estimated that the program at that time had "1.7 million listeners," a number that was later revised upward to 2.4 million listeners in December 2015. It was produced by WAMU and hosted by Diane Rehm. The show debuted on WAMU in the 1970s as Kaleidoscope, a weekday morning arts and discussion program. Diane took over as host in 1979, and the show became The Diane Rehm Show in 1984. The final broadcast of The Diane Rehm Show was aired on December 23, 2016. As of January 2, 2017, WAMU broadcasts 1A in the same timeslot.

WHYY-FM is a public radio station licensed to serve Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Its broadcast tower is located in the city's Roxborough section of the city at while its studios and offices are located on Independence Mall in Center City Philadelphia. The station, owned by WHYY, Inc., is a charter member of NPR and contributes several programs to the national network.

Barbara Bogaev is an American radio journalist noted for her work as the host of the public radio documentary program Soundprint and guest host of WHYY's Fresh Air.

<i>Here and Now</i> (Boston) American public radio magazine program

Here and Now is a public radio magazine program produced by NPR and WBUR-FM in Boston and distributed across the United States by NPR to over 450 stations, with an estimated 5 million weekly listeners.

David Edelstein is a freelance American film critic who has been the principal film critic for Slate and New York magazine, among others, and has appeared regularly on NPR's Fresh Air and CBS Sunday Morning programs. Over a long career, Edelstein has published more than 2000 film reviews. In 2021, Colin McEnroe called Edelstein "America's greatest living film critic".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Geoffrey Nunberg</span> American linguist (1945–2020)

Geoffrey Nunberg was an American lexical semantician and author. In 2001, he received the Linguistics, Language, and the Public Interest Award from the Linguistic Society of America for his contributions to National Public Radio's Fresh Air. Nunberg was the author of a number of popular books, among them Going Nucular: Language, Politics and Culture in Controversial Times (2004). He is primarily known for his broadcast work interpreting linguistic science for lay audiences, though his contributions to linguistic theory are also well regarded.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Larry Wilmore</span> American comedian

Elister Larry Wilmore III is an American comedian, writer, producer, and actor. He served as the "Senior Black Correspondent" on The Daily Show from 2006 to 2014, and hosted The Nightly Show with Larry Wilmore in 2015 and 2016. He is also the creator of the sitcom The Bernie Mac Show. He served as an executive producer for the ABC television series Black-ish, and is the co-creator, with Issa Rae, of the HBO television series Insecure. Since May 2017, he has hosted a podcast, Black on the Air, where he discusses current events and interviews guests. He was the host of the talk show Wilmore.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chris Gethard</span> American actor and comedian

Christopher Paul Gethard (; born May 23, 1980) is an American actor, comedian and writer. He was the host of The Chris Gethard Show, a talk show based in New York City, which aired from 2011 to 2018. He hosts the podcasts Beautiful Stories From Anonymous People and New Jersey is the World.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bill Siemering</span>

William H. Siemering is a radio innovator and advocate. He was a member of the founding board of NPR and the author of its original "mission statement," the National Public Radio Purposes. As NPR's first director of programming Siemering helped shaped its flagship program All Things Considered into an influential and enduring fixture of American media. After a decades-long career in public radio, Siemering embarked on a second career of nurturing independent radio in the developing world.

<i>Radiolab</i> American radio program

Radiolab is a radio program and podcast produced by WNYC, a public radio station based in New York City, and broadcast on more than 570 public radio stations in the United States. The show has earned many industry awards for its "imaginative use of radio" including a National Academies Communication Award and two Peabody Awards.

Dave Davies is an American print and broadcast journalist.

Radio Times with Marty Moss-Coane was an hour-long radio talk show hosted by Marty Moss-Coane, broadcast on WHYY five days a week. The show was produced in Philadelphia and featured local Philadelphia politicians, academics and artists, including guests such as Governor Ed Rendell, as well as national and international figures of interest, like Nobel Prize winner Muhammad Yunus.

Faith Middleton is a retired public radio talk show host. She is best known as the former host of The Faith Middleton Show on Connecticut Public Radio.

Marjorie S. "Marty" Moss-Coane is an American radio personality, podcaster, and executive. She was the host and executive producer of Radio Times with Marty Moss-Coane, in Philadelphia. Moss-Coane has worked at WHYY-FM since 1983, when she began working as an associate producer on Fresh Air. She became a host when Fresh Air went national in 1987. Since 2023, Moss-Coane has hostied the podcast The Connection with Marty Moss-Coane, produced by the Philadelphia NPR affiliate WHYY, which serves as a continuation of her Radio Times show.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tonya Mosley</span> American radio journalist

Tonya Mosley is an American radio and television journalist and podcaster. Prior to 2022, Mosley co-hosted NPR and WBUR's midday talk show Here & Now along with Robin Young and Scott Tong. In 2015, she was awarded the John S. Knight journalism fellowship at Stanford. She hosts the podcast Truth Be Told, an advice show about race from KQED. In 2023, Mosley was named co-host of Fresh Air, a talk show broadcast on National Public Radio and produced by WHYY in Philadelphia.

References

  1. ↑ "Fresh Air from WHYY: About the program". Fresh Air. NPR; WHYY-FM . Retrieved 5 January 2017.
  2. ↑ "Fresh Air Weekend: Nina Totenberg; 'Watchmen' Writer Cord Jefferson". NPR.org. Retrieved 2021-01-04.
  3. ↑ "Fresh Air Weekend | WNYC | New York Public Radio, Podcasts, Live Streaming Radio, News". WNYC. Retrieved 2021-01-04.
  4. ↑ "Apple unveils Best of 2016 across apps, music, movies and more" (Press release). Apple Inc. Retrieved 2017-09-06.
  5. 1 2 "Terry Gross". NPR. Retrieved 5 January 2017.
  6. ↑ "About 'Fresh Air'". NPR. May 10, 2023. Retrieved May 10, 2023.
  7. ↑ "'Fresh Air' Linguist Geoff Nunberg Dies At 75". NPR. August 13, 2020. Retrieved May 10, 2023.
  8. ↑ "'Fresh Air' Remembers Rock Historian Ed Ward". NPR. May 6, 2021. Retrieved May 10, 2023.
  9. ↑ "'Fresh Air' welcomes new co-host Tonya Mosley". NPR. May 4, 2023. Retrieved May 10, 2023.
  10. ↑ "Fresh Air with Terry Gross". WYPR . Retrieved 2 April 2024.
  11. ↑ Sharf, Zack (November 27, 2018). "Film Critic David Edelstein Fired by NPR Over 'Last Tango in Paris' Rape Joke".
  12. ↑ "About 'Fresh Air'". NPR. Retrieved 2 April 2024.
  13. ↑ Kerr, Jolie (November 17, 2018). "How to Talk to People, According to Terry Gross". New York Times. Section ST. p. 4. Retrieved 28 July 2022. One thing she does not allow of her interview subjects, however, is input on the edit. "When the interview is over, you don't have a chance to call back and say, 'Well I like my answer to this, I don't like my answer to that, can you edit that out," she said.
  14. ↑ Burton, Sarah (October 25, 2015). "How to Talk to Strangers". New York Times. Sunday Magazine. p. 34. Retrieved 28 July 2022. As a practicality, Gross performs most of her interviews long distance.
  15. ↑ "Leader and Bassist of the Band Kiss, Gene Simmons". Fresh Air. NPR; WHYY. 2002-02-04. Retrieved 2008-01-17.
  16. ↑ Gene Simmons (4 February 2002). "Transcript of Gene Simmons and Terry Gross, host of NPR's Fresh Air". Fresh Air (Interview). Interviewed by Terry Gross. WHYY; NPR. Archived from the original on 2008-01-01. Retrieved 2008-01-17.
  17. ↑ Gene Simmons (4 February 2002). "Listen to the Terry Gross and Gene Simmons Interview". Fresh Air (Interview). Interviewed by Terry Gross. WHYY; NPR . Retrieved 2008-01-17.
  18. ↑ O'Neal, Sean (2010-07-16). "Louis C.K. interview gets NPR's Fresh Air banned in Mississippi". The A.V. Club . Retrieved 2010-07-16.
  19. ↑ "MPB: Mississippi Public Broadcasting". Archived from the original on 21 June 2011. Retrieved 13 October 2014.
  20. ↑ "The Peabody Award Winners Archive". The Peabody Award. Archived from the original on 2007-02-04. Retrieved 2007-03-13.
  21. ↑ "Fresh Air". National Radio Hall Of Fame. 2017. Retrieved January 9, 2017.
  22. ↑ "Fresh Air Receives Peabody Institutional Award". Peabody Awards. 24 May 2022. Retrieved 2022-05-24.
  23. ↑ Gross, Terry (2004). All I Did Was Ask: Conversations with Writers, Actors, Musicians, and Artists . New York: Hyperion. ISBN   1-4013-0010-3.
  24. ↑ "At White House, a Golden Moment for America's Great Artists and Patrons". NPR. Retrieved 2017-08-28.

Further reading

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.