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Terry Gross at her microphone in 2018

Terry Gross

Terry Gross is the host and an executive producer of Fresh Air, the daily program of interviews and reviews. It is produced at WHYY in Philadelphia, where Gross began hosting the show in 1975, when it was broadcast only locally. She was awarded a National Humanities Medal from President Obama in 2016. Fresh Air with Terry Gross received a Peabody Award in 1994 for its “probing questions, revelatory interviews and unusual insight.” America Women in Radio and Television presented her with a Gracie Award in 1999 in the category of National Network Radio Personality. In 2003, she received the Corporation for Public Broadcasting’s Edward R. Murrow Award for her “outstanding contributions to public radio” and for advancing the “growth, quality and positive image of radio.” Gross is the author of All I Did Was Ask: Conversations with Writers, Actors, Musicians and Artists, published by Hyperion in 2004. She was born and raised in Brooklyn, NY, and received a bachelor’s degree in English and M.Ed. in communications from the State University of New York at Buffalo. She began her radio career in 1973 at public radio station WBFO in Buffalo, NY.

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Due to the contractual nature of the Fresh Air Archive, segments must be at least 6 months old to be considered part of the archive. To listen to segments that aired within the last 6 months, please click the blue off-site button to visit the Fresh Air page on NPR.org.
34:45

'I don't need helium' to play SpongeBob SquarePants, comic Tom Kenny says

Kenny has voiced SpongeBob since the animated series began in 1999. Now he's playing the character in a new film, The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants. Originally broadcast Nov. 16, 2004.

Interview
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Due to the contractual nature of the Fresh Air Archive, segments must be at least 6 months old to be considered part of the archive. To listen to segments that aired within the last 6 months, please click the blue off-site button to visit the Fresh Air page on NPR.org.
52:30

Is the U.S. headed toward a military conflict with Iran?

New York Times journalist David Sanger discusses how we got here, the state of Iran's nuclear weapons program, the likelihood of U.S. military force against Iran and if Trump's goal is regime change.

Interview
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Due to the contractual nature of the Fresh Air Archive, segments must be at least 6 months old to be considered part of the archive. To listen to segments that aired within the last 6 months, please click the blue off-site button to visit the Fresh Air page on NPR.org.
42:58

Actor Stellan Skarsgård doesn't believe in bad guys

Swedish actor Stellan Skarsgard, has had a long and interesting career, which only seems to get more interesting with age. Now in his 70s, he's just earned a Golden Globe award and an Oscar nomination for best supporting actor for his performance in the widely acclaimed film "Sentimental Value," from the Danish Norwegian director Joachim Trier.

Interview
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Due to the contractual nature of the Fresh Air Archive, segments must be at least 6 months old to be considered part of the archive. To listen to segments that aired within the last 6 months, please click the blue off-site button to visit the Fresh Air page on NPR.org.
52:30

Kate Hudson on regret, rom-coms and finding a role that hits all the notes

Kate Hudson. She's up for an Oscar for her role as Claire in the film "Song Sung Blue," starring opposite Hugh Jackman as one half of Lightning & Thunder, a Neil Diamond tribute band.

Interview
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Due to the contractual nature of the Fresh Air Archive, segments must be at least 6 months old to be considered part of the archive. To listen to segments that aired within the last 6 months, please click the blue off-site button to visit the Fresh Air page on NPR.org.
40:48

Years ago, novelist Tayari Jones snuck into a writing class. It changed her life

novelist Tayari Jones. She wrote her first novel more than two decades ago, but it was her fourth, "An American Marriage," that put her into the national spotlight. When it came out in 2018, Oprah chose it for her book club, and Barack Obama put it on his reading list. It went on to win the Women's Prize for Fiction and has been published in more than a dozen countries, praised as a compassionate portrait of love and justice.

Interview
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Due to the contractual nature of the Fresh Air Archive, segments must be at least 6 months old to be considered part of the archive. To listen to segments that aired within the last 6 months, please click the blue off-site button to visit the Fresh Air page on NPR.org.
53:00

Michael Pollan says AI may 'think' — but it will never be conscious

Michael Pollan. His new book, titled "A World Appears: A Journey Into Consciousness," is about different ways neurobiologists and engineers are trying to figure out the source of consciousness and whether AI can ever achieve it. Pollan also writes about how Zen Buddhists, writers and philosophers approach the idea of self and consciousness.

Interview
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Due to the contractual nature of the Fresh Air Archive, segments must be at least 6 months old to be considered part of the archive. To listen to segments that aired within the last 6 months, please click the blue off-site button to visit the Fresh Air page on NPR.org.
52:30

Do the people building the AI chatbot Claude understand what they've created?

Anthropic is one of the world's most powerful AI firms. New Yorker writer Gideon Lewis-Kraus explains how they're trying to make chatbot Claude more ethical, and the implications of AI's widening use.

Interview
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Due to the contractual nature of the Fresh Air Archive, segments must be at least 6 months old to be considered part of the archive. To listen to segments that aired within the last 6 months, please click the blue off-site button to visit the Fresh Air page on NPR.org.
42:30

A photojournalist details her rebellion against the Syrian regime — and her father

Loubna Mrie grew up in Syria, where her father was allegedly an assassin for the regime. She joined the Syrian revolution first as a protester and then as a photojournalist. Her memoir is Defiance.

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Due to the contractual nature of the Fresh Air Archive, segments must be at least 6 months old to be considered part of the archive. To listen to segments that aired within the last 6 months, please click the blue off-site button to visit the Fresh Air page on NPR.org.
52:30

'American Struggle' author assesses Trump's expansion of presidential power

Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Jon Meacham talks about Trump's impact on democracy. Meacham's latest book is a collection of speeches, letters and other original texts from 1619 to the present.

Interview
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Due to the contractual nature of the Fresh Air Archive, segments must be at least 6 months old to be considered part of the archive. To listen to segments that aired within the last 6 months, please click the blue off-site button to visit the Fresh Air page on NPR.org.
21:28

'Music is about taking chances,' R&B musician/producer Raphael Saadiq says

Saadiq helped shape modern R&B and soul in Tony! Toni! Toné! and as a solo artist. Now he's up for an Oscar for his song, "I Lied to You" from the film Sinners. Originally broadcast July 8, 2025.

Interview

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