Skip to main content

Segments by Date

Recent segments within the last 6 months are available to play only on NPR

Select Topics

Select Air Date

to

Select Segment Types

Segment Types

20,883 Segments

Sort:

Newest

55:34

Bob Neloms' Life As Motown's House Pianist.

Jazz pianist Bob Neloms joins the show to discuss his early career as the house pianist for Motown Records. Neloms worked with artists such as The Supremes, Martha and the Vandellas, Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye, and Mary Wells. He can be heard on such Motown hits as "Dancing in the Streets," "You've Really Got A Hold On Me," "Baby Love," and "Heat Wave." (INTERVIEW BY DANNY MILLER)

Interview
49:56

Malcolm Forbes on Being "The Capitalist's Tool."

Malcolm Forbes is the owner, chairman, and editor-in-chief of Forbes Magazine, whose slogan is "Forbes: The Capitalist's Tool." The company was founded by Forbes's father, and Forbes joined the staff in 1947, and was promoted after his father's death in 1954. The firm remains a family business--two of Forbes's sons work for the magazine. Forbes is also known for his wealth and extravagant hobbies such as hot-air ballooning (he was the first to travel coast-to-coast in one), motorcycling, and collecting art and toy soldiers.

Interview
48:58

Filmaker Susan Seidelman on her Movie "Smithereens."

Susan Seidelman is the producer and director of the film "Smithereens," which will open at the TLA this week. The movie follows a young women who, despite her lack of musical talent, dreams of becoming a New Wave star. The film co-stars punk musician Richard Hell. "Smithereens" was the first independent film entered into competition at the Cannes Film Festival. Seidelman is from Abington, and will be at the TLA opening.

Interview
35:50

Gays and Lesbians in the Military During the Second World War.

Historian Allan Bérubé has been researching gays and lesbians during World War II, particularly gay men in the military. Bérubé began the research for the San Francisco Lesbian and Gay History Project, an oral history which collected stories from older gays and lesbians about life "pre-Stonewall." Bérubé's work was the covered in the Mother Jones article "Coming Out Under Fire."

Interview
46:11

Rashied Ali's "Free" Drumming.

Philadelphian Rashied Ali is a drummer known for his involvement with "free jazz" and other avant-garde jazz. Ali also played for John Coltrane. Ali joins the show to discuss his life and career.

Interview
44:19

Paul Zimmerman's "The King of Comedy."

Paul Zimmerman is the screenwriter of the film "The King of Comedy," directed by Martin Scorsese and starring Robert DeNiro and Jerry Lewis. Zimmerman was previously the movies editor for Newsweek and has written several books. ZImmerman is based in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, and is active in the Bucks Alliance for Nuclear Disarmament (B.A.N.D.). Now, that "The King of Comedy," has been released, Zimmerman returns to Fresh Air to discuss the film.

Interview
54:51

Interview and Concert with Roger "Jim" McGuinn.

Roger "Jim" McGuinn was the leader of the folk-rock group The Byrds whose hits include "Mr. Tambourine Man" and "Turn, Turn, Turn." McGuinn is the one constant member of the group which has gone several personnel changes, including the departures of David Crosby, Chris Hillman, and Gram Parsons. McGuinn has also released several solo albums. McGuinn brings his guitar to the studio to share both Byrd hits and new music.

Interview
40:54

Bringing Wit, Humor, and Populism to Architecture.

Stanley Tigerman is a Chicago-based architect known as the "enfant terrible" of midwestern architecture. Although he studied with Ludwig Mies Van der Rohe, but in 1976 he decided to break with the Chicago School of architecture and declared he had done his last serious piece. In the same year, he was part of the "Chicago 7," a group of architects who organized a "guerrilla" alternative to the "100 Years of Chicago Architecture" show. Since then, Tigerman has incorporated wit in humor in his work.

Interview
53:17

Charlie Haden's Jazz and Politics.

Charlie Haden is one of the foremost bass players in contemporary jazz. In the 1950s Haden was a part of the first Ornette Coleman Quartet, which was the center of a jazz revolution. He has been involved with both avant-garde and mainstream jazz ever since. In the 1960s he formed the Liberation Music Orchestra, whose pointed political references were controversial. Haden has recently re-formed the Orchestra and also plays with the band Old and New Dreams, made-up of Coleman alumni. He has also recently recorded an album with Denny Zeitlin.

Interview
42:39

Atwood on Women and Literature.

Margaret Atwood is a novelist and poet whose female protagonists have attracted women readers. Atwood considers herself a feminist writer and joins the show to discuss her life, career, and the women's movement. Her latest work is a collection of short stories titled "Dancing Girls."

Interview
27:56

Opera Star, Roberta Peters.

Coloratura soprano Roberta Peters made her debut at the Metropolitan Opera in 1950, and has sung there every seasons since. Peters has performed in China and the U.S.S.R. Peters joins the show to discuss her life, career, and the current state of opera.

Interview
36:52

Kensington Joint Action Council.

Michael DiBerardinis is an organizer with the Kensington Joint Action Council (KJAC), an community group that attempts to unite Whites, Blacks, and Latinx to tackle neighborhood problems. DiBerardinis joins the show to discuss conditions, racial relations, and politics in the neighborhood. (INTERVIEW BY DAVE DAVIES)

28:14

Poetry and Prose with Toby Olson.

"Seaview" is Toby Olson's second novel, and has been nominated for a Penn/Faulkner Award. The novel follows a golf hustler and dying woman who travel across the U. S. Olson is also well known as a poet, especially in the Philadelphia where he is an active member of the "poetry scene." Olson teaches at Temple University where he is developing a Master's degree program in creative writing.

Interview
01:01:25

John Rockwell and "All American Music."

John Rockwell is the music critic for The New York Times. He believes critics should take (almost) all genres of music equally, and was one the first critics to cover "vernacular music." Rockwell has written the book "All American Music." Rockwell discusses his taste in music (including his beginnings in classical music), journalism, and shares records with Fresh Air.

Interview
39:24

Poetry for Today with Gwendolyn Brooks.

Poet Gwendolyn Brooks was, in 1954, the first black person to receive the Pulitzer Prize for poetry. Brooks has written over fifteen books, her poetry has been widely anthologized, and has received over forty honorary doctorates. Brooks is also the Poet Laureate of Illinois. Brooks is in the are to deliver the "Marion Moore Poetry Reading" at Bryn Mawr College. Brooks discusses her career and reads some of her poetry.

Interview
13:45

Extending the Human Lifespan.

Gerontologist Roy Walford is currently researching the aging process and how to extend life expectancy. His new book "Maximum Life Span," explores the theory he is currently developing on using caloric restriction, or what Walford calls "under nutrition," to extend life expectancy. Walford has been on the faculty of the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) since 1954, and has won many awards for his research and work.

Interview
15:07

Nursing Homes, Mystery, and Suspense.

Seymour Shubin is a novelist whose previous work "Anyone's My Name," was a best seller. Shubin is the former managing editor of Official Detective Stories, and has written for medical and psychological journalists. His new novel, "The Captain," is a suspense story that explores the anger and resentment a retired detective living in a nursing home feels towards the nurses, doctors, and the family members who put him there. The novel has been nominated for an Edgar Award.

Interview

Did you know you can create a shareable playlist?

Advertisement

There are more than 22,000 Fresh Air segments.

Let us help you find exactly what you want to hear.
Just play me something
Your Queue

Would you like to make a playlist based on your queue?

Generate & Share View/Edit Your Queue