Fresh Air

Monday through Friday, 11am - 12noon; Monday through Thursday, 7pm - 8pm

Terry Gross

Fresh Air opens the window on contemporary arts and issues with guests from worlds as diverse as literature and economics. Terry Gross hosts this multi-award-winning daily interview and features program. The veteran public radio interviewer is known for her extraordinary ability to engage guests of all dispositions. Every weekday she delights intelligent and curious listeners with revelations on contemporary societal concerns.

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News/Talk

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WWII 'Deserters': Stories Of Men Who Left The Front Lines

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Credit Penguin Press

The Deserters is Charles Glass' second book relating to World War II. His last book, Americans in Paris, told the story of the U.S. citizens who remained in the French capital after the 1940 German invasion.

Credit Penguin Press

John Bain, shown above in 1940, is one of the men Glass profiles in The Deserters.

Credit Penguin Press

Bain, show above at 85 in 2007, deserted from the Gordon Highlanders.

By editor

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Few citizens are more honored than military veterans, and there's particular reverence for those who defeated the Nazis in World War II. Like any war, however, World War II was complicated and traumatic for those on the ground, and not a few deserted from the front lines.

12:42 pm

Mon June 17, 2013

In 'TransAtlantic,' The Flight Is Almost Too Smooth

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Credit iStockphoto.com

Colum McCann's new book imagines the intersections of three historic flights across the Atlantic Ocean.

Credit Dustin Aksland

Colum McCann won the National Book Award in 2009 for Let the Great World Spin.

By Maureen Corrigan

Originally published on Mon June 17, 2013 2:22 pm

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Here we go into the wild blue yonder again with Colum McCann. In his 2009 novel, Let the Great World Spin, McCann swooped readers up into the air with the French aerialist Philippe Petit, who staged an illegal high-wire stunt walk between the twin towers of the World Trade Center in 1974. Strictly speaking, Let the Great World Spin was not a Sept. 11 novel, and yet almost everyone rightly read it as one, since McCann's tale commemorated the towers at the literal zenith of their history.

8:03 am

Sat June 15, 2013

Fresh Air Weekend: Rogen, Goldberg, '20 Feet From Stardom' And 'Much Ado'

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Jo Lawry, Judith Hill and Lisa Fischer are three of the backup singers profiled in the new documentary 20 Feet From Stardom.

By editor

Originally published on Sat June 15, 2013 10:25 am

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Fresh Air Weekend highlights some of the best interviews and reviews from past weeks, and new program elements specially paced for weekends. Our weekend show emphasizes interviews with writers, filmmakers, actors and musicians, and often includes excerpts from live in-studio concerts. This week:

12:26 pm

Fri June 14, 2013

Mantel Takes Up Betrayal, Beheadings In 'Bodies'

Credit Francesco Guidicini /

Hilary Mantel's Wolf Hall won both the Man Booker Prize and the National Book Critics Circle Award. The sequel, Bring Up the Bodies, won this year's Man Booker Prize.

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This interview was originally broadcast on Nov. 26, 2012.

12:03 pm

Fri June 14, 2013

Whedon's Touch Finds A Match With 'Much Ado'

Credit Elsa Guillet-Chapuis / Roadside Attractions

Fran Kranz stars as Claudio in Joss Whedon's new take on Shakespeare's classic comedy Much Ado About Nothing.

By David Edelstein

Originally published on Fri June 14, 2013 12:31 pm

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One word sums up my reaction to Joss Whedon's film of Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing: Huzzah!

Here is the creator of Buffy the Vampire Slayer — and the director of The Avengers — working with American TV actors who have little or no training in verse-speaking. Who could have predicted such a team would produce the best of all filmed Shakespeare comedies?

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1:24 pm

Mon June 17, 2013