WBHM Interviews

North Korea Nukes
No Child Left Behind: Year 4
The Pentecostal Century
From BSC to Saturn's Moon
Mental Health & Workplace Productivity

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Fresh Air offers some of the most intelligent interviews, reviews, and commentary heard on radio. The hour-long, program features interviews with prominent cultural and entertainment figures, as well as distinguished experts on current events.

Host Terry Gross has been called "one of the most thought-provoking interviewers working in media today" (The Los Angeles Times). She hashosted Fresh Air since 1975, when she started with a local edition at WHYY-FM in Philadelphia. A weekly national version of the show began airing in 1985; the daily edition premiered in 1987. Gross isn't afraid to ask tough questions, but she sets an atmosphere in which her guests volunteer the answers rather than surrender them. What often puts those guests at ease is Gross' understanding of their work. "Anyone who agrees to be interviewed must decide where to draw the line between what is public and what is private. But the line can shift, depending on who is asking the questions," observes Gross. "What puts someone on guard isn't necessarily the fear of being 'found out.' It sometimes is just the fear of being misunderstood."

Fresh Air with Terry Gross has received a number of awards, including the prestigious Peabody Award in 1994 for its "probing questions, revelatory interviews and unusual insight." In 1987, the program received the Ohio State Award. In 1981, it won the Corporation for Public Broadcasting Award for "Best Live Radio Program."

NPR Programs: Fresh Air from WHYY

Growing Up In a Surfer Family, Wipeouts and All: The family of Dorian "Doc" Paskowitz — all 11 of them — lived on a 24-foot camper, traveling the continent in search of good surfing. Their story is the subject of Surfwise, a documentary directed by Doug Pray and produced by Jonathan Paskowitz.
Reporter Explores America's Unique Take on Justice: The United States is home to less than five percent of the world's population — and almost a quarter of the world's prisoners. Adam Liptak, national legal correspondent for The New York Times , says that's one of the ways America's legal system differs from those of other countries.
Ricardo Sanchez: 'Wiser' in Hindsight on Iraq, Politics: Retired U.S. Army Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez commanded ground troops in Iraq from 2003 to 2004; it was on his watch that the Abu Ghraib prison scandal took place. Subsequently, Sanchez has vocally criticized the conduct of the Iraq war — especially the Bush administration's "catastrophically flawed, unrealistically optimistic war plan." His new book is Wiser in Battle: A Soldier's Story.
Exhuming a Real-Life British Murder Mystery: In her new book, The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher: Murder and the Undoing of A Great Victorian Detective, Kate Summerscale revisits the gruesome 150-year-old murder that helped catapult British mystery fiction into being. Fresh Air book critic Maureen Corrigan offers a review.
Hayes Carll, Finding 'Trouble' Where He Can: Fresh Air music critic Ken Tucker reviews Trouble in Mind, the new album from country singer Hayes Carll. The 32-year-old Texan says his music is inspired by Beat poetry, Bob Dylan and singer-songwriter Townes Van Zandt.
Al Gore: 'Assault on Reason' Endangers Democracy: Al Gore made waves for his work raising awareness on climate-change issues. Another poisonous environment has captured his attention as well: a climate that threatens reasonable public discourse.
A Poet's 'Hardheaded' Reflection on Life: In his new collection, Hardheaded Weather: New and Selected Poems, poet Cornelius Eady writes of his transition from urban renter to rural homeowner and the encroachment of middle age.
Charles Ardai: Hard Case Shows a Soft Spot for Pulp: Author Charles Ardai is founder of Hard Case Crime, a publishing group that reprints classic crime fiction and publishes new pulp fiction in paperback editions. Ardai, who writes under the pen name Richard Aleas, has won the Edgar Award for mystery writing.
Junot Diaz Discusses his 'Wondrous' Debut Novel: Author Junot Diaz won a Pulitzer Prize this year for his first novel, The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao. Set in both the United States and the Dominican Republic, the novel explores the complexities of living in two cultures at once, with prose that frequently mixes Spanish and English in the same sentence.
Chuck Berry in Perspective: A Rock History: Rock historian Ed Ward looks at Rock and Roll Hall-of-Famer Chuck Berry and the career that made him a star. Berry's entire record output from the 1950s was recently released on a four-disc set from Hip-O-Select titled, Johnny B. Goode: His Complete '50s Chess Recordings.
'Iron Man': The Popcorn Movie as Comfort Food: Fresh Air film critic David Edelstein reviews Iron Man, based on the Marvel comics hero. The film, directed by Jon Favreau, stars Robert Downey Jr. as a billionaire weapons inventor, alongside Gwyneth Paltrow, Jeff Bridges and Terrence Howard.
Stage Star Turns to Martial Arts in 'Redbelt': Chiwetel Ejiofor plays a martial arts instructor in the new David Mamet film, Redbelt. Before starring in movies, Ejiofor was a prominent stage actor in England. Since then, he's appeared in Dirty Pretty Things, Children of Men and American Gangster.
'Once' Bitten: Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova: Actor-musicians Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova won an Oscar for Best Original Song, "Falling Slowly," in the film, Once. The movie, about two musicians who write songs together and fall in love, is out now on DVD.
Willie Nelson: The Songwriter at 75: Nelson turns 75 today (April 30), and to honor him, there's a major biography and a career-spanning box set. And there's an essay from Fresh Air's rock historian — who once sang backup vocals on a Willie Nelson album — about the legend's brilliant career as a songwriter.
Willie Nelson, Live from the 'Fresh Air' Studios: Our celebration of Willie Nelson's 75th birthday continues with an excerpt from a 1996 visit with the outlaw-country legend. He joined us in our studios for a conversation — and a few songs, including "Amazing Grace," "Family Bible" and "Crazy."