Connect With Your Community

Subscribe for stories that matter!

‘Fresh Air,’ WHYY’s Long-Running Interview Program, to Celebrate 50-Year Anniversary in September

Fresh Air graphic with co-hosts Terry Gross and Tanya Mosley. — Fresh Air is one of the most widely recognized and longest-running interview programs in America, having hosted more than 15,000 interviews.

In 1975, Terry Gross was hired at WHYY to take over an afternoon talk show that had been launched two years prior.

Fresh Air: The Best of Stage and Screen: — **Fresh Air: The Best of Stage and Screen** collects 17 of Terry Gross’s most compelling Fresh Air interviews with legendary actors, directors, and playwrights, offering an intimate look at the stars of stage and screen. Check the price.

At the time, the talk show — “Fresh Air” — had little listenership and was loosely structured.

From there, Gross took it upon herself to bring more structure to the show.

Fast forward to now and “Fresh Air” is one of the most widely recognized and longest-running interview programs in America and will soon celebrate 50 years under Gross’ stewardship, writes Peter Crimmins for WHYY.

To date, “Fresh Air” has hosted more than 15,000 interviews and now broadcasts to more than 3.7 million listeners a week.

The program and its host has also won multiple awards over the years.

In 1993, “Fresh Air” won the Peabody Award, while Gross was awarded the National Humanities Medal by then-President Barack Obama in 2016.

Two years ago, WHYY hired its first-ever co-host for “Fresh Air,” Tonya Mosley, who has high praise for Gross.

“She’s coming to every interview with her own curiosities, her own insights that she wants to gain more information on. She wants to connect with the person that she’s interviewing,” Mosley said.

WHYY will celebrate its 50th anniversary of “Fresh Air” in September.

Read more about the long and storied history of “Fresh Air” at WHYY.

_____