Fresh Air Society
Join the Fresh Air Society
About the Show
For nearly 50 years, Fresh Air with Terry Gross on WHYY-FM has brought you poignant interviews with your favorite authors, artists, scientists, actors and more. Terry Gross is known for her inquisitive and in-depth interview style. Through her intimate conversations with today’s most interesting people of note, Terry encourages us to dig deeper and get curious about our common humanity. Fresh Air is more than just a radio program — it’s a time capsule of American history and culture. The program is broadcast on over 657 stations and regularly reaches over 5 million listeners every week with podcast downloads of individual shows reaching on average 3.5 million.
About Terry Gross
Born and raised in Brooklyn, NY, Gross received a bachelor’s degree in English and an M.Ed. in communications from the State University of New York at Buffalo. Gross began her radio career in 1973 at public radio station WBFO in Buffalo, New York. There she hosted and produced several arts, women’s and public affairs programs. Two years later, she joined the staff of WHYY-FM in Philadelphia as producer and host of Fresh Air, then a local, daily interview and music program. In 1985, WHYY-FM launched a weekly half-hour edition of Fresh Air with Terry Gross, which was distributed nationally by NPR. Since 1987, a daily, one-hour national edition of Fresh Air has been produced by WHYY-FM. Terry has received a number of awards, including the prestigious Peabody Award in 1994, An American Women in Radio and Television award in 1999, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting’s Edward R. Murrow award in 2003, the 2007 Literarian Award, and the 2017 National Humanities Medal, awarded by President Barack Obama.
Become an inaugural Fresh Air Society Member
Fresh Air is a cultural institution in our country, and you have the exclusive opportunity to become a part of the Fresh Air Society, an important group of Fresh Air supporters founded by Jeanette Lerman-Neubauer and Joseph Neubauer to ensure this show’s legacy. You can receive special benefits and recognition when you join us at one of the following levels:
Some Past Guests:
Al Roker
Alan Shepard
Alec Baldwin
Anthony Fauci
Aretha Franklin
Barack Obama
Barbara Bush
David Attenborough
David Bowie
Etta James
Francis Ford Coppola
James Baldwin
Jay-Z
Jimmy Fallon
Johnny Cash
LeBron James
Lin-Manuel Miranda
Maya Angelou
Mel Brooks
Meryl Streep
Miles Davis
Patrick Stewart
Robin Williams
John McCain
Stephen Colbert
Stephen Sondheim
Ta-Nehisi Coates
Tina Fey
Toni Morrison
Yo-Yo Ma
…and many more!
Fresh Air in the News
Terry Gross and The Art of Opening Up, The New York Times Magazine, 2015
The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon, 2017
Terry Gross, In Conversation, Vulture Magazine, 2018
The Entirely Calcuable Impact of Terry Gross, The New Yorker, 2011
WHYY’s Terry Gross To Receive National Humanities Medal, Philly Mag, 2015
How to Talk to People, According to Terry Gross, The New York Times, 2018
Finding Your Roots, 2020
The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, 2021
Interested in learning more?
Please contact Lisa Beckman, Director of Philanthropy at freshairsociety@whyy.org or 215-351-2059.