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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.
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Fresh Air

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.

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Comedy

Philadelphia School District headquarters
Keystone Crossroads
Education

Yes, and… Philadelphia middle and high schoolers are learning improv to better their skills

The Philadelphia School District said it hopes improv workshops will help students better prepare for college.

3 years ago

P.J. O'Rourke in 2007 in Los Angeles, California. (Michael Buckner/Getty Images)
NPR
Arts & Entertainment

Satirist P.J. O’Rourke, panelist on NPR’s ‘Wait…Wait Don’t Tell Me,’ dies at 74

O'Rourke wrote more than twenty books about a range of topics, from politics to cars, and he was a longtime panelist on the NPR show Wait Wait...Don't Tell Me!.

3 years ago

Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner was the local guest who played “Not My Job” at the live taping of Wait, Wait, Don’t Tell Me! at the Mann Center on August 5, 2021. The show was the first audience-attended taping since the COVID-19 pandemic shutdowns. (Kimberly Paynter/WHYY)
Arts & Entertainment

‘Wait Wait … Don’t Tell Me’ makes its return to live audiences in Philly

Host Peter Sagal brought `Wait Wait … Don’t Tell Me’ back to in-person performance at the Mann Center.

4 years ago

Listen 1:33
Kate Winslet in
Arts & Entertainment
Billy Penn

Wawa and the Philly accent go global, thanks to Kate Winslet and SNL

A comedy skit featuring a trailer for a crime show called "Murder Durder" was livestreamed around the world.

4 years ago

Diamond Stylz (center) and her Marsha's Plate podcast co-hosts Mia (left) and Zee (right). (Image courtesy of Diamond Stylz)
The Pulse
Health

‘Nothing’s wrong if it’s funny’: Black comedy taps a longstanding coping tool

Sarcasm, trading insults, in-jokes continue a tradition that began when the first enslaved Africans arrived here back in 1619.

5 years ago

Listen 7:00
Maja Watkins, (right) at 5 years old, with brother Zachary Miletich, 7, in Danville, California, 1992. (Courtesy of Maja Watkins)
The Pulse
Health

Getting to the basics of humor for people on the autism spectrum

Many don’t perceive jokes that rely on sarcasm and dual meanings. Improv comedy can help with understanding that, and teach other life skills.

5 years ago

Listen 5:07
Paul Hathaway and Joanne McLaughlin. When Paul spent 48 weeks on chemo, she got markers and paper lunch bags, and tried the gallows humor thing. (Image courtesy of Joanne McLaughlin)
The Pulse
Health

How bad cartoons helped relieve the chronic-disease blues

When my spouse spent 48 weeks on chemo, I got markers and paper lunch bags, and tried the gallows humor thing.

5 years ago

Listen 5:44
Radio Times
Arts & Entertainment

Martha Graham Cracker

Philadelphia’s famous drag queen, Martha Graham Cracker, stops by to talk about the rumors of retirement, her new album, and what's next.

5 years ago

Listen 17:00
Radio Times
Arts & Entertainment

Poet Thomas Devaney / Comedy with 1812 Productions

Thomas Devaney's new book of poems charts his complicated relationship with his home city of Philadelphia. Then, 1812 Productions, a local political satire group.

Air Date: December 24, 2019 10:00 am

Listen 49:01
Chris Cotton and Vernon Keith Ruffin Jr. (Courtesy Vernon Keith Ruffin, Jr.)
Community
Billy Penn

Eulogies for Chris Cotton, the Philly comedian who died of an embolism

Reflection services are set for Dec. 21.

6 years ago

Comedian Chris Cotton repped Philly hardFACEBOOK / VERNON KEITH RUFFIN JR.
Community
Billy Penn

Philly comedian Chris Cotton dies at 32, just months before welcoming first child

The South Philadelphia native spoke at an anti-violence meeting last week.

6 years ago

Tanaquil Márquez (left) and Brett Ashley Robinson in a skit about self-care at 'This Is the Week That Is.' (Courtesy of Mark Garvin)
Shapiro on Theater
Arts & Entertainment

Sharpening the sting for ‘This Is the Week That Is’

A reporter eavesdrops on the give-and-take in the writers’ room during prep for the stage spoof 1812 Productions has produced over the holidays for the past 14 years.

6 years ago

Dannagal Goldthwaite Young, author of Irony and Outrage: The Polarized Landscape of Rage, Fear, and Laughter in the United States
Radio Times
Politics & Policy

Irony and Outrage

Dannagal Goldthwaite Young argues that conservative talk radio and liberal political satire might be two halves of the same whole for their audiences.

Air Date: December 4, 2019

Listen 49:00
Joel Hodgson and the MST3k robots (Shout Factory)
Radio Times
Arts & Entertainment

Joel Hodgson, creator of Mystery Science Theater 3000

Joel Hodgson joins Marty to talk about his career, the humble beginnings of Mystery Science Theater 3000, and saying goodbye to his robot friends.

Air Date: October 25, 2019 10:00 am

Listen 49:01
(AP Photo/Richard Drew)
Radio Times
Arts & Entertainment

A farewell to MAD

MAD Magazine has been skewering American culture and politics for over half a century. Today on the show, we pay tribute to the magazine and learn about its history.

Air Date: August 8, 2019 10:00 am

Listen 48:59
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