Description and people
The show is composed primarily of interviews with prominent figures in various fields, among them entertainment and the arts, culture, journalism, and global current affairs. This main segment is followed by shorter segments, most often comprising coverage and reviews of events and new releases in various cultural and entertainment spheres. The subjects of these shorter segments include movies, books, stage plays, television programs, as well as recordings of popular music, jazz, and classical music. The program also features commentary and interviews from a range of regular contributors, including Maureen Corrigan, David Bianculli, Dave Davies, Ken Tucker, Kevin Whitehead, John Powers, Lloyd Schwartz, Justin Chang, and Nick Quah.[12]
The executive producer of Fresh Air is Danny Miller. The program is produced and edited by Phyllis Myers, Ann Marie Baldonado, Sam Briger, Lauren Krenzel, Therese Madden, Thea Chaloner, Susan Nyakundi and Anna Bauman. The show is directed by Roberta Shorrock. Audrey Bentham is the engineer. Molly Seavy-Nesper is the producer of Digital Media.[13]
The show's theme song, a jazz piece called "Fresh Air", was composed for the program by Joel Forrester of The Microscopic Septet.
Film critic John Powers was appointed as the program's film critic, a role lasting six years, before becoming "pop culture and critic-at-large" for Fresh Air, a role he retains as of .[14] Powers is an approved reviewer for review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, and a member of the Los Angeles Film Critics Association.[15]
Broadcast
The program's interviews are pre-recorded and edited, not broadcast live.[16] As with many such radio programs, guests are often not in the studio during recording, and often speak remotely from a local affiliate station, or a home studio.[17] When pressing news requires, the show has gone live, such as during the Soviet coup attempt of 1991, and in the aftermath of the Boston Marathon bombing on April 19, 2013.
Fresh Air interviews are generally first aired on the Monday through Thursday shows. The Friday shows are rebroadcasts of past interviews. In addition, some stations carry Fresh Air Weekend, a re-programming of highlights of the week's interviews.[18][19]
