This is episode one of my long-awaited Terry Gross Project, where I tackle the question of who Terry Gross’s successor should be on Fresh Air and what we can learn, by playing around with that question, about the magic of Terry Gross, the cultural meaning and trajectory of NPR, the art of the interview, and various other related topics.
I’m speaking to six different esteemed guests on the topic. On this episode it’s Sarah Hepola, Jason Thurlkill, and Meghan Daum. On the second part, which we’ll drop next week, it’s Mark Oppenheimer, Mike Pesca, and Jesse Adams/The Ivy Exile.
The genesis of this special project was noticing, not long ago, that NPR had added Tonya Mosley as a co-equal host to Terry on Fresh Air. Mosely is not, in other words, a regular substitute host like Dave Davies, but someone who alternates hosting duties with Terry and has equal billing with her on the logo.
This was striking to me for a few reasons. One is that Mosley joined up more than two years ago, in May of 2023, but I didn’t notice her addition to the cast until very recently; this is …
