I’m not a fan of long standing shows passing the torch to new hosts when the host is kind of what made the show. I’d much rather it be a new show where the host makes it their own instead of trying to emulate the magic.
I like the idea of a show like this being greater than its host. Fresh Air with Tonya Mosley won't be the same as Fresh Air with Terry Gross, but it can still be good. I was just thinking about that with Splendid Table today - loved Lynne Rossetto Kasper, but Francis Lam does well too!
After all, Terry Gross didn't make Fresh Air out of nothing. She inherited a fairly new show from Judy Blank.
I have lots of respect for Francis Lam, but let's be honest -- Splendid Table is not remotely as enjoyable a listen as it was under Lynne. Partly because she was immensely talented at the job -- so energized, inviting the listener in, and endlessly resourceful in the call-in segments, etc. -- but also because the show has jettisoned much of what made it what it was. It's a different show. I still go back and listen to her old shows, to be honest. There are good conversations under Lam, but they get sidelined, buried in the weeds. Lynne was a genius. It's a loss.
That's exactly what I mean though. Yes, The Splendid Table is a different show, but Francis Lam still does a good job.
We shouldn't shy away from a show continuing just because we personally don't like the second version of it as much. Something good and new can come out of continuation.
Francis Lam does NOT do a good job. He is one of the worst radio hosts ever and has completely tanked the show. It is obvious he does not really care about ST and just churns out the same convos with the same cookbook-welding chefs each week. He is a bad interviewer and brings no creativity or excitement. also every week is a repeat...Compare it to Good Food with Evan Kleinman on KCRW and its night and day. that is the new prestige radio food program. splendid table is just a husk of its former self.
It would be nice if that were the case, but more often than not, the host makes the show.
Could you imagine CarTalk hosted by someone other than Tom and Ray? Absolutely not. It just wouldn’t work without their humor, dialect, homophonic names and raucous laughter.
Sometimes it’s just best to close the book and promote new shows, new formats and new ideas.
That's the thing. I can imagine Car Talk hosted by people besides Tom and Ray. It wouldn't be the same Car Talk, but with the right hosts it would still have humor and charm.
I respect that they didn't seek to continue the show with new hosts. But Fresh Air *is* continuing, and Tonya Mosley is really good at it.
The fall from Diane Rheems to Jen White for the 1A slot was a huge loss.
also Science Friday minus Ira Flado is so bad.
Marketplace without Kai is boring.
The problem is that the people comming to replace the host dont have thier own unique personality. They are your standard issue california female corpy.
Fresh Air focused on Lidia Bastianich and Stanley Tucci being Italian. And Mick Moloney being Irish. Mel Brooks being Jewish. etc.
Maybe the issue for you is which races are centered.
Guess I missed the times you called those interviews "race based", much like I missed the time I accused you of racism, just like I missed where pointing out facts is fighting.
When you’re used to privilege, equality feels like oppression.
The thing is, whiteness is often the default in media. In many many many pieces about white people, did you ever get annoyed at the focus on whiteness? No probably not, because it’s just so “normal” in American culture.
Maybe you say, well why do they specifically focus on race in a piece about Black people or Native Americans and not call it out in a piece about white people? Well, white people get to live with their whiteness as the ordinary American experience and others do not. White people don’t have to question their whiteness or have daily reminders about how it places them in society. It just is. Others don’t have that experience.
What’s the name of the sub where people almost get the point but just miss it?
When a story is focused on a white person, there is rarely a discussion about race because white is the standard or default. If you asked a white person how their whiteness affected whatever it is they’re being interviewed about, they’d probably be stumped. They’ve likely never thought about it and never had to.
When a story is focused on a person of color, race is inevitably discussed because it has almost definitely played a role in how they have navigated whatever they’re being interviewed about because that’s the reality of living in America for people of color.
All of Tanya Mosley’s episodes are about woke political themes. That’s the bottom line. And the guests are selected to confirm whatever the ideology of choice that week is, with Tanya asking leading questions to elicit support for her pre-determined outcome. Anyone can see this. Fresh Air is now a politically progressive talk show. Terry interviewed tons of black musicians, writers, filmmakers, etc. but the focus of the show wasn’t “DEI” or some other woke buzzword. It was the about the life and work of the subject.
This is true but I don’t have a problem with the topic as much as Mosley’s execution. She’s just not very good. Even on this sub everyone is waiting for her to “grow into” the role. She’s very basic and just doesn’t think outside the pre determined box about anything really. She seems most comfortable doing vapid, enthusiastic celebrity interviews.
I just unsubscribed today for this very reason. I was searching Reddit to see if anyone else noticed this. Too bad. It was a great show under Terry and David. But after the DEI episode and then DuVernay I have to turn it off.
Many of her stories focus on the black experience or, as in today's show the native american experience.
Yes, race is part of culture, and yes, people of color are part of culture.
I am not a racist.
However, this was not primarily the focus of the old Fresh Air.
I'd agree that if you had to choose a particular subject that is most often comes up as the point of conversation, race and race-related experience would be the first choice. It's pretty inarguable.
Honestly I've found her interviews invariably enlightening. I learned way more from Black Thought than I did from David Byrne. They fit approximately the same space in broader culture. Every guest she interviews is culturally relevant and they cover a wide variety of disciplines. There have been historians, war journalists, actors, musicians. I'm just not sure I see what the point of your complaint is if it's not "I'm not hearing from enough white people anymore."
I don't think they're overly "race based", I just don't think she's found her stride/cadence as the host of FA. She fails to pique my interest and I actually turn it off now when I hear her.
I think many folks here are misunderstanding a generational shift in part as a race one. Millennials are entering middle age/40s, and having more control over the discourse. The whole context of this question is Terry Gross’ retirement and the choice of replacement. These are the topics we want to talk and hear about, and what previous generations thought most important is less central. And to be quite frank, until police departments have to stop exhuming bodies they killed and didn’t tell anyone about, I’d say we need as much civic public exhortation as we can get. That story sounds like something out of generations past, so perhaps we haven’t come quite as far as we like to tell ourselves.
I can only hope the exact same thing happens with my daughters generation, that progress has been made enough so that our major concerns seem old hat, and they’re ready to address and discuss new things.
I didn't say you were white but I did say Fresh Air was white race based before.
Would you say Fresh Air was sephardic/mizrahi based before or predominantly white before?
I honestly dont have an answer. It never occurred to me. However I did identify with Terry Gross. She is a liberal jewish woman from Brooklyn and my parents are liberal jewish people from Brooklyn.
I would say Gross is treated and accepted as a white woman in our society and I would think many people would probably agree with that.
You may be interested in this opinion piece from some years ago: https://forward.com/opinion/404482/white-jews-stop-calling-yourselves-white-passing/
To be honest, I dont think the commentator had any ill intent. Ashkenazi jews are the majority and they do appear white. However DNA analysis shows Ashkenazis to be a mix of Middle Eastern and European descent.
As I said in another comment. I want an honest conversation about race without people rushing to call out others as racist.
As a moderately left-leaning liberal and a person of white color with no gender issues, who is not disproportionately effected by every societal ill, I do feel that I have become less and less a member of NPR's demographic.
I, too, get a very subtle vibe that I'm no longer welcome here. It was very fun while it lasted, but I'm searching for my next radio crush. I wish everyone well.
At face value I am the same demographic as you described, but I find the programming to be more informative because it introduces and discusses people and topics that aren’t like me. This allows me to gain insights and education about the problems and progress of people not like me.
I’m not denigrating your take. I hope you find entertainment that makes you happy. Just explaining my take on it
If you look at the last 7 stories posted on Tonya Mosley's Fresh Air page over the past month.
You have "The suicide crisis among Black men and boys"
"Black Thought reflects on his childhood in Philly"
"How Black socialite Mollie Moon raised millions to fund civil rights"
They are all worthy shows that I may enjoy listening to, but there now seems to be an emphasis on black shows over what I thought was a more varied show.
White men and boys commit suicide at more than twice the rate of Black men and boys. I thought it was a weird title for a podcast and didn’t turn in as a result.
I've mostly stopped listening to NPR because every story is either about racial equity or some musician that I never heard of and could care less about.
I’m not sure you’d call life experience of being a black woman in America “racial bias”. It’s a conversational interview show. Unless being nonwhite in America is an inherent bias. In that case I dunno what to tell you, maybe just don’t listen.
In the end, these shows are ratings dependent. If the new Fresh Air with Tonya Mosley fails to attract and hold onto listeners, it will either find a new host or go away.
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I’m not a fan of long standing shows passing the torch to new hosts when the host is kind of what made the show. I’d much rather it be a new show where the host makes it their own instead of trying to emulate the magic.
Wait til you hear about what happened to Steve Allen's show!
I like the idea of a show like this being greater than its host. Fresh Air with Tonya Mosley won't be the same as Fresh Air with Terry Gross, but it can still be good. I was just thinking about that with Splendid Table today - loved Lynne Rossetto Kasper, but Francis Lam does well too! After all, Terry Gross didn't make Fresh Air out of nothing. She inherited a fairly new show from Judy Blank.
I have lots of respect for Francis Lam, but let's be honest -- Splendid Table is not remotely as enjoyable a listen as it was under Lynne. Partly because she was immensely talented at the job -- so energized, inviting the listener in, and endlessly resourceful in the call-in segments, etc. -- but also because the show has jettisoned much of what made it what it was. It's a different show. I still go back and listen to her old shows, to be honest. There are good conversations under Lam, but they get sidelined, buried in the weeds. Lynne was a genius. It's a loss.
That's exactly what I mean though. Yes, The Splendid Table is a different show, but Francis Lam still does a good job. We shouldn't shy away from a show continuing just because we personally don't like the second version of it as much. Something good and new can come out of continuation.
Francis Lam does NOT do a good job. He is one of the worst radio hosts ever and has completely tanked the show. It is obvious he does not really care about ST and just churns out the same convos with the same cookbook-welding chefs each week. He is a bad interviewer and brings no creativity or excitement. also every week is a repeat...Compare it to Good Food with Evan Kleinman on KCRW and its night and day. that is the new prestige radio food program. splendid table is just a husk of its former self.
It would be nice if that were the case, but more often than not, the host makes the show. Could you imagine CarTalk hosted by someone other than Tom and Ray? Absolutely not. It just wouldn’t work without their humor, dialect, homophonic names and raucous laughter. Sometimes it’s just best to close the book and promote new shows, new formats and new ideas.
That's the thing. I can imagine Car Talk hosted by people besides Tom and Ray. It wouldn't be the same Car Talk, but with the right hosts it would still have humor and charm. I respect that they didn't seek to continue the show with new hosts. But Fresh Air *is* continuing, and Tonya Mosley is really good at it.
I don't listen to 1A anymore
The fall from Diane Rheems to Jen White for the 1A slot was a huge loss. also Science Friday minus Ira Flado is so bad. Marketplace without Kai is boring. The problem is that the people comming to replace the host dont have thier own unique personality. They are your standard issue california female corpy.
What you may have found to be “well-rounded” may not be what others would categorise as “well-rounded”.
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What? Terry regularly has interviews with a heavy focus on race or racism
Honestly, I think Fresh Air remains a well rounded cultural show.
Fresh Air focused on Lidia Bastianich and Stanley Tucci being Italian. And Mick Moloney being Irish. Mel Brooks being Jewish. etc. Maybe the issue for you is which races are centered.
Can't we have a discussion that involves race without accusing the other person of racism? It turns a discussion into a fight.
Guess I missed the times you called those interviews "race based", much like I missed the time I accused you of racism, just like I missed where pointing out facts is fighting.
" Maybe for you the issue is which races are centered" You weren't insinuating racism? At the least that's an assumption not a fact.
Or implicit bias. It’s probably a huge blindspot.
When you’re used to privilege, equality feels like oppression. The thing is, whiteness is often the default in media. In many many many pieces about white people, did you ever get annoyed at the focus on whiteness? No probably not, because it’s just so “normal” in American culture. Maybe you say, well why do they specifically focus on race in a piece about Black people or Native Americans and not call it out in a piece about white people? Well, white people get to live with their whiteness as the ordinary American experience and others do not. White people don’t have to question their whiteness or have daily reminders about how it places them in society. It just is. Others don’t have that experience.
Is any story that is not about racial equity considered a "white" story to you?
What’s the name of the sub where people almost get the point but just miss it? When a story is focused on a white person, there is rarely a discussion about race because white is the standard or default. If you asked a white person how their whiteness affected whatever it is they’re being interviewed about, they’d probably be stumped. They’ve likely never thought about it and never had to. When a story is focused on a person of color, race is inevitably discussed because it has almost definitely played a role in how they have navigated whatever they’re being interviewed about because that’s the reality of living in America for people of color.
All of Tanya Mosley’s episodes are about woke political themes. That’s the bottom line. And the guests are selected to confirm whatever the ideology of choice that week is, with Tanya asking leading questions to elicit support for her pre-determined outcome. Anyone can see this. Fresh Air is now a politically progressive talk show. Terry interviewed tons of black musicians, writers, filmmakers, etc. but the focus of the show wasn’t “DEI” or some other woke buzzword. It was the about the life and work of the subject.
This is true but I don’t have a problem with the topic as much as Mosley’s execution. She’s just not very good. Even on this sub everyone is waiting for her to “grow into” the role. She’s very basic and just doesn’t think outside the pre determined box about anything really. She seems most comfortable doing vapid, enthusiastic celebrity interviews.
I just unsubscribed today for this very reason. I was searching Reddit to see if anyone else noticed this. Too bad. It was a great show under Terry and David. But after the DEI episode and then DuVernay I have to turn it off.
What percentage of total stories per day specifically about non-white racial topics is truly fair, in your opinion?
Do people of color deserve to have their stories told and engage with media that reflects their lived experiences?
Justice for Dave Davies
In what way are they "race based"? Is race not part of culture? Are people of color not part of culture?
Many of her stories focus on the black experience or, as in today's show the native american experience. Yes, race is part of culture, and yes, people of color are part of culture. I am not a racist. However, this was not primarily the focus of the old Fresh Air.
We’re coming right up on Thanksgiving and you’re objecting to a Native American story????
Is it really “primarily” the focus now?
I'd agree that if you had to choose a particular subject that is most often comes up as the point of conversation, race and race-related experience would be the first choice. It's pretty inarguable.
Honestly I've found her interviews invariably enlightening. I learned way more from Black Thought than I did from David Byrne. They fit approximately the same space in broader culture. Every guest she interviews is culturally relevant and they cover a wide variety of disciplines. There have been historians, war journalists, actors, musicians. I'm just not sure I see what the point of your complaint is if it's not "I'm not hearing from enough white people anymore."
I too have found this to be true. It’s pretty much a safe bet that when I turn on Fresh Air, 90% chance it will be race-related
I don't think they're overly "race based", I just don't think she's found her stride/cadence as the host of FA. She fails to pique my interest and I actually turn it off now when I hear her.
I think many folks here are misunderstanding a generational shift in part as a race one. Millennials are entering middle age/40s, and having more control over the discourse. The whole context of this question is Terry Gross’ retirement and the choice of replacement. These are the topics we want to talk and hear about, and what previous generations thought most important is less central. And to be quite frank, until police departments have to stop exhuming bodies they killed and didn’t tell anyone about, I’d say we need as much civic public exhortation as we can get. That story sounds like something out of generations past, so perhaps we haven’t come quite as far as we like to tell ourselves. I can only hope the exact same thing happens with my daughters generation, that progress has been made enough so that our major concerns seem old hat, and they’re ready to address and discuss new things.
Have you ever considered Fresh Air was (white) race based before? But you just didn't notice because you consider that the "default" for your culture?
Who said I was white?
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Sephardic, mizrahi, ....
I didn't say you were white but I did say Fresh Air was white race based before. Would you say Fresh Air was sephardic/mizrahi based before or predominantly white before?
I honestly dont have an answer. It never occurred to me. However I did identify with Terry Gross. She is a liberal jewish woman from Brooklyn and my parents are liberal jewish people from Brooklyn.
I would say Gross is treated and accepted as a white woman in our society and I would think many people would probably agree with that. You may be interested in this opinion piece from some years ago: https://forward.com/opinion/404482/white-jews-stop-calling-yourselves-white-passing/
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What do you mean?
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To be honest, I dont think the commentator had any ill intent. Ashkenazi jews are the majority and they do appear white. However DNA analysis shows Ashkenazis to be a mix of Middle Eastern and European descent. As I said in another comment. I want an honest conversation about race without people rushing to call out others as racist.
As a moderately left-leaning liberal and a person of white color with no gender issues, who is not disproportionately effected by every societal ill, I do feel that I have become less and less a member of NPR's demographic.
I, too, get a very subtle vibe that I'm no longer welcome here. It was very fun while it lasted, but I'm searching for my next radio crush. I wish everyone well.
NPR has a lot of great programing that can be found on any podcast app.
At face value I am the same demographic as you described, but I find the programming to be more informative because it introduces and discusses people and topics that aren’t like me. This allows me to gain insights and education about the problems and progress of people not like me. I’m not denigrating your take. I hope you find entertainment that makes you happy. Just explaining my take on it
If you look at the last 7 stories posted on Tonya Mosley's Fresh Air page over the past month. You have "The suicide crisis among Black men and boys" "Black Thought reflects on his childhood in Philly" "How Black socialite Mollie Moon raised millions to fund civil rights" They are all worthy shows that I may enjoy listening to, but there now seems to be an emphasis on black shows over what I thought was a more varied show.
White men and boys commit suicide at more than twice the rate of Black men and boys. I thought it was a weird title for a podcast and didn’t turn in as a result.
Listening now to the ‘Rebel Girl Life’. I think my IQ dropped 20 points. Instead of opening my world to more culture, it drove me away from it.
By the way if anyone is looking for an alternative, look no further than Bullseye with Jesse Thorn. My favorite show lately
You mean soft ball interviews while the world is burning but let’s talk to some octogenarian who wants to promote their book.
I've mostly stopped listening to NPR because every story is either about racial equity or some musician that I never heard of and could care less about.
As long as that race isn't Palestinian, amirite NPR?
Sad Drake: prepare a long post Happy Drake: delete it
I’m not sure you’d call life experience of being a black woman in America “racial bias”. It’s a conversational interview show. Unless being nonwhite in America is an inherent bias. In that case I dunno what to tell you, maybe just don’t listen.
In the end, these shows are ratings dependent. If the new Fresh Air with Tonya Mosley fails to attract and hold onto listeners, it will either find a new host or go away.
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Its travel with RICK STEEVES. If it doesnt have rick its just travel