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Pic of Fresh Air

Best Of: Record producer Peter Asher / Romance writer Kennedy Ryan

July 11, 2026
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Fresh Air

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Record producer and manager Peter Asher discovered James Taylor and launched Carole King’s career. Paul McCartney and John Lennon wrote “I Want to Hold Your Hand” in his family’s basement. He spoke with Terry Gross about having a front-row seat to some of the biggest moments in recording history.

Also, romance novelist Kennedy Ryan talks about how she fell for the genre in middle school, even though her mother, a preacher, didn't approve. Ryan’s best-selling books center on people who are usually at the margins – Black women, queer women, and women with chronic illnesses and disabilities. 

TV critic David Bianculli has a review of the ‘Little House on the Prairie’ remake.

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