Fresh Air

The Trump administration has frozen around 3 billion dollars in Harvard grants and contracts, and is trying to stop the university's ability to enroll foreign students. In response, Harvard is suing. Terry Gross talks with Harvard Law Professor Noah Feldman. TV critic David Banculli previews CNN's live telecast of the broadway production of Good Night, and Good Luck, starring George Clooney as TV journalist Edward R. Murrow.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Mark Hamill played Luke Skywalker, one of the most iconic heroes in movie history. His latest film, The Life of Chuck, is an adaptation of a Stephen King novella. He spoke to Fresh Air about auditioning for Star Wars, voiceover work, and the advice Carrie Fisher gave him.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

The success of I Love Lucy is often credited to Lucille Ball's comedic talent, but biographer Todd Purdum says Desi Arnaz was more than just "second banana" to Lucy. He also helped shape the modern sitcom. Also, TV critic David Bianculli reviews a documentary about John Lennon and Yoko Ono.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Comic Sarah Silverman talks about her new Netflix special, PostMortem, about the death of her father and stepmother, 9 days apart. She talks with Terry Gross about how the special came to be. Also, we hear from Cole Escola, creator and star of the hit Broadway comedy Oh Mary! It's an intentionally ridiculous reimagining of first lady Mary Todd Lincoln. It portrays her as having become addicted to alcohol, not because of the Civil War, but because she's desperately yearning for her only true love, cabaret. Plus, Ken Tucker reviews new albums by Willie Nelson and Ken Pomeroy.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Filmmaker and stunt coordinator David Leitch says it's easier to do stunts himself than direct his stunt performer friends. "You are responsible for their safety," he explains. "Your heart goes through your chest." His film The Fall Guy is about the unknown performers who put their lives on the line. He spoke with Terry Gross about barrel rolling cars, being lit on fire, and doing another take when everything hurts. Also, Justin Chang reviews the new Wes Anderson film, The Phoenician Scheme.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Silverman's father and stepmother are buried under one tombstone that reads: "Janice and Donald, who loved to laugh." The loss was a starting point for Silverman's "cathartic" Netflix comedy special, PostMortem. She spoke with Terry Gross about their final days, finding the joy in grief, and she reflects on the boys' club of the comedy scene when she was starting out.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

The Atlantic writer George Packer calls JD Vance the most interesting figure in the Trump administration: "He's capable of complex thought, and I also think he may be the future of the MAGA movement."Also, David Bianculli reviews the HBO movie Mountainhead, written by Succession writer/creator Jesse Armstrong.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

James Patterson's books have sold over 400 million copies worldwide. He says he often gets ideas for them late at night. His latest, The #1 Dad Book, offers advice for fathers. He spoke with Terry Gross at a WHYY live event for the "Lifelong Learning Award." Also, Martin Johnson reviews a new album from accordionist Will Holshouser, and we listen back to Terry's interview with him when he brought his instrument to the studio.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

For the holiday weekend, we're revisiting our recent interview with Questlove. His documentary, SLY LIVES! (aka The Burden of Black Genius), examines Sly Stone's enormous impact on music — and the price he paid for it. "Sly will invent the alphabet for which most of pop and R&B or Black music will write from for the next 60 years," Questlove says. "We're still writing from his dictionary to this day."Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Professors and educators are now turning to A.I. to prepare lessons, teach, and even grade students' work. We talk with New York Times tech reporter Kashmir Hill about the ongoing debate in higher-ed about A.I.. TV critic David Bianculli reviews One to One, a new documentary about John Lennon and Yoko Ono.Also, writer Amanda Hess talks about motherhood in the digital age, navigating a world where apps, surveillance tech, and a relentless stream of algorithmic advice have become part of pregnancy and parenting. Her book is Second Life.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

We remember Broadway composer Charles Strouse, who died May 15 at age 96. He wrote the music for the hit musicals Bye Bye Birdie and Annie, which included such songs as "Put On a Happy Face," "A Lot of Livin' to Do," and "Tomorrow." Jay-Z sampled "Hard Knock Life," from Annie, on a Grammy-award-winning rap recording. Strouse understood why: "I wanted that song to be gritty. I didn't want it to be a fake. I wanted it to show these desperate times and these maltreated girls." Strouse spoke with Terry Gross in 2002. Also, critic-at-large John Powers reviews Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Walton Goggins talks with Tonya Mosley about growing up poor in the Deep South, the travel that changed him, and collaborating with his wife. He says his unconventional childhood shaped his approach to acting, from Justified to The White Lotus and The Righteous Gemstones. David Bianculli reviews a new two-part HBO documentary about Paul Reubens, who played Pee-Wee Herman.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Colleges and universities have been trying to fight against students using tools like ChatGPT to do class assignments and communicate. But here's a twist: Professors and educators are now turning to A.I. to prepare lessons, teach, and even grade students' work. We talk with NYT tech reporter Kashmir Hill about these conflicts on campus. Also, she shares what she learned after giving over her life for a week to A.I. tools, which wrote emails for her, planned her meals, chose what she should wear, and even created video messages for TikTok using her likeness and a clone of her voice.David Bianculli reviews a new documentary about John Lennon and Yoko Ono.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

CNN host Jake Tapper's book, Original Sin, co-authored by Alex Thompson, describes a president who struggled to function: "One person told us that the presidency was, at best, a five-person board with Joe Biden as chairman." Tapper spoke with Terry Gross about moderating the disastrous Biden/Trump debate, George Clooney's op-ed calling for the president to drop out, and the White House's "cover-up" about Biden's decline.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Escola gives former first lady Mary Todd Lincoln a wild second act in the Tony-nominated play Oh, Mary! "This play is about a woman with a dream that no one around her understands," Escola says. The actor spoke with Ann Marie Baldonado about growing up in rural Oregon, the inspiration for the play, and making sense of its surprise success. Maureen Corrigan reviews Ocean Vuong's new novel, The Emperor of Gladness.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Ramy Youssef's new animated comedy series, #1 Happy Family USA, is about an Egyptian American Muslim family living in New Jersey, after 9/11, trying to blend in and doing everything they can to avoid being seen as a threat. Youssef spoke with Terry Gross about the series and his own experience during that time. Also, Danny McBride talks with Tonya Mosley about his HBO series The Righteous Gemstones, about a wildly dysfunctional family of televangelists fighting for power, influence, and their father's approval.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

There's a new documentary about the '60s British band The Zombies. It's called 'Hung Up on a Dream' and it's streaming on Amazon Prime. We're listening back to Terry's 1998 interview with lead singer of The Zombies, Colin Blunstone. The band had a reputation for being clean cut and well mannered. "People want rascals and rogues and naughty boys. So in a way, I think that it went against us a bit," he said.Also, we remember actor/director James Foley. He directed Glengarry Glen Ross.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Journalist Amy Larocca says our society's obsession with optimization and self-care has reached a fever pitch. She unpacks what it really means to take care of ourselves in How to Be Well. Also, Justin Chang reviews the Chinese film Caught by the Tides.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

ProPublica reporter David Armstrong began investigating the pharmaceutical industry when he learned a single pill of his cancer treatment costs about the same as a new iPhone — but costs 25 cents to make. His investigation into the discovery and marketing of the drug Revlimid revealed strategies employed by pharmaceutical companies to ward off competition, and keep prices of their medications high. We'll also talk about ways insurance companies deny claims for tests and treatment recommended by doctors.Also, David Bianculli reviews a music documentary about singer-songwriter Janis Ian.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Actor Ramy Youssef was in 5th grade and living in New Jersey when the Twin Towers fell. His new Amazon Prime animated show, #1 Happy Family USA, draws on the experiences of his own Egyptian American family navigating Islamophobia after Sept. 11. Conan O'Brien was the recipient of this year's Kennedy Center Mark Twain Prize for American Humor. David Bianculli reviews the Netflix special of the ceremony.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

The Georgia native has seen how Hollywood traffics in stereotypes about the American South. He talks with Tonya Mosley about making creative work that challenges them. His HBO show The Righteous Gemstones, which satirizes televangelists, just wrapped its fourth and final season.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Michelle Williams talks about starring in Dying For Sex — a dark but funny TV series based on a true story about a woman with stage four cancer who, facing death, decides to take ownership of her sexual pleasure. Also, we hear from Sarah Snook. She's best known for her role on HBO's Succession as Shiv Roy. She tells us why she almost didn't audition for the part. Snook was recently nominated for a Tony for her performance on Broadway in the stage adaptation of The Picture of Dorian Gray.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

R. Crumb created Zap Comix and such characters as Mr. Natural and Fritz the Cat. His comics were a staple of the 1960s counterculture, and came out of his nightmares, fantasies and fetishes. There was a time when he wanted to censor that part of himself — but then he took LSD. He told Terry Gross about that experience in a 2005 interview. We'll also hear from his wife Aline Kominsky Crumb, who is also a cartoonist. Film critic Justin Chang reviews the new Marvel film, Thunderbolts*.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

When NYT critic-at-large Amanda Hess learned her unborn child had an abnormality, she turned to the internet — but didn't find reassurance. "My relationship with technology became so much more intense," she says. She talks with Tonya Mosley about pregnancy apps, online forums, and baby gadgets. Her new book is Second Life: Having A Child In The Digital Age. Also, Maureen Corrigan reviews Daniel Kehlmann's new novel, The Director. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

New York Times reporter Eric Lipton says the Trump family businesses, including their crypto company, are capitalizing on the President's position, and creating unprecedented conflicts of interest.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Michelle Williams' FX/Hulu series Dying For Sex follows a woman with terminal cancer who decides to pursue her own sexual pleasure. She says the show is about sex, friendship and "being scared and brave at the same time."Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Snook, who played Shiv Roy on Succession, was just nominated for a Tony for playing all the characters in The Picture of Dorian Gray on Broadway. "I don't know what comes after this," she says. She talks about playing 26 different parts in Dorian, why she almost didn't audition for Succession, and the word she could never quite say in an American accent. Also, Ken Tucker shares a remembrance of the leader of Pere Ubu, David Thomas.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

We're diving into the resurgence of the pronatalism movement, the belief that having more babies will save a failing civilization. With new Trump-backed policies promising "baby bonuses" and even a "National Medal of Motherhood," pronatalists are warning that falling U.S. birth rates could mean economic collapse, or even extinction. Sociologist Dr. Karen Guzzo and NPR reporter Lisa Hagen join us to unpack the motivations behind this growing movement.Also, we'll talk with author Daria Burke. She spent several years digging into the science of how our brains and bodies carry the imprint of early experiences. She wanted to understand the trauma of her childhood. Plus, Justin Chang reviews the new Cronenberg thriller The Shrouds.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

David Grann's book, The Wager, is about an 18th century British warship that wrecked on an island after passing through the treacherous waters of Cape Horn. The castaways faced terrible conditions and starvation, and descended into chaos, including cannibalism and mutiny. 81 sailors escaped the island on a makeshift boat, and sailed nearly 3000 miles to Brazil. Only 29 survived. Grann is also the author of Killers of the Flower Moon. David Bianculli reviews the new Netflix miniseries The Four Seasons, co-created by Tina Fey.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Fresh Air host Terry Gross lost her husband, acclaimed writer Francis Davis, on April 14. They were together for 47 years. Today, she shares some of Francis with the audience, including the story of how they met and became a couple.Also, we listen back to our 2005 interview with George Clooney. He just received a Tony nomination for his role as Edward R. Murrow in Good Night, and Good Luck on Broadway.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

A once-fringe movement claims having more babies is the only way to save civilization. NPR reporter Lisa Hagen and sociologist Karen Guzzo explain who's empowering pronatalism today.Plus, jazz critic Martin Johnson reviews a new album from Wilco guitarist Nels Cline.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Journalist David Graham says the aim of the creators of the conservative action plan Project 2025 aim is to push the federal government "as far to the right as they can." His new book is The Project.Also, TV critic David Bianculli reviews a new PBS documentary about libraries.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Daria Burke spent several years digging into the science of how our brains and bodies carry the imprint of early experiences. She wanted to understand the trauma she lived through growing up in 1980s Detroit with a mother who battled addiction. She suffered years of neglect before finding stability through school and rising in the corporate world. In her new memoir, Of My Own Making, she writes about the limits of success, how she was shaped by her past, and the work it took to change course. Plus, our critic at large, John Powers, reviews The Golden Hour. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Oscar-nominated filmmaker Ryan Coogler's movies include both Black Panther films and Creed. His latest fillm, Sinners, is a vampire thriller about twins, both played by Michael B. Jordan, opening a juke joint in 1930s Mississippi. The film explores race, faith, and American history through the lens of horror. Also, Noah Wyle talks about his starring role in the MAX series The Pitt, about life at a Pittsburgh hospital emergency room. He also played a doctor on the long-running hit ER. Plus, contributor Carolina Miranda reviews Laila Lalami's suspenseful new novel, The Dream Hotel.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Before he became a musician, Merle Haggard lived the kind of life that's often mythologized in song: Hopping freights and doing prison time. When he became a star, he acquired his own observation car. Now that coach is part of the Virginia Scenic Railway. Terry Gross spoke with Haggard in 1995. Classical music critic Lloyd Schwartz reviews two albums: one's a collection of recordings by Paul Robeson, and the other features the music of Paul Robeson, performed by singer Davóne Tines. Finally, Justin Chang reviews David Cronenberg's new thriller, The Shrouds.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

ADHD has been considered a medical disorder, treatable with drugs like Ritalin, but New York Times Magazine writer Paul Tough says recent studies question that assumption and treatment options.Also, Martin Johnson reviews a new tribute to Anthony Braxton, who Johnson says is one of the most polarizing figures in jazz.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

The director of Black Panther and Creed talks about his new genre-bending vampire movie that takes place in the Jim Crow South. It's called Sinners and it stars Michael B. Jordan as twins working a juke joint in Mississippi. He spoke with Tonya Mosley about blues music, the supernatural, and why he wanted to own the movie outright after 25 years. Also, book critic Carolina Miranda reviews The Dream Hotel by Laila Lalami.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Harvard professor of government Steven Levitsky studies how healthy democracies can slip into authoritarianism. He says the Trump administration has already done grave damage: "We are no longer living in a democratic regime." David Bianculli reviews season 2 of Nathan Fielder's The Rehearsal.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

After 11 seasons on ER, Noah Wyle thought he was finished with medical dramas: "I spent 15 years avoiding — actively avoiding — walking down what I thought was either hallowed ground or traveled road." But then COVID happened, and he felt compelled to tell more of these stories. He spoke with Dave Davies about the making of The Pitt, the medical jargon, and his mom's feedback on the show. Also, book critic Maureen Corrigan reviews Poems by Dorothy Parker and The Usual Desire to Kill by Camilla Barnes. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

You've seen Richard Kind on countless TV shows and films during his 40-year career — Only Murders in the Building, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Spin City, and A Serious Man, just to name a few. He's now the announcer and sidekick on Everybody's Live with John Mulaney. He spoke with Terry Gross about the new gig and why he's glad he's not that famous. Melinda French Gates also joins us to talk about her new book, The Next Day, which reflects on motherhood, grief, philanthropy, and life after divorce.John Powers reviews the new Apple TV+ series Your Friends & Neighbors, starring Jon Hamm.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

MSNBC host Joy-Ann Reid tells the story of Medgar Evers and his wife Myrlie. Medgar was the NAACP field secretary in Mississippi, a state that lynched more Black people than any other. The risks of the job created a lot of tension in their marriage — and after Medgar's 1963 assassination, Myrlie's fury drove her to be an activist herself.And film critic Justin Chang reviews Sinners, the new supernatural thriller by director Ryan Coogler, starring Michael B. Jordan.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

New Yorker staff writer Sarah Stillman says she's discovered dozens of cases where people in county jails across the U.S. have died of starvation, dehydration, or related medical crises. Many were people with mental health issues arrested for minor crimes who languished behind bars without treatment, unable to make bail.Also, we remember renowned jazz critic and Terry Gross' husband, Francis Davis.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

In The Illegals: Russia's Most Audacious Spies and Their Century-Long Mission to Infiltrate the West, journalist Shaun Walker shares how agents were trained to blend into a target country and posed as citizens. Walker tells the story of Andrei Olegovich Bezrukov, aka "Donald," and Elena Vavilova, aka "Tracey," who were embedded in Cambridge, Mass. until a 2010 FBI raid. Even their two children didn't know their parents' true identities. Also, jazz historian Kevin Whitehead pays tribute to versatile tenor saxophonist Gene Ammons.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

In a new memoir, billionaire Melinda French Gates writes about the end of her marriage to Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, and her ongoing philanthropic work, directing funds and attention to women's health initiatives. Her book is The Next Day. Also, David Bianculli reviews the new season of Black Mirror.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Kind is the announcer and host sidekick on the Netflix show Everybody's Live with John Mulaney. "I don't know what the hell I'm doing. You must understand — it's anarchy," he says of the show. He spoke with Terry Gross about having ego but no confidence, working with Sondheim, and working in his father's jewelry store as a teen. Ken Tucker reviews Kendrick Lamar and SZA's single "Luther."Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Grammy-winning singer-songwriter Jason Isbell sings about his split from musician Amanda Shires on his latest album, Foxes in the Snow. "What I was attempting to do is document a very specific time where I was going through a lot of changes," he tells Terry Gross. David Bianculli reviews the FX/Hulu series Dying for Sex. When Scottish actor David Tennant was three, he told his parents he wanted to grow up to play Doctor Who on TV. His dream became a reality — he was Doctor Who for five years and, it turns out, he was suited for lots of other characters, including villains and detectives, and the lead in many Shakespeare plays.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

The Emmy and Peabody Award-winning comedy series returns for a fourth season this week. It's about two women — a successful comic/TV personality in her 70s, and her 20-something comedy writer — and the generational clashes that ensue. We're revisiting interviews with stars Jean Smart and Hannah Einbinder, and Paul W. Downs who co-created the series and plays their manager. Also, film critic Justin Chang reviews Warfare, a movie about U.S. Navy SEALs.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Johnson & Johnson recently lost a bid to settle lawsuits that claimed its talc powder products, including baby powder, caused cancer. Author Gardiner Harris says the company's defense "is beginning to crumble." His book is No More Tears. Also, John Powers reviews the new Apple TV+ series Your Friends & Neighbors, starring Jon Hamm.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

President Trump's sweeping tariff policy has upended the global economy. Zanny Minton Beddoes, the editor-in-chief of The Economist, likens it to The Art of the Deal — on steroids.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Author Chris Whipple says Biden's family and closest advisors operated in denial regarding his ability to serve another term: "There's no doubt that they were protecting the president." Whipple spoke with campaign insiders to get a behind-the-scenes look at what happened in 2024. His book is Uncharted: How Trump Beat Biden, Harris, and the Odds in the Wildest Campaign in History. Our book critic Maureen Corrigan shares an appreciation of The Great Gatsby for its 100th anniversary.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

When David Tennant was three, he told his parents he wanted to grow up to play Doctor Who on TV. As a teen, he held onto that dream: "I was quite weedy and I wore glasses and I had a terrible haircut, so all those things still felt possible in the world of the Doctor. There was something about that character I could be," Tennant tells Sam Briger. He was Doctor Who for five years and, it turns out, he was suited for lots of other characters–including villains and detectives, and the lead in many Shakespeare plays.Later, TV critic David Bianculli reviews the new series Dying for Sex, starring Michelle Williams and Jenny Slate.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Amanda Knox was convicted — and ultimately exonerated — for the murder of her roommate Meredith Kercher while studying abroad in Italy. Now in a new memoir, Knox explains why getting out of prison was not the end of her saga. Also, we hear from British actor Stephen Graham. He stars in the Netflix miniseries Adolescence as the father of a 13-year-old boy arrested for murdering a girl from his school. He also co-created the series and talks about the ambitious style in which it was shot — in one long take. Ken Tucker reviews new albums by Lucy Dacus and Jeffrey Lewis.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

It's been 20 years since the debut of NBC's hit mockumentary sitcom The Office. To celebrate the anniversary, we're listening back to Terry Gross' archival interviews with some of the key players: Steve Carell, Jenna Fischer, John Krasinski, Rainn Wilson, Mindy Kaling and executive producer Greg Daniels. We'll also hear from Ricky Gervais, who co-created and starred the original British version.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Isbell sings about his split from musician Amanda Shires on his latest album, Foxes in the Snow. "What I was attempting to do is document a very specific time where I was going through a lot of changes," he says.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

As ICE agents arrest international students at campuses across the U.S., immigration law professor Daniel Kanstroom discusses the human cost. He says the round-ups are designed to "send a message... to scare people, and it's working."Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

As a longtime staff writer at The New Yorker, Hilton Als's essays and profiles of figures like Toni Morrison, Joan Didion, and Richard Pryor have redefined cultural criticism, blending autobiography with literary and social commentary. Als is also a curator. His latest gallery exhibition is The Writing's on the Wall: Language and Silence in the Visual Arts, at the Hill Art Foundation in New York. The exhibit brings together the works of 32 artists across a range of media to examine how artists embrace silence. The show asked a powerful question: What do words — and their absence — look like? The Pulitzer Prize-winning writer spoke with Tonya Mosley. Also, Ken Tucker reviews new music from Lucy Dacus and Jeffrey Lewis.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

The Netflix miniseries follows a 13-year-old accused of murdering a girl from his school. Co-creator and star Stephen Graham says he read about similar crimes and wanted to know: "Why is this happening?" Graham spoke with Sam Briger about the crime that inspired the show, fatherhood, and the unusual way the show was shot — in one single take. Graham also stars as a bare-knuckle boxer in the period drama series A Thousand Blows. Sign up for our free weekly newsletter to get special behind-the-scenes content, producer recommendations, and gems from the archive. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Hanif Kureishi began his new memoir just days after a fall left him paralyzed. He describes being completely dependent on others — and the sense of purpose he's gained from writing. The memoir is called Shattered.David Bianculli reviews the British series Ludwig.Writer Clay Risen describes a political movement which destroyed the careers of thousands of teachers, civil servants and artists whose beliefs or associations were deemed un-American. His book, Red Scare, is about post-World War II America, but he says there's a throughline connecting that era to our current political moment.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Sigrid Nunez's 2018 novel The Friend won the National Book Award. It's now a film, starring Naomi Watts and Bill Murray, about a woman who inherits a dog after her friend's suicide. She spoke with Terry Gross about the book in 2019.Also, Justin Chang reviews the new French film thriller Misericordia.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Atlantic writer Robert Worth talks about Syria's transitional president, Ahmed al-Sharaa. He was the founder of the Syrian branch of Al-Qaeda, but is now advocating unity and inclusion. Syria borders Iraq, Turkey, Jordan and Lebanon, so what happens in Syria impacts the whole region. We'll also talk with Worth about the Houthis in Yemen, and the Trump administration group chat that accidentally included Atlantic editor Jeffrey Goldberg.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Amanda Knox spent nearly four years in an Italian prison for a murder she didn't commit. After her exoneration, she reached out to the man who prosecuted her case. She talks about how she made herself useful while in prison, readjusting to being back home, and the survivor's guilt that follows her. Knox's new memoir is Free. TV critic David Bianculli reviews The Studio, starring Seth Rogen, on Apple TV+.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

The MAGA-controlled 118th House passed only 27 bills that became law — the lowest number since the Great Depression. Journalists Annie Karni and Luke Broadwater examine the chaos in a new book, Mad House: How Donald Trump, MAGA Mean Girls, a Former Used Car Salesman, a Florida Nepo Baby, and a Man with Rats in His Walls Broke Congress. Sign up for our free weekly newsletter to get special behind-the-scenes content, producer recommendations, and gems from the archive. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Legal scholar Elie Mystal talks about his new book, Bad Law: Ten Popular Laws That Are Ruining America. From the Hyde Amendment's impact on reproductive rights to laws that shield gun manufacturers, Mystal ​argues flaws within these laws have made life harder for all of us. We'll talk about immigration law, voting rights, and why the deregulation of the airline industry has made most of us hate the experience of flying. Also, our TV critic David Bianculli reviews the delightful new mystery series Ludwig, from Britbox.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Seth Rogen created a new AppleTV+ series, The Studio, which is a satirical look at how executives in Hollywood make decisions on what movies get made. He stars as the head of a fictional Hollywood studio who is trying to save the struggling company. Also, New Yorker staff writer Andrew Marantz talks about how Right-wing podcasts and YouTube channels have become the platforms where men who feel disillusioned and alienated go to feel seen and heard—and the battle on the Left to win them back. Plus, rock critic Ken Tucker reviews new songs by Teddy Swims, Benjamin Booker, and Neil Young.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

The Rocky Horror Picture Show is 50 years old, and still going strong in midnight theaters. We're listening back to Terry's 2005 interview with Tim Curry, who starred on stage and in the film as Dr. Frank-N-Furter, the "sweet transvestite" from Transylvania. Also, we remember the prolific sportswriter, NPR commentator, and best-selling author John Feinstein.And film critic Justin Chang reviews The Alto Knights. Sign up for our free weekly newsletter to get special behind-the-scenes content, producer recommendations, and gems from the archive. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Popular podcasts in the "manosphere" helped sway young men to go MAGA in the 2024 election. New Yorker writer Andrew Marantz explains how Democrats can win them back.Also, Ken Tucker shares songs by Neil Young, Benjamin Booker and Teddy Swims.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Gary Rivlin says regulation can help control how AI is used: "AI could be an amazing thing around health, medicine, scientific discoveries, education ... as long as we're deliberate about it." He spoke with Dave Davies about some of his fears about artificial intelligence. His book is AI Valley. Also, Maureen Corrigan reviews Karen Russell's new Dust Bowl-era epic, The Antidote.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

In his new Apple TV+ series The Studio, Seth Rogen plays an anxious Hollywood executive desperate to not get fired. Studio heads are charged with deciding which projects get greenlit, and which get scrapped. They also give notes to creatives that are supposed to help their films become better — or, more specifically, be financially successful. Rogen reflects on this funny dynamic and the research he did for the series. The Studio drops on March 26. Also, John Powers reviews the series Long Bright River on Peacock.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Writer Clay Risen describes a political movement which destroyed the careers of thousands of teachers, civil servants and artists whose beliefs or associations were deemed un-American. His book, Red Scare, is about post-World War II America, but he says there's a throughline connecting that era to our current political moment. Also, TV critic David Bianculli reviews The Pitt and Adolescence.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Bill Burr knows exactly where his sense of humor comes from. He learned at an early age that if he could make people laugh, then they'd be less likely to hurt him. "I am a mess of a human being, still, this far into life. ... But it makes for good comedy," he says. His new Hulu stand-up special is called Bill Burr: Drop Dead Years. In 2012, three deep-sea divers were on a routine dive in the North Sea when one of the divers became trapped underwater. The harrowing story of that rescue is the plot of the movie Last Breath. Actor Simu Liu had to scuba dive in dark depths for his role, which was largely shot underwater.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Amer's Netflix comedy series about his life, Mo, is now in its second season. His family is Palestinian, and fled the first Gulf War, so Amer grew up in Houston from age nine. "Palestinian culture is a folksy farmer kind of mentality and life," Amer says. "And when I came to Texas, one of the things that was really attractive to me was the country music, the folksy music, the storytelling tradition of that." Amer spoke with Dave Davies in 2022 when his series debuted. Also, Justin Chang reviews Black Bag, a new thriller from Steven Soderbergh.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Athol Fugard's plays, like Blood Knot and Master Harold and the Boys, were about the emotional and psychological consequences of Apartheid. He also formed an integrated theater company in the 1960s, in defiance of South African norms. The playwright, who died Saturday, spoke with Terry Gross in 1986. And we remember soul singer/songwriter Jerry Butler, who sang with Curtis Mayfield and The Impressions before going solo. Jazz historian Kevin Whitehead marks the centennial of the birth of Roy Haynes, one of the most in-demand drummers of the genre.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Burr talks with Terry Gross about processing his abusive childhood, a therapeutic mushroom trip, and why he's angry at liberals. "You can get canceled as a comedian for doing a friggin' Caitlyn Jenner joke, but this a**hole [Elon Musk] can 'Seig heil' and nothing. Where are all the liberals?" His new Hulu stand-up special is called Bill Burr: Drop Dead Years. This is the extended version of the interview, which we couldn't fit in our broadcast. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

The Department of Education is reportedly eliminating 50% of its workforce. Washington Post writer Laura Meckler talks about the fallout, from the enforcement of civil rights laws in schools, to student loans and grants.TV critic David Bianculli reviews A Thousand Blows, the new historical drama series from Peaky Blinders creator Steven Knight.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

In 2019, Justice Clarence Thomas raised the prospect of overturning one of the most consequential free speech decisions ever made. New York Times Co. v. Sullivan is a 1964 landmark case that strengthened First Amendment protections by enabling journalists and writers, from top national outlets to local newspapers and bloggers, to pursue the truth without being afraid of being sued. In his book Murder the Truth, author David Enrich explores how Justice Thomas' words coincide with a surge in legal threats and litigation against journalists and media outlets.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Bill Burr knows exactly where his sense of humor comes from. He learned at an early age that if he could make people laugh, then they'd be less likely to hurt him. "I am a mess of a human being, still, this far into life. ... But it makes for good comedy," he says. The comic talks with Terry Gross about processing his abusive childhood, a therapeutic mushroom trip, and why he's angry at liberals. His new Hulu stand-up special is called Bill Burr: Drop Dead Years. Hear an extended version of this interview on YouTube. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

We're joined by a New Orleans institution — clarinetist and vocalist Doreen Ketchens. She's got several nicknames — "Lady Louie," "Queen Clarinet," and "Miss Satchmo," all of after her biggest idol, Louis Armstrong. Like the jazz great, Ketchens has the gift of hitting long, high notes. She and her band, Doreen's Jazz New Orleans, have performed on the corner of Royal and St. Peter's Street in the French Quarter for almost four decadesWe'll also talk with Natasha Rothwell. She returns to HBO's The White Lotus as Belinda, a spa manager who was duped in Season 1 by a wealthy visitor played by Jennifer Coolidge.Book critic Maureen Corrigan reviews Last Seen, a book about newly-freed Black Americans in the 1860s who took out ads to find lost family members.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

The 1970s band The New York Dolls made only two studio albums, but the group was hugely influential, setting the stage for punk rock. We listen back to Terry Gross' 2004 interview with the band's co-founder David Johansen, who died last week. The group was described as flashy, trashy and drag queens — but Johansen didn't care. He later went on to perform under the persona of the pompadoured lounge singer Buster Poindexter. Also, film critic Justin Chang reviews Mickey 17, a futuristic action-comedy by Parasite director, Bong Joon Ho.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

In 2012, three deep-sea divers were on a routine dive in the North Sea when one of the divers became trapped underwater. The harrowing story of that rescue is the plot of the movie Last Breath. Actor Simu Liu had to scuba dive in dark depths for his role, which was largely shot underwater. He spoke with producer and interview contributor Ann Marie Baldonado about playing a Ken in Barbie, his early childhood in China, and the perils of being a stock photo model. Sign up for our free weekly newsletter to get special behind-the-scenes content, producer recommendations, and gems from the archive. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Georgetown professor Ella Washington and Harvard professor Frank Dobbin discuss the beneficiaries and misperceptions of diversity, equity and inclusion, DEI, and who will be hurt as it's dismantled across public and private sectors.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Known as "Lady Louie," Doreen Ketchens has been a fixture of the French Quarter for nearly four decades. We talk about her classical training and her career as a street performer, and she'll play some music.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Hanif Kureishi began his new memoir just days after a fall left him paralyzed. He describes being completely dependent on others — and the sense of purpose he's gained from writing. The memoir is called Shattered.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Atlantic staff writer McKay Coppins describes the rivalry among the children of 93 year-old media titan Rupert Murdoch over who will control his business empire when he dies. It's a real life Succession drama. Also, we'll talk with Harvard Professor Elizabeth Linos about the extraordinary measures Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) has taken to drastically shrink the size of the federal government, and the ripple effect.Also, John Powers reviews the Oscar-nominated animated film Flow.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

The Academy Awards are this Sunday. We hear from the two stars of the film The Apprentice, Sebastian Stan and Jeremy Strong. It's about how a young Donald Trump was influenced by the infamous, unscrupulous lawyer Roy Cohn. Also, we hear from Adrien Brody, who is nominated for his starring role in the film The Brutalist, in which he plays a Hungarian-Jewish architect and Holocaust survivor who seeks a fresh start in post-WWII America.John Powers reviews the animated film Flow, which has been nominated for both best animated feature and best international film.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

In the new season of The White Lotus, Natasha Rothwell reprises her role of spa manager Belinda, a woman "on the precipice of change" as she straddles the line between guest and staffer. She spoke with Tonya Mosley about filming in Thailand, the cancellation of her show How to Die Alone, and getting cast as the hilarious Kelli on Insecure. Also, we remember Oscar-winning actor Gene Hackman who died this week at age 95.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

DOGE has eliminated thousands of federal jobs and canceled more than 1,000 contracts. Harvard professor Elizabeth Linos warns, "We're seeing harms that are not going to be easily undone." Book critic Maureen Corrigan reviews Last Seen: The Enduring Search by Formerly Enslaved People to Find Their Lost Families. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Rupert Murdoch and his oldest kids are battling over who controls his media empire when the 93-year-old media titan dies. The Atlantic staff writer McKay Coppins explains what's at stake, how it could change Fox News — and what the siblings think about the HBO show Succession.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

In Jesus Wept, investigative journalist Philip Shenon examines the last seven popes, and how efforts to reform the Church with the Second Vatican Council led to power struggles and doctrinal debates that lasted for decades. He spoke with Dave Davies about the theological clashes, scandal, and the accuracy of the movie Conclave.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

We talk with author Ricky Riccardi about how Louis Armstrong became the first Black pop star and provided the foundation of improvisation for other musicians. Riccardi's book is Stomp Off, Let's Go. Also, we hear from Atlantic writer Derek Thompson. He's done a deep dive into our nation's loneliness epidemic and how our phones have become a barrier to real human connection.Critic-at-large John Powers reviews the Brazilian film I'm Still Here. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

In the series Ripley, Andrew Scott plays a con artist with no conscience. The actor says it was important to humanize his character. "For me, I think your first job is to sort of advocate for the character and try not to judge them." Scott's up for a SAG Award for his portrayal of Tom Ripley.David Bianculli reviews Netflix's new six-part drama series Zero Day, starring Robert De Niro.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Rich Benjamin's grandfather, Daniel Fignolé, was a popular Haitian labor leader who became Haiti's president in 1957. After just 19 days in office, he was overthrown by a military coup, and was sent to the U.S. His 13 year-old daughter (Benjamin's mother) was taken by soldiers and sexually assaulted. She was eventually reunited with her parents in America, where they were refugees. Rich Benjamin talks with Terry Gross about his family's history and resilience. His memoir is Talk to Me.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

During President Trump's first term, journalist Anne Applebaum reported on how he was moving toward authoritarianism. Now she's describing Trump's actions as regime change. "Our imagination of a coup or regime change is that there are tanks and violence and somebody shoots up the chandelier in the presidential palace," she says. "Actually, nowadays, that's not how democracies fail. They fail through attacks on institutions coming from within." Applebaum also talks about the dismantling of America's civil service system and how the Trump administration is distancing itself from NATO, while getting closer with Putin. Applebaum is a staff writer at the Atlantic and author of Autocracy, Inc.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

"Measles thrives on being underestimated," Dr. Adam Ratner says. The highly infectious disease was thought to be a "solved problem," until a 2018 outbreak in New York City. "When we start to see measles, it's evidence of the faltering of our public health systems and of fomenting of distrust of vaccines." Ratner talks about the implications of RFK's Health and Human Services Dept. appointment, National Institute of Health budget cuts, and spreading distrust and skepticism in science. His new book is called Booster Shots.Also, Maureen Corrigan reviews Geraldine Brooks' memoir Memorial Days, about grieving her husband, Tony Horwitz.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Constitutional scholar, historian, and New York Times staff writer Charlie Savage joins us this President's Day to talk about the scope of executive power. Savage takes us through the legal challenges, the power of Congress and the Supreme Court, and how previous presidents have pushed the bounds.TV critic David Bianculli reviews Star Trek: Section 31 and Planet Earth: Asia.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Musician and documentary filmmaker Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson is back to talk about his new Hulu documentary about Sly Stone. It's called SLY LIVES! (aka The Burden of Black Genius). Also, actor Sebastian Stan talks about portraying Donald Trump in the film The Apprentice. Stan is originally from Romania, born during a communist dictatorship.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

For Saturday Night Live's 50th anniversary, we're featuring interviews with some of the early cast members/writers. Dan Aykroyd talks about the moment he and John Belushi came up with the Blues Brothers. Writer Alan Zweibel talks about working with Gilda Radner on two of her most iconic characters. And Al Franken tells us about a sketch he wrote that didn't make it past the censors. Jon Lovitz tells Terry how his character Master Thespian came to be. Also, film critic Justin Chang reviews The Annihilation of Fish, a romantic comedy starring James Earl Jones, Lynn Redgrave and Margot Kidder, made in 1999 and released now for the first time. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

RaMell Ross's Oscar-nominated film, Nickel Boys, centers on two young Black men attempting to survive a brutal Florida reformatory school in the 1960s. He says he's sees the rural South as a "meaning-making space." Ross spoke with Tonya Mosley about his photography and performance art, too. Also, John Powers reviews the new season of HBO's The White Lotus.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

New York Times journalist Eric Lipton explains how Musk's companies are benefiting as he cuts federal jobs and agencies, and reporter Teddy Schleifer explains how Musk's political views turned right, and why he thinks the billionaire's relationship with Trump might actually last.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Sebastian Stan is up for an Oscar for his portrayal of President Trump early in his career, when Roy Cohn was his lawyer and mentor. Stan says Cohn schooled Trump in "denying reality and reshaping the truth." He spoke with Terry Gross about his childhood in Romania, wearing prosthetics for A Different Man, and his breakthrough role on Law & Order.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Questlove is back to talk about his new documentary about Sly Stone and his band the Family Stone. They created a new sound with their mix of pop, soul, funk, psychedelic music and irresistible beats. The film is called SLY LIVES! (aka The Burden of Black Genius) and it streams on Hulu beginning Feb. 13.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

We talk about the cultural phenomenon of Wicked with star Ariana Grande. She's nominated for an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress. Grande talks about some of the underlying messages in the film about belonging and good versus evil, and how growing up as a theatre nerd prepared her for this role.Also, writer and professional dominatrix Brittany Newell joins us to talk about her new novel Soft Core, which explores the underworld of San Francisco's dive bars, strip clubs, and BDSM dungeons. Maureen Corrigan reviews two quintessential New York City books.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Discovered at a Rolling Stones party at the age of 17, Marianne Faithfull broke out in the early '60s with the Jagger/Richards song "As Tears Go By." Faithfull's liaison with Mick Jagger kept her in the public eye. In the '70s, she struggled with addiction, but she made a triumphant comeback in her 30s, and became a critically acclaimed rock cabaret singer. Also, critic-at-large John Powers reviews the Brazilian film I'm Still Here, which he describes as a "moving, inspiring, beautifully made story about learning to confront tyranny."Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

After publishing her first novel when she was 21, Brittany Newell started working as a dominatrix. The job gave her time to write — and plenty of material to draw from. "I always like to say that what makes a good writer is also what makes a good dominatrix, which is empathy and curiosity and bravery," she says. Newell's new novel is Soft Core. Also, David Bianculli reviews the comedy TV series Clean Slate starring Laverne Cox. And Maureen Corrigan reviews two quintessential New York books.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Last night, President Trump proposed a plan to displace all the Palestinians from Gaza, and get Jordan and Egypt to take them in, while the U.S. takes ownership of Gaza and rebuilds it into a Middle East Riviera. We'll talk with New Yorker staff writer Dexter Filkins about the impact of this proposal. We'll also talk with him about the recruitment crisis in the U.S. military, which has led military leaders to ask: can our country defend itself if not enough people are willing or able to fight? It's the subject of his latest article in the New Yorker.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

As a kid, Ariana Grande loved singing karaoke with her family. "I looked up to Whitney and Mariah and Celine endlessly," she says. "I think that's a large part of the reason why I learned to sing." She spoke with Tonya Mosley about auditioning for and landing the role of Glinda in Wicked, her signature whistle register, and how she quiets the voice of self-doubt.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Sarah Wildman's daughter Orli died from cancer when she was 14. "She would sometimes ask me, 'What do you think I did to deserve this?' And of course, that's not an answerable question," Wildman says. The NYT Opinion writer spoke with Terry Gross about her daughter's treatment and death and living with grief.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson is the co-director of a new documentary about the music of Saturday Night Live over the last 50 years. It's called Ladies & Gentlemen and it's streaming on Peacock. We'll also hear from author and scholar Imani Perry. Her new book Black In Blues explores the significance of the color blue in Black life, from the indigo trade to the birth of blues music.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

The Apple TV+ drama series Severance is back for its second season. It's a dystopian take on work-life balance — where characters have their personal and professional lives surgically separated. He spoke with Ann Marie Baldonado in 2022 about the making of the series. Also, Justin Chang reviews one of this year's most talked-about Oscar nominees for Best Documentary Feature, No Other Land. It was directed by a collective of two Palestinian filmmakers and two Israeli filmmakers. Book critic Maureen Corrigan reviews Mothers and Sons by Adam Haslett.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Author Ricky Riccardi says Louis Armstrong's innovations as a trumpeter and vocalist helped set the entire soundtrack of the 20th century. His new book about Armstrong's early life is Stomp Off, Let's Go. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Research shows we're spending more time alone than ever before. Atlantic writer Derek Thompson says all this "me time" has a profound impact on our relationships and politics. Also, David Bianculli reviews the documentary Without Arrows.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Award-winning author and scholar Imani Perry traces the history and symbolism of the color blue, from the indigo of the slave trade, to Coretta Scott King's wedding dress, to present day cobalt mining. Her new book is Black in Blues. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Questlove's documentary, Ladies & Gentlemen... 50 Years of SNL Music, airs tonight on NBC. It highlights some of the show's most iconic musical performances and comedy sketches — from break-out stars to lip-syncing controversy. Our TV critic David Bianculli reflects on the documentary, and then Questlove joins Terry Gross to talk about some of the highlights. Also, Ken Tucker reviews Ringo Starr's new country album, Look Up.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Jesse Eisenberg talks about writing, directing and starring in the film A Real Pain. Eisenberg and Kieran Culkin play cousins who go to Poland on a Jewish Heritage Tour. One of the stops is the Majdanek death camp. He spoke with Terry Gross about questions the film raises. Also, we hear from Pamela Anderson. In the new film, The Last Showgirl, she stars as a veteran Vegas dancer who must face the end of her legendary show. She talked with Tonya Mosley about her big career comeback.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Filmmaker and painter David Lynch died January 15 at age 78. He spoke with Terry Gross in 1994 about making his surrealist first movie, Eraserhead, leaving things up for interpretation, and where he finds inspiration. Also, we'll hear from Isabella Rossellini who starred in Lynch's Blue Velvet as a nightclub singer, and Nicolas Cage, who worked with him in Wild At Heart. And our TV critic David Bianculli shares an appreciation. Also, Justin Chang reviews the new film supernatural thriller Presence.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Bloomberg investigative reporter Zeke Faux says the Trump family's new crypto businesses have earned them tens of millions, while raising questions about political influence and ethics. Also, we remember Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonist, playwright and screenwriter Jules Feiffer.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Pamela Anderson's role as a lifeguard on Baywatch made her a global sex symbol in the '90s. But she longed to be taken seriously as a performer and person. "I've always been carrying this secret. I feel like I've known I was capable of more, but I didn't know what," she says. She now stars in The Last Showgirl. She spoke with Tonya Mosley about her career comeback, crafting her persona, and ditching makeup.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Eisenberg's film, A Real Pain, follows two cousins on a Jewish heritage tour of Poland, which includes a stop at the Majdanek death camp. Eisenberg spoke with Terry Gross about tragedy tourism, and his own relationship to Judaism. The "Hebrew school dropout" says the suburban bar mitzvah scene made his 12-year-old stomach turn.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

NYT columnist and sociologist Tressie McMillan Cottom and scholar Eddie Glaude Jr. reflect on the struggle for civil rights and what it means to celebrate Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. on the same day that President Donald Trump is sworn into office. "Perhaps the juxtaposition of seeing Donald Trump preside over the official state memorialization of Martin Luther King will remind us of our responsibility to remembering King as he actually was ... as he was a philosopher, an organizer of the people," Cottom says.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Writer Pico Iyer lost everything in a 1990 California wildfire. After being rendered homeless and sleeping on a friend's floor, he was told about a Benedictine monastery. His time spent in silence on retreat there changed him both as a person and as a writer. He spoke with Terry Gross about his new memoir about the experience, Aflame. Also, comic and former Daily Show correspondent Roy Wood Jr. talks with Tonya Mosley about his new comedy special, Lonely Flowers. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist Colson Whitehead's The Nickel Boys has been adapted for the big screen. In 2019, Whitehead spoke with Dave Davies when the book was released. It's set in the early '60s, based on the true story of the Dozier reform school in Florida, where many boys were beaten and sexually abused. Dozens of unmarked graves have been discovered on the school grounds. "If there's one place like this, there are many," he says.Later, guest critic Martin Johnson reviews a new recording featuring two giants of jazz. And film critic Justin Chang reviews Mike Leigh's new film, Hard Truths.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Rape kits were widely known as "Vitullo Kits" after a Chicago police sergeant. But a new book tells the story of Marty Goddard, a community activist who worked with runaway teenagers in the 1970s. Also, TV critic David Bianculli reviews the Western miniseries American Primeval, now streaming on Netflix.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

In 1990, writer Pico Iyer watched as a wildfire destroyed his mother's Santa Barbara home, where he also lived. In Aflame, he recounts the devastation of the fire — and the peace he found living in a Benedictine monastery.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

In the past, Donald Trump talked about keeping America out of foreign conflicts — but lately he's talked about potentially using force or economic pressure to acquire Greenland, the Panama Canal, even Canada. We'll speak with Pulitzer Prize-winning NYT national security correspondent David Sanger. He'll talk about how Trump might handle the wars in Ukraine and Gaza and Iran's growing nuclear threat.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

A good comedian has to "know what regular people are going through," Roy Wood Jr. says. In his new Hulu special, Lonely Flowers, Wood riffs on how isolation has sent society spiraling. He spoke with Tonya Mosley about leaving The Daily Show, learning from other comics, and how an arrest pushed him to pursue stand-up.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Tilda Swinton stars as a woman with cancer who decides she wants to end her life in the new Pedro Almodóvar film The Room Next Door. She asks a friend to stay with her for her last weeks. She spoke with Terry Gross about the role and her own experience bearing witness to the deaths of loved ones.Also, we hear from award-winning actor Adrien Brody. He stars in the film The Brutalist as a Hungarian-Jewish architect and Holocaust survivor who seeks a fresh start in post-WWII America. Brody tells Tonya Mosley how drew from his mother and grandfather's experience as Hungarian immigrants for the role. Also, film critic Justin Chang reviews the new Mike Leigh film Hard Truths.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

A Complete Unknown – the film about Bob Dylan is in theaters. We're featuring interviews with three people depicted in the film: Suze Rotolo was his girlfriend and was photographed on his arm for the cover of The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan. She told Terry about that photoshoot. Folk singer Joan Baez was already a star when she met Dylan. She took him on tour, but nobody knew who he was. She talks about some of those early shows. And Al Kooper was a session musician who played the organ on "Like a Rolling Stone."Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

The 39th president spoke with Terry Gross in 1995, 2001 and 2005 about poetry, Sept. 11 and his concerns about how intertwined politics and religion had become. Carter died on Dec. 29 at age 100. Today is his funeral.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

In Pedro Almodóvar's film The Room Next Door, Tilda Swinton plays a woman with late-stage cancer who wants to end her life. She asks a friend, played by Julianne Moore, to stay with her for her last month on Earth. Swinton's performance draws on her experiences supporting and bearing witness to loved ones at the end of their lives. "A life spent considering how we're going to spend our end is not wasted time," she tells Terry Gross. "We're all going that way, and the sooner we accept and embrace that, then the ice melts and we're kind of informed of a kind of living, I think, that we wouldn't otherwise be." Swinton also talks about growing up in a military family, her sense of fashion, and being a "queer fish."Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Adrien Brody won a Golden Globe for his role in The Brutalist, as a Hungarian-Jewish architect and Holocaust survivor who seeks a fresh start in post-WWII America. "I just was in awe when I read the script," he says. Brody spoke with Tonya Mosley about how his family's history helped him with the role, and about his collaboration with Wes Anderson. Also, John Powers reviews the new erotic drama Babygirl.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

In an experiment, science journalist Lynne Peeples spent 10 days in an underground bunker, with no exposure to sunlight or clocks. She wanted to see what happened to her body and mind when it became out of sync with its natural circadian rhythm. She spoke with Tonya Mosley about what she learned, how we change with age, and the importance of sunlight. Her book is The Inner Clock.Also, TV critic David Bianculli reviews the series Laid and Going Dutch.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

After Trevor Noah started anchoring The Daily Show in 2015, he brought on Ronny Chieng as a field correspondent who could offer a global perspective. Now Chieng is one of the show's anchors. He's third generation Chinese Malaysian, and grew up in Malaysia, Singapore and the U.S. He has a new Netflix comedy special. Also, filmmaker and writer Miranda July talks about her novel, All Fours. It's about a 45-year-old married woman, her erotic affair with no actual sex, perimenopause, and the related fears of losing her libido and getting older.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

The comic is hosting the Golden Globes this Sunday. She spoke with Terry Gross back in July about roasts, hurt feelings, and just wanting to be liked. Her latest HBO comedy special is Someday You'll Die.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

We continue our series featuring some of our favorite interviews from 2024, this time with Alex Van Halen and Selena Gomez. Alex Van Halen talks about his life and the career he built with his late brother Eddie, and the formation of their band Van Halen. From growing up as immigrant kids in California, to the wild antics of life on the road as rock stars and some of his stunts, like setting his drums on fire.Selena Gomez talks about her role in the Spanish-language musical film Emilia Pérez, where she stars as the wife of a brutal drug cartel boss. We talk about the evolution of her career, from a Disney kid to a pop star.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Brown won an Emmy for his portrayal of Christopher Darden in The People v. O.J. Simpson, and another for This Is Us. He now appears in the film American Fiction. He spoke with Terry Gross about losing his father, how his feelings about the O.J. Simpson case changed, and prejudice he faced in Hollywood.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Ruffalo played a debauched cad in Yorgos Lanthimos' bawdy, dark comedy Poor Things. It was a big departure from his previous work playing real people in dramas like Spotlight or Foxcatcher, or as the Incredible Hulk in the Marvel movies. The Oscar-nominated actor spoke with Sam Briger about these roles, how he got his start in acting, and how a brain tumor changed his life.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Jimmy Carter died Sunday at age 100. The 39th president spoke with Terry Gross a few times over the years about growing up on a Georgia farm, entering politics, and his career in human rights and conflict resolution.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

In 2021, burnt out from the intensity of her early career, Maggie Rogers considered quitting music entirely. Instead, she took a detour — to Harvard Divinity School, where she earned a master's degree in religion and public life. Her 2024 album is Don't Forget Me. Kathleen Hanna's band Bikini Kill was the epicenter of the riot grrrl feminist punk movement of the '90s. Their song "Rebel Girl" was the anthem. Her memoir this year was about her time in the punk scene, her childhood, and finding joy in expressing anger in public.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

This year TV news journalist Connie Chung wrote a new tell-all memoir. It's about breaking into the boys club of her industry, her marriage to Maury Povitch, and the big scoops of her career. The funny and off-the-cuff news icon spoke with Tonya Mosley. Also, jazz historian Kevin Whitehead remembers musicians who died this year.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Jeremy Strong is nominated for a Golden Globe for his role as lawyer and political hitman Roy Cohn in The Apprentice. The movie, he says, "explores essentially how Trump was made, and his philosophical moral framework." Strong talks with Terry Gross about playing Cohn and about playing Kendall Roy on HBO's Succession.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

The new biopic A Complete Unknown follows a young Bob Dylan as he arrives in New York and changes American folk music forever. Edward Norton plays folk icon Pete Seeger, who had a big impact on Dylan. Seeger was famous for his songs about working people, unions, and social justice. We're revisiting Terry's 1984 interview with Seeger, as well as her 2016 interview with Bruce Springsteen, who was compared to Dylan when he broke onto the scene.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

The singer-songwriter and Talking Heads frontman presents some of his favorite holiday music — including songs by The Pogues, James Brown, LCD Soundsystem and Paul Simon. Find his playlist on Apple Music and Spotify. Also, our film critic Justin Chang shares his list of the best movies of 2024.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Jon Batiste joins us from the piano and plays some of his favorite Christmas songs. It's part two of our recent session with him. Batiste is the former band leader and music director for The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. He's won multiple Grammys and an Oscar. Inviting musicians to perform or play recordings of their favorite Christmas songs is a new Fresh Air tradition. It started two years ago, with DJ and co-founder of the Roots, Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson, who put together a playlist of Christmas songs and talked us through his picks.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Award-winning sister-brother duo Billie Eilish and Finneas O'Connell talk about their songwriting process, her changing voice, and their new album, Hit Me Hard and Soft. Later, Stephen Colbert and his wife Evie McGee Colbert talk about their cookbook of home recipes inspired by their South Carolina roots. It's called Does This Taste Funny?Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

This month, musician Bonnie Raitt and filmmaker Francis Ford Coppola were both honorees of the Kennedy Center for their contributions to American culture. We're revisiting interviews with both of them. First, blues guitarist, singer and songwriter Bonnie Raitt spoke with Terry Gross in 1996 about her early years, finding her blues sound. And Francis Ford Coppola told us in 2016 the story of casting Marlon Brando in The Godfather. And film critic Justin Chang reviews two new movies: The Brutalist and Nickel Boys.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Filmmaker and writer Miranda July, whose novel All Fours is on many best books of the year lists, and was described in the New York Times as "the year's literary conversation piece." July spoke with Terry Gross about issues in the novel, like separating from a spouse you're growing distant from, perimenopause, and having an affair. And jazz historian Kevin Whitehead reviews a newly released recording of a concert he attended in 1978, by pianist Sun Ra and his Arkestra.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

A new law gives TikTok a January 19 deadline to sell to a non-Chinese company or face a nationwide ban. Law professor Alan Rozenshtein delves into what this means and whether President-Elect Trump could intervene.David Bianculli reflects on the year in TV.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

The Grammy Award-winning singer says working with a vocal coach "honestly changed my life." Eilish and her brother/collaborator Finneas talk with Terry Gross about their new album, Hit Me Hard and Soft, voice lessons, and their favorite homework assignment. Also, critic-at-large John Powers shares his highlights of the year — from a documentary to an Olympic moment.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

When Ronny Chieng got a job as a correspondent and then anchor at The Daily Show, he kept the news to himself. "I didn't want to brag," the Malaysia-born comic says. "I just wanted to do the work." Chieng now costars in the series Interior Chinatown, and has a new Netflix comedy special, Love to Hate It.Also, Ken Tucker reflects on the best pop music of 2024.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Pop sensation Elton John wrapped up his farewell tour in 2023, only to pop up in a surprise concert at the October 2024 New York City premiere of the new documentary, "Elton John: Never Too Late." Still, as John reduces his public output — and as that documentary drops on the Disney+ streaming platform — we thought our listeners might like to hear again from the British music legend himself. Weekly bonus episodes like this, curated from our vast archive, are usually only available for our Fresh Air+ supporters. But today, in the spirit of giving, we're making this episode available to all. Not a Fresh Air+ supporter yet? Find out more, and join for yourself, at https://plus.npr.org/freshair. Listen to Elton John in 2013: https://n.pr/3BoEEYT| Listen to Elton John in 2019: https://n.pr/49ssSJG | Listen to 40+ years of Fresh Air's archives at https://FreshAirArchive.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Jon Batiste joins us at the piano to play his reimaginings of Beethoven, and more. His new album is called Beethoven Blues.Also, we hear from visual artist Mickalene Thomas. She puts Black women in the front and center of her work. Her latest exhibition, Mickalene Thomas: All About Love, celebrates the women in her life. Book critic Maureen Corrigan shares her picks for the best books of the year.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

The British actor and singer played abolitionist Harriet Tubman in Harriet, and Aretha Franklin in Genius: Aretha. Now she's defying gravity as Elphaba in Wicked. She spoke with Terry Gross in 2021 about some of her roles and her vocal training. Also, Ken Tucker shares his picks for great Christmas music, and David Bianculli reviews the Amazon Prime series The Sticky.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Late Night host Stephen Colbert and his wife Evie McGee Colbert join Terry Gross to talk about family recipes. They have a new cookbook of South Carolina-inspired dishes called Does This Taste Funny? They also talk about Stephen's harrowing experience with a burst appendix in 2023, meeting the pope, and Evie's role on the show during COVID.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

The U.S. is short approximately 4 million homes. Wharton professor Ben Keys traces the beginning of the housing crisis to the 2008 financial meltdown — and says climate change is making things worse. Also, Justin Chang reviews the Iranian film The Seed of the Sacred Film.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Danielle Deadwyler stars in the Netflix adaptation of the August Wilson play The Piano Lesson. She spoke with Tonya Mosley about her journey from the Atlanta theater scene to the big screen, her three masters degrees, and playing Mamie Till, mother of Emmett, in the 2022 movie Till. Also, our book critic Maureen Corrigan shares her top 10 books of 2024. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

The former band leader for The Late Show with Stephen Colbert returns to talk with Terry Gross about his new album, Beethoven Blues. We also talk about his early years, like how he had a reputation at Juilliard for playing his melodica everywhere and breaking into song in class. It nearly resulted in him getting kicked out. Now he serves on the board.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Herzog reflects on the curiosity that's fueled his career in the memoir, Every Man for Himself and God Against All, now out in paperback. The filmmaker and writer is drawn to extremes: extreme characters, extreme settings, extreme scenarios. But don't mistake him for a mad man like some of his film subjects: "You have to control what is wild in you. You have to be disciplined. And people think I'm the wild guy out there but I'm a disciplined professional," he tells Terry Gross.Film critic Justin Chang reviews Queer.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Musician Jerron Paxton is known for performing music from the 1920s and '30s. He just came out with an album of his own songs, called Things Done Changed. Paxton brought some of his instruments to his conversation with Sam Briger. Also, Terry Gross talks with author Michael Owen about Ira Gershwin, the lyricist behind many of the most enduring songs in The Great American Songbook. TV critic David Bianculli reviews the documentary Beatles '64.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Are you hyper-vigilant about your health, constantly monitoring yourself and panicking when you feel the slightest symptom? You're not alone. Writer Caroline Crampton has a new book about illness anxiety disorder, a.k.a. hypochondria. We talk about our evolving understanding of the disorder, its connection to PTSD, and new treatments. Her book is A Body Made of Glass. John Powers reviews two new spy series, Black Doves and The Agency.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Economist David Wessel talks about Trump's plans on tariffs and tax cuts, and the potential economic impact of Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy's Department of Government Efficiency.Maureen Corrigan reviews Niall Williams' novel, Time of the Child.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

In Mickalene Thomas' work, Black women are front and center. "We've been supportive characters for far too long," she says. "I would describe my art as radically shifting notions of beauty by claiming space." Her new exhibition of collages, paintings, and photographs is called All About Love. She spoke with Tonya Mosley about how she "draws with scissors," using her mother as a muse, and her reinterpretation of Manet. Also, David Bianculli reviews the new documentary Beatles '64.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

We're going to hear from a musician whose music is vibrant, exciting and new — even if it sounds like it could have been found on a scratchy record from the 1920s. His name is Jerron Paxton and he has a new album called Things Done Changed. He brought some of his instruments to the studio when he spoke with Fresh Air's Sam Briger.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

A new film adaptation of the Pulitzer Prize-winning August Wilson play The Piano Lesson is now on Netflix. It's about a brother and sister battling over what to do with a family heirloom piano. Denzel Washington and his daughter Katia served as producers, and his sons John David and Malcolm starred in and directed it. The brothers talk about bringing the play to the screen. Also, we hear from Selena Gomez about the Spanish-language musical Emilia Pérez. Gomez plays the wife of a brutal drug cartel leader who decides to undergo gender-affirmation surgery. Film critic Justin Chang reviews blockbusters Wicked and Gladiator II.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

The animated film Piece By Piece traces Pharrell Williams' early life as a boy growing up in Virginia Beach and follows his trajectory to a Grammy-winning songwriter, performer and producer. He spoke with Tonya Mosley about his synesthesia, the song Prince rejected, and disliking his own voice. Subscribe to Fresh Air's weekly newsletter and get highlights from the show, gems from the archive, and staff recommendations.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

About 25 years ago, the acclaimed cellist asked a high school student to help him name his instrument. Yo-Yo Ma brings his cello — aka "Petunia" — to his conversation with Terry Gross. He talks about being a child prodigy, his rebel years, and straddling three cultures: American, French, and Chinese.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Ira Gershwin wrote the lyrics for some of the most enduring songs in the Great American Songbook, including "I Got Rhythm," "S'Wonderful," "Embraceable You," "Love is Here to Stay," and "Let's Call the Whole Thing Off." Biographer Michael Owen talks about Ira's collaboration with his brother George, his writing process, and the line he added to "Somewhere Over the Rainbow." Later, jazz historian Kevin Whitehead remembers drummer Roy Haynes.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

August Wilson's Pulitzer Prize-winning play The Piano Lesson is about a conflict in a Black family over whether to keep an exquisite heirloom piano — or to sell it to buy the land their family was enslaved on. Denzel Washington's son Malcolm directed the new film adaptation for Netflix, and his brother John David stars as Boy Willie. Tonya Mosley talks with the brothers about collaborating as a family on the project.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

During her years as a military linguist, Bailey Williams pushed her body to extremes. She later learned that eating disorders are more prevalent in the Marine Corps than in any other military branch. Her memoir is Hollow.John Powers reviews the Paramount+ series Landman.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Michael Schur wrote for the The Office, and created The Good Place, and co-created Parks and Recreation and Brooklyn Nine-Nine. His new show for Netflix, A Man on the Inside, features Ted Danson as a widowed retiree who goes undercover in a retirement community. He spoke with Terry Gross about the series.Later, comic and Silicon Valley actor Jimmy O. Yang talks about his new Hulu series, Interior Chinatown. He plays a waiter who inadvertently becomes central to a crime story.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Author Scott Eyman explains how silent film actor Charlie Chaplin was smeared in the press, scandalized for his affairs with young women, condemned for his alleged communist ties and banned from returning to the U.S. "At one time or another he was the target of the entire security apparatus of the United States of America," Eyman says. His book is Charlie Chaplin vs. America. Also, Justin Chang reviews two highly-anticipated blockbusters, Wicked and Gladiator II.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Michael Schur wrote for the The Office, and created The Good Place, and co-created Parks and Recreation and Brooklyn Nine-Nine. His new show for Netflix, A Man on the Inside, features Ted Danson as a widowed retiree who goes undercover in a retirement community. He spoke with Terry Gross about the series, making fun of NPR (lovingly) on Parks, and being a life-long rule-follower. Also, our TV critic David Bianculli reviews the new series and says it's the sweetest show since Ted Lasso. Subscribe to Fresh Air's weekly newsletter for staff recommendations, gems from the archive, and a peek at what's coming next week.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Trump has called the press the "enemy of the people" and threatened retribution, including jailing reporters, investigating NBC for treason, and suggesting CBS's broadcast license be taken away. Terry Gross talks with David Remnick, editor of The New Yorker, and Marty Baron, former executive editor of The Washington Post, about the media landscape as we head into a second Trump administration.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

The actor-singer-entrepreneur stars in Emilia Pérez, the new Spanish-language musical about a cartel boss who undergoes gender-affirming surgery. Gomez talks with Tonya Mosley about re-learning Spanish, her Disney years, and working alongside comedy legends Martin Short and Steve Martin in Only Murders in the Building. Also, Ken Tucker shares three great country songs: Maren Morris' "People Still Show Up," Dwight Yoakam's "A Dream That Never Ends," and Shawna Thompson's "Lean On Neon."Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

In his new Hulu comedy series, Interior Chinatown, Jimmy O. Yang plays a waiter who inadvertently becomes central to a crime story. As an Asian American actor, he says he relates to the character's feeling of invisibility. Yang talks with Ann Marie Baldonado about auditioning for Silicon Valley, working alongside his dad, and feeling like an outsider among other Asians in California. Also, film critic Justin Chang reviews the Indian movie All We Can Imagine as Light.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Atlantic staff writer Annie Lowery suffers from a rare liver condition that causes severe chronic itch. It led her to look into the stigma of itchiness, the itch-scratch cycle, and finding acceptance in her body. Also, we hear from screenwriter and author of one of the most anticipated novels of the season, Richard Price. His new novel, Lazarus Man, is about second chances. Price also wrote for the HBO shows The Wire, The Deuce and The Night Of. And Maureen Corrigan has two books to recommend if you're looking for inspiration, beauty, and humor.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Kerri Russell stars in the Netflix political drama The Diplomat as a foreign service officer tapped to become the American ambassador to the UK. Russell also starred in the series Felicity and The Americans. She spoke with us last year about these characters and getting her start on The All New Mickey Mouse Club as a kid. Also, we remember author Dorothy Allison, who died this week at age 75. Her critically acclaimed 1992 novel Bastard out of Carolina was based on her own childhood experience of being physically and sexually abused. We listen back to Terry's interview with Allison about the book and her life.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

In Richard Price's new novel, Lazarus Man, a five-story building collapses, upending the lives of the building's residents. It's about second chances and finding the faith to carry on. Price has written for HBO's The Wire and The Deuce, and co-created HBO's The Night Of and The Outsider. Several of his novels, including Clockers, were adapted into films. He spoke with Terry Gross. Also, Maureen Corrigan shares two books that offer humor and beauty: Billy Collins' collection of poetry Water, Water, and The Dog Who Followed The Moon by James Norbury.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

With wars in Gaza, Lebanon, and Ukraine, and with high tariffs on the horizon, The Economist Editor-In-Chief Zanny Minton Beddoes says president-elect Trump's agenda may be chaotic. But she stays resolutely optimistic about possible good elements in his foreign policy.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

We've all had bug bites, or dry scalp, or a sunburn that causes itch. But what if you felt itchy all the time — and there was no relief? Atlantic journalist Annie Lowrey suffers from primary biliary cholangitis (PBC), a degenerative liver disease in which the body mistakenly attacks cells lining the bile ducts, causing them to inflame. The result is a severe itch that doesn't respond to antihistamines or steroids. She talks with Terry Gross about finding a diagnosis, treatment, and what scientists know about itch.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Author Phil Klay says Trump has been willing to politicize the military to push his partisan agenda before, and is likely to further erode norms around the military as he looks for those willing to "go with his whims." Klay is a Marine Corps veteran and National Book Award-winning writer.Also, John Powers on the Spanish language movie musical Emilia Pérez. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Oscar-winning actor Al Pacino talks with Terry Gross about growing up in the South Bronx with a single mother and The Godfather, and why he almost passed on Part II. His new memoir is Sonny Boy.Also, we hear from Saoirse Ronan. She stars in two new films: The Outrun, about a young woman struggling to get sober, and the World War II drama, Blitz. She spoke with contributor Ann Marie Baldonado about the roles, as well as the most intense on set experience she's ever had — birthing lambs.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Comic Jenny Slate spoke with Terry Gross earlier this year about finding comedy in her feelings, motherhood, and growing up in a haunted house. Her latest stand-up special on Amazon Prime Video is Seasoned Professional and she has a new book of essays out now called Lifeform. Justin Chang reviews Clint Eastwood's new film, Juror #2.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

In Savings and Trust, historian Justene Hill Edwards tells the story of the Freedman's Bank. Created for formerly enslaved people following the Civil War, its collapse cost depositors millions. She spoke with Tonya Molsey about how this part of history reverberates today. Also, book critic Maureen Corrigan reviews Vanishing Treasures.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Irish actor Saoirse Ronan returns to Fresh Air to talk with contributor Ann Marie Baldonado about her two new films (The Outrun and Blitz) as well as her experience as a child actor and her collaboration with Lady Bird and Little Women director Greta Gerwig. Also, Carolina Miranda reviews the Netflix film Pedro Páramo.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

We remember renowned composer, arranger and producer Quincy Jones and listen back to Terry Gross's 2001 interview with him. He died Sunday at the age of 91. He got his start playing with Ray Charles when they were both in their teens. Jones became famous as an arranger and producer for musicians including Ray Charles, Frank Sinatra, Aretha Franklin, and Michael Jackson on his albums Bad, Off the Wall and Thriller.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Oscar-winning actor Al Pacino talks with Terry Gross about growing up in the South Bronx with a single mother, getting his start in Greenwich Village performing in avant-garde theater, nearly dying of COVID, and his life today. We'll also talk about The Godfather, and why he almost passed on Part II. His new memoir is Sonny Boy.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Alex Van Halen has written a new memoir about forming the rock band Van Halen with his brother Eddie. It takes readers from their childhood to the wild ride of sex, drugs, and rock and roll. Eddie Van Halen died in 2020. Alex talks with Tonya Mosley about his grief and reflects on their relationship. Also, artist Titus Kaphar talks about his new movie, Exhibiting Forgiveness, based on his life. It's about a celebrated painter whose world unravels when his estranged father suddenly resurfaces. Carolina Miranda reviews the new Netflix film Pedro Paramo Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

We remember actor Teri Garr, who died last week at age 79. She charmed audiences in her film roles and appearances on late night TV. She's best known for her role as the dim witted seductive lab assistant to Gene Wilder's mad scientist in Mel Brook's Young Frankenstein. She was later nominated for an Oscar for her performance in Tootsie. After being diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, Garr became a spokeswoman for MS research and support. She spoke with Terry Gross in 2005. Also, Justin Chang reviews the new World War II drama Blitz, directed by Steve McQueen and starring Saoirse Ronan.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

New Yorker journalist David Kirkpatrick says a government command hub is tasked with tracking and protecting U.S. elections from foreign adversaries who try to disrupt them by sowing discord and foment violence.Guest jazz critic Martin Johnson remembers composer Benny Golson, who died last month at the age of 95.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

New York Times reporter Ken Bensinger says the America First Policy Institute, which has nearly 300 executive orders ready to be signed, would influence a Trump second term more than Project 2025.Also, John Powers reviews the movie A Real Pain.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Alex Van Halen has written a new memoir about forming the rock band Van Halen with his brother Eddie, who died of cancer in 2020. The book, titled Brothers, takes readers from their childhood to the wild ride of sex, drugs, and rock and roll. He spoke with Tonya Mosley about grief, lighting his drums on fire, and what he really thinks of This is Spinal Tap. Also, TV critic David Bianculli reviews the fall TV broadcast season.Subscribe to Fresh Air's weekly newsletter and get highlights from the show, gems from the archive, and staff recommendations.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Eliza Griswold says complaints about homophobia, white privilege and diversity are splintering progressive organizations — including one particular church in Philadelphia. Her book is Circle of Hope. It's a finalist for the National Book Award.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

The HBO series Somebody Somewhere is about a 40-something woman who returns home to Kansas to care for her dying sister, then stays, but feels like an outsider until she finds a place in the LGBTQ community. We talk Bridget Everett, star of the series, who is also an acclaimed (and bawdy) cabaret singer. Also, writer Nick Harkaway talks about his novel Karla's Choice. It's a new story about George Smiley, the British spymaster made famous in the books written by Harkaway's late father, John le Carré. Ken Tucker reviews a new biography of Randy Newman.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

The witty, cynical and often tongue-in-cheek songwriter Randy Newman is the subject of a new biography. He also wrote a bunch of film scores, including the music for Toy Story, Ragtime, A Bug's Life, and Monsters, Inc. We're revisiting Newman's interview with Terry Gross from 1998 and Ken Tucker reviews the book, A Few Words in Defense of Our Country.Justin Chang reviews the new Vatican thriller Conclave.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

When painter, sculptor, and installation artist Titus Kaphar's life was upended by his estranged father, he turned to film. First he decided to tell his story in a documentary, but scrapped the project when it felt unsatisfying. His new feature film, Exhibiting Forgiveness, tells his story and brings his paintings to life. Kaphar talked to Tonya Mosley about his journey to healing. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Writer Nick Harkaway grew up hearing his dad read drafts of his George Smiley novels. He picks up le Carré's beloved spymaster character in the new novel, Karla's Choice. He spoke with Sam Briger about choosing his own pen name, channeling his dad's writing style, and his stint writing copy for a lingerie catalogue. Subscribe to Fresh Air's weekly newsletter and get highlights from the show, gems from the archive, and staff recommendations. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

New Yorker writer Susan Glasser says Musk has spent $75 million to support Trump. If elected, Trump promises to appoint Musk to head a commission to cut costs in every part of the federal government.Maureen Corrigan reviews the satirical novel Blood Test by Charles Baxter.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Growing up in Manhattan, Kansas, Bridget Everett and her "blue sense of humor" never quite fit in. After moving to New York City and developing a cabaret show, she returned home for her HBO show Somebody Somewhere. The series is semi-autobiographical, about a woman struggling with self-worth and grief as she finds her people and her voice. Subscribe to Fresh Air's weekly newsletter and get highlights from the show, gems from the archive, and staff recommendations. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Grammy-winning producer, singer, songwriter and rapper Pharrell Williams has a new animated biopic called Piece by Piece. He talks with Tonya Mosley about synesthesia and collaborations with Snoop Dogg, Kelis, and Gwen Stefani.We'll also hear from Riley Keough, Elvis's granddaughter and Lisa Marie Presley's daughter. She talks about the memoir she co-authored with her late mother. Before her unexpected death, Lisa Marie chronicled her childhood, her marriage to Michael Jackson, and growing up in Elvis's shadow.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

We're revisiting our interview with Tom Petty, whose hits include "American Girl," "Breakdown," and "I Won't Back Down." The soundtrack of the new Apple TV+ series Bad Monkey is all Tom Petty covers. He spoke with Terry Gross in 2006. Sterlin Harjo, co-creator of the Peabody award-winning FX/Hulu TV series Reservation Dogs, is a 2024 recipient of the MacAathur "genius" award. Reservation Dogs is about a group of teenagers living on reservation in rural Oklahoma. Harjo is a member of the Muscogee and Seminole Nations and spoke with Terry in 2022. Justin Chang reviews the new film Anora by Sean Baker, director of Tangerine and The Florida Project.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Former Inspector General Glenn Fine oversaw investigations of the mishandling of documents in the Oklahoma bombing case, the treatment of detainees at Guantanamo and corruption in the Navy. He spoke with Dave Davies about his work to uncover abuse, waste, and fraud in the Departments of Justice and Defense. His book is Watchdogs. Also, Maureen Corrigan reviews the book Clean, about a housekeeper who is the primary suspect in the death of a child.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Legal scholar Mary Ziegler talks about the legal battles shaping reproductive rights across the U.S. — including the scope of abortion access and the fate of IVF. And we look ahead at two very different outcomes with the election. "I don't think in the past 50 years we've had an election where the stakes could be as high, simply because Roe v. Wade isn't there as a floor anymore," Ziegler says. Also, John Powers controversial French writer Michel Houellebecq's new novel, Annihilation. Subscribe to Fresh Air's weekly newsletter and get highlights from the show, gems from the archive, and staff recommendations. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Mosab Abu Toha was able to escape Gaza, along with his wife and three young children. The award-winning poet talks about being detained at a check-point, parenting in war, and the devastation of leaving his family and friends behind. His new book of poetry is Forest of Noise.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Lisa Marie Presley, the only child of Elvis Presley, was working on a memoir when she died in 2023. In From Here to the Great Unknown, actor Riley Keough details her mother's unusual life in Graceland. She also talks about grief and her own time at Neverland Ranch. Maureen Corrigan reviews the novel Shred Sisters by Betsy Lerner. Subscribe to Fresh Air's weekly newsletter and get highlights from the show, gems from the archive, and staff recommendations. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Jeremy Strong played Kendall Roy on HBO's Succession. He's now starring in The Apprentice, as Donald Trump's unscrupulous lawyer and mentor Roy Cohn. Strong says the film examines the playbook Cohn passed on to Trump: "Always attack, deny everything and never admit defeat."Also, Will Ferrrell and his friend and former SNL writing partner Harper Steele, talk about the road trip they took after Harper came out as a trans woman. Their trip is the subject of the new Netflix documentary, Will & Harper.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

We remember singer Cissy Houston, who died Oct. 7 at the age of 91. She got her start in gospel and sang backup vocals for Elvis, Dusty Springfield, Wilson Pickett, Van Morrison and Aretha Franklin, most notably on "A Natural Woman." She was also the mother of Whitney Houston. Houston spoke with Terry Gross in 1998. Also, we remember Major League Baseball's Pete Rose, a legend on the field who was banned from baseball because he bet on the game. He died Sept. 30 at the age of 83. Rose spoke with Dave Davies in 2004. TV critic David Bianculli reviews the new film Saturday Night, a dramatization of the first episode of SNL. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Internationally-acclaimed writer Etgar Keret, who lives in Tel Aviv, reflects on the protests in Israel and the U.S. over the hostages and Gaza. The son of Holocaust survivors, he has left- and right-wing political views in his own family.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Best-known for his role as Kendall Roy in HBO's Succession, Jeremy Strong now stars as lawyer and political hitman Roy Cohn in The Apprentice. The movie, he says, "explores essentially how Trump was made and his philosophical moral framework." Strong talks with Terry Gross about playing Cohn and about some of Kendall's most memorable scenes. Subscribe to Fresh Air's weekly newsletter and get highlights from the show, gems from the archive, and staff recommendations.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

The animated film Piece By Piece traces Pharrell's early life as a boy growing up in Virginia Beach and follows his trajectory to a Grammy-winning songwriter, performer and producer. He spoke with Tonya Mosley about his synesthesia, the song Prince rejected, and disliking his own voice. Subscribe to Fresh Air's weekly newsletter and get highlights from the show, gems from the archive, and staff recommendations.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Will Ferrell and his longtime friend and former SNL writing partner Harper Steele traveled from New York to California, talking along the way about Steele coming out as a trans woman. Their documentary, Will & Harper, is now streaming on Netflix. Also, classical music critic Lloyd Schwartz reflects on "maverick" composer Charles Ives.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Ta-Nehisi Coates talks about his trip to Senegal and reflects on his ancestors taken from that side of the ocean and sent to their enslavement in America. Coates is best known for his Atlantic magazine cover story "The Case for Reparations" and for his book Between the World and Me, which he wrote as a letter to his son about what he'll face as a Black man.We'll also hear from actor, comedian, and activist John Leguizamo. His latest project is a docuseries on PBS about the history of Latinos in the Americas, covering thousands of years, from pre-Columbian Inca, Maya, and Aztec civilizations to the fight for Latino civil rights.Plus, Ken Tucker reviews Bob Dylan's new collection, The 1974 Live Recordings.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Beloved British actor of stage and screen Maggie Smith died last week at age 89. Though the Oscar-winner had a long and successful career, it wasn't until she was in her 70s that she got approached by scores of fans. "It only happened to me since Downton Abbey, so I blame the whole thing on television." We revisit Dave Davies' 2016 interview with Smith. Also, we remember singer, songwriter, and actor Kris Kristofferson. He was a Rhodes Scholar, and an Army Ranger before taking a chance at songwriting. "Me and Bobby McGee" is perhaps his most famous song, recorded by Janis Joplin. He told Terry Gross in 1999. Also, John Powers reviews the new film Wolfs, starring George Clooney and Brad Pitt on Apple TV+.To keep up with what's on Fresh Air and get a peek behind the scenes, subscribe to our free weekly newsletter. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

David Wessel, a senior fellow in economic studies at the Brookings Institution, compares the candidates' records and campaign promises on taxes, spending, tariffs, housing and more. TV critic David Bianculli reviews Netflix's rom-com series Nobody Wants This.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

More often than not, U.S. history classes fail to include the contributions of Latino people. Leguizamo's three-part PBS docuseries, VOCES American Historia, is an attempt to set the record straight. Also, David Bianculli reflects on SNL's season 50 opener. Subscribe to Fresh Air's weekly newsletter and get highlights from the show, gems from the archive, and staff recommendations. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

In his new book, Coates reflects on his time in Senegal, as well as trips he took to South Carolina and to Israel and the Israeli-occupied West Bank. "It is about the nationalisms of people who are told that they are nothing, that they are not a nation, that they are not a people ... and the stories that we construct to fight back against that," he says.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

The host of the Food Network's Barefoot Contessa tells Tonya Mosley about a disastrous party she threw when she was 21. Garten invited 20 guests, with the intention of making an individual omelet for each person — except she barely knew how to cook an omelet. Her new memoir is Be Ready When Fate Happens.Ken Tucker reviews The 1974 Live Recordings, a newly released recording of some of Bob Dylan's most raucous rock and roll.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Todd Phillips, the director and co-writer of the new musical sequel to Joker, shares what it was like to direct Joaquin Phoenix and Lady Gaga in a singing, dancing, very dark adaptation of the DC character. And actor Uzo Aduba, best-known for her role as "Crazy Eyes" on Orange is the New Black and HBO's In Treatment, has written a new memoir that pays homage to her mother, a Nigerian immigrant who raised her family in a nearly all-white Massachusetts suburb. Also, David Bianculli reviews the new Disney+/Marvel series Agatha All Along, a spinoff of the series WandaVision. Subscribe to Fresh Air's weekly newsletter and get highlights from the show, gems from the archive, and staff recommendations.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

25 years ago, the TV series The West Wing premiered. It was a behind-the-scenes look at a fictional White House. We revisit our interviews with show creator/writer Aaron Sorkin, and actors Allison Janney, who played C.J., and John Spencer, who played Leo McGarry. They talk about the show's signature walk-and-talk and the quippy, rapid-fire style of dialogue. Also, Justin Chang reviews Francis Ford Coppola's Megalopolis.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

New Yorker writer Andrew Marantz describes Michigan's uncommitted, thousands of pro-Palestinian, anti-war protest voters who say they won't support Kamala Harris unless she changes her policy on Israel.Also, Kevin Whitehead shares an appreciation of jazz pianist Bud Powell, for his centennial. And film critic Justin Chang reflects on two new movies that examine the extremes of self-improvement: The Substance and A Different Man. Subscribe to Fresh Air's weekly newsletter and get highlights from the show, gems from the archive, and staff recommendations.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Orange Is the New Black actor Uzo Aduba grew up the daughter of Nigerian immigrants in a predominantly white Massachusetts suburb. She looks back on her late mother's influence in the memoir, The Road Is Good. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Mueller deputy Aaron Zebley looks back on the investigation of Trump's ties to Russia and explains why his team didn't indict the president in 2017. Zebley is the co-author of Interference. David Bianculli reviews WandaVision spin-off, Agatha All Along on Disney+.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

After his 2019 hit Joker, Todd Phillips knew he wanted to do more with the character. Joker: Folie à Deux picks up two years after the original, and features singing by Joaquin Phoenix and Lady Gaga. The director spoke with Terry Gross about his collaboration with Phoenix, how he got into filmmaking, and casting Gaga.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Pioneering television journalist Connie Chung gives us a behind-the-scenes look at what it took for her to climb to the top in the male-dominated field of TV news. Her new memoir is Connie. Also, we talk with Demi Moore about her new horror film The Substance, in which she plays an aging actress who loses her job hosting a workout show because her boss thinks she's too old and not hot enough. John Powers reviews the new documentary ¡Casa Bonita Mi Amor!Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Florida's population has quintupled since writer Carl Hiaasen grew up near Fort Lauderdale in the '50s. As a former Miami Herald columnist and novelist, Hiaasen railed against, and made fun of, politicians and developers who he said were covering the state with concrete, and the tourists and retirees who just kept coming. Hiaasen's 2013 novel, Bad Monkey, a wacky murder mystery set in Key West COMMA is now a television series streaming on Apple TV +, starring Vince Vaughn.Also, we remember revered jazz historian, archivist and critic Dan Morgenstern, who died earlier this month. Critic-at-Large John Powers reviews Kate Atkinson's latest mystery novel, and TV critic David Bianculli reviews the new HBO series, The Penguin.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

NYT senior political correspondent Maggie Haberman, who has spent years covering former President Trump, discusses his behavior on the campaign trail, including his need to respond to every slight, even when it damages his appeal to voters.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

TV news journalist Connie Chung has written a new tell-all memoir. It's about breaking into the boys club of her industry, her marriage to Maury Povitch, and the big scoops of her career. The funny and off-the-cuff news icon spoke with Tonya Mosley.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Pulitzer Prize-winning reporters Susanne Craig and Russ Buettner spent years investigating the former president's finances and various businesses. They dispel Trump's myth of being a self-made billionaire, and trace the missteps he made, squandering his father's fortune. Their book is Lucky Loser.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

In the horror movie The Substance, Demi Moore plays an aging actress who uses a black-market drug to create a younger version of herself. She says the film examines the pressures middle-aged women face to remain youthful. Moore spoke with Tonya Mosley about "compare and despair" in Hollywood, and why she's entered a new chapter of her life. Also, John Powers reviews the documentary ¡Casa Bonita Mi Amor!, about the South Park creators' ill-fated attempt to restore a beloved Colorado landmark.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Journalists Ryan Mac and Kate Conger talk about the chaos Elon Musk created inside Twitter, how Musk moved further to the political right, and how Trump wants to appoint Musk to head a new efficiency commission. Their book is Character Limit. Also, we'll hear from comedian Taylor Tomlinson, host of CBS's late-night talk show After Midnight. Tomlinson started doing stand up when she was 16 and took a class with a Christian comedian. Then she started testing her material on the church circuit. And, Maureen Corrigan reviews Rachel Kushner's new novel, Creation Lake.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

James Earl Jones was the voice of Darth Vader in Star Wars and Mafusa in The Lion King, and once the voice of CNN. But there was a time when he didn't want to be heard. We revisit his 1993 interview with Terry Gross about how he overcame his stutter. Jones died this week at 93. Also we remember late guitarist Russell Malone. He played with Diana Krall and Harry Connick Jr.Film critic Justin Chang reviews His Three Daughters.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Democrats and Republicans learned from the legal fight over the 2020 elections, New York Times reporter Nick Corasaniti explains how both sides are prepping for 2024 ballot box fight.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

After buying Twitter in 2022, Elon Musk instituted sweeping changes. He laid off or fired about 75% of the staff –including about half the data scientists. He also ended rules banning hate speech and misinformation. Authors Kate Conger and Ryan Mac recount the takeover in Character Limit.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Investigative journalist Jessica Pishko says that a growing group of "constitutional sheriffs" have become a flashpoint in the current politics of toxic masculinity, guns, white supremacy, and rural resentment. "Constitutional sheriffs would argue that there is no one who can tell them what to do," Pishko says. "Not the president, not the Supreme Court, not the governor, not the legislature. Sometimes constitutional sheriffs will call themselves something like a king." Her book is The Highest Law in the Land. Also, Maureen Corrigan reviews Creation Lake, by Rachel Kushner.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

The After Midnight host was initially unsure about sharing her bipolar II diagnosis on-stage. But, she tells co-host Tonya Mosley, "I got such amazing feedback from people who had been struggling with their mental health." Her new Netflix comedy special is Have It All. Also, David Bianculli reviews the new season of Only Murders in the Building.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson's new memoir, Lovely One, gives us a rare glimpse into her legal mind. And she gets personal about her childhood, marriage and her time as a public defender. Also, we hear from writer Danzy Senna, who writes about the experiences of being biracial in America and the meaning of race itself. Her new novel Colored Television. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

25 years ago, The Sopranos premiered on HBO and changed expectations of what TV could be. There's a new two-part documentary, called Wise Guy, about the making of the show, centering on the series creator and executive producer, David Chase. We're using that as an excuse to revisit our interviews with Chase, as well as Lorraine Bracco, who played Tony's psychiatrist, Dr. Melfi, and Michael Imperioli, who played Tony's impetuous nephew. Film critic Justin Chang reviews Beetlejuice Beetlejuice.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

New Yorker writer David Kirkpatrick says anti-fascists are using extra judicial methods to do what the FBI can't, by infiltrating white nationalist groups to expose them and their planned attacks.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson talks with Tonya Mosley about her teen years, her time as a public defender, and the poem she keeps in her office. Her new memoir is called Lovely One.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Novelist Danzy Senna spoke with Terry Gross about racial identity, growing up with a Black father and white mother in an era when "mixed-race" wasn't a thing. "Just merely existing as a family was a radical statement at that time," she says. Her new book is Colored Television.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

To wrap up our series, we're closing with director Spike Lee and actor Samuel L. Jackson. Lee spoke with Terry Gross in 2017 about growing up in Brooklyn and his acting and directorial debut, the 1986 movie She's Gotta Have It. In 2000, Jackson talked about playing tough guys, watching movies in segregated theaters, and nearly dying on the New York subway.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

In 2022, E.T. and Jaws director Steven Spielberg talked about how he fell in love with film, and how he was afraid of everything as a kid. We'll also revisit our 2016 interview with actor Carrie Fisher about what it was really like to become a sex symbol as Princess Leia.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

The 1964 spaghetti Western A Fistful of Dollars turned Clint Eastwood into a star. He had a famous squint in his closeups, but he told Terry Gross in 1997, it wasn't necessarily character driven. "They bombed me with a bunch a lights, and you're outside and it's 90 degrees, and it's hard not to squint." We'll also hear from Eastwood's co-star in The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, Eli Wallach, who went on to play a bandit in several Westerns. Cultural historian Christopher Frayling tells us how the Italian director Sergio Leone broke the conventions of the Hollywood Western, and stuntman Hal Needham describes his most daring feats.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

We continue our Classic Films and Movie Icons series and feature archival interviews with Dennis Hopper and Isabella Rossellini. They co-starred in the movie Blue Velvet, and after it became a hit, both of their careers were redefined. Later, on the centennial of singer Dinah Washington's birth, jazz historian Kevin Whitehead has appreciation.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Our special series of archival interviews continues with two of the GOATs: Meryl Streep, the actor with the most Oscar nominations in history, spoke with Terry Gross in 2012 about playing Margaret Thatcher. And Sidney Poitier, the first Black man to win best actor, in 2000 talked about how the radio helped him learn an accent for auditions.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

We continue our Classic Films and Movie Icons series with two performers who gained fame as kids: Breakfast Club actor Molly Ringwald and Freaky Friday actor Jodie Foster. We'll also discuss Foster's Oscar-winning role as an FBI agent in The Silence of the Lambs and hear from her co-star who played serial killer Hannibal Lector, Anthony Hopkins.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

From now through Labor Day we're featuring interviews from our archive with great actors and directors. Robert Duvall talks about his role in the Godfather films as Tom Hagen, the Corleone family lawyer — and about speaking the most famous line in Apocalypse Now. And we'll get some insights into acting from Michael Caine, including why you don't need to raise your voice to be intimidating, and why he hates doing love scenes.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

We begin our series celebrating classic movies with Terry Gross' 1988 interview with On the Waterfront director Elia Kazan, as well as a 2020 interview with his granddaughter, actor Zoe Kazan. Plus, we'll hear from the film's romantic lead, actor Eva Marie Saint, who told Fresh Air in 2000 that she got the part after improvising with Marlon Brando.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

We remember Phil Donahue, the daytime talk show host who pioneered thoughtful discussions on controversial issues, and paved the way for Oprah and others. And we remember actress Gena Rowlands, who best known for her often improvised independent film collaborations with her husband John Cassavetes. Also, Justin Chang reviews the film Close Your Eyes.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Georgetown professor and foreign policy analyst Daniel Byman discusses Ukraine's daring offensive into Russian territory. And he reflects on the future of Gaza, after Israel's military operation ends.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative reporter David Rohde argues that since 2016, Trump has used conspiracy theories, co-option and threats to bend Justice Department and FBI officials to his will. Rohde's new book is Where Tyranny Begins. Maureen Corrigan reviews Paradise Bronx by Ian Frazier.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

As 50,000 people attend the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, we look at the history of politics, protest and play in American stadiums. "We fight our political battles in stadiums," Columbia historian Frank Andre Guridy says. "They become ideal places to stake your claims on what you want the United States to be." His new book is The Stadium.Also, as part of his series celebrating albums turning 50 this year, Ken Tucker revisits Neil Young's On the Beach.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

In The Supremes at Earl's All-You-Can-Eat, Ellis-Taylor plays the outspoken ringleader among three women whose friendship spans several decades. Her previous films include Origin and King Richard. She talks with Tonya Mosley about growing up in rural Mississippi, buying two billboards, and getting into acting to stave off adulthood. Also, Maureen Corrigan reviews A Wilder Shore, by Camille Peri.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Pediatric surgeon and founder of the Black Doctors Consortium Dr. Ala Standford talks with Terry Gross about how, at the height of the pandemic, she dedicated herself to addressing health inequities in Black and Brown communities. She set up shop in parking lots and churches providing tests and vaccines to tens of thousands of people.Also, we'll talk with brain surgeon Dr. Theodore H. Schwartz, author of the new book Gray Matters. He'll talk about how brain surgery has been transformed by new technologies, new instruments, and more powerful computers. And Ken Tucker takes us back 50 years to Neil Young's On the Beach. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Homicide: Life on the Streets, the critically acclaimed police procedural set in Baltimore, is coming to streaming (Peacock) for the first time. The show, which ran for seven seasons, is based on a book by David Simon, from before he created The Wire. In an appreciation of the show, we're listening back to interviews with some of the people behind it: Executive producer and writer Tom Fontana, actor Andre Braugher, and actor Clark Johnson.And film critic Justin Chang reviews Alien: Romulus.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

As democrats prepare for their national convention in Chicago next week, we take stock of a presidential race transformed. New Yorker staff writer Evan Osnos tells us about the enthusiasm and energy he's seen on the campaign trail with Vice President Kamala Harris and running mate, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz.Later TV critic David Bianculli reviews Bad Monkey, the new mystery series starring Vince Vaughan.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Casey Michel shines a light on Americans lobbying for foreign governments in Washington, in many cases representing brutally repressive regimes and countries that oppose U.S. interests. Laws requiring registration of lobbyists and disclosure of their efforts have been little-enforced, and thus ignored by countless agents who've reaped huge profits from their work. Michel's new book is Foreign Agents.Also, Carolina Miranda reviews a YouTube documentary about the spectacular failure of a Star Wars-themed hotel in Orlando.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Poet and writer Safiya Sinclair grew up in a devout Rastafari family in Jamaica where women were subservient. When she cut her dreadlocks at age 19, she became "a ghost" to her father. Her memoir, How to Say Babylon, is out in paperback.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Joe Moore, a former Army sniper turned FBI informant, shares how he infiltrated the KKK and helped foil a plot to assassinate then Sen. Barack Obama. Moore explains how hate groups are growing. His new book is 'White Robes and Broken Badges.'Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

In 1982, eight science fiction films were released within eight weeks of each other. Chris Nashawaty, author of The Future Was Now, tells Tonya Mosley how those movies shaped the genre and the movie industry. Plus, Brittany Howard, the former Alabama Shakes singer/guitarist, tells Terry Gross that growing up, she was told repeatedly she didn't look like a lead singer. "It made me sing ... louder and perform just as hard as I could," Howard says. Her new album is What Now.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

We commemorate the 79th anniversary of the atomic bomb dropped on Nagasaki, Japan, by revisiting a haunting question: Was the U.S. decision to destroy two Japanese cities with atomic weapons really necessary to end World War II? Author Evan Thomas discusses the motivations of key U.S. leaders, and of Japanese commanders and diplomats. His book is The Road to Surrender. Plus, John Powers reviews The Instigators, a new action comedy starring Matt Damon and Casey Affleck.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Filmmaker Greg Kwedar and formerly incarcerated actor Clarence "Divine Eye" Maclin discuss their new film, which centers on the real-life Rehabilitation Through the Arts program founded at Sing Sing prison. Plus, Justin Chang reviews the film Good One. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

When the pandemic hit, Dr. Ala Stanford set up shop in parking lots, churches and mosques where she provided tests and vaccines to underserved Philadelphia communities like the one she grew up in.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Each year, nearly half a million migrants cross the perilous stretch of jungle between South and Central America. Many face snakes, flash floods, sweltering heat, sexual violence, and death. Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Caitlin Dickerson talks to Tonya Mosley about what she saw and the migrants she followed for the September Atlantic cover story.John Powers reviews the Apple TV+ series Women in Blue, about women cops in '70s Mexico City.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Dr. Theodore Schwartz has been treating neurological illnesses for nearly 30 years. He says being a brain surgeon requires steady hands — and a strong bladder. His new book is Gray Matters. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Comic Nikki Glaser talks with Terry Gross about finding the line between offensive and funny, hurt feelings, and why she started making jokes about sex. Her new Emmy-nominated stand-up special on HBO is Someday You'll Die.Ken Tucker reflects on the New York Dolls' album Too Much Too Soon for its 50th anniversary. Paul W. Downs co-created the acclaimed HBO Max show Hacks with his wife, Lucia Aniello and their friend and collaborator, Jen Statsky. Downs talks with Ann Marie Baldonado about how they came up with the idea for Hacks, and how his wife continued directing the show while she was in labor. Hacks is nominated for 16 Emmy Awards this year.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

We go into the Fresh Air archive to remember two remarkable women: Bernice Johnson Reagon was one of the powerful singers who helped galvanize the civil rights movement in the 1960s, as a member of the Freedom Singers quartet. She died July 16 at the age of 81. Also, we remember writer Gail Lumet Buckley, the daughter of singer Lena Horne, who chronicled her family's history from enslavement to becoming a part of the Black bourgeoisie. She died this week at age 86. August 2nd is the 100th anniversary of the birth of James Baldwin, so we listen back to Terry Gross's 1986 interview with him.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Grammy-winning singer, guitarist and producer Brittany Howard fronted the band Alabama Shakes before going solo. She talks with Terry Gross about growing up biracial in a small Alabama town, living in a haunted house, and writing break-up songs for her new album, What Now.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

In 1982, eight science fiction films were released within eight weeks of each other: E.T., Tron, Star Trek II: Wrath of Khan, Conan the Barbarian, Blade Runner, Poltergeist, The Thing, and Mad Max: The Road Warrior. Entertainment writer Chris Nashawaty talks to Tonya Mosley about how those movies shaped the genre and the movie industry. His book is The Future Was Now. Also, Ken Tucker reflects on the New York Dolls' album Too Much Too Soon for its 50th anniversary.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Paul W. Downs co-created the HBO Max show with his wife, Lucia Aniello and their friend and collaborator, Jen Statsky. The three met at the Upright Citizens Brigade. Downs talks with Ann Marie Baldonado about how they came up with the idea for Hacks, tackling cancel culture, and how his wife continued directing the show while she was in labor. Hacks is nominated for 16 Emmy awards this year, including for Downs for his role as Jimmy. Also, David Bianculli reflects on the Turner Classic Movies series Two for One. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

The comic made headlines after the roast of Tom Brady. She spoke with Terry Gross about finding the line between offensive and funny, hurt feelings, and why she started making jokes about sex. Her new Emmy-nominated stand-up special on HBO is Someday You'll Die. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Jon M. Chu, the director of Crazy Rich Asians and In the Heights is now directing the film adaptation of the broadway musical Wicked. We'll talk about making movies, and being raised by immigrant parents who owned a Chinese restaurant in Silicon Valley.Also, we hear from stunt performer-turned-director David Leitch. He directed the film The Fall Guy, starring Ryan Gosling as a stuntman. Ken Tucker continues his series of great albums turning 50 this year with an album by Roxy Music.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

We remember comic and actor Bob Newhart, who died last week at the age of 94. In his stand-up comedy and hit TV series, some of the laughs came from his an awkward, stammering way of speaking. "It isn't an affectation. It's the way I speak," he told Terry Gross in 1998. Also, Justin Chang reviews Deadpool & Wolverine.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Hezbollah, the militant group based in Lebanon, shares Hamas' goal of destroying the state of Israel. We'll talk with New Yorker staff writer Dexter Filkins, about his reporting trip to both sides of the Lebanese/Israeli border. Israel and Hezbollah have escalated their shelling and bombing attacks on each other. Filkins says that's leading to fears of an all-out war that would devastate both sides, and could draw in Iran and the U.S.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Chu takes his inspiration from his dad, a Chinese immigrant who worked both the front room and the kitchen of their family-run restaurant: "The guy that in the back of the kitchen, that was my hero." The director of Crazy Rich Asians and In the Heights talks with Terry Gross about growing up in Silicon Valley, seeing Wicked for the first time, and learning to be adaptable. Maureen Corrigan reviews Dinaw Mengestu's new novel, Someone Like Us. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Autocracy, Inc. author Anne Applebaum says today's dictators — including Putin and Xi — are working together in a global fight to dismantle democracy, and Trump is borrowing from their playbook: "We're going to have to defend and protect our political system if we want to keep it." Also, David Bianculli reviews the Apple TV series Time Bandits.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Filmmaker and stunt coordinator David Leitch says it's easier to do stunts himself than direct his stunt performer friends. "You are responsible for their safety," he explains. "Your heart goes through your chest." His film The Fall Guy is about the unknown performers who put their lives on the line. He talks with Terry Gross about barrel rolling cars, being lit on fire, and doing another take when everything hurts. Also, Ken Tucker marks the 50th anniversary of Roxy Music's Country Life.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Humorist/writer Shalom Auslander's new memoir is a satirical look at all the ways a sense of "feh," which is Yiddish for "yuck," has made its way into his psyche and every aspect of his life. Auslander has written extensively over the years about growing up in a dysfunctional ultra-Orthodox Jewish family. His new memoir, aptly titled Feh, is about a journey to write a different story for himself.We'll also hear from Julianne Nicholson. Proud to call herself a character actor, she's appeared in dozens of films and TV series, from Ally McBeal and Boardwalk Empire to August: Osage County and Mare of Easttown, where she earned an Emmy. Nicholson is starring in the new film Janet Planet.And, Ken Tucker takes us back 50 years to Stevie Wonder's album Fulfillingness' First Finale, which he says is an underrated treasure.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

We remember actress Shelley Duvall, who died at the age of 75. Best-known for her role in The Shining, Robert Altman films and her own series about fairytales. She spoke with Terry Gross in 1992 about working with the two directors. Also, we remember the famous sex therapist Dr. Ruth Westheimer. And TV critic David Bianculli reviews the new Apple TV+ docuseries Omnivore, and John Powers reviews the new summer blockbuster Twisters.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Humorist Shalom Auslander has written for decades about growing up in a dysfunctional household within an ultra-orthodox Jewish community. Feh, title of his latest memoir, comes from the Yiddish word for "yuck." He talks about self-hatred, changing the narrative and his friendship with late actor Philip Seymour Hoffman. Also, Justin Chang reviews the new horror movie Longlegs.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

PBS FRONTLINE documentarians Tom Casciato and Kathleen Hughes spent 34 years following two working-class families in Milwaukee who lost well-paying manufacturing jobs and then struggled to regain their way of life. The film, hosted by Bill Moyers, is called Two American Families.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Julianne Nicholson says when strangers recognize her on the street, they're never quite sure how they know her: "They might think I sold them kittens, or I work in the ice cream shop." She stars in the new film Janet Planet. She earned an Emmy for her role in HBO's Mare of Easttown as Mare's (Kate Winslet) best friend. Also, Maureen Corrigan reviews the novel Practice, by Rosalind Brown.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

We talk about the weapon the shooter used in the attempted assassination of former President Trump. Pulitzer Prize-winning Washington Post reporter Todd Frankel explains how the AR-15 became an icon of gun culture and a favored weapon for mass shooters. Also, Ken Tucker revisits Stevie Wonder's album Fulfillingness' First Finale for its 50th anniversary.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Taffy Brodesser-Akner's new novel, Long Island Compromise, centers on the kidnapping of a rich businessman, and the impact, decades later, on his grown children. Her previous book, Fleishman Is in Trouble, was adapted into an acclaimed FX/Hulu series.Jill Ciment met her husband in the 1970s when she was a teenager and he was almost 50. At the time of their first kiss, he was a married father of two; she was his art student. In her memoir Consent she reconsiders the origin story of their marriage.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Martin Mull, who died June 27, appeared in the 1970s series Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman, and later starred in Fernwood 2 Night. David Bianculli offers an appreciation, then we revisit Terry Gross' 1995 interview with Mull. Robert Towne, who died July 1, was nominated for an Oscar in 1974 for his screenplay for The Last Detail, and won the Academy Award in 1975 for his screenplay for Chinatown. He spoke to Terry Gross in 1988.Justin Chang reviews A Quiet Place: Day One.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

David Madland of the Center for American Progress says new, "good" jobs are on the rise, but many of the workers don't realize it's a result of Biden's new industrial policies.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Disgraced financier Bernie Madoff scammed investors out of approximately $68 billion. Investigative journalist Richard Behar spoke to Madoff in prison more than 50 times in researching his new book. Behar also conducted interviews with Wall Street insiders, prosecutors, FBI agents, and people who lost most or all of their money investing through Madoff's company.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Jill Ciment met her husband in the 1970s when she was a teenager and he was almost 50. At the time of their first kiss, he was a married father of two; she was his art student. In her memoir Consent she reconsiders the origin story of their marriage.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Brodesser-Akner's new novel, Long Island Compromise, centers on the kidnapping of a rich businessman, and the impact, decades later, on his grown children. She channeled what she learned as a journalist writing celebrity profiles for the book: "I think that the goal of all writing is to humanize those that we can only see from far away." Her previous book, Fleishman Is in Trouble, was adapted into an acclaimed FX/Hulu series.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Comedian Michelle Buteau stars in the new comedy Babes, which follows best friends as they take different paths toward motherhood. It was a role Buteau had to be talked into doing by her real life friend and co-star Ilana Glazer because, at the time, she was already in the thick of living out her character's life as the mother of twin babies. Also, we'll talk with New Yorker staff writer Emily Nussbaum about working conditions for cast members on the popular reality TV show Love is Blind. And Ken Tucker Rock critic Ken Tucker revisits Steely Dan's 1974 album Pretzel Logic, on its 50th anniversary.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

For the 40th anniversary of Talking Heads' masterpiece concert film, Stop Making Sense, A24 remastered and rereleased the movie, bringing it to new audiences and longtime fans. Talking Heads frontman David Byrne returns to Fresh Air to speak with Terry Gross about songwriting, dancing, and constructing the big suit.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

A few years ago, Bon Jovi stopped performing because of a vocal cord injury. The Hulu docuseries Thank You, Goodnight offers a career retrospective, plus a view of his surgery and return to the stage. He spoke with Terry Gross about his voice, writing "Livin' on a Prayer," and his new album, Forever.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

David Tatel is a former civil rights lawyer who spent 30 years as a judge on the D.C. Circuit, the nation's second highest court. He retired earlier this year. As an appellate judge, he was required to follow Supreme Court precedents, but what about precedents that resulted from what he considers flawed judicial reasoning? We talk with Tatel about being a judge during a time he thought the Supreme Court veered off course — and being a judge who is blind. His new book is called Vision: A Memoir of Blindness and Justice.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

As a comedy writer for shows like The Late Late Show with James Corden, Ian Karmel spent most of his life making fun of his weight, starting at a very young age. His new memoir is called T-Shirt Swim Club: Stories of Being Fat in a World of Thin People. It chronicles how he used comedy to cope growing up, and now that he's lost hundreds of pounds, what he's discovered about himself and society. Also, David Bianculli reviews season three of The Bear.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

New Yorker writer Emily Nussbaum discusses the lawsuits brought forth by the Love is Blind cast members, and reflects on how reality TV has impacted our culture. Her new book about the history of reality TV is Cue the Sun! Also, classical music critic Lloyd Schwartz reviews a recording by Finnish condutor Klaus Mäkelä.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

If you've ever wondered what conversations were like between Donald Trump and Dr. Anthony Fauci during the Covid pandemic, wonder no more. Fauci talks about his new memoir, in which he relates several profanity-laced scoldings he got from the President. Also, we hear from Hannah Einbinder, who stars with Jean Smart in the comedy series Hacks. And Maureen Corrigan shares some summer book recommendations.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

British singer/guitarist Richard Thompson spoke to Fresh Air in 1994 and 2022 about about his formative years and about pioneering a new musical genre that blended rock with traditional music of the British isles. He has a new album called Ship to Shore. Justin Chang reviews the new film Janet Planet, the first feature from the Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Annie Baker.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

New York Times political correspondent Shane Goldmacher has been following the flood of campaign finance money for both presidential candidates. Trump is now ahead of President Biden, backed by wealthy independent donors, many of whom gave millions after he was convicted of felony charges. Also, we discuss how Trump and Biden have prepared for their first debate Thursday night, and how this debate will be different. Also, Ken Tucker revisits Steely Dan's 1974 album Pretzel Logic, on its 50th anniversary.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Buteau says covering the news of the 2001 terrorist attacks crystalized her desire to go into comedy. She spoke with Tonya Mosley about her journey to the stage, needing humor in dark times, and proving her college professor wrong. She stars in the film Babes and in the Netflix series Survival of the Thickest.Also, Ken Tucker shares three summer songs he's had on repeat.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Bazawule is best-known for directing 2023 adaptation of The Color Purple: The Musical. He also co-directed Black Is King with Beyoncé. He has a new exhibit of paintings about his formative years growing up in Ghana. Also, book critic Maureen Corrigan shares her picks for summer crime/suspense novels.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

New York Times correspondent Peter Goodman illuminates the breakdown of the global supply chain during the pandemic. He says it was rooted in risky management practices, government deregulation, and a quest for greater profits. His new book is How the World Ran Out of Everything. TV critic David Bianculli reviews the sequel to the science fiction series Orphan Black, titled Orphan Black: Echoes. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson still remembers the first time he heard The Sugarhill Gang's 1980 hit "Rapper's Delight." It felt like a paradigm shift: "Suddenly they start talking in rhythmic poetry and we didn't know what to make of it," The Roots bandleader says. Questlove's new book is Hip-Hop is History. The Always Sunny in Philadelphia co-creator and co-star Rob McElhenney bought a Welsh football club during the pandemic. McElhenney says he and actor Ryan Reynolds bought the team to "bring hope to a town that had fallen on hard times." The FX series Welcome to Wrexham, now in its third season on Hulu, chronicles the team, its owners and fans.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy