Linda Simpson performed in and chronicled the New York drag scene in the '80s and '90s, taking some 5,000 photos of performers. Her collection is called The Drag Explosion. She says Tennessee's anti-drag legislation is "ridiculous."
Ari Shapiro co-hosts NPR's All Things Considered, co-stars in a cabaret act with Alan Cumming, and sings with the band Pink Martini. Now, he's written a book, a memoir called The Best Strangers in the World.
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Pulitzer Prize-winning author Matthew Desmond says if the top 1% of Americans paid the taxes they owed, it would raise $175 billion each year: "That is just about enough to pull everyone out of poverty." His new book is Poverty, by America.
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Billy Crudup stars as a fast-talking salesman — selling timeshares on the moon to frustrated earthlings — in the Apple TV+ series Hello Tomorrow! We also talk about going to rock star camp for his role in Almost Famous, his iconic M
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Memphis drag queen Bella DuBalle says the legislators behind a new Tennessee law criminalizing public drag shows don't understand the art. We talk with the native Tennessean about the law, performing for kids, and how her livelihood and safety are at
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Michelle Yeoh made history last week, becoming the first Asian woman to win an Oscar for best actress. We'll hear our interview with Yeoh about Everything Everywhere All At Once. Yeoh has also starred in Crouching Tiger Hidden DragonListen/Read More
Bella DuBalle says the legislators behind a new Tennessee law criminalizing public drag shows don't understand the art: "They think that every drag performer is doing something hypersexual or obscene." We talk with the native Tennessean about the law
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Many of Ricardo Nuila's patients at Houston's Ben Taub Hospital are dealing with serious illnesses as a result of not being able to access basic preventive care. His new book is The People's Hospital: Hope and Peril in American Medicine.
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Actor Clancy Brown has been working since the 1980s and has played some memorable villains over the years in movies, including Shawshank Redemption, Highlander and, coming out later this month, John Wick 4. But he may be be
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Karen Fine talks about practicing Chinese medicine and acupuncture on sick pets, what "ADR" stands for, and the mental health issues many veterinarians face. Her new book is The Other Family Doctor. Also, Ken Tucker reviews Carol
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Writer Thomas Mallon talks about his diaries that were recently published in the New Yorker, titled Finding My Way– and Staying Alive — During the Aids Crisis. Mallon's latest novel, Up With the Sun, is based on the life a
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We explore the subtle genius of a man often remembered for pratfalls and sight gags. Buster Keaton was a silent film star in the 1920s, but he was far more than an actor and stuntman. He conceived and directed his films, cited by some of America's le
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Mallon talks about his diaries that were recently published in the New Yorker, in a piece titled Finding My Way — and Staying Alive — During the AIDS Crisis: A Diary of 1980s Manhattan. He was in his thirties then. His latest novel,
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Science writer Sally Adee says scientists are experimenting with ways to manipulate the body's natural electrical fields to try and treat wounds, depression, paralysis, and cancer. Her new book is We Are Electric.Jazz critic Kevi
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We look back on the life of Jimmy Carter. He is spending his remaining time at home, under hospice care. Carter was elected president in 1976, and lost his re-election campaign to Ronald Reagan. He was later praised for redefining the meaning and pur
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UCLA law professor Joanna Schwartz talks about the legal protections — including qualified immunity and no-knock warrants — that have protected officers from the repercussions of abuse. Her book is Shielded.Also, David Bianculli
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In Tár, Cate Blanchett plays a charismatic orchestra conductor who uses her power to take sexual advantage of young women she's mentoring. Tár is nominated for six Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Actress, and Best Direc
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We pay tribute to Doc Watson on the centennial of his birth. The pioneering bluegrass, country and folk guitarist and singer changed the way people around the world think about mountain music. In his prime, he was considered the greatest guitar flat
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Journalist Will Sommer went to road shows and spoke to believers and their families while investigating QAnon. His book, Trust the Plan, makes the case that there are more conspiracy theories to come.
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In Tár, Cate Blanchett plays a charismatic orchestra conductor who uses her power to take sexual advantage of young women she's mentoring. "For me, it was never really about classical music," director Todd Field says. "And it was about ... h
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We talk about a small group of unelected officials who make important decisions that affect our lives, all the time. New York Times reporter Jeanna Smialek covers the Federal Reserve, which manages the nation's money supply, and is currently
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Quan starred in the '80s films Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom and The Goonies as a kid, before quitting acting. Now he's up for an Oscar for the first major acting job he's had in decades for the role of Waymond in Everyth
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We'll talk with New Yorker staff writer Michael Schulman about his new book, Oscar Wars. It's about the ongoing conflicts surrounding race, gender, and representation in Hollywood, as well as earlier conflicts dating back to the fou
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We remember two accomplished performers from different fields: Sharp-witted comedian Richard Belzer, probably best-known for playing the dramatic role of Detective John Munch on Law & Order, and major-league catcher and Hall of Fame broadcas
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Guardian journalist Shaun Walker talks about Yevgeny Prigozhin, the tough-talking convict-turned-businessman who recruits soldiers from Russian prisons to fight in Ukraine. "It's just so out of the realms of fantasy that this former convict
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From relentless campaigning to snubs and speeches, the Academy Awards have often reflected a cultural conflict zone. Michael Schulman sifts through the controversies in his new book, Oscar Wars. Also, Kevin Whitehead shares a rem
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Dr. Farzon Nahvi spent the early months of the pandemic as an emergency room physician in Manhattan. He talks about trying to improvise treatments during that time. His new book is Code Gray.Also, David Bianculli reflects on 10 y
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For President's Day, we speak with Pulitzer Prize-winning biographer Robert Caro about the life of Lyndon Johnson. To understand his subject, Caro moved to the Texas Hill country to meet friends and associates of Johnson from his early years. At age
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What do great conductors listen to when they're not on the podium? Philadelphia Orchestra/Met Opera conductor Yannick Nézet-Séguin made a Listen/Read More
We remember David Jolicoeur, otherwise known as Trugoy the Dove, of the hip-hop group De La Soul. The influential group that emerged in the late 1980s brought a sense of fun and wit to the genre, as well as a middle-class suburban sensibility. We'll
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After the sudden death of his girlfriend Lynn Shelton in 2020, comedian and podcaster Marc Maron was forced to grieve in isolation. He talks about finding humor amidst his grief in his new HBO special, From Bleak to Dark.Also, Ke
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What do great conductors listen to when they're not on the podium? Philadelphia Orchestra/Met Opera conductor Yannick Nézet-Séguin made a playlist, specifically for Fresh Air, of music that inspires him. It includes a surprising mix of pop,
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In the last 30 years, Ruth E. Carter has produced some of the most iconic looks in the Black film canon and beyond. She won an Academy Award for Black Panther and is now nominated for Wakanda Forever. She spoke with Tonya Mosley abo
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We remember composer and arranger Burt Bacharach, who died last week at 94. Bacharach, along with lyricist Hal David, created dozens of pop hits of the '60s and early '70s. He was known for his rhythmically sophisticated and catchy pop songs, like Th
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The new Oscar-nominated documentary, All the Beauty and the Bloodshed, focuses on world-famous photographer Nan Goldin, her life, her work, and the protests she led at museums that accepted funding from the Sackler family. Their company, Pur
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It's been 50 years since Schoolhouse Rock appeared on Saturday morning TV to teach kids about math, grammar and history. We're listening back to portions of our interviews with some of the people behind those songs: Composer, pianist and sin
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The new Oscar-nominated documentary, All the Beauty and the Bloodshed, focuses on world-famous photographer Nan Goldin, her life, her work, and the protests she led at museums that accepted funding from the Sackler family. Their company, Pur
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Journalist Mark Whitaker says that much of what's happening American race relations today traces back to 1966, the year when the Black Panthers were founded and the Black Power movement took full form. It's also the year when when Stokely Carmichael
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Prosecutor Mark Pomerantz worked on the Manhattan District Attorney's office probe into Donald Trump's finances, then resigned after a new DA decided not to file charges. His book is People vs. Donald Trump.Book critic Maureen Co
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One of the most acclaimed jazz pianists of his generation, Mehldau sits down at the piano, for music and conversation. His album, Your Mother Should Know, interprets songs by The Beatles.
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After working as a neurosurgeon for over 40 years, Dr. Henry Marsh was diagnosed with advanced prostate cancer. The cancer led him to reflect on doctor/patient relationships, his own mortality, and why he'd consider the possibility of hastening the
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After losing much of her memory to dementia, one of the things the main character in the novel The Swimmers remembers is being forced into an incarceration camp for Japanese Americans during World War II. Author Julie Otsuka talks about the
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Journalist Jere Van Dyk has spent years in Afghanistan and Pakistan, where he got to know leaders of the Haqqani network, responsible for many suicide bombings and kidnappings. His new book is Without Borders.Also, jazz critic Ke
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Phone and electric car batteries are made with cobalt mined in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Cobalt Red author Siddharth Kara describes the conditions as a "horror show." Justin Chang reviews the Belgian film Close.
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The series Fleishman Is in Trouble is about marriage, parenthood, and middle age. Lizzy Caplan plays Libby, a mom and journalist who is struggling with identity since moving to the suburbs. Caplan's other films and TV shows include Mean
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Neurosurgeon Dr. Henry Marsh describes how his own cancer diagnoses led him to reflect on the doctor-patient relationship, his own mortality and medically-assisted death. He'll talk about his memoir, And Finally, and about his trips to Ukrai
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F. Murray Abraham won the 1985 Best Actor Oscar for Amadeus. Now he co-stars in The White Lotus as Bert, a chauvinistic patriarch on vacation in Italy with his son and grandson. We talk about his career and life, and the lessons he
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This month marks the centennial of the birth of Sam Phillips, the record producer who discovered Elvis and produced his first records. We're listening back to our interview with Phillips, who founded Sun Records in Memphis and also launched the caree
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Washington Post technology reporter Drew Harwell says the unpublished report shows that tech companies didn't respond to employees' warnings about violent rhetoric on their platforms.
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Author Jeff Guinn has written about cult leaders Charles Manson and Jim Jones. In the book, Waco, he draws on new interviews with federal agents and surviving Branch Davidians to revisit the 1993 confrontation, which left scores of people de
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F. Murray Abraham won the 1985 Best Actor Oscar for Amadeus. Now he co-stars in The White Lotus as Bert, a chauvinistic patriarch on vacation in Italy with his son and grandson. We talk about his career and life, and the lessons he
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After Hurricane Katrina in 2006, hundreds of workers from India were promised jobs and green cards in what labor organizer Saket Soni calls "one of the largest cases of forced labor in modern U.S. history." He tells their story in The Great Escap
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We'll talk about the latest developments and strategies in the fight over abortion rights with Mary Ziegler, who has written several books on the law, history and politics of abortion. Her new book, Roe: The History of a National Obsession,
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Rachael & Vilray's new album, I Love a Love Song, features them with a jazz ensemble. Most of their songs sound like something you would have heard on the radio in the '30s and '40s. Rachael is also the lead singer of the group Lake Street D
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Historian Matthew Connelly says government records are marked as "classified" three times every second — and many of them will never be declassified. We talk about what that means for the public and how this might change. His new book is The Decl
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New York Times congressional correspondent Catie Edmondson says the new Republican-controlled House of Representatives will likely leverage their subpoena power to enact vengeance on the Biden administration. "The next two years is not going
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Legal historian Mary Ziegler has chronicled the legal, political and cultural battles around abortion, and says the debate is far from over: "We're at a moment of almost unprecedented uncertainty in the United States when it comes to abortion," Zielg
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Princeton African American Studies professor Imani Perry says the South can be seen as an "origin point" for the way the nation operates. Her book, South to America, reflects on the region's history and traces the steps of an enslaved ancest
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Equal sports opportunities for women was mandated 50 years ago by title IX legislation. Champion runner Lauren Fleshman explains why getting access to a sports world built by men, for men and boys isn't working for girls and women. Her book, Goo
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We remember novelist Russell Banks, whose working-class background inspired much of his work. His best known novels were adapted into films, including Affliction, The Sweet Hereafter, and Continental Drift. We'll listen bac
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Journalist Anshel Pfeffer says the Israeli prime minister has a "strange detachment" when it comes to social issues — which opens the door for conservative members of his coalition to make changes.
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Taffy Brodesser-Akner says the start of middle age hit her "like a truck." As her friends got divorced and began dating again, she was inspired to write a novel — which she's adapted for the screen. Fleishman is in Trouble is on FX/Hulu.
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Champion distance runner Lauren Fleshman says 50 years after Title IX legislation, the sports world is still built for mens' bodies. She's now an activist seeking to change that by addressing important sex-based differences. We'll talk about her famo
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Jonathan Escoffery grew up in Miami, the son of Jamaican immigrants. In a world where identity was linked to race, he says it was often confusing to figure out where he fit in. His new book of stories is If I Survive You.Also, Ke
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We talk about the January 6th Committee's work with Luke Broadwater, who covers Congress for the New York Times. He was in the Capitol the day of the assault, and has reported on the Committee's work from the beginning.John Power
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We remember one of the creators of the Philly Sound: songwriter, arranger and producer Thom Bell. He died late last month, at the age of 79. He was a classically trained pianist whose inventive RB arrangements included horns, strings, oboe, t
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NYT journalist Luke Broadwater says the committee hired a former news producer to hit Trump where it hurt: "His whole career was built on television, and they were able to use that very medium against him."
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In 1977, gunmen led by a charismatic Muslim leader stormed three locations in Washington, D.C., taking more than 100 people hostage. Journalist Shahan Mufti examines the incident in his book American Caliph.
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Robert Gottlieb has been working in publishing since 1955. The list of authors he's edited include Joseph Heller, Toni Morrison, John Le Carré, Katharine Graham, Bill Clinton, Nora Ephron and Michael Crichton. The documentary Turn Every Page, Listen/Read More
Our best of 2022 series concludes with actor Rosie Perez. Raised in a convent for abandoned kids, Perez used to dream of stability and a loving home. Now that she has it, Perez says, "It's priceless." We talk with Perez about overcoming the trauma of
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We continue our series of some of our favorite interviews of the year with Seth Meyers, the host of NBC's Late Night. Also, we hear from comedian, writer, director and actor Stephen Merchant. He co-created the British comedy series The O
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Our best of 2022 series continues with Michael Imperioli, who played a sex-addicted Hollywood producer on vacation in Sicily in HBO's The White Lotus. He's best known for his role as Tony Soprano's hot-headed protégé, Christopher Moltisanti.
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DJ Questlove has put together a playlist of some of his favorite Christmas recordings. We'll talk about his picks. And film critic Justin Chang shares his best of 2022 list. You can find Questlove's Spotify playlist here: https://spoti.f
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Our best of 2022 series continues. In his HBO comedy special, Rothaniel, Jerrod Carmichael opens up about his real name, his family tree, and his sexual orientation. We'll go deeper into these issues — and talk about how being honest about t
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Our best of 2022 series continues. The FX/Hulu series Reservation Dogs follows four teens on an Oklahoma Indian reservation who are frustrated and alienated, caught between what's left of traditional Native culture on the reservation and the
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Our best of 2022 series continues. John McEnroe is remembered as one of the most talented — and hot-headed — tennis players of all time. Over the course of his career, he won 155 combined titles — more than any man in the game's modern era. We talk a
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Our series of favorite interviews from 2022 kicks off with Sheryl Lee Ralph. She won an Emmy for her role as the veteran teacher Barbara Howard on the hit ABC sitcom Abbott Elementary, about an under-resourced Philly school. We talk about he
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Questlove has put together a playlist for us of some of his favorite Christmas recordings. Questlove is co-founder of the The Roots, which is among other things, is the house band for The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon. He won an Oscar this
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Rates of depression, anxiety, self-harm and suicide among adolescents have risen sharply in recent years. We'll speak with the New York Times' Matt Richtel, who spent nearly two years reporting on the crisis — speaking with troubled teens an
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American Sirens author Kevin Hazzard tells the story of a community group in a Black neighborhood in Pittsburgh who helped spark a revolution in emergency medicine. As recently as the 1960s, anyone suffering a heart attack or serious injury
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Kumail Nanjiani plays Somen "Steve" Banerjee, founder of the male strip club Chippendales, in a new Hulu series. Banerjee was ultimately undone by his own corrupt business practices. We talk about the challenge of playing an un-funny person and how h
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We consider the classic 1952 western High Noon written and released 70 years ago — during an era of paranoia and persecution in America over the threat of communism — in which the President, congress, the courts and the press all played a pa
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Rachel Maddow's new podcast, Ultra, is about ultra-right wing groups that sided with Hitler's Germany, and plotted to overthrow the U. S. government before World War II. It led to the largest sedition trial in American history. UltraListen/Read More
Octavia Butler's 1979 book, Kindred, is now a series for FX on Hulu. In 1993, the pioneering author, who died in 2006, told Fresh Air she made up her own stories so that she could see herself — a Black woman — in them. Kindred <
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Historian Adam Hochschild says Woodrow Wilson used the first World War as an excuse to spy on Americans, censor the press and plan for the mass deportation of immigrants. His new book is American Midnight.Jazz critic Kev
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Glass Onion, Rian Johnson's sequel to Knives Out, centers on a billionaire who's invited an assortment of so-called "disrupters" to his private island for a long weekend getaway to play out a murder mystery game. The writer/director
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As the second season of HBO's The White Lotus comes to a close, creator Mike White reflects on how it examines the dark side of sex, and how at its heart is a mix of Laverne & Shirley, Fantasy Island and Survivor.<
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The scenes in the new documentary Harvest Time show footage taken when Neil Young was making the album Harvest. We listen back to two interviews with Young, from 1992 and 2004.George Clooney was among the recipients of t
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Tech journalist Casey Newton says Elon Musk did not inherit a company in crisis — but after massive layoffs and upheaval the social media giant is losing money and Musk is warning of bankruptcy.
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Kumail Nanjiani plays Somen "Steve" Banerjee, founder of the male strip club Chippendales, in a new Hulu series. Banerjee was ultimately undone by his own corrupt business practices. "He was the king of a world that wouldn't have him as a member," Na
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Michael Cecchi-Azzolina has worked in several high-end New York City restaurants — adrenaline-fueled workplaces where booze and drugs are plentiful and the health inspector will ruin your day. His memoir is Your Table Is Ready.
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As the second season of HBO's The White Lotus comes to a close, creator Mike White reflects on how it examines the dark side of sex, and how at its heart is a mix of Laverne & Shirley, Fantasy Island and Survivor.
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James Gray's new film, Armageddon Time, was inspired by his childhood in Queens in the 1980s. Though his grandparents had fled antisemitism in Ukraine, his family didn't recognize their own biases against Black people. He talks about his lif
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Trevor Noah is stepping down as host of The Daily Show after seven years. We'll listen back to portions of two 2016 interviews with Noah, whose newest standup comedy special just premiered on Netflix.Also, Justin Chang reviews
In How the Word Is Passed, author Clint Smith explored U.S. sites that deal with the legacy of slavery. Now, in The Atlantic, he writes about German memorials to the Holocaust.
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Nobel Peace Prize-winning Filipina journalist Maria Ressa faced criminal charges in the Philippines after her news organization's reporting angered government officials. She has a new memoir called How to Stand Up to a Dictator.C
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Guardian journalist Luke Harding shares his experience reporting from Ukraine. "It's almost impossible to process," he says. "You can see a flourishing city of half a million people with ports, with restaurants, with live music, with culture
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James Gray's new film was inspired by his childhood in Queens in the 1980s. Though his grandparents had fled antisemitism in Ukraine, his family didn't recognize their own biases against Black people. He talks about his life and the film.
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The hit parody artist "Weird Al" Yankovic talks about what made him weird — and bringing "the sexy back" to accordion. The new movie Weird, inspired by the story of his life, is a parody of music biopics.TV critic David Bianculli
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The Grammy winner got her start onstage as a kid, singing backup for an Elvis impersonator. Her memoir, 'Broken Horses,' is about her early life and the family of misfits she's built. "I think I'm starting to really feel sort of solid and loved in my
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This week marks the centennial of the birth of Charles Schulz, the creator of Charlie Brown and the beloved Peanuts comic strip. We'll listen back to our 1990 interview with him. Plus, jazz critic Kevin Whitehead talks about pianist Vince Gu
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Brooks wrote countless edgy jokes over the years, but he doesn't regret any of them. In fact, his only regret is the jokes he didn't tell. Brooks calls comedy his "delicious refuge" from the world. His memoir is All About Me! is now out in p
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LA Times columnist Steve Lopez turned the issue of retirement into a reporting project, speaking to geriatric experts, a psychiatrist, a rabbi, plus people who had retired and some who refuse. His book is Independence Day.
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Physician Siddhartha Mukherjee explains how cellular science could lead to breakthroughs in the treatment of cancer, HIV, Type 1 diabetes and sickle cell anemia. His new book is The Song of the Cell.
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Misty Copeland was the first Black principal ballerina for the American Ballet Theatre. We talk about the pressure of being first, touring with Prince, and experiencing homelessness as a child. Her memoir is The Wind at My Back.M
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We'll talk about the Yiddish language production of Fiddler on the Roof that's just returned to off Broadway. Our guests will be Joel Grey, who directed it, and Steven Skybell who stars as Tevye. And we'll hear songs from the Yiddish cast r
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New Yorker staff writer Dexter Filkins says war games staged by U.S. commanders suggest a conflict over Taiwan could lead to U.S. attacks on China's mainland — and Chinese attacks on Alaska and Hawaii.
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The hit parody artist Weird Al Yankovic talks about what made him weird, the legal gray area of parody, and bringing "the sexy back" to accordion. The new movie Weird, inspired by the story of his life, is a parody of music biopics.
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Imperioli plays a sex-addicted Hollywood producer on vacation in Sicily in HBO's The White Lotus. He's best known for his role as Tony Soprano's hot-headed protégé, Christopher Moltisanti. In 2021, Imperioli published Woke Up This Mornin
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Copeland was the first Black principal ballerina for the American Ballet Theatre. We talk about the pressure of being first, the injury that nearly ended her career, and her mentor, pioneering Black ballerina Raven Wilkinson. Her memoir is The Wi
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For Veterans Day, we feature archival interviews with two men who fought in World War II: Robert Kotlowitz was one of three soldiers in his platoon to survive an ill-advised assault on the Germans. For 12 hours, he lay in a foxhole without moving. Al
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Steven Spielberg's latest project, The Fabelmans, is semi-autobiographical — focused on his childhood and teen years and his parents' divorce. He jokingly refers to the film as "$40 million of therapy." He speaks with Terry Gross about the f
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New York Times science writer David Wallace-Wells brings us some new thinking on global warming — and it isn't all bad. He's been called an alarmist in the past for his warnings about the consequences of dumping carbon into the atmosphere. B
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Spielberg's latest project, The Fabelmans, is semi-autobiographical — focused on his childhood and teen years and his parents' divorce. He jokingly refers to the film as "$40 million of therapy." He speaks with Terry Gross about the first mo
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We mark the life of the rock 'n' roll pioneer, who died Oct. 28, by listening to archival interviews with his sister, pianist/singer Linda Gail Lewis, and with Myra Lewis Williams, who married Jerry Lee when she was 13. And Ken Tucker reflects on Lew
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Historian Matthew Delmont talks about the more than one million Black people who served in the military in WWII, the contributions they made and discrimination they faced, and those who struggled for equality in civilian life. Delmont's book is H
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Till tells the story of Mamie Till-Mobley, whose decision to hold an open-casket funeral for her murdered son Emmett served as a catalyst for the civil rights movement. We talk with director Chinonye Chukwu. Ken Tucker reviews Ta
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Porter won an Emmy for Pose, and a Tony for the Broadway musical Kinky Boots. In addition to performing, he's also a star on the red carpet. His memoir, Unprotected, is now out in paperback.
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New York Times reporter Alexandra Berzon says election deniers are joining the electoral process at the precinct level. Their hope is to remake the machinery of American elections. She spoke with guest interviewer Arun Venugopal.
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Ramona Emerson's novel, Shutter, is about a police department photographer, who, like Emerson, grew up in the Navajo Nation. The protagonist is haunted by the ghosts of victims from scenes she's photographed. We talk with Emerson about her o
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Till tells the story of Mamie Till-Mobley, whose decision to hold an open-casket funeral for her murdered son served as a catalyst for the civil rights movement. "Without Mamie Till-Mobley, the world wouldn't know who Emmett Till was," direc
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This Halloween, we're venturing into the crypt (our archives). We'll hear from Anthony Hopkins on playing Hannibal Lecter in Silence of the Lambs, Sissy Spacek on Carrie, George Romero, director of Night of the Living Dead,
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New Yorker writer Evan Osnos traces the path of Guo Wengui, a billionaire who fled China and insinuated himself into the MAGA inner circle. But his true allegiances are suspect.Maureen Corrigan reviews The Year of the PuppyListen/Read More
We're dipping in the archive and finding our spookiest tape. Stephen King talks about what terrified him as a child — and what frightens him as an adult. Director Jordan Peele talks about the scares that inspire his filmmaking. Justin Cha
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Scott Franzke has been calling MLB games in Philadelphia since 2006. He sizes up the teams headed into the World Series and reflects on upcoming changes designed to put more action in the game. Ken Tucker reviews Taylor Swift's new album
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David Rothkopf explains how veteran U.S. government officials, sometimes scorned as the so-called Deep State, repeatedly intervened in the Trump administration to undermine presidential orders they thought were illegal, immoral, unworkable, or agains
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The former co-anchor of ESPN's SportsCenter faced criticism in 2017 for calling the president a white supremacist. In her memoir, Uphill, she talks about her career and her life growing up in Detroit. She spoke with contributor Tony
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You won't find wheat flour, dairy or sugar at Sean Sherman's award-winning Minneapolis restaurant, Owamni. The menu has been "decolonized," but that doesn't mean it feels antiquated. "We look at showcasing the amazing diversity and flavor profiles of
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The legend of stage and screen died Oct. 11 at age 96. She starred in the TV series Murder, She Wrote and won Tony Awards for her performances as Mama Rose in Gypsy and the pie shop owner Mrs. Lovett in Sweeney Todd. We'll
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The legend of stage and screen died Oct. 11 at age 96. She starred in the TV series Murder, She Wrote, and in such films as The Manchurian Candidate and Disney's Beauty and the Beast. She won Tony Awards for her performance
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New Yorker writer Evan Osnos traces the path of Guo Wengui, a billionaire who fled China and insinuated himself into the MAGA inner circle. But who is he really working for?
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Journalist Robert Draper says the GOP's embrace of extremism opened the door to fringe actors, who've become among the party's most influential leaders. His new book is Weapons of Mass Delusion.Jazz critic Kevin Whitehead reviews
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The son of Taiwanese immigrants, New Yorker staff writer Hua Hsu defined himself as a teen by the music he loved. The murder of a close friend when he was in college changed the course of his life. His memoir is Stay True.Listen/Read More
The former military analyst has been called both a whistleblower hero and a traitor for leaking classified information about the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. In a new memoir, READ ME.txt, she talks about why she did it. We also talk about h
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NYT Cooking food writer and cookbook author Melissa Clark says she's always looking for shortcuts in the kitchen — including ways to use fewer pans. Her latest cookbook is Dinner in One: Exceptional & Easy One-Pan Meals.
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Ronstadt's career spanned rock, pop, country and everything in between. Her most famous recordings include "Heart Like a Wheel," "Desperado," "Faithless Love," and many more. In 2013, Ronstadt revealed that she has Parkinson's disease and can no long
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There's a vast world around us that animals can perceive — but humans can't. Pulitzer Prize-winning science writer Ed Yong talks about some of the sights, smells, sounds and vibrations that other living creatures experience. His book is An Immens
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Author and podcaster Jacob Goldstein says we don't think of money as a technology, but we should. He traces the first paper currency to China's Sichuan province, and ponders the Fed's next move. His book is Money: The True Story of a Made Up Thin
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NYT Cooking food writer and cookbook author Melissa Clark says she's always looking for shortcuts in the kitchen — including ways to use fewer pans. Her latest cookbook is Dinner in One: Exceptional & Easy One-Pan Meals.
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New York Times journalist Maggie Haberman talks about Trump's tactics for dealing with the media and explains why he's more concerned about the Mar-a-Lago documents than the Jan. 6 hearings. Her new book is Confidence Man.
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Country music star Loretta Lynn died Oct. 4 at the age of 90. Her life story was made famous in the film Coal Miner's Daughter. She had 16 No. 1 hits, some controversial in their day because they were about drinking, divorce, wayward husband
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Waits' two lyrical concept albums, Blood Money and Alice, are being reissued on vinyl for their 20th Anniversary. He wrote the music with his wife, Kathleen Brennan. The interviews were originally recorded in 2002 and 2011.
22-year-old Mahsa Amini died in Tehran police custody after being detained for wearing her hijab loosely. Her death sparked a movement. We talk with Iranian American scholar Pardis Mahdavi about the morality police and Iran's cultural resistance. Mah
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Country music star Loretta Lynn died Oct. 4 at the age of 90. Her life story was made famous in the film Coal Miner's Daughter. She had 16 No. 1 hits, some controversial in their day because they were about drinking, divorce, wayward husband
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Bloom talks about writing songs for Crazy Ex-Girlfriend and losing her musical collaborator Adam Schlesinger, who died from COVID-19 complications in March 2020. She now stars in the Hulu series Reboot as a writer who wants to reboo
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When McKinsey Comes to Town authors Walt Bogdanich and Michael Forsythe say the consulting firm helped companies boost tobacco and opioid sales — while at the same time working for the FDA. "McKinsey's working for the companies and also the
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We remember British author Hilary Mantel who died Sept. 22. Mantel was best known for her trilogy of novels about Thomas Cromwell, the political fixer for Henry VIII. In 2012 she spoke with Terry Gross about her love of history. "Instead of thinking
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Historian Jeff Shesol recalls the early days of the U.S. space program, when rockets often blew up in test launchings, and no one was sure John Glenn would make it through America's first orbital flight alive. In his book Mercury Rising, he
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40 people rely on water from the Colorado River, but overuse and global warming have combined to create a water emergency. Tough choices must be made soon, or farms and cities will face critical shortages. We talk with ProPublica investigative repor
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The British writer, who died Sept. 22, wrote a trilogy of critically acclaimed historical novels on the life of Thomas Cromwell, one of Henry VIII's most trusted advisors. Mantel was the first woman to win the Man Booker Prize twice. She spoke with T
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In her new book, By Hands Now Known, civil rights lawyer and professor Margaret Burnham reports on little-known cases of racial violence in the Jim Crow era, including crimes that went unreported and murderers who were never punishe
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Writer John Vercher trained in mixed martial arts as a young man. His novel, After the Lights Go Out, centers on a veteran MMA fighter who is experiencing memory loss, severe mood swings and tinnitus. The book is also about the fighter's bir
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The FX/Hulu series Reservation Dogs follows four teens on an Oklahoma Indian reservation who are frustrated and alienated, caught between what's left of traditional Native culture on the reservation and the broader pop culture. We talk with
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Science writer Mary Roach (Stiff, Gulp) explores scenarios where animals are the ones committing "crimes" — and how society deals with it. We talk about bear attacks, drunk elephants, and monkey thieves. Her book is Fuzz: When N
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Washington Post reporter Brady Dennis warns our aging infrastructure systems weren't built to withstand the stresses of climate change: "There is a certain amount of suffering that we can't avoid."
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Edward Enninful grew up in Ghana, assisting his seamstress mother in her dressmaking shop. "For me, fashion was always such an inclusive, beautiful thing," he says. We talk about making the fashion industry more diverse, the famous "all Black" issue
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Geoffrey Berman served as U.S. Attorney in the Southern District of New York. In his memoir, Holding the Line, he describes how the Dept. of Justice demanded he use his office to aid the Trump administration. "The Department of Justice has t
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The FX/Hulu series Reservation Dogs follows four teens on an Oklahoma Indian reservation who are frustrated and alienated, caught between what's left of traditional Native culture on the reservation and the broader pop culture. We talk with
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NPR's longtime legal affairs correspondent, Nina Totenberg, talks about her long friendship with Ruth Bader Ginsburg, which began years before Ginsburg became a Supreme Court Justice. Her book is Dinners with Ruth.Sheryl Lee Ralp
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The British actor played the brooding Mr. Darcy in the 2005 film adaptation of Pride & Prejudice. Now he's won an Emmy for playing scheming Midwesterner Tom Wambsgans on Succession. Kevin Whitehead remembers jazz pianist
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Friday Night Lights author Buzz Bissinger tells the story of Marines in 1945 who, while waiting for the Battle of Okinawa to begin, staged a football game broadcast on Armed Services Radio throughout the Pacific. Bissinger's book is The
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The NPR legal affairs correspondent met the future SCOTUS justice in the early '70s, when Totenberg interviewed Ruth Bader Ginsburg for a story about a decision pertaining to women's rights. Her memoir about her life and friendship is Dinners wit
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Servants of the Damned author David Enrich says lawyers for the firm of Jones Day were deeply embedded in the Trump White House — and helped create policy designed to limit the federal government.
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Sheryl Lee Ralph is Emmy-nominated for her role as the veteran teacher Barbara Howard on the hit ABC sitcom Abbott Elementary, about an under resourced Philly school. We talk about her long career in showbiz — from Dreamgirls on Bro
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Tennis legend John McEnroe talks about his career, his outbursts on the court, and his new job as a TV tennis analyst and voice-over artist on the hit Netflix Series, Never Have I Ever. McEnroe is the subject of a new Showtime documentary. <
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NPR international correspondent Anne Garrels died Wednesday at 71. She was known for fearless reporting in conflict zones, empathy for the victims of war, and a host of prestigious awards. We'll hear about her experiences in Iraq in 2003, chronicled
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Like, Comment, Subscribe author Mark Bergen says YouTube has ushered in a world of abundant content and creativity, of influencers and hustlers, of information overload and endless culture wars. Also, jazz critic Kevin Whitehead
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Singer-songwriter and fiddle player Amanda Shires opens up about a rough time in her marriage and how she turned to songwriting to process her feelings. Her new solo album is Take it Like a Man. We talk about playing the songs for her husban
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John McEnroe is remembered as one of the most talented — and hotheaded — tennis players of all time. Over the course of his career, he won 155 combined titles — more than any man in the game's modern era. We talk about wins, losses and notorious mome
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On this Labor Day, we feature Terry Gross's 1984 interview with folk singer Pete Seeger, who was famous for singing songs about workers, unions and social justice. And we'll hear her 2016 interview with Bruce Springsteen — recorded after the publicat
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We continue our series of great music interviews from our archive with "The Godfather of Soul," "the Hardest Working Man in Show Business," "Soul Brother #1" — James Brown. He spoke with Terry Gross in 2005.Also, we hear Terry's 1986 inte
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Our week of archival music interviews continues with Smokey Robinson, one of the greatest soul singers ever, and one of the most important figures in the development of Motown Records. He spoke with Terry Gross in 2006. The movie Shaf
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We continue our weeklong series of great music interviews from the archive with singer and songwriter Rosanne Cash. When she was 18, her father, Johnny Cash, gave her a list of 100 essential country songs he thought she should know. After recording m
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We continue our weeklong series of favorite music interviews from our archives with Jay-Z and Lizzo. Jay-Z grew up in a housing project in Brooklyn, and sold drugs before hitting it big as a rapper. He talks about his life and career.Lizz
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We're continuing our weeklong series of some of our favorite music interviews from our archive. We'll hear several interviews recorded with the late Charlie Haden, one of the greatest bass players in the history of jazz. Haden grew up singing in his
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We're kicking off a weeklong series of some of our favorite music interviews from our archive. We'll begin with Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards, who was our guest in 2010. He'll tell us about cofounding the band, writing songs with Mick Jagg
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Comedian Mo Amer is of Palestinian descent, but he grew up in Kuwait and Houston. So besides his native Arabic, he learned to speak Spanish, and the kind of English that sets Texans at ease. Amer stars in a new Netflix comedy about his life, called <
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The Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist talks about Harlem, hooligans, race and class in the '60s. His novel Harlem Shuffle, now out in paperback, is about a furniture store owner in Harlem who's sideline is fencing stolen goods.
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Journalist Jesse Eisinger says a trove of IRS data acquired by ProPublica shows that many of America's billionaires avoid paying any taxes — sometimes by claiming big deductions from posh hobbies.Also, John Powers reviews the German serie
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China scholar Michael Beckley says China is engaged in the largest military buildup since World War II, and is being increasingly aggressive with its Asian neighbors and with the U.S. Beckley's book is Danger Zone.Ken Tucker revi
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Amer stars in a new Netflix comedy about his life called Mo. 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. "A
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Tim Miller is a former Republican communications operative who held moderate views and backed moderate candidates for years. But he says in practicing the dark arts of opposition research and planting negative stories about rival candidates, he worke
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Washington Post columnist Dana Milbank examines how the GOP got to where it is today, with some elected leaders and candidates still endorsing the lie that Trump won. His book is The Destructionists.Film critic
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We remember actor Anne Heche, who died Sunday at age 53. She starred in Donnie Brasco, Wag the Dog, Six Days, Seven Nights, and Walking and Talking. Early in her career, she made headlines when she had a relationsh
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2020 election deniers won key races in the Arizona GOP primary. New York Times Magazine journalist Robert Draper says the swing state is a bellwether for the rest of the nation.
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The CDC estimates over 1 million Americans have died of overdoses since Oxycontin went on the market in the mid '90s. Dopesick author Beth Macy and harm reduction specialist Michelle Mathis talk about grassroots and community efforts to addr
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Congressman Adam Schiff talks about the investigations of Donald Trump, and the significance of the top secret documents that the FBI seized from Mar-a-Lago last week. Schiff was the lead manager of the first impeachment and senate trial of President
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Thede's HBO series, A Black Lady Sketch Show, is the first sketch comedy show solely written, directed and starring Black women. "It is a nonstop job," she says of the various hats she wears. Thede spoke with guest interviewer Tonya Mosley.
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Over this past year, the Taliban have broken their promises to allow girls to continue their schooling and women to keep their jobs. Many girls and women are disappearing — arrested for violating the morality code, or abducted and forced to marry one
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Lamont Dozier was one third of the Motown songwriting team Holland Dozier Holland. He died Monday at the age of 81. Along with brothers Brian and Eddie Holland, he helped define the Motown sound, writing 10 Number One top hits for The Supremes, The F
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Atlantic journalist Caitlin Dickerson spent 18 months filing lawsuits for documents to put together the story of the Trump administration's policy of separating migrant families at the border.
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Investigator Paul Holes spent his career cracking cold cases. His work led to the arrest of the so-called Golden State Killer in 2018. He spoke with us about the case the the impact the work has had on his mental health. His memoir is UnmaskedListen/Read More
Washington Post columnist Dana Milbank examines how the GOP got to where it is today, with some elected leaders and candidates still endorsing the lie that Trump won. His book is The Destructionists.
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Melanie Lynskey spoke with Fresh Air producer Ann Marie Baldonado about coming up as an actress in the '90s and 2000s, when she was typecast as the best friend. Now she's the lead in the Showtime series Yellowjackets. Jo
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The first time women's soccer was included in the Olympics, in 1996, the U.S. team won the gold, and Briana Scurry was the team's goalie. She went on to win a second gold medal and a World Cup. Her soccer career was ended by a severe concussion, in a
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Russell, who led the Boston Celtics to 11 NBA titles, died Sunday at the age of 88. He was also the first Black head coach in the NBA and a civil rights activist. He spoke with Terry Gross in 2001. Also, we remember a champion of traditional Irish mu
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Journalist Ramita Navai went undercover in Afghanistan to film her new PBS Frontline documentary and found that girls and women are being arrested for violating the morality code. Also many girls are abducted and forced to marry Talibs.
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Journalist Will Bunch says instead of opening the door to a better life, college leaves many students deep in debt and unable to find well-paying jobs. His new book is After the Ivory Tower Falls.Podcast critic Nick Quah reviews
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It's estimated that more than 107,000 people in the United States died due to opioid overdoses in 2021. Washington Post journalist Scott Higham says it's "the equivalent of a 737 Boeing crashing and burning and killing everybody on board eve
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Kirk Wallace Johnson tells the story of a bitter conflict that arose along the Gulf Coast of Texas when Vietnam War refugees began trawling for shrimp in the area. His book is The Fishermen and the Dragon.
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Better Call Saul, the prequel and spin-off to Breaking Bad, has only a few episodes left. We talk with the show's star, Bob Odenkirk, and showrunner/co-creator Peter Gould. While filming Better Call Saul, one scene was inte
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The actor is Emmy nominated for his co-starring role in Scenes from a Marriage. We talk about his latest projects, grief and fatherhood, and his evangelical Christian upbringing. "We grew up with a very, very real sense of the impending doom
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New York Times journalist Charles Homans says scores of groups at the state and local levels, with the help of right wing media figures and activists, are taking aim at the electoral system.Jazz critic Kevin Whitehead reviews Tys
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After a traumatic brain injury left her in terrible pain and unable to work, the legendary goalkeeper had to pawn her Olympic gold medals. Scurry charts her pioneering soccer career and her road to recovery in My Greatest Save.
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Cory Silverberg's new book, You Know, Sex, touches only briefly on reproduction. Instead, it centers on young people and the questions they might have about pleasure, power and identity. Also, TV critic David Bianculli reflects o
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A great chapter in the history of TV is about to end. Better Call Saul, the prequel and spin-off to Breaking Bad, has only 4 episodes left. We talk with the show's star, Bob Odenkirk. In Breaking Bad, he was the sleazy, fas
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The Tony and Pulitzer Prize-winning musical A Strange Loop is about a Black gay man working as an usher on Broadway. Michael R. Jackson talks about writing the book, music and lyrics and how his time working as an usher at The Lion King<
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The HBO dark comedy series Barry is about a Marine vet-turned-hit man who starts taking acting classes, but is conflicted between the desire to open up emotionally and the need to hide the truth. We hear from Bill Hader who stars as the hitm
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Journalist Maggie Severns explains how the Conservative Partnership Institute helped push the Republican party further to the right and became what she calls a "clubhouse" for insurrectionists.Also, TV critic David Bianculli reviews Ethan
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An estimated 280,000 soldiers suffered facial trauma in WWI. Medical historian Lindsey Fitzharris tells the story of Harold Gillies, the surgeon who pioneered reconstructive surgery, trying to restore function and help the men return to society. Her
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Ms. Marvel is the first show or film in the Marvel universe to feature a Muslim hero. Creator and heat writer Bisha K. Ali drew on her own experiences growing up in England as the child of Pakistani-born parents. Maureen Corrigan
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The Tony and Pulitzer Prize-winning musical is about a Black gay man working as an usher on Broadway. Michael R. Jackson talks about writing the book, music and lyrics and how his time working as an usher at The Lion King on Broadway inspire
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Chrysta Bilton's mother was a lesbian who asked a man she'd just met to be her sperm donor. It was only much later that Bilton learned the same man had donated sperm to countless other women. Bilton tells the story of connecting with her 35 siblings
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The singer, composer and guitarist has had a lifelong passion for the jazz and blues of the '20s and '30s. In the '60s and '70s, he made a series of influential recordings with the Jim Kweskin Jug Band, Paul Butterfield's Better Days, and Maria Mulda
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Chrysta Bilton's mother was a lesbian who asked a man she'd just met to be her sperm donor. It was only much later that Bilton learned the same man had donated sperm to countless other women. Bilton tells the story of uncovering her 35 siblings and h
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New Yorker journalist Andrew Marantz says Prime Minister Viktor Orbán's administration has rewritten Hungary's constitution to consolidate his power. U.S. conservatives are taking note.
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Rafael Agustin's parents were physicians in Ecuador, but when they came to the U.S. they worked at a car wash and Kmart to get by. It wasn't until he was a teen that he learned they were undocumented. Agustin tells his story in his new memoir, Il
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The British Empire covered 24% of the Earth's land mass by 1920. Harvard historian Caroline Elkins says British rulers portrayed themselves as benevolent, but used systematic violence to maintain control. Her book is Legacy of Violence.
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Dr. Jay Wellons regularly feels the exhilaration of saving a child from near certain death — and sometimes the anguish of failing to prevent it. He shares stories from the operating room, and talks about how the overturning of Roe v. Wade wi
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Washington and Rapinoe are among this year's recipients of the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Washington's films include "Malcolm X," "Philadelphia," "Glory," and "Training Day." Rapinoe is a soccer champion and LGBTQ activist. She fought for, and he
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The court's super majority of conservative judges has already passed down rulings about abortion and the 2nd Amendment. New York Times journalist Adam Liptak says more legal upheavals are likely. "[It's] a court that seems to be in an except
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Dr. Jay Wellons regularly feels the exhilaration of saving a child from near certain death — and sometimes the anguish of failing to prevent it. He's operated on various parts of the pediatric central nervous system, including performing spine surger
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Historian Kelly Lytle Hernández tells the story of the rebels who fled Mexico to the United States, and helped incite the 1910 Mexican Revolution that overthrew dictator Porfirio Díaz. Hernández spoke with guest interviewer Tonya Mosley about her new
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Green's string of hits in the '70s include "Let's Stay Together" and "Love and Happiness." He later became an ordained minister, and bought a church in Memphis. He spoke with Terry Gross in 1991 and 2000.Also, Justin Chang reviews the Gre
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Mat Johnson's new satirical novel, Invisible Things, is set in the future, on a moon of Jupiter, in an artificial ecosystem designed to replicate life on Earth. We talk about writing satire in our current political climate, mass denialism in
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Eddie Muller hosts the TCM series Noir Alley. An expanded edition of his book, Dark City, chronicles film noir from the '40s and '50s. We talk about the femme fatale, the sexiness of the genre, and why film noir flourished in the po
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New York Times journalist Alan Feuer says some members of Trump's inner circle have close ties to the Proud Boys and the Oath Keepers, whose leaders have been charged with seditious conspiracy.
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Mat Johnson's new satirical novel, Invisible Things, is set in the future, on a moon of Jupiter, in an artificial ecosystem designed to replicate life on Earth. We talk about writing satire in our current political climate, mass denialism in
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Writer John Vercher trained in mixed martial arts as a young man. His novel, After the Lights Go Out, centers on a veteran MMA fighter who is experiencing memory loss, severe mood swings and tinnitus. The book is also about the fighter's bir
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Comic Joel Kim Booster speaks with guest interviewer Sam Sanders about his new film Fire Island (which he wrote and stars in). Inspired by Pride and Prejudice, it's a rom-com about a group of gay friends and explores racism and clas
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We explore the hidden world around us — the sights, smells, tastes, sounds, and vibrations that are imperceptible to humans, but are perceived by various animals and insects. We talk with science writer Ed Yong about his new book An Immense World
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T.J. Newman's book, Falling, is a thriller about a hijacking on a commercial flight. The pilot is told he must crash the plane or his family on the ground will be killed. We talk with Newman about her book and about her 10 years in the skies
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How did we get to the point where Roe v. Wade is likely to be overturned, just as we approach its 50 anniversary? We talk with law professor Mary Ziegler. She's written several books about the abortion wars. Her new one, Dollars for Life, is
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There's a vast world around us that animals can perceive — but humans can't. Pulitzer Prize-winning science writer Ed Yong talks about some of the sights, smells, sounds and vibrations that other living creatures experience. His book is An Immens
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In her book, author Angela Garbes makes the case that the work of raising children has always been undervalued and undercompensated in the U.S. Then came the pandemic, and everything got harder. We talk about how parents in the U.S. are often isola
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Giddens' album Freedom Highway is an exploration of Black experiences, accompanied by an instrument with its own uniquely African American story: the banjo. Originally broadcast May 11, 2017.Ken Tucker reviews three new
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Katy Tur's parents ran a helicopter news service in LA in the '80s and '90s. While she loved the rush of flight, her family dynamic was a volatile one. We talk about her unusual childhood and her early career in journalism. She's now an anchor for MS
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Juneteenth, formerly Emancipation Day or Jubilee, celebrates the day slavery ended in Texas, June 19, 1865. Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Annette Gordon-Reed studies the early American republic and the legacy of slavery. "It was a very, very tense
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Washington Post tech writer Geoffrey Fowler says that apps are collecting data on kids on a massive scale — despite a law that was designed to prevent that. Fowler explains the loophole in the law that apps are using, and ways that the syste
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Writer Candice Millard chronicles the arduous journey of two 19th century explorers through East Africa, where they battled heat, insects, and diseases that at times rendered one or the other deaf, blind or paralyzed. After discovering the sprawling
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1619 Project journalist Linda Villarosa says bias in the healthcare system and the "weathering" affect of living in a racist society are taking a serious toll on Black people in America. Her new book is Under the Skin.Ma
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Tur's parents ran a helicopter news service in LA in the '80s and '90s. While she loved the rush of flight, her family dynamic was a volatile one. We talk about her unusual childhood and her early career in journalism. Tur's memoir is Rough Draft
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On her HBO show, PAUSE with Sam Jay, SNL alum Sam Jay talks with with friends and fellow comics about topics like queer culture, relationships, and racism in America. She came out in her 20s and much of her comedy is about her relat
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Julie Andrews is this year's recipient of the American Film Institute's Life Achievement Award. The star of Mary Poppins and The Sound of Music says because of those roles, many of her fans have a certain image of her. "They think I
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New York Times Congressional reporter Luke Broadwater says the effort to overturn the 2020 election results was a "sprawling and diffuse" one that involved local governments as well as White House insiders. We'll talk about the investigation
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Blackwell grew up in Jamaica, and, as the head of Island Records, helped launch the careers of reggae stars like Bob Marley and Jimmy Cliff, as well as rock bands like U2. His memoir is The Islander. Maureen Corrigan reviews The
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On her HBO show, PAUSE with Sam Jay, the SNL alum talks with with friends and fellow comics about topics like queer culture, relationships, and racism in America. Sam Jay came out in her 20s and much of her comedy is about her relat
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Dawn Staley has won Olympic gold medals as a player and as a head coach. She played in the WNBA, and is now head coach of the South Carolina Gamecocks women's basketball team. In April, she led her team to its second NCAA championship. We'll talk ab
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Humorist David Sedaris talks about his new collection of personal essays, called Happy-Go-Lucky. This book has some pretty serious writing about his late father, who died a year ago at the age of 98. Throughout Sedaris' life, his father bull
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Actor Ray Liotta died last week at 67. We'll listen back to Terry's 2016 interview with him. He got his start playing a nice guy on a soap opera. Then came his tough-guy role in Something Wild – and his starring role in Goodfellas.
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A new report commissioned by the Southern Baptist Convention found that "survivors and others who reported abuse were ignored, disbelieved, or discredited." Even some convicted molesters continued as ministers, without the SBC informing their congreg
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The legendary GE CEO wowed investors and mingled with celebrities. But New York Times correspondent David Gelles says Welch's aggressive tactics also caused irreparable harm to American industry. His book is The Man Who Broke Capitalism<
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"My father was not a good person, but he was a great character," Sedaris says. The humorist writes about his efforts to make peace with his memories of his late father in Happy-Go-Lucky.Also, Ken Tucker reviews Kendrick Lamar's n
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Country music singers McGraw and Faith Hill star in the Paramount+ series 1883. The show tells the story of a group of Eastern European immigrants trying to make their way in covered wagons from Texas to Oregon. Before they filmed, they atte
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As a kid, Sarah Silverman says, the fact that she wet the bed was her "deepest, darkest shame." Decades later, she wrote about the humiliation in her 2010 memoir The Bedwetter — now adapted into a musical. The comic talks with Terry Gross ab
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In June, Lansbury will receive the Tony Award for lifetime achievement. The Murder, She Wrote star previously won Tonys for her performances in Gypsy and Sweeney Todd. She spoke with Terry Gross in 2000.Also, Da
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Nina Jankowicz was tapped to head the Biden administration's new Disinformation Governance Board but resigned after being deluged with online threats. Her new book is How to Be a Woman Online.
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Diana Goetsch grew up in a time when she didn't have the language to help her understand what it meant to be trans. The poet chronicles her later-in-life transition in the memoir This Body I Wore. "I felt that the universe owed me 50 years a
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As a kid, Silverman says, the fact that she wet the bed was her "deepest, darkest shame." Decades later, she wrote about the humiliation in her 2010 memoir The Bedwetter — now adapted into a musical. The comic talks with Terry Gross about th
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Straub's new novel, This Time Tomorrow, is a time-travel fantasy about a 40-year-old woman who's tending to her ailing father — until, that is, the day she's transported to her childhood home on her 16th birthday. Straub owns the independent
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We remember George Floyd as we approach the second anniversary of his murder. We'll speak with Washington Post reporters Robert Samuels and Toluse Olorunnipa. They argue that George Floyd's struggles in life reflect the challenges and pressu
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Carlin was one of the most famous comics to emerge from the '60s counterculture. After it was broadcast on radio, his comic monologue Seven Dirty Words You Can't Say on Television became the focus of an obscenity case that made it all the wa
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New York Times journalist Ruth Graham says many pastors are being pressured to resist vaccines and mask mandates, embrace Trump's claims about election fraud and adopt QANON-based conspiracy theories.Maureen Corrigan shares four
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As we approach the second anniversary of the murder of George Floyd, two journalists report on the life of the man whose death sparked a massive protest movement and a national conversation about race. Washington Post reporters Robert Samuel
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After experiencing a rare kind of stroke, NYT writer Frank Bruni suddenly became blind in his right eye. Doctors told him there was a decent chance the same could happen to his other eye. It forced him to make a decision: He could focus on w
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In New York City, in the 20th century, tens of thousands of women and transmasculine people were incarcerated at the so-called "House of D." Author Hugh Ryan says that in many cases, the prisoners were charged with crimes related to gender non-confor
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Rosie Perez was a dancer on Soul Train, the choreographer for "the Fly Girls," the dancers on the sketch comedy show In Living Color, and she did the now-famous dance in the opening credit sequence of Spike Lee's Do the Right Th
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A decade ago, Costanzo had surgery that threatened to destroy his singing voice. Now he stars as a gender-fluid Egyptian pharaoh in the Met Opera's production of Philip Glass' Akhnaten. He's a countertenor, meaning he sings in a high range t
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The New York Times did an exhaustive survey of the Fox News hosts' broadcasts. Reporter Nicholas Confessore says Carlson's show is based on ideas that were once "caged in a dark corner of American life." Book critic Maur
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Holder was America's first Black attorney general when he served in the Obama administration. He has a new book called Our Unfinished March: The Violent Past and Imperiled Future of the Vote.
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Merchant co-created the British Office and Extras with Ricky Gervais. His new show, The Outlaws, is about people court-ordered to do community service for low-level crimes. He spoke with producer Sam Briger about what inspi
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Raised in a convent for abandoned kids, The Flight Attendant co-star used to dream of stability and a loving home. Now that she has it, Perez says, "It's priceless." We talk with Perez about overcoming the trauma of her childhood, how a figh
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Swedish actor Alexander Skarsgård describes himself as "quite a mellow guy." Playing a Viking warrior in the film The Northman gave Skarsgård a chance to tap into his animalistic nature. We talk about being a child actor in Sweden, growing u
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Adlon is the co-creator, director and star of the FX comedy series Better Things, which ended its fifth and final season last month. The Peabody award-winning series has been heralded as a "masterpiece of unreal realism." Her character, like
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We talk with journalist Oliver Bullough about how Russian oligarchs have stashed their wealth and laundered their money in Britain, and how that's helped Putin – and the Russian state – launch its war in Ukraine. There's so much oligarch money in Lon
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The Swedish actor describes himself as "quite a mellow guy." Playing a Viking warrior in the film The Northman gave Skarsgård a chance to tap into his animalistic nature. We talk about being a child actor in Sweden, growing up in a bohemian
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In their book, This Will Not Pass, NYT journalists Jonathan Martin and Alexander Burns reveal that GOP leaders, including Rep. Kevin McCarthy and Sen. Mitch McConnell privately discussed removing Trump from office.
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Mother Jones national affairs editor Mark Follman has studied mass shootings in America for much of the past decade. He says a growing number of mental health experts, educators and law enforcement leaders are engaged in the emerging field o
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Country music singers McGraw and Faith Hill star in the Paramount+ series 1883. The show tells the story of a group of Eastern European immigrants trying to make their way in covered wagons from Texas to Oregon. We talk with McGraw about the
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We talk with 'New Yorker' writer John Colapinto, author of This Is the Voice, about how voices work, how they evolved in our prehistoric ancestors, how babies learn to vocalize words of their parents' languages so quickly, and what makes voi
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Florida officials recently rejected a slew of math textbooks, claiming they included "prohibited topics." NYT journalist Dana Goldstein theorizes the objections related to social-emotional learning. The goal of social-emotional learning is t
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Klein was the head writer of Inside Amy Schumer and is one of the lead voices in the animated Netflix series Big Mouth. She has a new book of essays about motherhood called I'll Show Myself Out. Klein talks about how having
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When Asher was five, living with her family in London, her mother got a call informing her that her husband and son, who were on a road trip in Nigeria, their ancestral home, had been in a terrible accident. She was told her husband or her son had su
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When Yeoh first read the script for Everything Everywhere All at Once, she gave a big sigh of relief: Finally, here was a film that put a middle-aged mother in the role of action hero. She spoke with Tonya Mosley about her path from dancer
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Comic, actor and writer Jerrod Carmichael goes deeper into the secrets he reveals in his new HBO comedy special, Rothaniel — secrets about his real name, his family tree, and his sexual orientation. Carmichael's new special is directed by Bo
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Acclaimed classical pianist Jeremy Denk's new memoir begins with his first piano lessons and ends with his last formal lesson when he was 26. He'll talk about the obsessive practicing and repetition that's essential to reach his level of proficiency,
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The new CNN+ docuseries The Murdochs looks inside the Fox media empire and the family's behind-the-scenes in-fighting. Journalist Jim Rutenberg says the real-life drama rivals HBO's Succession. "I ... have always suspected that the<
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The British singer, songwriter and guitarist talks about his formative years, and about pioneering a new musical genre that blended rock with traditional music of the British isles. Thompson's new memoir is Beeswing.
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Country music singers McGraw and Faith Hill are starring in the Paramount+ series 1883. The show tells the story of a group of Eastern European immigrants trying to make their way in covered wagons from Texas to Oregon. Before they filmed, t
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In his new HBO comedy special, Rothaniel, Carmichael opens up about his real name, his family tree, and his sexual orientation. We'll go deeper into these issues — and talk about how being honest about them changed his comedy and his life.
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In addition to SNL, Molly Shannon has co-starred in the comedy series The Other Two and The White Lotus, and will soon appear in the Showtime comedy series I Love That for You. We talk with Shannon about the tragi
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Williams was a dazzling player and a favorite at Fresh Air. She died March 10 at 73. We'll listen back to her 1997 performance and interview.
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NYT correspondent Shane Goldmacher says Trump doles out endorsements to Republican candidates to elevate allies, punish enemies, and make the "Big Lie" that the 2020 election was stolen into a party litmus test. Also, we remember
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Delia Ephron, who co-wrote the '90s film You've Got Mail with her sister Nora, found herself in the plotline of a romantic comedy. In her new memoir Left on Tenth: A Second Chance at Life, Delia Ephron writes about finding new love
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ProPublica reporter David McSwane tells the story of people and businesses that profited from the COVID-19 pandemic. He found the government awarded lucrative contracts to many people with a history of fraudulent business practices documented in publ
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When Molly Shannon started finding success on Saturday Night Live, she remembers feeling depressed. "I realized that really the only person I wanted to say, 'Oh my gosh, I'm so, so proud of you, Molly' was my mom," she says. But Shannon's mo
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In 2007, Alsop became the first woman to lead a major American orchestra, the Baltimore Symphony. But on the way to great success, she faced plenty of rejection. "Girls can't do that," Alsop recalls her violin teacher told her at age nine, of becomin
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The Nobel Prize-winning novelist's latest book, Klara and the Sun, is set in the future and has an artificially intelligent narrator. "I wanted some of that childlike freshness and openness and naivety to survive all the way through the text
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Activists are mobilizing in preparation for the weakening or end of Roe v. Wade. That's the subject of Jessica Bruder's new cover story for The Atlantic. "There are lots of people who want to keep abortion accessible for everybody who might
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Scott is known for TV comedies like Parks and Recreation and Party Down, the drama series Big Little Lies, and the film Step Brothers. Now Scott stars in the Apple TV+ series Severance, which gives a sci-f
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Vuong is author of the acclaimed novel On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous. It was published in 2019, the same year he won a MacArthur "genius" grant. It was also the same year his mother died. "Ever since I lost her, I've felt that my life has
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In 2007, Alsop became the first woman to lead a major American orchestra, the Baltimore Symphony. But on the way to great success, she faced plenty of rejection. "Girls can't do that," Alsop recalls her violin teacher telling her at age nine, of beco
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Waterston joined the cast of Law & Order in 1994 on a one-year contract. He wound up staying 16 years, until the series wrapped in 2010. Now the show's back — and so is he. We talk about working into his 80s, Grace and Frankie, and
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Author Scott Weidensaul talks about the millions of birds flying unseen over our heads in the night sky, how the bar-tailed godwit can fly more than a week over water without stopping, and how new tracking technology may help with strategies to keep
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Time's Vera Bergengruen says Ukraine's citizen IT force, led by a 31-year-old minister of digital transformation, is blunting Russian disinformation and galvanizing international support. The Ukrainian government has enlisted as many as 300,
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White Lies author A.J. Baime tells the story of Walter White, a light-skinned Black man whose ancestors had been enslaved. For years White risked his life investigating racial violence in the South.
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Medical historian and surgeon Ira Rutkow points to physical evidence that suggests Stone Age people conducted — and survived — brain surgery. We talk about the evolution of surgery from ancient societies to robotic surgery today. His new book is
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Waterston joined the cast of the original NBC series in 1994 on a one-year contract. He wound up staying 16 years, until the series wrapped in 2010. Now the show's back — and so is he. We talk about working into his 80s, Grace and Frankie, and how th
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MacArthur "genius" grant winner Jeremy Denk talks about what he learned from his piano teachers, his pivotal artistic moments and his failures and frustrations. Denk's new memoir is Every Good Boy Does Fine.John Powers reviews
Appointed by President Clinton in 1997, Albright advocated for the expansion of NATO into the former Soviet bloc countries of Eastern Europe. She died March 23. Originally broadcast in 2003 and 2018. Justin Chang reviews Ever
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Time reporter Simon Shuster recently returned from the Ukrainian-Polish border. Watching as U.S. planes brought in loads of weapons, he felt like he was standing on the brink of something massive. "We are on the edge of a really era-defining
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Veteran ER doctor Thomas Fisher's new book describes his experiences in the first year of the Covid pandemic treating patients on Chicago's South Side. He never had enough time or resources for his needy patients before the pandemic, but 2020 brought
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After experiencing a rare kind of stroke, NYT writer Frank Bruni suddenly became blind in his right eye. Doctors told him there was a decent chance the same could happen to his other eye. It forced him to make a decision: He could focus on w
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The MacArthur "genius" grant winner talks about what he learned from his piano teachers, his pivotal artistic moments and his failures and frustrations. Denk's new memoir is Every Good Boy Does Fine.
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As the host of NBC's Late Night, it's Seth Meyers' job to be funny, even when the news is catastrophic. He's satirized issues in the news, including in times of tragedy and war ever since he became an anchor on Saturday Night Live's
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Hurt died March 13 at the age of 71. He was a leading man in the 1980s in the films Body Heat, Broadcast News, and The Big Chill. But he thought of himself as a character actor, and won an Oscar for his performance as a dra
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Historian Mary Elise Sarotte tells how NATO expanded into Eastern Europe after the fall of the U.S.S.R, and is now obligated to defend nations near Russia's war in Ukraine. Her book is Not One Inch.
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We talk with Dr. Jonathan Reisman, author of The Unseen Body, about how our organs function, the messages contained in our body fluids, and his experiences treating patients with diseased organs. Jazz critic Kevin Whitehead remem
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Yovanovitch was relieved of her post following a smear campaign orchestrated by Trump lawyer, Rudy Giuliani. She also testified at Trump's first impeachment. Her new memoir is 'Lessons from the Edge.' Also, Maureen Corrigan reviews a new
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We talk with the Late Night host about his second son's dramatic birth story, John Mulaney's intervention, and his new children's book, I'm Not Scared, YOU'RE Scared. Meyers says the book is about our relationship with fear. Maureen Corri
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Shortly after he was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease in 2019, architect Brian Ameche, then in his mid-60s, told his wife, novelist Amy Bloom, that he wanted to end life on his own terms, before the disease robbed him of everything. Bloom talks abo
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Patrick Stewart is back as Jean-Luc Picard in season 2 of the CBS All Access series Star Trek: Picard. "I am not averse to risk-taking and I don't judge myself," he says. Stewart spoke with Sam Briger in 2020. Also, Justin Chang
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New Yorker staff writer Masha Gessen says there's been an exodus from Russia in the last week and a half: "It's a sudden and drastic descent into a sense of having no country." Gessen reported in late January and February from Ukraine, and
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In the years since the Sandy Hook shooting, the victims' families have endured relentless online abuse, stalking and personal threats. New York Times journalist Elizabeth Williamson examines how the conspiracy theories around the tragedy beg
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Shortly after he was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease in 2019, architect Brian Ameche, then in his mid-60s, told his wife, novelist Amy Bloom, that he wanted to end life on his own terms, before the disease robbed him of everything. Bloom talks abo
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Sipress endured years of rejection before finally landing a gig with The New Yorker in '98. "I wasn't about to let all that rejection get in the way," he says. His new memoir is What's So Funny?
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Wall Street Journal reporter Erich Schwartzel says that Hollywood film studios increasingly rely upon Chinese audiences to break even — which can result in self-censorship. His new book is Red Carpet.Film critic Justin Chang revi
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Benedict Cumberbatch stars in Jane Campion's Western The Power of the Dog as Phil Burbank, a hyper-masculine cattle rancher living on the plains of Montana in the 1920s. We talk about how body odor helped him channel the character, toxic mas
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Historian and former State Department official Michael Kimmage says the war in Ukraine is going "surprisingly badly" for the Kremlin: "It didn't get the politics of Ukraine right. It didn't expect the Ukrainians to fight." We talk about possible scen
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In the HBO Max series Raised By Wolves, humanity is near extinction after a global religious war. Two androids are sent to another planet to raise human children and keep the species alive. We talk with series creator Aaron Guzikowski about
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Journalist Anne Applebaum has been covering the war in Ukraine for The Atlantic. "I don't think that we will ever again smugly assume that borders in Europe can't be changed by force," she says. We talk about why Putin takes Ukrainian democr
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Meghan O'Rourke says long COVID and other chronic illnesses put an unwieldy burden on patients, who have to testify to the reality of their own illness. Her new book, The Invisible Kingdom, chronicles her personal struggle to find diagnoses
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Quinta Brunson stars as a rookie second grade teacher in an under-resourced public elementary school in the mockumentary sitcom Abbott Elementary. Brunson says she conceived of the show with her mother — a teacher — in mind.Kevin
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Historian David Blight's Pulitzer Prize-winning biography traced Frederick Douglass' path from slavery to abolitionist and inspired HBO's documentary, Frederick Douglass: In Five Speeches. "Seeing and hearing Douglass became, through the cou
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Environmental writer Oliver Milman says habitat loss, pesticides and climate change are killing off insects worldwide, which, in turn, threatens humans. We talk about the critical role insects play in pollinating plants we eat, breaking down waste, a
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Quinta Brunson stars as a rookie second grade teacher in an under-resourced public elementary school in the mockumentary sitcom Abbott Elementary. Brunson says she conceived of the show with her mother — a teacher — in mind. "The beauty is s
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Though the main character in Julie Otsuka's new novel has lost much of her memory to dementia, she still remembers being sent to an incarceration camp for Japanese Americans during World War II. We talk with the novelist about her family's history an
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Wall Street Journal reporter Erich Schwartzel says that film studios increasingly rely upon Chinese audiences to break even — which can result in self-censorship. His new book is Red Carpet.
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Comic and producer W. Kamau Bell talks about directing the Showtime series We Need to Talk About Cosby, which explores how Bill Cosby became "America's dad," and a hero in Black culture — and how that changed when he was accused and convicte
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Penélope Cruz is nominated for Best Actress for her role in Parallel Mothers, the latest movie written and directed by Pedro Almodóvar. And her husband, Javier Bardem, is nominated for his role as Desi Arnaz in Being the Ricardos.
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Michael Waldman, president of the Brennan Center for Justice, says lawmakers in 27 states are considering hundreds of bills designed to limit voting or undermine the integrity of the election process. We talk about the ongoing threat to our democracy
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Though she litigated Brown v. The Board of Education, was the first Black woman to argue before the Supreme Court, and represented MLK, few people know her name: Constance Baker Motley. Guest interviewer Tonya Mosley speaks with her biographer, Tomi
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Journalist Matthieu Aikins accompanied his Afghan interpreter when he decided to flee Afghanistan in 2016, using smugglers' routes to make his way to Europe and start a new life. For Aikins, it meant shedding his own identity and passport and taking
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About 60 women have come forward accusing Cosby of drugging and raping them. In 2018, Cosby was convicted of three felony counts of aggravated indecent assault, though that conviction was overturned on a technicality in 2021. W. Kamau Bell's new Show
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Jonny Greenwood plays guitar and keyboard in Radiohead, but in 2007 director Paul Thomas Anderson enlisted him to score his film There Will Be Blood. Since then, Greenwood has scored such films as The Power of the Dog, SpencerListen/Read More
We remember activist, scholar and social critic Todd Gitlin, who died Feb. 5 at the age of 79. He was president of SDS, the Students for a Democratic Society and helped organize the first national demonstration against the Vietnam War. He continued h
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NYT congressional reporter Luke Broadwater was in the Capitol when the mob started breaking down barricades. We talk about the House committee's investigation into the attack and new revelations about Trump destroying documents and attemptin
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Method acting is more than mining personal experiences to play a character — or physically transforming for a role. Author and cultural critic Isaac Butler traces the history of the technique in The Method.
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New York Times reporter Jeremy Peters says the religious right and social conservatives "got basically everything that they wanted" from Trump's presidency. We also talk about how Sarah Palin pushed the Republican Party to the right. Peters'
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Greenwood plays guitar and keyboard in Radiohead, but in 2007 auteur director Paul Thomas Anderson enlisted him to score his film There Will Be Blood. Since then, Greenwood has scored such films as The Power of the Dog, Spencer<
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Guillermo del Toro's new movie, Nightmare Alley, is a film noir starring Bradley Cooper as a murderer who joins a traveling carnival, first as part of the crew, and then as part of a clairvoyant act. The Oscar-winning Mexican director talks
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Actor and singer Christine Baranski is now one of the stars of the new HBO series The Gilded Age. She spoke with Terry Gross in 2020. Also, we listen back to our 1988 interview with Howard Hesseman, who died last Saturday at the
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Across the U.S., educators are being censored for broaching controversial topics. Since January 2021, researcher Jeffrey Sachs says that 35 different states have introduced 137 bills limiting what schools can teach with regard to race, American histo
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Russell Shorto's grandfather was a mob leader in the industrial town of Johnstown, Pa. Shorto writes about the havoc that resulted from his grandfather's operation in the memoir, Smalltime. The story involves rackets, political payoffs, and
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Science writer Florence Williams experienced what felt like a brain injury when her husband left her after more than 25 years together. So she decided to explore the connection between heartache and physical pain — including possible changes in the i
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Del Toro's new movie, Nightmare Alley, is a film noir starring Bradley Cooper as a murderer who joins a traveling carnival, first as part of the crew, and then as part of a clairvoyant act. The Oscar-winning Mexican director talks about rese
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Princeton African American Studies professor Imani Perry says the South can be seen as an "origin point" for the way the nation operates. Her book, South to America, reflects on the region's history and traces the steps of an enslaved ancest
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Anderson grew up poor in Minnesota, in a family with 11 children. His Emmy-winning performance in the FX series Baskets was based upon his own mother. Anderson died Jan. 21. He spoke with Terry Gross in 2016 about his family, mortality, and
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New Yorker staff writer Jane Mayer discusses the conservative beliefs and influence of Ginni Thomas, wife of Justice Clarence Thomas. She's a right-wing activist and has been associated with some groups involved in the Jan. 6 Capitol riot.
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In 2005, the British actor played brooding aristocrat Mr. Darcy in the film adaptation of Pride & Prejudice. Now, he's a scheming Midwesterner on Succession: "Tom Wambsgans is a long way from Mr. Darcy," he says. We talk about Tom's
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Princeton African American Studies professor Imani Perry says the South can be seen as an "origin point" for the way the nation operates. Her book, South to America, reflects on the region's history and traces the steps of an enslaved ancest
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We explore the subtle genius of a man often remembered for pratfalls and sight gags. Buster Keaton was a silent film star in the 1920s, but he was far more than an actor and stuntman. He conceived and directed his films, cited by some of America's le
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Benedict Cumberbatch stars in Jane Campion's Western The Power of the Dog as Phil Burbank, a hyper-masculine cattle rancher living on the plains of Montana in the 1920s. We talk about how body odor helped him channel the character, toxic mas
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André Leon Talley, titan of the fashion world, died this week at 73. He was Vogue editor-at-large from 1998 until 2013. He spoke with Terry Gross in 2018 about his journey from the Jim Crow South to Paris ateliers. Also, we reme
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Thomas Gibbons-Neff served two tours in Afghanistan in the Marines, and is now a New York Times reporter and Kabul bureau chief. He recently interviewed a high-level Taliban commander about a battle they had both been engaged in.
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Cumberbatch stars in Jane Campion's Western The Power of the Dog as Phil Burbank, a hyper-masculine cattle rancher living on the plains of Montana in the 1920s. We talk about how body odor helped him channel the character, toxic masculinity,
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Cox says ruthless business tycoon Logan Roy is one of the most extraordinary roles he's ever played: "He is a misanthrope [who] is very disappointed with the human experiment." We talk with the Scottish actor about the musicality of his voice, why he
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While working for the Department of Justice, attorney Laura Coates says she saw voter rolls being purged and instances where polling places were moved to known Klan locations. She also worked as a prosecutor and had to grapple with her own relationsh
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Sidney Poitier, who paved the way for Black actors in film, died last week at 94. He was the first Black man to win an Oscar. He spoke with Terry Gross in 2000 about growing up in the Bahamas and breaking into acting. A leading man in the '50s and '6
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We remember lyricist Marilyn Bergman, half of a songwriting duo with her husband Alan. The songs she and her husband co-wrote won Oscars, Golden Globes and Grammys, and were popularized by Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennett, Fred Astaire and Barbra Streisan
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New York Times reporter Dave Philipps says a top-secret special ops unit disregarded official protocols to pick targets for airstrikes, resulting in the death of thousands of farmers and families.
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While her friends and family went to the Australian beaches, Kidman stayed indoors reading — and imaged herself as a character in the books. She says reading is what led her to acting. We talk with the Oscar-winning actor about ageism in Hollywood, s
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The legendary actor, who paved the way for Black actors in film, died last week at 94. Poitier was the first Black performer to win the best actor Academy Award. He spoke with Terry Gross in 2000 about growing up in the Bahamas and breaking into acti
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The actor spoke with contributor Ann Marie Baldonado about navigating Hollywood as a young actor of color at a time when there were only stereotypical roles available — and why he took a break from acting to work in the Obama administration. He's bes
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Kirsten Dunst co-stars in the new film The Power of the Dog, along with Benedict Cumberbatch and Jesse Plemons, who plays her husband in the film, and is her husband in real life. We talk about being a child actor and the formative experienc
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We remember writer Joan Didion, known for her cool, unsentimental observations and distinctive writing. After the sudden death of her husband in 2003, she turned her gaze on her own grief in the memoir, The Year of Magical Thinking. Didion d
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New Yorker writer Evan Osnos says no one in the media has profited more from the Trump era than Dan Bongino, who hosts the country's fourth most listened to radio show and has 8.5 million weekly listeners. Bongino has also helped create and
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In a new book, Wall Street Journal columnist Christopher Mims looks at how goods make their way from factories in Asia, across the Pacific in container ships and then are moved, sorted and delivered in American warehouses and trucks. Much of
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A year ago, Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., experienced two unimaginable traumas in the span of a single week: On New Year's Eve 2020, his son Tommy died by suicide after succumbing to mental illness. Then, on Jan. 6, 2021, just a day after Tommy's funeral
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Dunst stars opposite her husband, Jesse Plemons, in Jane Campion's Western, 'The Power of the Dog.' She calls it a "cinematic love letter" to their children. Dunst spoke with Terry Gross about how her experience with depression helped her performance
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We talk about classic film noir — movies from the '40s and '50s with doomed characters, sexual heat and double crosses — with Eddie Muller, host of the Turner Classic Movies show Noir Alley and author of Dark City: The Lost World of Film
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The Foo Fighters frontman (and Nirvana drummer) talks about his journey from playing small punk clubs to giant stadiums in his memoir, The Storyteller. He reflects on how he taught himself drums, his friendship with Kurt Cobain, and reinvent
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SNL's Cecily Strong co-stars in the Apple TV+ satire series Schmigadoon!. It centers on a couple who gets trapped in a town where people burst into song. We talk with Strong as well as Cinco Paul, the show's co-creator.
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Archbishop Desmond Tutu, a legendary leader in the fight to end apartheid in South Africa, died Sunday at age 90. After Nelson Mandela was elected president in the country's first democratic election, he asked Tutu to chair South Africa's Truth and R
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