Fresh Air

Julio Torres Spins Immigration Stress into Satire

07 Jun 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Comic, actor and filmmaker Julio Torres came to the U.S. from El Salvador in his early 20s — and he says he is personally familiar with "all the Cat...

Ronan Farrow on the link between #MeToo, Weinstein and Trump

06 Jun 2024

Contributed by Lukas

While reporting on Harvey Weinstein and the #MeToo movement, Farrow unearthed details of the National Enquirer's plan to pay for damaging stories abou...

Colson Whitehead returns to 1970s NYC in 'Crook Manifesto'

05 Jun 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Whitehead's sequel to Harlem Shuffle centers on crime at every level, from small-time crooks to Harlem's elite. "My early '70s New York is dingy and g...

MSNBC Host Ali Velshi Traces His Ancestors' Migration

04 Jun 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In his memoir, Small Acts of Courage, Velshi chronicles his family's journey, from a village in India to South Africa — where his grandfather crosse...

'Merrily We Roll Along' Revival Is A Love Letter To Sondheim

03 Jun 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Stephen Sondheim's 1981 flop is now a Broadway hit. This revival of Merrily We Roll Along is nominated for seven Tony Awards. Two of those nominees, a...

Best Of: Maggie Rogers / Kristen Wiig

01 Jun 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In 2021, burnt out from the intensity of her early career, Maggie Rogers considered quitting music entirely. Instead, she took a detour — to Harvard...

Carrying On After A Life-Changing Accident

31 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

How do you get on with life after an accident that leads to disability and chronic pain? That's the central question in Andre Dubus III's novel, Such ...

Revisiting A Chicago Hate Crime And Its Aftermath

30 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Yohance Lacour's Pulitzer Prize-winning podcast, You Didn't See Nothin', tells the story of Lenard Clark, a 13-year-old Black boy who was beaten into ...

Yo-Yo Ma Says He's Living His Best Childhood Now

29 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

About 25 years ago, the acclaimed cellist asked a high school student to help him name his instrument. Yo-Yo Ma brings his cello — aka "Petunia" —...

The Untold Story Of The C-Section

28 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

When journalist Rachel Somerstein had an emergency C-section with her first child, the anesthesia didn't work. She recounts her own experience and the...

The Stax Records Soul Sound

27 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The small Memphis label Stax Records created soul hits by Otis Redding, Sam & Dave, Wilson Pickett, Rufus and Carla Thomas, and others. It's the subje...

Best Of: Michael McDonald / The American 'Food Cartel'

25 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Grammy-winning musician Michael McDonald looks back on his childhood and his career in a new memoir. He spoke with Tonya Mosley about imposter syndrom...

'Mad Max' Director George Miller

24 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The fifth installment of the Mad Max series of post-apocalyptic action films is roaring into theaters. It's called Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga, and it's a...

The Corruption Scandal That Rocked The Navy

23 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In Fat Leonard, journalist Craig Whitlock tells the story of a defense contractor who plied Navy commanders with lavish meals, trips, cash and sex wor...

Maggie Rogers (Extended Version)

22 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In 2021, burnt out from the intensity of her early career, Maggie Rogers considered quitting music entirely. Instead, she took a detour — to Harvard...

Kristen Wiig

21 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The SNL alum co-stars with Carol Burnett in Palm Royale, an Apple TV+ series about a former pageant queen who wants to break into high society. Wiig t...

Michael McDonald

20 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

McDonald says that earlier in his career, he tended to avoid writing about himself directly in songs. He opens up about his life and career in the mem...

Best Of: Kathleen Hanna / Tyler James Williams

18 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Musician, activist, and punk pioneer Kathleen Hanna talks about being at the epicenter of the '90s riot grrrl movement. She talks about the early days...

Remembering Filmmaker Roger Corman

17 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Filmmaker Roger Corman, the "King of the B" movies, died last week at the age of 98. He made hundreds of films, such cult classics as Little Shop of H...

Writer Carvell Wallace On Pain, Processing & Letting Go

16 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Wallace is known for his celebrity profiles, but his new memoir, Another Word For Love, is about his own life, growing up unhoused, Black and queer, a...

Regional Complexities Of The Israel/Hamas War

15 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The Economist Middle East correspondent Gregg Carlstrom explains why some Arab leaders hate Hamas, fear Iran and have some sympathy for Israel — alt...

'Abbott Elementary' Actor Tyler James Williams

14 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Williams was thrust into the public eye as a kid, when he starred in Everybody Hates Chris. Now, playing a teacher on Abbott Elementary, he strives to...

Kathleen Hanna's 'Rebel Girl' Life

13 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Kathleen Hanna's band Bikini Kill was the epicenter of the riot grrrl feminist punk movement of the '90s. Their song "Rebel Girl" was the anthem. Now ...

Best Of: Brittney Griner / Discovering Plant Intelligence

11 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

WNBA star Brittney Griner talks about the physical and emotional hell of her nearly 300 days in Russian prisons. Russian authorities apprehended Grine...

'The Sympathizer' Author Viet Thanh Nguyen

10 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Viet Thanh Nguyen's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel The Sympathizer has been adapted into a series on HBO/MAX. It's set in Vietnam during the last days o...

Remembering Minimalist Painter Frank Stella

09 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

We remember painter and sculptor Frank Stella, whose early work was considered revolutionary. He died last week at age 87. Stella became famous and co...

A People's History Of Black Twitter

08 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

#BlackLivesMatter. #OscarsSoWhite. #ICantBreathe. Filmmaker Prentice Penny's docuseries about Black Twitter celebrates the voices and movements that i...

WNBA Star Brittney Griner Imprisonment & Release

07 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Griner spent nearly 300 days incarcerated in Russia after authorities at the Moscow airport found two nearly empty cartridges of cannabis in her lugga...

The Hidden World Of Plant Intelligence

06 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Climate journalist Zoë Schlanger explains the fascinating science behind how plants learn, communicate, and adapt to survive. She says plants can sto...

Best Of: Jon Bon Jovi / Fantasy Writer Leigh Bardugo

04 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In a new Hulu docuseries, Jon Bon Jovi looks back on his career and his recovery after vocal surgery. He spoke with Terry Gross about his breakthrough...

Remembering Writer Paul Auster

03 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The New York Times described Paul Auster as the "Patron Saint of Literary Brooklyn." He died Tuesday of complications of lung cancer. He was 77. We'l...

What Will Happen With The TikTok Ban?

02 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Congress and President Biden say TikTok must shed its financial ties to China or face a ban in the U.S. But Washington Post tech reporter Drew Harwell...

Erik Larson On The Dawn Of The Civil War

02 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In The Demon of Unrest, author Erik Larson chronicles the five months between the election of Abraham Lincoln in 1860 and the start of the Civil War, ...

Fantasy Writer Leigh Bardugo On Magic & Miracles

30 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Leigh Bardugo is best known for her YA Shadow and Bone series. Her adult novel, The Familiar, centers on a young woman in 16th century Spain who must ...

Jon Bon Jovi

29 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

A few years ago, Bon Jovi stopped performing because of a vocal cord injury. The Hulu docuseries Thank You, Goodnight offers a career retrospective, p...

Best Of: St. Vincent / Kids In An Age Of Anxiety

27 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Songwriter, guitarist and singer St. Vincent talks about her new album, All Born Screaming. Also, we talk with child psychiatrist Harold Koplewicz. Hi...

Novelist John Green On The 'Invasive Weed' Of OCD

26 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Green's YA novel, Turtles All the Way Down, has been recently adapted to film (on MAX May 2). Green described living with OCD, and how "one little tho...

Why Writers Are Losing Out In Hollywood

25 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Nearly a year after the Hollywood writers' strike started, the entertainment industry remains in flux. Harpers journalist Daniel Bessner says TV and f...

The Life & Legacy Of 'Rulebreaker' Barbara Walters

24 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Journalist Susan Page talks about Barbara Walters's groundbreaking career as a newswoman and her signature interview specials, which blended news and ...

St. Vincent

23 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The songwriter, guitarist and singer known as St. Vincent took her stage name from St. Vincent's Hospital in New York, where the poet Dylan Thomas die...

How Minority Rule Threatens Democracy

22 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Journalist Ari Berman says the founding fathers created a system that concentrated power in the hands of an elite minority — and that their decision...

Best Of: Salman Rushdie's Survival / A New Kind Of Whodunit

20 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Writer Salman Rushdie talks about the knife attack that nearly killed him — and his life since then. In 2022, he was onstage at a literary event whe...

Remembering PBS Anchor Robert MacNeil

19 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Longtime PBS news anchor Robert MacNeil died last week at 93. He spoke with Terry Gross a few times over the course of his journalism career. We revis...

Our Fragile Food System

18 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Fast Food Nation author Eric Schlosser says mergers and acquisitions have created food oligopolies that are inefficient, barely regulated and sometime...

A Death Doula Says 'Get Real' About The End

17 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Alua Arthur works with families, caretakers, and people close to death who want to be intentional about the end of life. She's learned through her wor...

Salman Rushdie On Surviving Attempted Murder

16 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Rushdie was onstage at a literary event in 2022 when he was attacked by a man in the audience: "Dying in the company of strangers — that was what wa...

A First Date Turns Into A Whodunit In 'Diarra From Detroit'

15 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Growing up, when Diarra Kilpatrick watched murder mystery shows with her grandmother, she never saw Black women driving the narrative. Her new BET+ se...

Best Of: Andrew Scott / Women Behind The Wheel

13 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Andrew Scott stars as a con artist with no conscience in the new Netflix series Ripley. It's an adaptation of the Patricia Highsmith novel The Talente...

The History Of King Kong & Godzilla

12 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Godzilla X Kong: The New Empire is the latest film starring two of cinema's biggest monsters. Today we take a look at the first time they were introdu...

The 'Land Grab' Displacing The Maasai People

11 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Atlantic journalist Stephanie McCrummen says foreign interests are acquiring Serengeti territory in Northern Tanzania, effectively displacing indigeno...

The High Pressure Experiments That Made D-Day

10 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

What happens to the body in the deep sea? You need oxygen to survive, but too much oxygen can be deadly. Also, if you rise to the surface too quickly...

Internet Brain & The Age Of Overthinking

09 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Linguist Amanda Montell says our brains are overloaded with a constant stream of information that stokes our innate tendency to believe conspiracy the...

Andrew Scott On 'Ripley,' 'Fleabag' & More

08 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Andrew Scott (best known as "hot priest" from Fleabag) plays con artist Tom Ripley in the Netflix adaptation of The Talented Mr. Ripley. He says his j...

Best Of: Sue Bird / Sleater-Kinney

06 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

NCAA/WNBA star Sue Bird spoke with Terry Gross about her career, coming out publicly, and fighting for equity in women's sports. A new documentary abo...

A 'Curb Your Enthusiasm' Appreciation

05 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

HBO's Curb your Enthusiasm comes to an end Sunday night, after 25 years and 12 seasons. We're featuring our interviews with cast members Larry David, ...

Abortion Rights & The Fetal Personhood Movement

04 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The Guardian's reproductive health reporter Carter Sherman says efforts are underway in a number of states to assign fetuses "some kind of rights that...

Capt. Cook's Final Voyage

03 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

"A lot of things started going wrong from the very beginning," historian Hampton Sides says of Cook's last voyage, which ended in the British explorer...

'Kids Are Not OK' Says Mental Health Expert

02 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

A global pandemic, school shootings, climate change, war: Children and teenagers are experiencing and being treated for unprecedented levels of anxiet...

WNBA Star Sue Bird

01 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Retired point guard Sue Bird holds the record for most career assists in the WNBA, with 3,234 over the course of her 19-season professional career. Sh...

Best Of: Stories From A Hollywood Insider / Eugene Levy

30 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

If you've ever wondered how directors convince stars to appear in their films, or what they do when an actor committed to a lead role suddenly starts ...

Celebrating Country Music's Black Roots

29 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Beyoncé's highly anticipated country album, Cowboy Carter, is out today. One of the musicians on it is fiddle and banjo player Rhiannon Giddens. We'l...

How Cars Became A Gendered Technology

28 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Author Nancy Nichols says that for men, cars signify adventure, power and strength. For women, they are about performing domestic duties; there was ev...

Oregon's Drug Decriminalization Experiment

27 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In 2020, Oregon voters overwhelmingly approved to decriminalize possession of small amounts of hard drugs, and mandate more spending on drug treatment...

Climate-Driven Migration In America

26 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

ProPublica reporter Abrahm Lustgarten says in the coming decades it's likely tens of millions of us will relocate to escape rising seas, punishing hea...

Sleater-Kinney

25 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Carrie Brownstein and Corin Tucker co-founded the band Sleater-Kinney together 30 years ago, and became an important part of the 1990s feminist punk s...

Best Of: The Life Of A Nun / A Foster Parent On Loving & Letting Go

23 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Catherine Coldstream spoke with Terry Gross about her years as nun in a Carmelite monastery. She talks about what drew her to the vocation, what it wa...

'Tokyo Vice' Journalist On Japan's Criminal Underworld

22 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Reporter Jake Adelstein's memoir, Tokyo Vice, is about covering the organized crime beat in Japan. The MAX series (based on the book) is now in its se...

The Chinese Mafia & The Illicit Marijuana Trade

21 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Marijuana has been legalized in some states, but ProPublica's Sebastian Rotella says there's still a thriving illicit market in the U.S., dominated by...

A Former Nun On Why She 'Cloistered' And Later Ran Away

20 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Catherine Coldstream spoke with Terry Gross about her years as nun in a Carmelite monastery. She talks about what drew her to the vocation, what it wa...

Christine Blasey Ford On Life Before And Since Testifying

19 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Christine Blasey Ford describes what it was like to come forward and testify that Brett Kavanaugh sexually assaulted her in high school. Her 2018 test...

An 'Exvangelical' On Loving & Leaving The Church

18 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

NPR Politics correspondent Sarah McCammon grew up in a white evangelical church that taught her to never question her faith. She spoke with Tonya Mosl...

Best Of: Jenny Slate / Julio Torres

16 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Jenny Slate talks about childbirth and motherhood, the subjects of her new comedy special, Seasoned Professional. She'll do the voices of some of her ...

A Maître D' Dishes On The Restaurant Industry

15 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Michael Cecchi-Azzolina has worked in several high-end New York City restaurants — adrenaline-fueled workplaces where booze and drugs are plentiful ...

What Makes Propaganda Effective?

14 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

We talk with Peter Pomerantsev, whose new book, How to Win an Information War, is about the man he describes as the "forgotten genius" of propaganda. ...

Eugene Levy Is A 'Reluctant Traveler'

13 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Schitt's Creek star Eugene Levy visits distant lands and tastes exotic foods as the host of the Apple TV+ series The Reluctant Traveler. Levy describe...

Jenny Slate

12 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The comic/actor returns. Now she has a 3-year-old daughter, who she sings to in the voice of her character Marcel the Shell with Shoes On. Slate spoke...

Julio Torres Spins Immigration Stress Into Satire

11 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Comic, actor and filmmaker Julio Torres came to the U.S. from El Salvador in his 20s. His new film, Problemista, draws from his personal experience st...

Best Of: Biden's Last Campaign / Trans Writer Lucy Sante

09 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

New Yorker staff writer Evan Osnos recently interviewed Biden for his new profile about the president's accomplishments and failures in office, his cu...

Emma Stone / Mark Ruffalo

08 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Emma Stone has two Oscar nominations for Poor Things: One for best actress and one for best picture, as a producer. She spoke with Terry Gross about w...

A Veteran Filmmaker Shares Secrets From The Set

07 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Writer, director and producer Ed Zwick has made dozens of films and TV shows including Legends of the Fall, The Last Samurai, and Blood Diamond. In hi...

Biden's Last Campaign

06 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In a wide-ranging conversation with The New Yorker, President Biden proclaimed that he is the best option to beat Donald Trump — despite polls indic...

A War Reporter Reckons With A Deadly Cancer Diagnosis

05 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

As a war correspondent, Rod Nordland faced death many times over. But in 2019, Nordland confronted a different type of danger when he was diagnosed wi...

RuPaul's House Of Hidden Meanings

04 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The Emmy-winning host of RuPaul's Drag Race describes himself as "an introvert masquerading as an extrovert." In a new memoir, he writes about growing...

Best Of: The Making Of 'Dune' / Why We Remember

02 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Denis Villeneuve remembers watching the 1984 movie version of Frank Herbert's 1965 sci-fi novel Dune and thinking, "Someday, someone else will do it a...

Paul Giamatti / Remembering Comic Richard Lewis

01 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Paul Giamatti stars in The Holdovers as a pompous and disliked teacher at a boys boarding school in the '70s. He's now up for an Oscar for best actor....

The Impact Of Christian Nationalism On American Democracy

29 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Why do many Christian nationalists think Trump is chosen by God to lead the country? We talk with Bradley Onishi about the ties between Christian nati...

'Dune' Director Denis Villeneuve

28 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Villeneuve remembers watching the 1984 movie version of Frank Herbert's 1965 sci-fi novel Dune and thinking, "Someday someone else will do it again" —...

Busy Philipps

27 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Busy Philipps plays Mrs. George, a "cool mom" seeking the approval of her teen daughter in the new movie musical version of Mean Girls. Philipps got h...

Why We Remember (And Forget)

26 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Charan Ranganath recently wrote an op-ed about President Biden's memory gaffes. He says forgetting is a normal part of aging. We also talk about PTSD,...

Best Of: Mark Ruffalo / Jeffrey Wright

24 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Mark Ruffalo is nominated for an Oscar for best supporting actor for his role in Poor Things. He plays a hilarious debauched lawyer who seduces Emma S...

Bradley Cooper & Conductor Yannick Nézet-Séguin

23 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In his Oscar-nominated biopic Maestro, Bradley Cooper was determined not to imitate the legendary Leonard Bernstein. Instead, the actor worked with co...

Trump's Legal Challenges, Explained

22 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

As Donald Trump seeks to gain the Republican presidential nomination, he faces 91 felony charges across four states and several lawsuits, many with da...

Writer Lucy Sante On Transitioning In Her Late 60s

21 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Lucy Sante has been writing books since the 1980s, exploring everything from photography to urban history. In a new memoir, she shares her story of tr...

Jeffrey Wright, From 'Basquiat' To 'American Fiction'

20 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Wright is up for an Oscar for best actor this year for the film American Fiction, where he plays a novelist who's frustrated with the publishing indus...

The History Of The Oscars

19 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

From relentless campaigning to snubs and speeches, the Academy Awards have often reflected a cultural conflict zone. Michael Schulman sifts through th...

Best Of: Molly Ringwald / Busy Philipps

17 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Actress Molly Ringwald came to represent '80s teen angst after starring in Sixteen Candles, The Breakfast Club, and Pretty in Pink. She's now in the n...

Sterling K. Brown / Colman Domingo

16 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Sterling K. Brown won an Emmy for his portrayal of Christopher Darden in The People v. O.J. Simpson, and another for This Is Us. He's now nominated fo...

The Migrant Crisis In NYC

15 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

How is New York City coping with the 175,000 migrants from the Southern border? New York Times reporter Andy Newman says the city's legal mandate to p...

Remembering Longtime NPR Host Bob Edwards

14 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

We remember Peabody award-winning broadcast journalist Bob Edwards, who died on Saturday at the age of 76. He was the first and longest-serving host o...

Mark Ruffalo

13 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Ruffalo plays a debauched cad in Yorgos Lanthimos' bawdy, dark comedy Poor Things. The role was a big departure from his previous work playing real pe...