Fresh Air

Hitler's Germany banned jazz because it was deemed degenerate music made by Jews and Black people. But NPR host Scott Simon says the Nazis used it abroad to weaken British and American resolve. His new audiobook about this history is Swingtime for Hitler.

Comedian, writer, and actor Aparna Nancherla has starred in the TV shows BoJack Horseman, Master of None, and Corporate. She's written for Totally Biased with W. Kamau Bell, and Late Night with Seth Meyers, and has comedy specials on Netflix and Comedy Central. She spoke with Ann Marie Baldonado about her anxiety, depression, and imposter syndrome, despite her career success. Her new book is Unreliable Narrator.

John Powers reviews the Paramount TV+ heist drama series The Gold.

Grammy and Oscar-winning music producer Mark Ronson is known for his party hits, pop songs, soulful arrangements, and producing for stars like Amy Winehouse, Lady Gaga, and Adele. His latest project is the Barbie soundtrack and score.

We talk with Bethann Hardison about her 50+ year career as a trailblazer in the fashion world. She started modeling in the late '60s during the height of the Black is Beautiful movement. There's a new documentary about her life and career called Invisible Beauty.

The Army and Navy are testing weapons with remarkable capabilities, using cutting edge technology and AI. Terry Gross spoke with Eric Lipton of the New York Times about his investigation into the weapons, the need to modernize, and the obstacles in the way.

The Barbie movie is just the latest example of why Allison Jones is considered one of the greatest comedy casting directors of our time. She casted films and TV shows like Freaks and Geeks, The Office, Veep, Curb Your Enthusiasm, The 40 Year Old Virgin, Superbad and Bridesmaids. We talk about casting Steve Carell inThe Office, auditioning Jason Segel as a teenager, and what she's learned about acting from doing cameos of herself.

Also, Ken Tucker reviews Allison Russell's new album, The Returner.

We talk with Bethann Hardison about her 50+ year career as a trailblazer in the fashion world. She started modeling in the late '60s during the height of the Black is Beautiful movement. With her brown skin and short afro, Hardison describes herself as being the first "Black Black" looking model. Later, she was one of the first Black women to own a modeling agency. There's a new documentary about her life and career called Invisible Beauty.

John Powers reviews two films about the 1973 coup in Chile.

Zadie Smith talks about her new book, The Fraud. It's a historicalnovel, but its themes of gender inequality, class, and the enduring damages of slavery, are very connected to the present.

David Bianculli reviews the new Apple+ series The Changeling, starring LaKeith Stanfield.

Comic Maria Bamford's new memoir, Sure, I'll Join Your Cult, is about the lengths she's taken to fit in — from self-help books, to 12-step programs — and why making fun of her anxiety, depression, and OCD has been a powerful medicine.

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. He tells this story in his memoir, Stay True, whichwon a Pulitzer this year.

David Bianculli reviews the new Apple+ series The Changeling, starring LaKeith Stanfield.

Grammy and Oscar-winning music producer Mark Ronson is known for his party hits, pop songs, and soulful arrangements, producing for stars like Amy Winehouse, Lady Gaga, and Adele. His latest project is the Barbie soundtrack and score. We talk about the year he and his collaborator Andrew Wyatt spent conceptualizing, producing, and composing songs for the album which features Nicki Minaj, Sam Smith, Billie Eilish, and Dua Lipa.

Also, book critic Maureen Corrigan reviews The Wren, The Wrenby Anne Enright.

Comic Maria Bamford talks about — and jokes about — serious and dark topics like her anxiety, depression, and intrusive thoughts from OCD. Her new memoir is about the lengths she's gone to fit in, from self-help books to 12-step programs. It's called Sure, I'll Join Your Cult.

Also, John Powers reviews the Danish crime series Face to Face.

Zadie Smith is known for her essays and novels about contemporary life and art. But her new book, The Fraud, is a historical novel, set in Victorian England. Her characters are dealing with some of the same issues we face today — gender inequality, class divisions, and the perpetual consequences of slavery. Smith spoke with Terry Gross about the novel, aging, history, and how writing is an exercise in control rather than creativity.

We wrap up our hip-hop history series with our 2010 interview with Sean Carter, A.K.A. Jay-Z, one of the most successful rappers of all time. He's won 24 Grammys and holds the record for the most No. 1 albums by a solo artist on the Billboard 200. In 2019 he became the first hip-hop billionaire.

Our celebration of the 50th anniversary of hip-hop continues with Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson, drummer and co-founder of The Roots. He was born in 1971 and says he and hip-hop grew up together.

Also, Public Enemy's Chuck D talks about the song "Fight the Power" and the powers they were fighting. And we'll listen back to a conversation with Sean "P. Diddy" Combs, A.K.A. Puff Daddy. He made his name—or names—in the hip-hop world as a record producer and rapper.

We continue our celebration of the 50th anniversary of hip-hop and feature interviews from our archive with the RZA from the Wu-Tang Clan, and André Benjamin, A.K.A. André 3000, from Outkast. Both have done solo work and have acted in films.

Our hip-hop history week continues, with interviews with two groups known for their clever lyrics and inventive use of samples. First, De La Soul, a group from Long Island, that sampled music from Schoolhouse Rock to James Brown, for their 1989 album,3 Feet High and Rising. We'll hear our interview from 2000 with De La Soul's Vincent Mason and the late Dave "Trugoy" Jolicoeur.

Also from our archive, a 2006 interview with the Beastie Boys: Mike Diamond, Adam Horovitz (Ad-Rock), and Adam Yauch. They had the first hip-hop album to reach number 1 on the pop chart. Yauch died in 2012.

Our hip-hop history series continues, featuring interviews from our archive with Ice-T, one of the early gangsta rappers. He went on to star as a detective in Law & Order: SVU. Also, Queen Latifah, the first female rap solo artist to earn a gold album. She now stars in the TV series The Equalizer. Ice-T spoke with Terry Gross in 1994 and Queen Latifah in 1999.

We continue our celebration of the 50th anniversary of hip-hop with Darryl McDaniels, co-founder of one of rap's oldest groups, Run-DMC. We'll also hear from LL Cool J, and from record producer Nile Rodgers, the guitarist and co-founder of the disco group Chic. He'll talk about coming up with the bass line for the song "Good Times" which was used in Sugar Hill Gang's "Rapper's Delight."

This week we're celebrating the 50th anniversary of hip-hop. We'll hear interviews with some of the most influential rappers and DJ's of the past few decades. Today, we kick things off with three hip-hop pioneers.

First, DJ Kool Herc, who is considered the first DJ to isolate the breaks — the most danceable beats in a record — and repeat them to keep the dancers going.

Then, Grandmaster Flash, who was one of the first DJ's to make successful recordings. He'll describe some of the turntable techniques he developed.

Finally, we'll hear from Melle Mel, the rapper with Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five. Their record "The Message" was the first successful rap record that offered social commentary.

For years, hip-hop has been dominated by men and hyper-masculine lyrics. That's changing. "The girls and the gays are running things. They're the cultural crusaders at this point," says Sidney Madden.She co-hosts the NPR podcast Louder Than A Riot with Rodney Carmichael. They'll both join us to discuss the podcast's second season, which focuses on hip-hop's strain of misogyny and homophobia, and how a new generation of women and queer artists are refusing to stand for it. We'll also revisit the legacy of the late rapper Biggie Smalls with journalist Justin Tinsley.

It's been 50 years since David Bowie retired his famous alter-ego Ziggy Stardust onstage, stunning his fans and some of his bandmates. The film capturing that performance, Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars, has been restored and reissued. Bowie spoke with Terry Gross in 2002.

Lloyd Schwartz reviews a new album of Verdi choruses, and Justin Chang reviews Bottoms.

The New Yorker writer says Elon Musk's Starlink satellites are key to providing internet to Ukraine in its war with Russia, giving Musk an influence that's "more like a nation state than an individual." Farrow won a Pulitzer for his 2017 exposé of Harvey Weinstein.

Journalist Justin Tinsley discusses the life and legacy of Biggie Smalls, a.k.a. the Notorious B.I.G., who was killed in 1997: "You can't talk about the story of hip-hop without mentioning the name Biggie Smalls." Tinsley's book isIt Was All A Dream: Biggie and the World That Made Him.

And John Powers reviews the Japanese TV seriesMidnight Diner.

Growing up in the South, Drew Gilpin Faust rejected the narrative she was fed about slavery and the Civil War. She writes about her journey to activism and becoming the first woman president of Harvard University in Necessary Trouble. She spoke with Terry Gross about being groomed to be a Southern lady, affirmative action, and why we need to confront our uncomfortable past.

As hip-hop marks its 50th anniversary, Sidney Madden and Rodney Carmichael, the co-hosts of the NPR podcastLouder Than A Riot, are taking a hard look back — and ahead — at a genre that male artists and hyper-masculine lyrics once dominated. The first season of Louder Than A Riot investigated the connection between hip-hop and mass incarceration. In its second and final season, the podcast examines the misogynoir that has long plagued the genre— and highlights artists that are pushing back. Carmichael says the topic is "well past due, but also right on time."

Also, Ken Tucker reviews Bush Tetras' album They Live In My Head.

Christopher Nolan's new film Oppenheimer is about the man who's known as the father of the atomic bomb, J. Robert Oppenheimer. "Like it or not, we live in Oppenheimer's world and we always will," Nolan says.

We also hear from humorist R. Eric Thomas. His new book of essays is called Congratulations, the Best Is Over! In it, Thomas explores what it's like to move back to his hometown of Baltimore as a middle-aged man.

Later, Maureen Corrigan reviews the new novel by James McBride.

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. Co-creator and showrunner Sterlin Harjo spoke with Terry Gross last year about his own upbringing in Indian Territory. The show is now in its third and final season.

Also, we listen back to an archival interview with Exorcist director William Friedkin. He died August 7th.

Also, Justin Chang reviews The Adults starring Michael Cera.

Criminal justice reporter Maurice Chammah recently wrote an op-ed for theNew York Times about the power of music programs in prison. He says at a time when the criminal system is at an impasse, music, and art can cultivate hope and dignity for prisoners and possibly change how we think about the people who make it. "It allows you to really hold in your mind anger about a crime, and then separately an understanding that this is a human being and there's more to say about them than their crime." Chammah also talks with us about the rich history of prison music in the U.S., dating all the way back to the 1930s.

Playrwright and humorist R. Thomas' new book, Congratulations, the Best Is Over!, is about middle age, and what it was like to reluctantly return to his hometown of Baltimore as an adult — when both he and the city had changed. He spoke with Tonya Mosley about life transitions, church, and why he doesn't want to talk about The Wire.

Also, jazz critic Kevin Whitehead reviews a new Blue Note box set by pianist Sonny Clark.

Christopher Nolan talks about writing and directing the new film Oppenheimer, about the man who's known as the father of the atom bomb, J. Robert Oppenheimer. Nolan also directed the WWII movie Dunkirk, The Dark Knight, and Inception. The film is about Oppenheimer's leading role in the race to develop the bomb before the Nazis. But after Hiroshima and Nagasaki, he became an arms control advocate, opposed building the hydrogen bomb, and was targeted during the anti-communist witch hunts of the 1950s.

Later, Maureen Corrigan reviews the new novel by James McBride.

Pianist Jason Moran joins us at the piano to play his take on the WWI-era music of James Reese Europe. And we'll hear from writer Andre Dubus III. His new novel,Such Kindness, asks how a person gets on with life after an accident that leads to disability and flames of chronic pain.

78 years ago this week atomic bombs destroyed the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki — and questions linger about the U.S. decision to use the weapons. For the anniversary, we're revisiting archival interviews about the bombings. Author and psychiatrist Robert Jay Lifton says American justifications are based on a myth. Writer Evan Thomas concludes using the weapons likely saved countless lives — including Japanese soldiers and civilians. And Lesley M.M. Blume focuses on what U.S. military censors hid from the American public about the effects of the bombs.

Pulitzer Prize-winning writer Jennifer Senior shares the pain of her family in a new piece for The Atlantic titled, "The Ones We Sent Away." In it, Senior tells the story of her Aunt Adele, who was institutionalized for her entire life because of her intellectual and developmental disability, beginning at 21 months old. Senior found out about her aunt when she herself was 12, believing up until then that her mother was an only child.

Also, TV critic David Bianculli reviews the new season of Only Murders in the Building.

When Shane McCrae was 3, his maternal grandparents, who were white supremacists, kidnapped him from his father, who is Black. His new memoir is Pulling the Chariot of the Sun.

Also, Ken Tucker reviews MeShell Ndegeocello's album The Omnichord Real Book.

Andrew Leland started losing his sight 20 years ago. He's now legally blind, although he still has a narrow field of vision, which allows him to see about 6% of what a fully-sighted person sees. In his new memoir, The Country of the Blind, he explores different kinds of perception, and shares his experience adapting to his new reality.

Also, Justin Chang reviews the filmPassages.

Moran talks jazz and plays selections from his latest recording, which borrows from the music of James Reese Europe, the composer and musician who led the Harlem Hellfighters regiment band during WWI. Moran's new album is called 'From the Dancehall to the Battlefield,' and it features Moran's take on Europe's compositions and pop music of that time. It's available only on Bandcamp.

Richard E. Grant (Withnail & I, Can You Ever Forgive Me?) was married to Joan Washington, an acclaimed dialect coach, for 35 years. He writes about their relationship and her death from cancer in the new memoir, A Pocketful of Happiness.

Also, podcast critic Nick Quah reviewsDreamtown.

Comic Leanne Morgan calls herself the "Mrs. Maisel of Appalachia." She says she's interested in speaking to an audience that she says gets forgotten — middle-aged women, mothers, and people in rural America. She has a new Netflix special calledI'm Every Woman.

Actor Paul Reubens, who created the character Pee-wee Herman, died July 30 at age 70. His joyful, odd and subversive CBS TV show, Pee-wee's Playhouse, was loved by children and adults alike. He spoke with Terry Gross in 2004. We'll also hear from Laurence Fishburne and S. Epatha Merkerson, who appeared on his show.

Also, TV critic David Bianculli reflects on the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes and what to watch while Hollywood production is halted.

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 new novel, Such Kindness. He talks about the injuries he faced when he was a carpenter, and how his relationship changed with his father after the senior Dubus was struck by a car and never walked again. His previous books include Townie and House of Sand and Fog.

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy has faced rebellions in his chamber, from the ultra conservative Freedom Caucus. Another hard right group, "the Twenty," is even more disruptive. These groups could lead us to a government to shutdown in the fall. Terry Gross spoke withNew York Times congressional correspondent Annie Karni.

Richard E. Grant (Withnail & I, Can You Ever Forgive Me?) was married to Joan Washington, an acclaimed dialect coach, for 35 years. He writes about their relationship and her death from cancer in the new memoir, A Pocketful of Happiness.

The self-described "Mrs. Maisel of Appalachia" set out to speak to an audience that she says gets forgotten — middle-aged women, mothers, and people in rural America. Morgan spoke with Tonya Mosley about breaking out in comedy later in life, and feeling like an outsider in the industry. She has a new Netflix special calledI'm Every Woman.

Also, podcast critic Nick Quah recommends Dreamtown.

After writing two Pulitzer Prize-winning novels, The Underground Railroad and The Nickel Boys, Colson Whitehead started writing crime novels set in Harlem. His new one, Crook Manifesto, is an entertaining read about crime at every level–from small-time crooks, to revolutionaries, cops, politicians and Harlem's elite.

Also, we hear from crime writer S. A. Cosby. His new novel, All the Sinners Bleed, is about the first Black Sheriff in a Southeast Virginia county who is trying to stop a serial killer. Cosby talks about his novel and growing up in the South, haunted by the confederacy.

Pediatric neurosurgeon 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 surgery on an in-utero fetus. His memoir is All That Moves Us. (Originally broadcast in 2022)

Justin Chang reviews The Haunted Mansion and Talk to Me.

If you have any impression of LBJ Vice President Hubert Humphrey, it might be that of an establishment politician who defended an unpopular war in Vietnam and led the Democratic Party to defeat in 1968. But writer Samuel Freedman says the young Hubert Humphrey was a man of true principle and rare talent, fighting bigotry as mayor of Minneapolis, and waging a courageous battle to get the party to embrace civil rights. Freedman's book isInto the Bright Sunshine.

John Powers reviews the new season of the Navajo police drama Dark Winds.

The legendary crooner, who died July 21, told Terry Gross in 1991 he never got tired of singing "I Left My Heart in San Francisco": "I'm very grateful for that song."

In S.A. Cosby's novel All the Sinners Bleed,a Black sheriff in a Southern town is tracking down a serial killer who preys on Black children. The author spoke with producer Sam Briger about how the story was inspired by the George Floyd uprising, and his own feelings about his Southern identity.

Also, critic Maureen Corrigan reflects on her childhood playing with Barbies.

"My early '70s New York is dingy and grimy," the Pulitzer Prize-winning author says. Whitehead's new sequel toHarlem Shuffle, Crook Manifesto,centers on crime at every level, from small-time crooks to Harlem's elite.

Later, TV critic David Bianculli reviews two new books about TV.

Timothy Olyphant is best known for portraying lawmen in cowboy hats. He reprises the role of U.S. marshal Raylan Givens in the eight-part sequel, Justified: City Primeval,based on Elmore Leonard's novel.He also played Sheriff Seth Bullock inDeadwood.

"We won't heal until we make sense of the crack epidemic," Donovan X. Ramsey says. His book,When Crack Was King,examines the drug's destructive path through the Black community.

We remember classical pianist André Watts, who died last week at the age of 77. He became famous overnight after performing with Leonard Bernstein and the New York Philharmonic at the age of 16.

Soccer star Megan Rapinoe is playing in her last Women's World Cup this month. She spoke with Terry Gross in 2020 for her memoir, One Life.

Justin Chang reviewsBarbie and Oppenheimer.

The entertainment industry is in upheaval. Streamers are reckoning with not being profitable, and writers and actors are on strike. Bloomberg reporter Lucas Shaw talks about what viewers can expect.

Maureen Corrigan reviews two summer reads: Do Tell and The Stolen Coast.

In 2018, Delta airlines unveiled new uniforms made of a synthetic-blend fabric. Soon after, flight attendants began to get sick with rashes, hair loss, and brain fog. Alden Wicker explains how toxic chemicals get in clothes in To Dye For.

Also, jazz critic Kevin Whitehead reviews a newly unearthed recording from tenor saxophonist Clifford Jordan.

Olyphant is best known for portraying lawmen in cowboy hats. He reprises the role of U.S. marshal Raylan Givens in the eight-part sequel, Justified: City Primeval,based on Elmore Leonard's novel.He also played Sheriff Seth Bullock inDeadwood.

Science writer Emily Monosson says fungi and fungus-like pathogens are the most devastating disease agents on the planet, causing the extinction or near extinction of species of trees, bananas, bats, frogs and more. We also talk about life threatening fungal infections that affect the immunocompromised. Her book is Blight: Fungi and the Coming Pandemic.

Also, David Bianculli reviews the reboot of FX's Justified. Ken Tucker reviews two music books: Robert McCormick's Biography of a Phantom: A Robert Johnson Blues Odyssey and Robert Mugge's Notes from the Road: A Filmmaker's Journey Through American Music.

Terry Gross interviews co-host Tonya Mosley about her life and work, and how they intersect in the current season of her podcast Truth Be Told. It focuses on the therapeutic use of psychedelic mushrooms to heal racial trauma.

Later, Tonya talks about how rising temperatures and extreme heat will change our lives. Her guest is Jeff Goodell, author of The Heat Will Kill You First: Life and Death on A Scorched Planet.

Film critic Justin Chang reviews the new film Joy Ride.

"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. (Originally broadcast May 2022)

Also, Justin Chang reviews Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part One.

"We won't heal until we make sense of the crack epidemic," Donovan X. Ramsey says. His book,When Crack Was King,examines the drug's destructive path through the Black community.

AuthorJeff Goodell warns a new climate regime is coming: "We don't really know what we're heading into and how chaotic this can get." His new book is The Heat Will Kill You First.

Also, Maureen Corrigan reviews the memoir Through the Groves by Anne Hull.

Terry Gross interviews newFresh Airco-host Tonya Mosley about growing up in Detroit, her career in news, and healing racial trauma with psychedelics.

In his documentary The League, Sam Pollard tells the story of the Negro National League: "They brought a different kind of style ... a kind of baseball which Major League Baseball is trying to bring back."

Also, Kevin Whitehead reflects on box set of Charles Mingus.

Alicia Roth Weigel is one of three activists profiled in Julie Cohen's new documentary, Every Body. She says intersex is an umbrella term for people whose "anatomy doesn't fit super neatly into a binary box."

Artificial intelligence experts recently signed an open letter warning that AI could destroy humanity. New York Timestechnology reporter Cade Metz explains why we are at a turning point with this technology.

Actor Alan Arkin, who died June 29, got his start creating comic characters with the comedy troupe Second City and later won an Oscar for his role in Little Miss Sunshine. He spoke with Fresh Air in 1989.

Also, we listen back to our interview with Ringo Starr on the occasion of his 83rd birthday. The Beatle told Terry Gross that he made his first drum kit out of "biscuit tins and firewood."

Justin Chang reviews the comedy Joy Ride.

Alicia Roth Weigel is one of three activists profiled in Julie Cohen's new documentary, Every Body. She says intersex is an umbrella term for people whose "anatomy doesn't fit super neatly into a binary box."

Monáe is known for her Afro-futurist funk, soul and hip hop sound. She's been nominated for 8 Grammys, and last month she released her 4th album, The Age of Pleasure,where she explores lusty romance and both masculine and feminine energies. Recently Monáe came out as non-binary, using she/they pronouns. In addition to her music, she's also forged a successful career in movies, co-starring in films likeKnives Out: Glass Onion, Hidden FiguresandMoonlight. In 2020Monáespoke with Terry Gross about how she grew up wanting to be on Broadway, her life as a Black queer artist, and working with Prince.

We go into our archive to feature our 2005 interview with Neil Diamond. The new Broadway show A Beautiful Noise is based on his life and features his songs. Some of his most famous songs include Sweet Caroline, Solitary Man, and Girl, You'll be A Woman Soon.

We'll also remember two-time Oscar-winner Glenda Jackson, who died June 15th. She was 87. Terry Gross spoke with her in 2019 when she was starring on Broadway in a production of King Lear, as Lear. Jackson also served in British Parliament for over two decades.

Actor Laura Dern and her mother Diane Ladd have always shared a profession. But when Ladd was diagnosed with lung disease, the two started sharing so much more. Their new book is Honey, Baby, Mine.

Award-winning playwright of Slave Play, Jeremy O. Harris, helped bring Lorraine Hansberry's The Sign in Sidney Brustein's Windowto Broadway. "This play is telling us, in every scene, that no matter how much capitalism corrupts the world of our politics, we cannot lose our ideals," Harris says. "We cannot stop fighting."

Harnick, along with composer Jerry Bock, wrote the enduring music for Fiddler on the Roof, as well as Fiorelloand She Loves Me. He died June 23 at the age of 99. Originally broadcast in 1988, 2004 and 2014.

Aidan Key explains why U.S. schools are seeing an increase in transgender students and how educators can respond to anti-LGBTQ curriculum measures. His book is Trans Children in Today's Schools.

TV critic David Bianculli shares his concern about the future of Turner Classic Movies.

The award-winning playwright of Slave Play helped bring Lorraine Hansberry's The Sign in Sidney Brustein's Windowto Broadway."This play is telling us, in every scene, that no matter how much capitalism corrupts the world of our politics, we cannot lose our ideals," Harris says. "We cannot stop fighting."

Maureen Corrigan reviews two roadtrip novels: Richard Ford'sBe Mineand Lorrie Moore's I Am Homeless If This Is Not My Home.

Actor Laura Dern and her mother Diane Ladd have always shared a profession. But when Ladd was diagnosed with lung disease, the two started sharing so much more. Their new book is Honey, Baby, Mine. Dern talks with Terry Gross about growing up with actor parents, encountering predatory behavior in Hollywood, and accessing rage for some of her hot-headed roles.

Tupac Shakur — who was killed at 25 in 1996 — would have turned 52 this year. His mother, Afeni Shakur, was an activist and a central figure in the Black Panthers. Author and historian Santi Elijah Holley's new book,An Amerikan Family, follows the Shakur family tree and their work in the Black Liberation Movement.

Ken Tucker reviews Janelle Monáe's new album, The Age of Pleasure.

Christian Cooper was birdwatching in Central Park in 2020 when a white woman falsely accused him of threatening her. The video went viral. His memoir, Better Living Through Birding, chronicles life as a Black birder, gay activist and Marvel comic book writer and editor.

We remember Daniel Ellsberg, who leaked the Pentagon Papers to the press in 1971, in hopes they would help end the Vietnam War. He died last week at the age of 92. We'll listen to our 2017 interview with him. "I identify more with Chelsea Manning and with Edward Snowden than with any other people on earth," he told Dave Davies. "We all faced the same question which is, who will put this information out if I don't?" Also New York Times correspondent Charlie Savage shares a story about Ellsberg continuing to battle government secrecy when he was 90.

Also, David Bianculli reviews the new reality TV competition show Morimoto's Sushi Master on the Roku channel.

Gottlieb, who died last week at age 92, edited Joseph Heller, Toni Morrison, John le Carré and, for more than 50 years, Robert Caro. He went on to become editor of The New Yorker. We'll listen to our recent interview with Gottlieb, and we'll hear some of our interview recorded in 2000 with Gottlieb and musical theater expert Robert Kimball. They co-authored a book on some of the best lyricists of the last century.

Book critic Maureen Corrigan reviews Brandon Taylor's, The Late Americans, and Andre Dubus III's novel, Such Kindness.

Author Evan Thomas tells the story of American leaders wrestling with the terrifying dilemmas of nuclear weapons and of determined Japanese leaders confronting the humiliating prospect of defeat. His book isRoad to Surrender: Three Men and the Countdown to the End of World War II.

John Powers reviews the novel Kairos by Jenny Erpenbeck.

In Black Folk,Award-winning historian Blair LM Kelley portrays generations of Black workers — Pullman porters, domestic laborers, USPS employees, COVID-19 essential workers — whose work has been vital to the nation's prosperity.

Ken Tucker reviews Janelle Monáe's new album, The Age of Pleasure.

Kwame Alexander's new memoir is Why Fathers Cry at Night. It started as a book of love poems, but ended up being a book of essays and poems about falling in love, the end of his two marriages, raising two children. He is best known for his children's books, including The Undefeated, which won the Caldecott Medal.

Also, we'll hear from chef Lidia Bastianich. She's won James Beard Awards, hosted a long-running TV series, and written cookbooks. She'll talk about how she built her career after fleeing the chaos in Europe with her family following World War II.

We're revisiting Terry Gross's 2009 interview with musician John Mellencamp. He's got a new album called Orpheus Descendingout this month.Mellencamp's big hits in the 1980s included "Jack and Diane" and "Small Town."

Film critic Justin Chang reviews Wes Anderson's new movie, Asteroid City, and David Bianculli reviews the new season of the Netflix anthology series Black Mirror.

Artificial intelligence experts recently signed an open letter warning that A.I. could destroy humanity. New York Timestechnologyreporter Cade Metz explains why we are at a turning point with this technology.

Tupac Shakur — who was killed at 25 in 1996 — would have turned 52 this year. His mother, Afeni Shakur, was an activist and a central figure in the Black Panthers. Author and historian Santi Elijah Holley's new book,An Amerikan Family, follows the Shakur family tree and their work in the Black Liberation Movement.

John Powers reviews the final season of the British detective seriesEndeavour.

"You don't hear about enslaved people at Mass or in Sunday school," says author Rachel Swarns. Her new book tells the story of 272 enslaved people sold in 1838 to help save what is now Georgetown University.

Cooper was birdwatching in Central Park in 2020 when a white woman falsely accused him of threatening her. The video went viral. His memoir, Better Living Through Birding, chronicles life as a Black birder, gay activist and Marvel comic book writer and editor. Cooper now hosts a National Geographic birdwatching show.

Songwriter Cynthia Weil, along with her writing partner and husband Barry Mann, wrote the 1960s hits You've Lost that Loving Feeling, Uptown, On Broadway, and We've Got to Get Out of This Place. We'll listen to our 2000 archival interview with them. She died last week at 82.

Also, film critic Justin Chang reviews Past Lives.

On Feb. 14, 2018, David Hogg was in his AP Environmental Sciences class at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., when he heard gunshots. It was the beginning of one of the deadliest school shootings in American history. 17 people were murdered. Hogg is a co-founder of the youth-led gun reform movement March for Our Lives. He talks about advocacy, finding common ground with opponents and the importance of making time for joy amid the pain.

Also, Ken Tucker reviews new albums by Jason Isbell and Rodney Crowell.

For much of his life, the Canadian actor (Juno, X-men, The Umbrella Academy) experienced gender dysphoria that made him extremely uncomfortable in his own body. "It's like a constant noise," he says. His new memoir is called Pageboy.

Maureen Corrigan reviews two suspense novels: My Murderby Katie Williams andBeware the Womanby Megan Abbott.

Constitutional lawyer and Brennan Center for Justice President Michael Waldman says there's a growing divide between the electorate and the Supreme Court: "the country is moving in one direction ... the Court is moving fast in another direction." His book isThe Supermajority.

The much-anticipated series finale of HBO's Succession answered one big question — who would succeed media mogul patriarch Logan Roy — but we still have more: Was Kendall going to jump into the river? Why did we keep seeing Logan in the bathroom? Why was the presidential election left unresolved? Creator Jesse Armstrong and executive producer Frank Rich answer all in this wide-ranging interview.

As controversy swirls around revelations of gifts to Justice Clarence Thomas, we'll speak with award-winning filmmaker Michael Kirk. His PBS/FRONTLINE documentary is Clarence and Ginni Thomas: Politics, Power and the Supreme Court.

Jazz critic Kevin Whitehead reviews Arturo O'Farrill's new album, Legacies.

Also, we talk with medical anthropologist Theresa MacPhail about allergies. If it seems like your seasonal allergies are getting worse over time, you're probably not wrong. Allergies have risen dramatically in recent years, both in the U.S. around the world. MacPhail's book is Allergic: Our Irritated Bodies in a Changing World.

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 biracial identity.

TV critic David Bianculli reviews the new PBS American Masters documentary, Little Richard: King and Queen of Rock 'n' Roll.

Kwame Alexander's new book, Why Fathers Cry At Night, started as a book of love poems, but ended up being a book of essays and poems about falling in love, the end of his two marriages, raising two children and one of them leaving home and cutting ties. We'll talk about that, and about being a son of a Baptist minister. Alexander is best known for his children's books, including The Undefeated and the Newberry Medal-winning bookThe Crossover, which has been adapted into a Disney+ series, on which he's a writer and executive producer.

As controversy swirls around Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas and his wife Ginni over financial benefits they received for years from a Texas billionaire, we look at the formative influences on the Washington power couple. Filmmaker Michael Kirk's FRONTLINE PBS documentary examines Clarence Thomas's early years, where he endured poverty, hardship and discrimination in the Jim Crow South. After a period as a Black Power activist in college, he began to criticize affirmative action and build ties with conservative Republicans, leading eventually to his seat on the Supreme Court. He teamed up with and married Ginni Lamp, who grew up surrounded by far-Right conservatives. Kirk's documentary isClarence and Ginni Thomas: Politics, Power and the Supreme Court.

From excessive hygiene to low-fiber diets, author Theresa MacPhail explores the deep-rooted causes of rising allergy rates in her new book Allergic: Our Irritated Bodies in a Changing World.

Julia Louis Dreyfus stars in the new film, You Hurt My Feelings. She also has a podcast called Wiser Than Me, where she asks older women to share their experiences and life lessons. She talks about both projects with Dave Davies.

Also, we hear from Wanda Sykes. In her new Netflix comedy special, she talks about raising teenagers with her French wife, and what it's like to live in the world after a pandemic, an insurrection, and George Floyd.

David Bianculli reviews a new documentary about Mary Tyler Moore.

Samara Joy is the second jazz performer in Grammy history to win "Best New Artist." The 23-year-old also won for "Best Jazz Album." She joined us for a concert and conversation about growing up in a family of gospel singers and her musical influences.