Fresh Air

Grammy-winning producer, singer, songwriter and rapper Pharrell Williams has a new animated biopic called Piece by Piece. He talks with Tonya Mosley about synesthesia and collaborations with Snoop Dogg, Kelis, and Gwen Stefani.

We'll also hear from Riley Keough, Elvis's granddaughter and Lisa Marie Presley's daughter. She talks about the memoir she co-authored with her late mother. Before her unexpected death, Lisa Marie chronicled her childhood, her marriage to Michael Jackson, and growing up in Elvis's shadow.

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We're revisiting our interview with Tom Petty, whose hits include "American Girl," "Breakdown," and "I Won't Back Down." The soundtrack of the new Apple TV+ series Bad Monkey is all Tom Petty covers. He spoke with Terry Gross in 2006.

Sterlin Harjo, co-creator of the Peabody award-winning FX/Hulu TV series Reservation Dogs, is a 2024 recipient of the MacAathur "genius" award. Reservation Dogs is about a group of teenagers living on reservation in rural Oklahoma. Harjo is a member of the Muscogee and Seminole Nations and spoke with Terry in 2022.

Justin Chang reviews the new filmAnora by Sean Baker, director ofTangerine andThe Florida Project.

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Former Inspector General Glenn Fine oversaw investigations of the mishandling of documents in the Oklahoma bombing case, the treatment of detainees at Guantanamo and corruption in the Navy. He spoke with Dave Davies about his work to uncover abuse, waste, and fraud in the Departments of Justice and Defense. His book is Watchdogs.

Also, Maureen Corrigan reviews the bookClean, about a housekeeper who is the primary suspect in the death of a child.

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Legal scholar Mary Ziegler talks about the legal battles shaping reproductive rights across the U.S. — including the scope of abortion access and the fate of IVF. And we look ahead at two very different outcomes with the election. "I don't think in the past 50 years we've had an election where the stakes could be as high, simply because Roe v. Wade isn't there as a floor anymore," Ziegler says.

Also, John Powers controversial French writer Michel Houellebecq's new novel, Annihilation.

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

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Lisa Marie Presley, the only child of Elvis Presley, was working on a memoir when she died in 2023. In From Here to the Great Unknown, actor Riley Keough details her mother's unusual life in Graceland. She also talks about grief and her own time at Neverland Ranch.

Maureen Corrigan reviews the novel Shred Sisters by Betsy Lerner.

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Jeremy Strong played Kendall Roy on HBO's Succession. He's now starring in The Apprentice, as Donald Trump's unscrupulous lawyer and mentor Roy Cohn. Strong says the film examines the playbook Cohn passed on to Trump: "Always attack, deny everything and never admit defeat."

Also, Will Ferrrell and his friend and former SNL writing partner Harper Steele, talk about the road trip they took after Harper came out as a trans woman. Their trip is the subject of the new Netflix documentary, Will & Harper.

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We remember singer Cissy Houston, who died Oct. 7 at the age of 91. She got her start in gospel and sang backup vocals for Elvis, Dusty Springfield, Wilson Pickett, Van Morrison and Aretha Franklin, most notably on "A Natural Woman." She was also the mother of Whitney Houston. Houston spoke with Terry Gross in 1998.

Also, we remember Major League Baseball's Pete Rose, a legend on the field who was banned from baseball because he bet on the game. He died Sept. 30 at the age of 83. Rose spoke with Dave Davies in 2004.

TV critic David Bianculli reviews the new film Saturday Night, a dramatization of the first episode of SNL.

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Internationally-acclaimed writer Etgar Keret, who lives in Tel Aviv, reflects on the protests in Israel and the U.S. over the hostages and Gaza. The son of Holocaust survivors, he has left- and right-wing political views in his own family.

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Best-known for his role as Kendall Roy in HBO's Succession, Jeremy Strong now stars as lawyer and political hitman Roy Cohn in The Apprentice. The movie, he says, "explores essentially how Trump was made and his philosophical moral framework." Strong talks with Terry Gross about playing Cohn and about some of Kendall's most memorable scenes.

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The animated film Piece By Piece traces Pharrell's early life as a boy growing up in Virginia Beach and follows his trajectory to a Grammy-winning songwriter, performer and producer. He spoke with Tonya Mosley about his synesthesia, the song Prince rejected, and disliking his own voice.

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Will Ferrell and his longtime friend and former SNL writing partner Harper Steele traveled from New York to California, talking along the way about Steele coming out as a trans woman. Their documentary, Will & Harper, is now streaming on Netflix.

Also, classical music critic Lloyd Schwartz reflects on "maverick" composer Charles Ives.

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Ta-Nehisi Coates talks about his trip to Senegal and reflects on his ancestors taken from that side of the ocean and sent to their enslavement in America. Coates is best known for his Atlantic magazine cover story "The Case for Reparations" and for his book Between the World and Me, which he wrote as a letter to his son about what he'll face as a Black man.

We'll also hear from actor, comedian, and activist John Leguizamo. His latest project is a docuseries on PBS about the history of Latinos in the Americas, covering thousands of years, from pre-Columbian Inca, Maya, and Aztec civilizations to the fight for Latino civil rights.

Plus, Ken Tucker reviews Bob Dylan's new collection, The 1974 Live Recordings.

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Beloved British actor of stage and screen Maggie Smith died last week at age 89. Though the Oscar-winner had a long and successful career, it wasn't until she was in her 70s that she got approached by scores of fans. "It only happened to me since Downton Abbey, so I blame the whole thing on television." We revisit Dave Davies' 2016 interview with Smith.

Also, we remember singer, songwriter, and actor Kris Kristofferson. He was a Rhodes Scholar, and an Army Ranger before taking a chance at songwriting. "Me and Bobby McGee" is perhaps his most famous song, recorded by Janis Joplin. He told Terry Gross in 1999.

Also, John Powers reviews the new film Wolfs, starring George Clooney and Brad Pitt on Apple TV+.

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David Wessel, a senior fellow in economic studies at the Brookings Institution, compares the candidates' records and campaign promises on taxes, spending, tariffs, housing and more.

TV critic David Bianculli reviews Netflix's rom-com series Nobody Wants This.

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More often than not, U.S. history classes fail to include the contributions of Latino people. Leguizamo's three-part PBS docuseries, VOCES American Historia,is an attempt to set the record straight.

Also, David Bianculli reflects on SNL's season 50 opener.

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

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The host of the Food Network's Barefoot Contessatells Tonya Mosley about a disastrous party she threw when she was 21. Garten invited 20 guests, with the intention of making an individual omelet for each person — except she barely knew how to cook an omelet. Her new memoir is Be Ready When Fate Happens.

Ken Tucker reviewsThe 1974 Live Recordings, a newly released recording of some of Bob Dylan's most raucous rock and roll.

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Todd Phillips, the director and co-writer of the new musical sequel to Joker,shares what it was like to direct Joaquin Phoenix and Lady Gaga in a singing, dancing, very dark adaptation of the DC character.

And actor Uzo Aduba, best-known for her role as "Crazy Eyes" on Orange is the New Black and HBO's In Treatment, has written a new memoir that pays homage to her mother, a Nigerian immigrant who raised her family in a nearly all-white Massachusetts suburb.

Also, David Bianculli reviews the new Disney+/Marvel series Agatha All Along, a spinoff of the series WandaVision.


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25 years ago, the TV series The West Wing premiered. It was a behind-the-scenes look at a fictional White House. We revisit our interviews with show creator/writer Aaron Sorkin, and actors Allison Janney, who played C.J., and John Spencer, who played Leo McGarry. They talk about the show's signature walk-and-talk and the quippy, rapid-fire style of dialogue.

Also, Justin Chang reviews Francis Ford Coppola's Megalopolis.

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Mueller deputy Aaron Zebley looks back on the investigation of Trump's ties to Russia and explains why his team didn't indict the president in 2017. Zebley is the co-author of Interference.

David Bianculli reviews WandaVision spin-off, Agatha All Along on Disney+.

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After his 2019 hit Joker, Todd Phillips knew he wanted to do more with the character. Joker: Folie à Deuxpicks up two years after the original, and features singing by Joaquin Phoenix and Lady Gaga. The director spoke with Terry Gross about his collaboration with Phoenix, how he got into filmmaking, and casting Gaga.

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Pioneering television journalist Connie Chung gives us a behind-the-scenes look at what it took for her to climb to the top in the male-dominated field of TV news. Her new memoir isConnie.

Also, we talk with Demi Moore about her new horror film The Substance, in which she plays an aging actress who loses her job hosting a workout show because her boss thinks she's too old and not hot enough.

John Powers reviews the new documentary ¡Casa Bonita Mi Amor!

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Florida's population has quintupled since writer Carl Hiaasen grew up near Fort Lauderdale in the '50s. As a former Miami Herald columnist and novelist, Hiaasen railed against, and made fun of, politicians and developers who he said were covering the state with concrete, and the tourists and retirees who just kept coming. Hiaasen's 2013 novel, Bad Monkey, a wacky murder mystery set in Key West COMMA is now a television series streaming on Apple TV +, starring Vince Vaughn.

Also, we remember revered jazz historian, archivist and critic Dan Morgenstern, who died earlier this month. Critic-at-Large John Powers reviews Kate Atkinson's latest mystery novel, and TV critic David Bianculli reviews the new HBO series, The Penguin.

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TV news journalist Connie Chung has written a new tell-all memoir. It's about breaking into the boys club of her industry, her marriage to Maury Povitch, and the big scoops of her career. The funny and off-the-cuff news icon spoke with Tonya Mosley.

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Pulitzer Prize-winning reporters Susanne Craig and Russ Buettner spent years investigating the former president's finances and various businesses. They dispel Trump's myth of being a self-made billionaire, and trace the missteps he made, squandering his father's fortune. Their book is Lucky Loser.

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In the horror movie The Substance, Demi Moore plays an aging actress who uses a black-market drug to create a younger version of herself. She says the film examines the pressures middle-aged women face to remain youthful. Moore spoke with Tonya Mosley about "compare and despair" in Hollywood, and why she's entered a new chapter of her life.

Also, John Powers reviews the documentary ¡Casa Bonita Mi Amor!, about the South Parkcreators' ill-fated attempt to restore a beloved Colorado landmark.

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Journalists Ryan Mac and Kate Conger talk about the chaos Elon Musk created inside Twitter, how Musk moved further to the political right, and how Trump wants to appoint Musk to head a new efficiency commission. Their book is Character Limit.

Also, we'll hear from comedian Taylor Tomlinson, host of CBS's late-night talk show After Midnight. Tomlinson started doing stand up when she was 16 and took a class with a Christian comedian. Then she started testing her material on the church circuit.

And, Maureen Corrigan reviews Rachel Kushner's new novel, Creation Lake.

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James Earl Jones was the voice of Darth Vader in Star Warsand Mafusa in The Lion King, and once the voice of CNN. But there was a time when he didn't want to be heard. We revisit his 1993 interview with Terry Gross about how he overcame his stutter. Jones died this week at 93.

Also we remember late guitarist Russell Malone. He played with Diana Krall and Harry Connick Jr.

Film critic Justin Chang reviews His Three Daughters.

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Democrats and Republicans learned from the legal fight over the 2020 elections, New York Timesreporter Nick Corasaniti explains how both sides are prepping for 2024 ballot box fight.

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After buying Twitter in 2022, Elon Musk instituted sweeping changes. He laid off or fired about 75% of the staff –including about half the data scientists. He also ended rules banning hate speech and misinformation. Authors Kate Conger and Ryan Mac recount the takeover in Character Limit.

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Investigative journalist Jessica Pishko says that a growing group of "constitutional sheriffs" have become a flashpoint in the current politics of toxic masculinity, guns, white supremacy, and rural resentment. "Constitutional sheriffs would argue that there is no one who can tell them what to do," Pishko says. "Not the president, not the Supreme Court, not the governor, not the legislature. Sometimes constitutional sheriffs will call themselves something like a king." Her book is The Highest Law in the Land.

Also, Maureen Corrigan reviews Creation Lake, by Rachel Kushner.

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The After Midnight host was initially unsure about sharing her bipolar II diagnosis on-stage. But, she tells co-host Tonya Mosley, "I got such amazing feedback from people who had been struggling with their mental health." Her new Netflix comedy special is Have It All.

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

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Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson's new memoir, Lovely One, gives us a rare glimpse into her legal mind. And she gets personal about her childhood, marriage and her time as a public defender.

Also, we hear from writer Danzy Senna, who writes about the experiences of being biracial in America and the meaning of race itself. Her new novel Colored Television.

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25 years ago, The Sopranos premiered on HBO and changed expectations of what TV could be. There's a new two-part documentary, called Wise Guy, about the making of the show, centering on the series creator and executive producer, David Chase. We're using that as an excuse to revisit our interviews with Chase, as well as Lorraine Bracco, who played Tony's psychiatrist, Dr. Melfi, and Michael Imperioli, who played Tony's impetuous nephew.

Film critic Justin Chang reviews Beetlejuice Beetlejuice.

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Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson talks with Tonya Mosley about her teen years, her time as a public defender, and the poem she keeps in her office. Her new memoir is called Lovely One.

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

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

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In 2022, E.T.andJaws director Steven Spielberg talked about how he fell in love with film, and how he was afraid of everything as a kid. We'll also revisit our 2016 interview with actor Carrie Fisher about what it was really like to become a sex symbol as Princess Leia.

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The 1964 spaghetti Western A Fistful of Dollars turned Clint Eastwood into a star. He had a famous squint in his closeups, but he told Terry Gross in 1997, it wasn't necessarily character driven. "They bombed me with a bunch a lights, and you're outside and it's 90 degrees, and it's hard not to squint."

We'll also hear from Eastwood's co-star inThe Good, the Bad and the Ugly, Eli Wallach, who went on to play a bandit in several Westerns. Cultural historian Christopher Frayling tells us how the Italian director Sergio Leone broke the conventions of the Hollywood Western, and stuntman Hal Needham describes his most daring feats.

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We continue our Classic Films and Movie Icons series and feature archival interviews with Dennis Hopper and Isabella Rossellini. They co-starred in the movie Blue Velvet, and after it became a hit, both of their careers were redefined.

Later, on the centennial of singer Dinah Washington's birth, jazz historian Kevin Whitehead has appreciation.

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

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

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From now through Labor Day we're featuring interviews from our archive with great actors and directors.

Robert Duvall talks about his role in the Godfather films as Tom Hagen, the Corleone family lawyer — and about speaking the most famous line in Apocalypse Now. And we'll get some insights into acting from Michael Caine, including why you don't need to raise your voice to be intimidating, and why he hates doing love scenes.

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We begin our series celebrating classic movies with Terry Gross' 1988 interview with On the Waterfrontdirector Elia Kazan, as well as a 2020 interview with his granddaughter, actor Zoe Kazan. Plus, we'll hear from the film's romantic lead, actor Eva Marie Saint, who told Fresh Airin 2000 that she got the part after improvising with Marlon Brando.

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We remember Phil Donahue, the daytime talk show host who pioneered thoughtful discussions on controversial issues, and paved the way for Oprah and others. And we remember actress Gena Rowlands, who best known for her often improvised independent film collaborations with her husband John Cassavetes.

Also, Justin Chang reviews the film Close Your Eyes.

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Georgetown professor and foreign policy analyst Daniel Byman discusses Ukraine's daring offensive into Russian territory. And he reflects on the future of Gaza, after Israel's military operation ends.

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Two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative reporter David Rohde argues that since 2016, Trump has used conspiracy theories, co-option and threats to bend Justice Department and FBI officials to his will. Rohde's new book is Where Tyranny Begins.

Maureen Corrigan reviews Paradise Bronx by Ian Frazier.

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As 50,000 people attend the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, we look at the history of politics, protest and play in American stadiums. "We fight our political battles in stadiums," Columbia historian Frank Andre Guridy says. "They become ideal places to stake your claims on what you want the United States to be." His new book is The Stadium.

Also, as part of his series celebrating albums turning 50 this year, Ken Tucker revisits Neil Young's On the Beach.

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In The Supremes at Earl's All-You-Can-Eat, Ellis-Taylor plays the outspoken ringleader among three women whose friendship spans several decades. Her previous films include Originand King Richard. She talks with Tonya Mosley about growing up in rural Mississippi, buying two billboards, and getting into acting to stave off adulthood.

Also, Maureen Corrigan reviews A Wilder Shore, by Camille Peri.

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Pediatric surgeon and founder of the Black Doctors Consortium Dr. Ala Standford talks with Terry Gross about how, at the height of the pandemic, she dedicated herself to addressing health inequities in Black and Brown communities. She set up shop in parking lots and churches providing tests and vaccines to tens of thousands of people.

Also, we'll talk with brain surgeon Dr. Theodore H. Schwartz, author of the new book Gray Matters. He'll talk about how brain surgery has been transformed by new technologies, new instruments, and more powerful computers.

And Ken Tucker takes us back 50 years to Neil Young's On the Beach.

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As democrats prepare for their national convention in Chicago next week, we take stock of a presidential race transformed. New Yorker staff writer Evan Osnos tells us about the enthusiasm and energy he's seen on the campaign trail with Vice President Kamala Harris and running mate, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz.

Later TV critic David Bianculli reviews Bad Monkey, the new mystery series starring Vince Vaughan.

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Casey Michel shines a light on Americans lobbying for foreign governments in Washington, in many cases representing brutally repressive regimes and countries that oppose U.S. interests. Laws requiring registration of lobbyists and disclosure of their efforts have been little-enforced, and thus ignored by countless agents who've reaped huge profits from their work. Michel's new book is Foreign Agents.

Also, Carolina Miranda reviews a YouTube documentary about the spectacular failure of a Star Wars-themed hotel in Orlando.

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Poet and writer Safiya Sinclair grew up in a devout Rastafari family in Jamaica where women were subservient. When she cut her dreadlocks at age 19, she became "a ghost" to her father. Her memoir, How to Say Babylon, is out in paperback.

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Joe Moore, a former Army sniper turned FBI informant, shares how he infiltrated the KKK and helped foil a plot to assassinate then Sen. Barack Obama. Moore explains how hate groups are growing. His new book is 'White Robes and Broken Badges.'

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

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We commemorate the 79th anniversary of the atomic bomb dropped on Nagasaki, Japan, by revisiting a haunting question: Was the U.S. decision to destroy two Japanese cities with atomic weapons really necessary to end World War II? Author Evan Thomas discusses the motivations of key U.S. leaders, and of Japanese commanders and diplomats. His book is The Road to Surrender.

Plus, John Powers reviews The Instigators, a new action comedy starring Matt Damon and Casey Affleck.

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Filmmaker Greg Kwedar and formerly incarcerated actor Clarence "Divine Eye" Maclin discuss their new film, which centers on the real-life Rehabilitation Through the Arts program founded at Sing Sing prison. Plus, Justin Chang reviews the film Good One.

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When the pandemic hit, Dr. Ala Stanford set up shop in parking lots, churches and mosques where she provided tests and vaccines to underserved Philadelphia communities like the one she grew up in.

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Each year, nearly half a million migrants cross the perilous stretch of jungle between South and Central America. Many face snakes, flash floods, sweltering heat, sexual violence, and death. Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Caitlin Dickerson talks to Tonya Mosley about what she saw and the migrants she followed for the September Atlantic cover story.

John Powers reviews the Apple TV+ series Women in Blue, about women cops in '70s Mexico City.

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Dr. Theodore Schwartz has been treating neurological illnesses for nearly 30 years. He says being a brain surgeon requires steady hands — and a strong bladder. His new book is Gray Matters.

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Comic Nikki Glaser talks with Terry Gross about finding the line between offensive and funny, hurt feelings, and why she started making jokes about sex. Her new Emmy-nominated stand-up special on HBO is Someday You'll Die.

Ken Tucker reflects on the New York Dolls' album Too Much Too Soonfor its 50th anniversary.

Paul W. Downs co-created the acclaimed HBO Max show Hacks with his wife, Lucia Aniello and their friend and collaborator, Jen Statsky. Downs talks with Ann Marie Baldonado about how they came up with the idea for Hacks,and how his wife continued directing the show while she was in labor. Hacks is nominated for 16 Emmy Awards this year.

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We go into the Fresh Air archive to remember two remarkable women: Bernice Johnson Reagon was one of the powerful singers who helped galvanize the civil rights movement in the 1960s, as a member of the Freedom Singers quartet. She died July 16 at the age of 81. Also, we remember writer Gail Lumet Buckley, the daughter of singer Lena Horne, who chronicled her family's history from enslavement to becoming a part of the Black bourgeoisie. She died this week at age 86.

August 2nd is the 100th anniversary of the birth of James Baldwin, so we listen back to Terry Gross's 1986 interview with him.

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Grammy-winning singer, guitarist and producer Brittany Howard fronted the band Alabama Shakes before going solo. She talks with Terry Gross about growing up biracial in a small Alabama town, living in a haunted house, and writing break-up songs for her new album, What Now.

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In 1982, eight science fiction films were released within eight weeks of each other: E.T., Tron, Star Trek II: Wrath of Khan, Conan the Barbarian, Blade Runner,Poltergeist, The Thing, and Mad Max: The Road Warrior. Entertainment writer Chris Nashawaty talks to Tonya Mosley about how those movies shaped the genre and the movie industry. His book is The Future Was Now.

Also, Ken Tucker reflects on the New York Dolls' albumToo Much Too Soon for its 50th anniversary.

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Paul W. Downs co-created the HBO Max show with his wife, Lucia Aniello and their friend and collaborator, Jen Statsky. The three met at the Upright Citizens Brigade. Downs talks with Ann Marie Baldonado about how they came up with the idea for Hacks, tackling cancel culture, and how his wife continued directing the show while she was in labor. Hacks is nominated for 16 Emmy awards this year, including for Downs for his role as Jimmy.

Also, David Bianculli reflects on the Turner Classic Movies series Two for One.

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

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Jon M. Chu, the director of Crazy Rich Asians and In the Heightsis now directing the film adaptation of the broadway musical Wicked. We'll talk about making movies, and being raised by immigrant parents who owned a Chinese restaurant in Silicon Valley.

Also, we hear from stunt performer-turned-director David Leitch. He directed the film The Fall Guy, starring Ryan Gosling as a stuntman.

Ken Tucker continues his series of great albums turning 50 this year with an album by Roxy Music.

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We remember comic and actor Bob Newhart, who died last week at the age of 94. In his stand-up comedy and hit TV series, some of the laughs came from his an awkward, stammering way of speaking. "It isn't an affectation. It's the way I speak," he told Terry Gross in 1998.

Also, Justin Chang reviews Deadpool & Wolverine.

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

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Chu takes his inspiration from his dad, a Chinese immigrant who worked both the front room and the kitchen of their family-run restaurant: "The guy that in the back of the kitchen, that was my hero." The director of Crazy Rich Asians andIn the Heights talks with Terry Gross about growing up in Silicon Valley, seeing Wicked for the first time, and learning to be adaptable.

Maureen Corrigan reviews Dinaw Mengestu's new novel, Someone Like Us.

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Filmmaker and stunt coordinator David Leitch says it's easier to do stunts himself than direct his stunt performer friends. "You are responsible for their safety," he explains. "Your heart goes through your chest." His film The Fall Guy is about the unknown performers who put their lives on the line. He talks with Terry Gross about barrel rolling cars, being lit on fire, and doing another take when everything hurts.

Also, Ken Tucker marks the 50th anniversary of Roxy Music's Country Life.

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Humorist/writer Shalom Auslander's new memoir is a satirical look at all the ways a sense of "feh," which is Yiddish for "yuck," has made its way into his psyche and every aspect of his life. Auslander has written extensively over the years about growing up in a dysfunctional ultra-Orthodox Jewish family. His new memoir, aptly titled Feh, is about a journey to write a different story for himself.

We'll also hear from Julianne Nicholson. Proud to call herself a character actor, she's appeared in dozens of films and TV series, from Ally McBealand Boardwalk Empireto August: Osage County and Mare of Easttown, where she earned an Emmy. Nicholson is starring in the new film Janet Planet.

And, Ken Tucker takes us back 50 years to Stevie Wonder's album Fulfillingness' First Finale,which he says is an underrated treasure.

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We remember actress Shelley Duvall, who died at the age of 75. Best-known for her role in The Shining, Robert Altman films and her own series about fairytales. She spoke with Terry Gross in 1992 about working with the two directors.

Also, we remember the famous sex therapist Dr. Ruth Westheimer. And TV critic David Bianculli reviews the new Apple TV+ docuseries Omnivore, and John Powers reviews the new summer blockbuster Twisters.

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Humorist Shalom Auslander has written for decades about growing up in a dysfunctional household within an ultra-orthodox Jewish community. Feh, title of his latest memoir, comes from the Yiddish word for "yuck." He talks about self-hatred, changing the narrative and his friendship with late actor Philip Seymour Hoffman.

Also, Justin Chang reviews the new horror movieLonglegs.

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PBS FRONTLINE documentarians Tom Casciato and Kathleen Hughes spent 34 years following two working-class families in Milwaukee who lost well-paying manufacturing jobs and then struggled to regain their way of life. The film, hosted by Bill Moyers, is called Two American Families.

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Julianne Nicholson says when strangers recognize her on the street, they're never quite sure how they know her: "They might think I sold them kittens, or I work in the ice cream shop." She stars in the new film Janet Planet. She earned an Emmy for her role in HBO's Mare of Easttown as Mare's (Kate Winslet) best friend.

Also, Maureen Corrigan reviews the novel Practice, by Rosalind Brown.

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We talk about the weapon the shooter used in the attempted assassination of former President Trump. Pulitzer Prize-winning Washington Postreporter Todd Frankel explains how the AR-15 became an icon of gun culture and a favored weapon for mass shooters.

Also, Ken Tucker revisits Stevie Wonder's album Fulfillingness' First Finale for its 50th anniversary.

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Taffy Brodesser-Akner's new novel, Long Island Compromise, centers on the kidnapping of a rich businessman, and the impact, decades later, on his grown children. Her previous book, Fleishman Is in Trouble, was adapted into an acclaimed FX/Hulu series.

Jill Ciment met her husband in the 1970s when she was a teenager and he was almost 50. At the time of their first kiss, he was a married father of two; she was his art student. In her memoir Consentshe reconsiders the origin story of their marriage.

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Martin Mull, who died June 27, appeared in the 1970s series Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman, and later starred in Fernwood 2 Night. David Bianculli offers an appreciation, then we revisit Terry Gross' 1995 interview with Mull.

Robert Towne, who died July 1, was nominated for an Oscar in 1974 for his screenplay for The Last Detail, and won the Academy Award in 1975 for his screenplay for Chinatown. He spoke to Terry Gross in 1988.

Justin Chang reviews A Quiet Place: Day One.

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David Madland of the Center for American Progress says new, "good" jobs are on the rise, but many of the workers don't realize it's a result of Biden's new industrial policies.

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

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Jill Ciment met her husband in the 1970s when she was a teenager and he was almost 50. At the time of their first kiss, he was a married father of two; she was his art student. In her memoir Consentshe reconsiders the origin story of their marriage.

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

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Comedian Michelle Buteau stars in the new comedy Babes, which follows best friends as they take different paths toward motherhood. It was a role Buteau had to be talked into doing by her real life friend and co-star Ilana Glazer because, at the time, she was already in the thick of living out her character's life as the mother of twin babies.

Also, we'll talk with New Yorker staff writer Emily Nussbaum about working conditions for cast members on the popular reality TV show Love is Blind.

And Ken Tucker Rock critic Ken Tucker revisits Steely Dan's 1974 album Pretzel Logic, on its 50th anniversary.

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For the 40th anniversary of Talking Heads' masterpiece concert film, Stop Making Sense, A24 remastered and rereleased the movie, bringing it to new audiences and longtime fans. Talking Heads frontman David Byrne returns toFresh Airto speak with Terry Gross about songwriting, dancing, and constructing the big suit.

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A few years ago, Bon Jovi stopped performing because of a vocal cord injury. The Hulu docuseries Thank You, Goodnightoffers a career retrospective, plus a view of his surgery and return to the stage. He spoke with Terry Gross about his voice, writing "Livin' on a Prayer," and his new album,Forever.

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

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As a comedy writer for shows like The Late Late Show with James Corden, Ian Karmel spent most of his life making fun of his weight, starting at a very young age. His new memoir is calledT-Shirt Swim Club: Stories of Being Fat in a World of Thin People. It chronicles how he used comedy to cope growing up, and now that he's lost hundreds of pounds, what he's discovered about himself and society.

Also, David Bianculli reviews season three of The Bear.

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If you've ever wondered what conversations were like between Donald Trump and Dr. Anthony Fauci during the Covid pandemic, wonder no more. Fauci talks about his new memoir, in which he relates several profanity-laced scoldings he got from the President.

Also, we hear from Hannah Einbinder, who stars with Jean Smart in the comedy series Hacks. And Maureen Corrigan shares some summer book recommendations.

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British singer/guitarist Richard Thompson spoke to Fresh Airin 1994 and 2022 about about his formative years and about pioneering a new musical genre that blended rock with traditional music of the British isles. He has a new album called Ship to Shore.

Justin Chang reviews the new film Janet Planet, the first feature from the Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Annie Baker.

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