Atlantic staff writer Annie Lowery suffers from a rare liver condition that causes severe chronic itch. It led her to look into the stigma of itchiness, the itch-scratch cycle, and finding acceptance in her body. Also, we hear from screenwriter and author of one of the most anticipated novels of the season, Richard Price. His new novel, Lazarus Man , is about second chances. Price also wrote for the HBO shows The Wire , The Deuce and The Night Of . And Maureen Corrigan has two books to recommend...
Nov 16, 2024•48 min
Kerri Russell stars in the Netflix political drama The Diplomat as a foreign service officer tapped to become the American ambassador to the UK. Russell also starred in the series Felicity and The Americans . She spoke with us last year about these characters and getting her start on The All New Mickey Mouse Club as a kid. Also, we remember author Dorothy Allison, who died this week at age 75. Her critically acclaimed 1992 novel Bastard out of Carolina was based on her own childhood experience o...
Nov 15, 2024•47 min
In Richard Price's new novel, Lazarus Man , a five-story building collapses, upending the lives of the building's residents. It's about second chances and finding the faith to carry on. Price has written for HBO's The Wire and The Deuce , and co-created HBO's The Night Of and The Outsider . Several of his novels, including Clockers , were adapted into films. He spoke with Terry Gross. Also, Maureen Corrigan shares two books that offer humor and beauty: Billy Collins' collection of poetry Water, ...
Nov 14, 2024•45 min
With wars in Gaza, Lebanon, and Ukraine, and with high tariffs on the horizon, The Economist Editor-In-Chief Zanny Minton Beddoes says president-elect Trump's agenda may be chaotic. But she stays resolutely optimistic about possible good elements in his foreign policy. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy...
Nov 13, 2024•47 min
We've all had bug bites, or dry scalp, or a sunburn that causes itch. But what if you felt itchy all the time — and there was no relief? Atlantic journalist Annie Lowrey suffers from primary biliary cholangitis (PBC), a degenerative liver disease in which the body mistakenly attacks cells lining the bile ducts, causing them to inflame. The result is a severe itch that doesn't respond to antihistamines or steroids. She talks with Terry Gross about finding a diagnosis, treatment, and what scientis...
Nov 12, 2024•46 min
Author Phil Klay says Trump has been willing to politicize the military to push his partisan agenda before, and is likely to further erode norms around the military as he looks for those willing to "go with his whims." Klay is a Marine Corps veteran and National Book Award-winning writer. Also, John Powers on the Spanish language movie musical Emilia Pérez. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy...
Nov 11, 2024•46 min
Oscar-winning actor Al Pacino talks with Terry Gross about growing up in the South Bronx with a single mother and The Godfather , and why he almost passed on Part II . His new memoir is Sonny Boy . Also, we hear from Saoirse Ronan. She stars in two new films: The Outrun , about a young woman struggling to get sober, and the World War II drama, Blitz . She spoke with contributor Ann Marie Baldonado about the roles, as well as the most intense on set experience she's ever had — birthing lambs. Lea...
Nov 09, 2024•49 min
Comic Jenny Slate spoke with Terry Gross earlier this year about finding comedy in her feelings, motherhood, and growing up in a haunted house. Her latest stand-up special on Amazon Prime Video is Seasoned Professional and she has a new book of essays out now called Lifeform. Justin Chang reviews Clint Eastwood's new film, Juror #2. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy...
Nov 08, 2024•46 min
In Savings and Trust , historian Justene Hill Edwards tells the story of the Freedman's Bank. Created for formerly enslaved people following the Civil War, its collapse cost depositors millions. She spoke with Tonya Molsey about how this part of history reverberates today. Also, book critic Maureen Corrigan reviews Vanishing Treasures . Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy...
Nov 07, 2024•46 min
Irish actor Saoirse Ronan returns to Fresh Air to talk with contributor Ann Marie Baldonado about her two new films ( The Outrun and Blitz ) as well as her experience as a child actor and her collaboration with Lady Bird and Little Women director Greta Gerwig. Also, Carolina Miranda reviews the Netflix film Pedro Páramo . Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy...
Nov 06, 2024•46 min
We remember renowned composer, arranger and producer Quincy Jones and listen back to Terry Gross's 2001 interview with him. He died Sunday at the age of 91. He got his start playing with Ray Charles when they were both in their teens. Jones became famous as an arranger and producer for musicians including Ray Charles, Frank Sinatra, Aretha Franklin, and Michael Jackson on his albums Bad , Off the Wall and Thriller . Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Priva...
Nov 05, 2024•47 min
Oscar-winning actor Al Pacino talks with Terry Gross about growing up in the South Bronx with a single mother, getting his start in Greenwich Village performing in avant-garde theater, nearly dying of COVID, and his life today. We'll also talk about The Godfather , and why he almost passed on Part II . His new memoir is Sonny Boy . Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy...
Nov 04, 2024•46 min
Alex Van Halen has written a new memoir about forming the rock band Van Halen with his brother Eddie. It takes readers from their childhood to the wild ride of sex, drugs, and rock and roll. Eddie Van Halen died in 2020. Alex talks with Tonya Mosley about his grief and reflects on their relationship. Also, artist Titus Kaphar talks about his new movie, Exhibiting Forgiveness , based on his life. It's about a celebrated painter whose world unravels when his estranged father suddenly resurfaces. C...
Nov 02, 2024•49 min
We remember actor Teri Garr, who died last week at age 79. She charmed audiences in her film roles and appearances on late night TV. She's best known for her role as the dim witted seductive lab assistant to Gene Wilder's mad scientist in Mel Brook's Young Frankenstein . She was later nominated for an Oscar for her performance in Tootsie . After being diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, Garr became a spokeswoman for MS research and support. She spoke with Terry Gross in 2005. Also, Justin Chang r...
Nov 01, 2024•48 min
New Yorker journalist David Kirkpatrick says a government command hub is tasked with tracking and protecting U.S. elections from foreign adversaries who try to disrupt them by sowing discord and foment violence. Guest jazz critic Martin Johnson remembers composer Benny Golson, who died last month at the age of 95. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy...
Oct 31, 2024•46 min
New York Times reporter Ken Bensinger says the America First Policy Institute, which has nearly 300 executive orders ready to be signed, would influence a Trump second term more than Project 2025. Also, John Powers reviews the movie A Real Pain . Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy...
Oct 30, 2024•47 min
Alex Van Halen has written a new memoir about forming the rock band Van Halen with his brother Eddie, who died of cancer in 2020. The book, titled Brothers , takes readers from their childhood to the wild ride of sex, drugs, and rock and roll. He spoke with Tonya Mosley about grief, lighting his drums on fire, and what he really thinks of This is Spinal Tap . Also, TV critic David Bianculli reviews the fall TV broadcast season. Subscribe to Fresh Air 's weekly newsletter and get highlights from ...
Oct 29, 2024•46 min
Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Eliza Griswold says complaints about homophobia, white privilege and diversity are splintering progressive organizations — including one particular church in Philadelphia. Her book is Circle of Hope. It's a finalist for the National Book Award. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy...
Oct 28, 2024•46 min
The HBO series Somebody Somewhere is about a 40-something woman who returns home to Kansas to care for her dying sister, then stays, but feels like an outsider until she finds a place in the LGBTQ community. We talk Bridget Everett, star of the series, who is also an acclaimed (and bawdy) cabaret singer. Also, writer Nick Harkaway talks about his novel Karla's Choice . It's a new story about George Smiley, the British spymaster made famous in the books written by Harkaway's late father, John le ...
Oct 26, 2024•49 min
The witty, cynical and often tongue-in-cheek songwriter Randy Newman is the subject of a new biography. He also wrote a bunch of film scores, including the music for Toy Story , Ragtime, A Bug's Life , and Monsters, Inc . We're revisiting Newman's interview with Terry Gross from 1998 and Ken Tucker reviews the book, A Few Words in Defense of Our Country. Justin Chang reviews the new Vatican thriller Conclave . Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Pol...
Oct 25, 2024•47 min
When painter, sculptor, and installation artist Titus Kaphar's life was upended by his estranged father, he turned to film. First he decided to tell his story in a documentary, but scrapped the project when it felt unsatisfying. His new feature film, Exhibiting Forgiveness , tells his story and brings his paintings to life. Kaphar talked to Tonya Mosley about his journey to healing. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy...
Oct 24, 2024•46 min
Writer Nick Harkaway grew up hearing his dad read drafts of his George Smiley novels. He picks up le Carré's beloved spymaster character in the new novel, Karla's Choice. He spoke with Sam Briger about choosing his own pen name, channeling his dad's writing style, and his stint writing copy for a lingerie catalogue. Subscribe to Fresh Air 's weekly newsletter and get highlights from the show, gems from the archive, and staff recommendations. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoic...
Oct 23, 2024•47 min
New Yorker writer Susan Glasser says Musk has spent $75 million to support Trump. If elected, Trump promises to appoint Musk to head a commission to cut costs in every part of the federal government. Maureen Corrigan reviews the satirical novel Blood Test by Charles Baxter. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy...
Oct 22, 2024•46 min
Growing up in Manhattan, Kansas, Bridget Everett and her "blue sense of humor" never quite fit in. After moving to New York City and developing a cabaret show, she returned home for her HBO show Somebody Somewhere. The series is semi-autobiographical, about a woman struggling with self-worth and grief as she finds her people and her voice. Subscribe to Fresh Air's weekly newsletter and get highlights from the show, gems from the archive, and staff recommendations. Learn more about sponsor messag...
Oct 21, 2024•45 min
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 ...
Oct 19, 2024•49 min
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 Muscoge...
Oct 18, 2024•48 min
Former Inspector General Glenn Fine oversaw investigations of the mishandling of documents in the Oklahoma bombing case, the treatment of detainees at Guantanamo and corruption in the Navy. He spoke with Dave Davies about his work to uncover abuse, waste, and fraud in the Departments of Justice and Defense. His book is Watchdogs . Also, Maureen Corrigan reviews the book Clean , about a housekeeper who is the primary suspect in the death of a child. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podca...
Oct 17, 2024•47 min
Legal scholar Mary Ziegler talks about the legal battles shaping reproductive rights across the U.S. — including the scope of abortion access and the fate of IVF. And we look ahead at two very different outcomes with the election. "I don't think in the past 50 years we've had an election where the stakes could be as high, simply because Roe v. Wade isn't there as a floor anymore," Ziegler says. Also, John Powers controversial French writer Michel Houellebecq's new novel, Annihilation . Subscribe...
Oct 16, 2024•46 min
Mosab Abu Toha was able to escape Gaza, along with his wife and three young children. The award-winning poet talks about being detained at a check-point, parenting in war, and the devastation of leaving his family and friends behind. His new book of poetry is Forest of Noise . Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy...
Oct 15, 2024•45 min
Lisa Marie Presley, the only child of Elvis Presley, was working on a memoir when she died in 2023. In From Here to the Great Unknown , actor Riley Keough details her mother's unusual life in Graceland. She also talks about grief and her own time at Neverland Ranch. Maureen Corrigan reviews the novel Shred Sisters by Betsy Lerner. Subscribe to Fresh Air's weekly newsletter and get highlights from the show, gems from the archive, and staff recommendations. Learn more about sponsor message choices...
Oct 14, 2024•46 min
