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•Transcript available on Metacast 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•Transcript available on Metacast 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•Transcript available on Metacast 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•Transcript available on Metacast 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•Transcript available on Metacast 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•Transcript available on Metacast 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•Transcript available on Metacast 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•Transcript available on Metacast 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•Transcript available on Metacast 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•Transcript available on Metacast 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•Transcript available on Metacast 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•Transcript available on Metacast 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•Transcript available on Metacast 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•Transcript available on Metacast 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 & Ha...
Oct 12, 2024•49 min•Transcript available on Metacast 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...
Oct 11, 2024•47 min•Transcript available on Metacast 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. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy
Oct 10, 2024•47 min•Transcript available on Metacast 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. Subscribe to Fresh Air 's weekly newsletter and get highlights from the show, gems from the archive, and staff recommendations. Learn more about sponsor m...
Oct 09, 2024•56 min•Transcript available on Metacast 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. 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: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy P...
Oct 08, 2024•46 min•Transcript available on Metacast 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 & Harpe r, is now streaming on Netflix. Also, classical music critic Lloyd Schwartz reflects on "maverick" composer Charles Ives. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy...
Oct 07, 2024•46 min•Transcript available on Metacast 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 i...
Oct 05, 2024•50 min•Transcript available on Metacast 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 songw...
Oct 04, 2024•48 min•Transcript available on Metacast 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 . Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy...
Oct 03, 2024•46 min•Transcript available on Metacast 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. 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: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy...
Oct 02, 2024•46 min•Transcript available on Metacast 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. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy...
Oct 01, 2024•46 min•Transcript available on Metacast The host of the Food Network's Barefoot Contessa tells 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 reviews The 1974 Live Recordings , a newly released recording of some of Bob Dylan's most raucous rock and roll. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices...
Sep 30, 2024•47 min•Transcript available on Metacast 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 ne...
Sep 28, 2024•49 min•Transcript available on Metacast 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 . Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR ...
Sep 27, 2024•47 min•Transcript available on Metacast New Yorker writer Andrew Marantz describes Michigan's uncommitted, thousands of pro-Palestinian, anti-war protest voters who say they won't support Kamala Harris unless she changes her policy on Israel. Also, Kevin Whitehead shares an appreciation of jazz pianist Bud Powell, for his centennial. And film critic Justin Chang reflects on two new movies that examine the extremes of self-improvement: The Substance and A Different Man . Subscribe to Fresh Air 's weekly newsletter and get highlights fr...
Sep 26, 2024•46 min•Transcript available on Metacast Orange Is the New Black actor Uzo Aduba grew up the daughter of Nigerian immigrants in a predominantly white Massachusetts suburb. She looks back on her late mother's influence in the memoir, The Road Is Good. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy
Sep 25, 2024•45 min•Transcript available on Metacast 
