Fresh Air

In a biography of Roy Cohn, Kai Bird looks at how the lawyer taught President Trump to deny, delay, attack, sue and countersue, never admit defeat, side step paying bills and avoid a paper trail. His book, with co-author Susan Goldmark, is American Scoundrel . He spoke with Terry Gross.  Also, Ken Tucker reflects on three of Dolly Parton’s performances that he says demonstrate her range and her un...

Pulitzer Prize-winning  New Yorker staff writer Dexter Filkins says while Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner is a U.S. special envoy negotiating peace, he's also working on private business deals, raising billions in some of the same countries. “He's potentially a walking conflict of interest,” Filkins tells Tonya Mosley.  Also, book critic Maureen Corrigan reviews Our Noble Selves , by Kate Atkinso...

Brooks grew up in a church where her mom was a minister and her dad a deacon. She went on to play Taystee in the Netflix series Orange Is the New Black . Now she co-stars in the indie film If I Go Will They Miss Me? Brooks spoke with Terry Gross about singing in the church, playing gospel icon Mahalia Jackson, and why she hesitated to take her breakout role in Orange . Subscribe to our free weekly...

It has been 10 years since former 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick took a knee during the national anthem, in protest of police brutality against Black people. Once the season ended, Kaepernick never played in the NFL again.  "The NFL tried to send a very clear message that if you protest police killing Black folks, if you fight for a better society and better community, we're going to try to ta...

Author Claire Vaye Watkins lives in the Mojave Desert, just like the protagonist in her new novel, Yellow Pine . In the book, it’s an area being developed by an energy company, wreaking havoc on the environment. The locals protest, but the novel explores whether they actually have the power to defeat a corporate project already underway. Watkins spoke with Terry Gross.    Director Paul Greengrass’...

For the 25th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks, we go into our archive for voices of those who were there. Deputy Fire Chief John “Jay” Jonas spoke with Terry Gross about being inside the North Tower when it collapsed. Firefighter Ken Haskell talks about losing his two brothers and his search at Ground Zero. Author (and former firefighter) Dennis Smith talks about the structure of the WTC itself...

Despite record viewership and attendance, and amazing talent across the league, the WNBA has been caught up in the national conversation about the culture wars. Sportswriter Sabreena Merchant says, “everything in the WNBA seems to take on a political lens far beyond what is actually happening on the court.” Merchant spoke with Fresh Air guest interviewer Sam Fragoso (host of Talk Easy ) about the...

In his book Homeland: The War on Terror in American Life , Richard Beck looks at how the Sept. 11 attacks led to the expansion of government surveillance and a sharp increase in hate crimes against Muslim Americans. Beck also argues the War on Terror laid the groundwork for Donald Trump to become president and “impunity culture in American politics.” He spoke with Tonya Mosley.  Also, Maureen Corr...

A decade ago, Casey Gerald was running a celebrated nonprofit, giving TED talks, and on magazine covers as proof that the American dream still works. Then he shut it all down and disappeared from public life. Now, in a new book, The Great Refusal , he turns his leaving into an argument about the limits of the American dream. Also, TV critic David Bianculli reviews SCTV, which is now available to s...

For Labor Day, we’re listening back to our 2009 interview with Rosanne Cash. When she was 18, in 1973, her father Johnny Cash gave her a list of 100 essential country songs he thought she should know. At the time, she knew that it was an important document, “but it took me, I think until now, to realize that he was really giving me himself, a part of his heart and soul.” She made an album out of s...

Yahya Abdul-Mateen II is nominated for an Emmy for his performance in the Marvel series ‘Wonder Man,’ but two weeks after his nomination, Disney announced the series would not return for a second season. But getting laid off is how he found acting in the first place. “I keep on getting laid off and losing jobs. What up that? But you know, every time I do it, it turns into something better,” he tel...

Writer, activist and face of the women’s liberation movement Gloria Steinem died Wednesday at age 92. She spoke with Terry Gross several times over four decades, this remembrance pulls from three of those conversations: In 2015, Steinem talked about her unconventional childhood on the road with her parents, “My memory is that I learned how to read from ketchup bottles and labels and billboards alo...

Paul Greengrass’ new film, The Uprising , stars Andrew Garfield as a 14th-century peasant who, in the wake of the Plague, leads a revolt against the king. It's a history Greengrass grew up learning, and now sees parallels with Covid and Jan 6th. “People were left numb, and then this gathering rage …defenseless, and then suddenly you had this enormous rebellion,” he tells Tonya Mosley. Greengrass a...

Tech giants like Google and Microsoft have been competing for years to get their devices, software and AI into public schools, even offering free training programs for teachers and students. These brands are helping shape what and how children learn. NYT reporter Natasha Singer says, “Some teachers are using AI to generate their lesson plans and assignments and their quizzes, and then kids are usi...

Coltrane was one of the most influential musicians in the history of jazz, from his beautiful ballads, to his more spiritual music, and his role in the forefront of free jazz. September 23 marks 100 years since his birth. We speak with his son Ravi Coltrane, who is a highly regarded tenor saxophonist—the same instrument his father played. Growing up, he was just known as Ravi, "But as soon as I pi...

Atlantic journalist Annie Lowrey explores the administrative burdens people face applying for government benefits like unemployment and food assistance. It's not just about wasted time: "When the government treats us like this, we don't trust it," she says. She spoke with Tonya Mosley about her book, The Time Tax: How the Government Wastes Our Time—and How to Fix It . Ken Tucker reviews a new albu...

Jason Segel returns to talk with Terry Gross about his Emmy-nominated series Shrinking , in which he plays a therapist who suffered a nervous breakdown in the wake of his wife’s death. Segel opens up about his own therapy and acting opposite Harrison Ford.  Also, Lisa Kudrow talks about her Emmy-nominated series The Comeback . She plays an actress who is delusional about her career and desperate t...

Actor Tim Curry, best-known for playing mad scientist Dr. Frank-N-Furter in The Rocky Horror Picture Show , died this week at age 80. He spoke with Terry Gross in 2005 about finding the character’s look and voice.  Also, actor Rhea Seehorn has been nominated for an Emmy for her leading role in the sci-fi series Pluribus . She spoke with Terry about that series and Better Call Saul .  See pcm.adswi...

In his Prime Video series, Bait , Riz Ahmed plays an actor auditioning to be the next James Bond. Ahmed says Bond is a "symbol of aspiration, this unattainable kind of self" his character is pursuing. He’s nominated for an Emmy for his role in the series. Ahmed spoke with Tonya Mosley about being his own worst critic, why he connected to Hamlet, and his early days as an MC on pirate radio.  Subscr...

The beloved country superstar died Tuesday at age 80. Parton spoke with Terry Gross in 2001 about growing up in rural poverty with 11 siblings, leaving for Nashville to become a star, and coming up with her signature look. "I've always believed that a part of my magic, if there was any, was the fact that I look so artificial — but I am so totally real," she said.  Also, jazz critic Martin Johnson...

National security writer Joby Warrick tells the story of “Carlos the Jackal,” the world’s most notorious terrorist of the ‘70s and ‘80s. He became so famous for his brazen attacks and playboy lifestyle that, once, when he was releasing hostages from a hijacked airplane, several asked him for autographs. Warrick’s book is The Jackal . He spoke with Dave Davies.  Also, Maureen Corrigan reviews three...

Lisa Kudrow is up for two Emmys for the final season of The Comeback , about an actress who will endure almost anything to keep working. She spoke with Tonya Mosley about her character’s delusion and how the show has captured different eras of Hollywood. Kudrow also talks about a life-changing trip to Belarus, being a straight-laced girl, and watching Friends after her co-star Matthew Perry’s deat...

Colman Domingo is nominated for two Emmy Awards this year, for two very different roles: in the Netflix comedy The Four Seasons and in the final season of HBO's Euphoria . He spoke with Tonya Mosley about the transition from dramatic roles to comedy, and guest hosting Jimmy Kimmel Live! for a week.  Award-winning writer Leïla Slimani grew up in Morocco, where women were second-class citizens, but...

The Dog Stars , directed by Ridley Scott and starring Josh Brolin and Jacob Elordi, is about two men who become unlikely compatriots when a pandemic wipes out much of the country's population. Adventure writer Peter Heller spoke with Dave Davies in 2012 about the book, which draws on his own survival skills.  Also, we remember pioneering rock critic Dave Marsh. He was an early champion and biograp...

Two weeks after being nominated for an Emmy for his leading role in Wonder Man , Yahya Abdul-Mateen II found out that the series had been cancelled. He says Marvel could do more to support Black-led projects. Abdul-Mateen spoke with co-host Tonya Mosley about how he stumbled into acting, padding his early resumé, and working through his stutter.  Also, film critic Justin Chang reviews Teenage Deat...