Fresh Air

The Trump administration has been pressuring elite universities, like Harvard and Columbia, with widespread demands, and threats of federal funding cuts. So why are they now investigating George Mason University? ProPublica education reporter Katherine Mangan tells us why GMU's president thinks it's driven by a backlash to DEI efforts. Also, jazz historian Kevin Whitehead reflects on a James Moody...

After writing chapters of her new book about how tech companies help and exploit us, tech journalist and novelist Vauhini Vara fed those chapters to ChatGPT. She told the chatbot she needed help with her writing, but her real goal was to analyze and critique the AI's advice. Her new book is Searches: Selfhood in the Digital Age. Also, TV critic and historian David Bianculli reacts to the cancellat...

Uggams performed in Beulah, Hallelujah Baby, Roots, Empire, American Fiction and the Deadpool films. She was the first Black woman to host a TV variety show. At 82, she's appearing in The Gilded Age. She spoke with Terry Gross about her long, winding career. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship pref...

In Nothing More of This Land, Aquinnah Wampanoag writer Joseph Lee takes readers past the celebrity summer scene and into the heart of Noepe, the name his people have called the island for centuries. Also, Ken Tucker reviews new music from HAIM and Addison Rae. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship p...

Stacey Abrams is known as a voting rights activist, former candidate for Georgia governor, and founder of Fair Fight Action. But she's also a bestselling author, and has a new novel, a thriller revolving around a former Supreme Court clerk investigating a murder inside an AI company. Also, book critic Maureen Corrigan recommends two summer non-fiction books. And we hear from musician and producer...

As Major League Baseball celebrates a memorable All Star Game, we feature some of our favorite baseball interviews – with crafty veteran pitcher Jamie Moyer, cerebral and successful manager Tony La Russa, and slugger Mike Piazza on his epic confrontation with Roger Clemens in the World Series. John Powers reviews Cloud, the new psychological thriller from Japanese director Kiyoshi Kurosawa. See pc...

Act now to ensure public media remains free and accessible to all. Your donation will help this essential American service survive and thrive. Visit donate.npr.org now. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences. NPR Privacy Policy EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW MATERIALS The unedited interview transcrip...

For decades, Condé Nast publications such as Vogue and Vanity Fair were consequential tastemakers. Writer Michael Grynbaum explores the heyday of these magazines and how they lost their footing. His book is Empire of the Elite: Inside Condé Nast, the Media Dynasty That Reshaped America. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage...

ProPublica Editor-at-Large Abrahm Lustgarten says the deadly flooding in Central Texas — which has killed over 130 people — underscores the dangers of a more volatile climate. Despite clear scientific evidence, the federal government has made cuts to research and forecasting, even threatening to dismantle FEMA. "We could talk about the floods in Texas as being an early warning sign of policy degra...

Abrams isn't running for office — but she's not ruling it out, either. "Politics is a tool ... for getting good done, but it's not the only one." Her new thriller novel is Coded Justice. She spoke with Tonya Mosley about voter suppression, her faith, and collaborating with her siblings on her books. Also, David Bianculli reviews the BritBox period drama Outrageous. See pcm.adswizz.com for informat...

While serving a life sentence for a murder he didn't commit, Calvin Duncan studied law, hoping to appeal his case. In the process he became a jailhouse lawyer. We'll talk about how he managed to help free many wrongly convicted prisoners, including himself, while facing countless legal obstacles confronting people who are poor and Black. His memoir is The Jailhouse Lawyer. Maureen Corrigan recomme...

Tamara Yajia grew up Jewish in Argentina, intent on becoming a child star. But just when her break was coming along, her family emigrated to California. Her new memoir is Cry for Me, Argentina. TV critic David Bianculli reviews a new HBO Max documentary about Ms. magazine. Leila Mottley's novel The Girls Who Grew Big follows a group of teenage mothers in the Florida Panhandle who form a close-knit...

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 latest book is Colored Television. Also, Justin Chang reviews the new Superman movie. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of...

New York Times reporter Adam Liptak discusses the Supreme Court's decisions to limit the power of lower courts while expanding presidential power, and its consequential use of the so-called shadow docket. "It's it's not an overstatement to say that in a matter of months American democracy has been transformed," he tells Terry Gross. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use...

Leila Mottley gained critical acclaim at 19 with her debut novel Nightcrawling, which was longlisted for the Booker Prize. Now, she returns with her second novel, The Girls Who Grew Big. It follows a group of teenage mothers in the Florida Panhandle who form a close-knit community to support each other through the challenges of young motherhood. Mottley talks about why she views this novel as a re...

Award-winning singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and producer Raphael Saadiq talks about his process — from collaborating with Beyoncé and Solange, to his song in Sinners, to his R&B group Tony! Toni! Toné! He just announced an extended tour of his one-man show, No Bandwidth: One Man, One Night, Three Decades of Hits. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of...

Pulitzer Prize-winning writer Jennifer Senior has had insomnia for 25 years. Her new piece in The Atlantic, "Why Can't Americans Sleep?," is about her often futile attempts to fall asleep, and about the latest research into insomnia and the medications and therapies used to treat it. Also, TV critic David Bianculli reviews a new HBO Max documentary about Ms. magazine. See pcm.adswizz.com for infor...

Jeffrey Seller has been a key behind-the-scenes figure for some of the Broadway's biggest hits including, Hamilton and RENT, but he got his start on a much smaller scale. He looks back in a new memoir called Theater Kid. Ebon Moss-Bachrach has won two Emmys for his portrayal of Cousin Richie, the abrasive and ornery cook/maître d' on the FX series The Bear. He talks about the making of the show. K...

Author Ricky Riccardi says Armstrong's innovations as a trumpeter and vocalist helped set the entire soundtrack of the 20th century. His book about Armstrong's early life is Stomp Off, Let's Go. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences. NPR Privacy Policy EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW MATERIALS The un...

Jacob Soboroff of NBC News says the Trump administration promised to deport the "worst of the worst" criminal immigrants, but is now detaining undocumented workers with no serious criminal record. He spoke with Tonya Mosley about the condition of some detainment centers, the impact on L.A. communities, and child separation. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of person...

Jeffrey Seller has been a key behind-the-scenes figure for some of the Broadway's biggest hits including, Hamilton and RENT, but he got his start on a much smaller scale. He looks back in a new memoir called Theater Kid. Seller spoke with Terry Gross about his path from poverty in Michigan to the epicenter of musical theater. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of pers...

What happens when a former federal government employee turns his lens on the psychology of panic? You get Hysterical, a podcast series from Dan Taberski. In it, Taberski investigates a mysterious illness that swept through a group of high school students in upstate New York. He spoke with Tonya Mosley about his award-winning podcast. Book critic Maureen Corrigan recommends some mystery and suspens...

After surviving many close calls as a war correspondent — from bullets, mortars and the threat of execution — Rod Nordland was diagnosed with a lethal brain tumor in 2019. He died last week, at the age of 75. In his interview with Terry Gross last year, he spoke about facing his mortality as a war correspondent and as a terminal cancer patient. Nordland covered wars and conflicts in Iraq, Afghanis...

Pulitzer Prize-winning critic Robin Givhan talks with Tonya Mosley about her new book, Make It Ours: Crashing the Gates of Culture with Virgil Abloh. It's a powerful look at the life and influence of the late designer, who made history as the first Black American artistic director of menswear at Louis Vuitton. Givhan reveals how Abloh, the son of Ghanaian immigrants and a digital native, shaped by...

Ebon Moss-Bachrach has won two Emmys for his portrayal of Cousin Richie, the abrasive and ornery cook/maître d' on the FX series The Bear. The show is known for kitchen chaos, but he says the set is calm. He spoke with Fresh Air contributor Ann Marie Baldonado about the show, his character on GIRLS, and his venture into the Marvel Universe. TV critic David Bianculli reviews the documentary, My Mom...