Fresh Air

Carrie Brownstein and Corin Tucker co-founded the band Sleater-Kinney together 30 years ago, and became an important part of the 1990s feminist punk scene in Olympia, Washington. Rolling Stone once called Sleater-Kinney the best American punk rock band ever. Brownstein and Tucker just released their 11th album, called Little Rope. While they were working on the record, Brownstein's mother died in a car accident. They spoke with Ann Marie Baldonado about how the grief affected the album, and what it's like to make music together for decades.Also, David Bianculli reviews the Netflix series 3 Body Problem.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Catherine Coldstream spoke with Terry Gross about her years as nun in a Carmelite monastery. She talks about what drew her to the vocation, what it was like to live a silent and obedient life, and why she ran away. Her memoir is called Cloistered.Maureen Corrigan reviews Percival Everett's new novel, James. It's a reimagining of Mark Twain's The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. When Mark Daley and his husband became foster parents to two brothers, they fell in love with the children right away. But they also knew that their family could change at any moment. Eventually, the boys were reunified with their biological parents. Daley's memoir is Safe: A Memoir of Fatherhood, Foster Care, and the Risks We Take for Family.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Reporter Jake Adelstein's memoir, Tokyo Vice, is about covering the organized crime beat in Japan. The MAX series (based on the book) is now in its second season. Adelstein spoke with Dave Davies in 2009. Also, Justin Chang reviews the remake of the '80s film Road House.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Marijuana has been legalized in some states, but ProPublica's Sebastian Rotella says there's still a thriving illicit market in the U.S., dominated by criminals connected to China's authoritarian government.Also, John Powers reviews the Romanian film Do Not Expect Too Much from the End of the World. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Catherine Coldstream spoke with Terry Gross about her years as nun in a Carmelite monastery. She talks about what drew her to the vocation, what it was like to live a silent and obedient life, and why she ran away. Her memoir is called Cloistered.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Christine Blasey Ford describes what it was like to come forward and testify that Brett Kavanaugh sexually assaulted her in high school. Her 2018 testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee threatened to derail his confirmation, but Kavanaugh succeeded in being becoming a supreme court justice. Ford still requires security for protection. After mostly avoiding the media, she's written a memoir. It's called One Way Back.Also, Maureen Corrigan reviews Percival Everett's new book, James, which reimagines The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn from the point of view of Finn's enslaved companion. Finally, we say goodbye to producer Seth Kelley.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

NPR Politics correspondent Sarah McCammon grew up in a white evangelical church that taught her to never question her faith. She spoke with Tonya Mosley about her upbringing, how her faith was tested, and her decision to leave the church. She now reports on the Christian right and their support of Donald Trump. McCammon's book is The Exvangelicals. Also, Justin Chang reviews The Shadowless Tower. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Jenny Slate talks about childbirth and motherhood, the subjects of her new comedy special, Seasoned Professional. She'll do the voices of some of her animated characters, including Marcel from her Oscar-nominated film Marcel the Shell with Shoes On.Also, we hear from comic/actor Julio Torres. Growing up in El Salvador as a gay atheist he says he felt like an alien. Then he literally was labeled an "alien" when he came to the U.S. on a student visa. He's drawn on those experiences to write, direct and star in the new satirical film Problemista.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Michael Cecchi-Azzolina has worked in several high-end New York City restaurants — adrenaline-fueled workplaces where booze and drugs are plentiful and the health inspector will ruin your day. His memoir is Your Table Is Ready. Also, Terry shares a remembrance of revered magazine editor William Whitworth. David Bianculli reviews Restless Dreams, a documentary about Paul Simon.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

We talk with Peter Pomerantsev, whose new book, How to Win an Information War, is about the man he describes as the "forgotten genius" of propaganda. Throughout WWII, Sefton Delmer ran propaganda campaigns for the British against Hitler's regime. Some of those efforts bordered on pornography. We'll also talk about witnessing Putin's use of disinformation when Pomerantsev worked in Russia, and his work as the co-founder of a project documenting Russian war crimes in Ukraine.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Schitt's Creek star Eugene Levy visits distant lands and tastes exotic foods as the host of the Apple TV+ series The Reluctant Traveler. Levy describes it as a show about "a guy traveling who doesn't love to travel."Also, book critic Maureen Corrigan reviews Adelle Waldman's new novel, Help Wanted, and David Bianculli reviews a TV show about the Lincoln assassination called Manhunt.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

The comic/actor returns. Now she has a 3-year-old daughter, who she sings to in the voice of her character Marcel the Shell with Shoes On. Slate spoke with Terry Gross about finding comedy in her feelings, divorce, and growing up in a haunted house. Her new stand-up special on Amazon Prime Video is Seasoned Professional.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Comic, actor and filmmaker Julio Torres came to the U.S. from El Salvador in his 20s. His new film, Problemista, draws from his personal experience struggling to get a visa. "This movie deals with the problem of immigration, but I think of it as a very silly, happy and joyful movie," he says. Torres talks with Terry Gross about his love of difficult people, collaborating with his mom, and getting started in stand-up. For sponsor-free episodes of Fresh Air — and exclusive weekly bonus episodes, too — subscribe to Fresh Air+ via Apple Podcasts or at https://plus.npr.org/freshairLearn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

New Yorker staff writer Evan Osnos recently interviewed Biden for his new profile about the president's accomplishments and failures in office, his current face-off with Trump, and the fears of many voters that he is too old for the job. Also, we'll hear from writer Lucy Sante. She's been writing books since the 1980s, exploring everything from photography to urban history. In her latest memoir, I Heard Her Call My Name, she writes about coming out as a trans woman in her 60s. Maureen Corrigan will review Sloane Crosley's new memoir about grief. For sponsor-free episodes of Fresh Air — and exclusive weekly bonus episodes, too — subscribe to Fresh Air+ via Apple Podcasts or at https://plus.npr.org/freshair Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Emma Stone has two Oscar nominations for Poor Things: One for best actress and one for best picture, as a producer. She spoke with Terry Gross about working with an intimacy coordinator and why she sees her anxiety as a superpower. Mark Ruffalo plays a debauched cad opposite Emma Stone in the movie. The role was a big departure from his previous work playing real people, in dramas like Spotlight or Foxcatcher, or as the Incredible Hulk in the Marvel movies. The Oscar-nominated actor spoke with Sam Briger. For sponsor-free episodes of Fresh Air — and exclusive weekly bonus episodes, too — subscribe to Fresh Air+ via Apple Podcasts or at https://plus.npr.org/freshairLearn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Writer, director and producer Ed Zwick has made dozens of films and TV shows including Legends of the Fall, The Last Samurai, and Blood Diamond. In his memoir, Hits, Flops, and Other Illusions, he writes about studios, actors and the frustrations and joys of the business. John Powers reviews the pulpy noir crime film Love Lies Bleeding.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

In a wide-ranging conversation with The New Yorker, President Biden proclaimed that he is the best option to beat Donald Trump — despite polls indicating he is falling behind. We talk with Evan Osnos about Biden's outlook. Among the things that Americans are unsure of are Biden's age, his mental agility, his handling of immigration, and the war in Gaza.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

As a war correspondent, Rod Nordland faced death many times over. But in 2019, Nordland confronted a different type of danger when he was diagnosed with glioblastoma, the most lethal form of brain tumor. "I had to face the reality that my death was within a fairly short timespan, highly probable," he says. "I think it made me a better person." His new memoir is Waiting for the Monsoon. Also, Maureen Corrigan reviews Sloane Crosley's new memoir Grief Is For People.And David Bianculli reviews Jon Stewart's return to The Daily Show, and the new season of John Oliver's Last Week Tonight.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

The Emmy-winning host of RuPaul's Drag Race describes himself as "an introvert masquerading as an extrovert." In a new memoir, he writes about growing up Black and queer in San Diego. And how he forged a new and glamorous identity in the punk rock and drag scenes of Atlanta and New York City. The memoir is titled The House of Hidden Meanings.Also, Maureen Corrigan reviews a new oral history of the Village Voice.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Denis Villeneuve remembers watching the 1984 movie version of Frank Herbert's 1965 sci-fi novel Dune and thinking, "Someday, someone else will do it again" — not realizing he would be that filmmaker. He spoke to Sam Briger about shooting Dune in the desert and his love of silent film.Ken Tucker reviews a new solo album from guitarist Mary Timony. Neuroscientist Dr. Charan Ranganath's book is Why We Remember. We talk about how stress affects memory and what's happening in the brain when something's on the tip of your tongue.For sponsor-free episodes of Fresh Air — and exclusive weekly bonus episodes, too — subscribe to Fresh Air+ via Apple Podcasts or at https://plus.npr.org/freshairLearn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy