Episodes

  • Kristen Wiig

    Kristen Wiig
    May 21 2024
    The SNL alum co-stars with Carol Burnett in Palm Royale, an Apple TV+ series about a former pageant queen who wants to break into high society. Wiig talked with Ann Marie Baldonado about working with Burnett, the rush of SNL, and co-writing the mega hit movie Bridesmaids.

    Ken Tucker shares three songs of the summer.

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    46 mins
  • Michael McDonald

    Michael McDonald
    May 20 2024
    McDonald says that earlier in his career, he tended to avoid writing about himself directly in songs. He opens up about his life and career in the memoir, What a Fool Believes. He spoke with Tonya Mosley about his first band as a tween, his songwriting process, and being big in the Black community.

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    46 mins
  • Best Of: Kathleen Hanna / Tyler James Williams

    Best Of: Kathleen Hanna / Tyler James Williams
    May 18 2024
    Musician, activist, and punk pioneer Kathleen Hanna talks about being at the epicenter of the '90s riot grrrl movement. She talks about the early days of Bikini Kill and writing the anthem "Rebel Girl."

    Book critic Maureen Corrigan reviews Claire Messud's new novel.

    Also, actor Tyler James Williams shares the motivation behind his role as a no-nonsense teacher on the hit series Abbott Elementary.

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    48 mins
  • Remembering Filmmaker Roger Corman

    Remembering Filmmaker Roger Corman
    May 17 2024
    Filmmaker Roger Corman, the "King of the B" movies, died last week at the age of 98. He made hundreds of films, such cult classics as Little Shop of Horrors, A Bucket of Blood, House of Usher, The Last Woman on Earth, and The Cry Baby Killer. We feature our 1990 interview with him, and with those whose careers he helped launch – including actors Peter Fonda and Bruce Dern, as well as directors James Cameron, Martin Scorsese, and Jonathan Demme. And our critic at large, John Powers, has an appreciation.

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    47 mins
  • Writer Carvell Wallace On Pain, Processing & Letting Go

    Writer Carvell Wallace On Pain, Processing & Letting Go
    May 16 2024
    Wallace is known for his celebrity profiles, but his new memoir, Another Word For Love, is about his own life, growing up unhoused, Black and queer, and getting his start as a writer at the age of 40.

    David Bianculli shares an appreciation of John Mulaney's six-part live Netflix talk show, Everybody's in L.A.

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    44 mins
  • Regional Complexities Of The Israel/Hamas War

    Regional Complexities Of The Israel/Hamas War
    May 15 2024
    The Economist Middle East correspondent Gregg Carlstrom explains why some Arab leaders hate Hamas, fear Iran and have some sympathy for Israel — although not for how Israel is waging the war.

    For sponsor-free episodes of Fresh Air — and exclusive weekly bonus episodes, too — subscribe to Fresh Air+ via Apple Podcasts or here.


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    46 mins
  • 'Abbott Elementary' Actor Tyler James Williams

    'Abbott Elementary' Actor Tyler James Williams
    May 14 2024
    Williams was thrust into the public eye as a kid, when he starred in Everybody Hates Chris. Now, playing a teacher on Abbott Elementary, he strives to make the child actors on set feel comfortable. He spoke with Tonya Mosley about the trauma of fame as a kid, his Crohn's diagnosis, and tuning out online chatter.

    Justin Chang reviews the Japanese film Evil Does Not Exist, by Drive My Car director Ryûsuke Hamaguchi.

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    46 mins
  • Kathleen Hanna's 'Rebel Girl' Life

    Kathleen Hanna's 'Rebel Girl' Life
    May 13 2024
    Kathleen Hanna's band Bikini Kill was the epicenter of the riot grrrl feminist punk movement of the '90s. Their song "Rebel Girl" was the anthem. Now Hanna has a memoir (also called Rebel Girl) about her time in the punk scene, her childhood, and finding joy in expressing anger in public.

    Also, book critic Maureen Corrigan reviews Claire Messud's new novel, This Strange Eventful History.

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    46 mins