Fresh Air

The director of Black Panther and Creed talks about his new genre-bending vampire movie that takes place in the Jim Crow South. It's called Sinners and it stars Michael B. Jordan as twins working a juke joint in Mississippi. He spoke with Tonya Mosley about blues music, the supernatural, and why he wanted to own the movie outright after 25 years. Also, book critic Carolina Miranda reviews The Dream Hotel by Laila Lalami. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

Harvard professor of government Steven Levitsky studies how healthy democracies can slip into authoritarianism. He says the Trump administration has already done grave damage: "We are no longer living in a democratic regime." David Bianculli reviews season 2 of Nathan Fielder's The Rehearsal. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

After 11 seasons on ER, Noah Wyle thought he was finished with medical dramas: "I spent 15 years avoiding — actively avoiding — walking down what I thought was either hallowed ground or traveled road." But then COVID happened, and he felt compelled to tell more of these stories. He spoke with Dave Davies about the making of The Pitt, the medical jargon, and his mom's feedback on the show. Also, book critic Maureen Corrigan reviews Poems by Dorothy Parker and The Usual Desire to Kill by Camilla Barnes. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

You've seen Richard Kind on countless TV shows and films during his 40-year career — Only Murders in the Building, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Spin City, and A Serious Man, just to name a few. He's now the announcer and sidekick on Everybody's Live with John Mulaney. He spoke with Terry Gross about the new gig and why he's glad he's not that famous. Melinda French Gates also joins us to talk about her new book, The Next Day, which reflects on motherhood, grief, philanthropy, and life after divorce. John Powers reviews the new Apple TV+ series Your Friends & Neighbors, starring Jon Hamm. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

MSNBC host Joy-Ann Reid tells the story of Medgar Evers and his wife Myrlie. Medgar was the NAACP field secretary in Mississippi, a state that lynched more Black people than any other. The risks of the job created a lot of tension in their marriage — and after Medgar's 1963 assassination, Myrlie's fury drove her to be an activist herself. And film critic Justin Chang reviews Sinners, the new supernatural thriller by director Ryan Coogler, starring Michael B. Jordan. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

New Yorker staff writer Sarah Stillman says she's discovered dozens of cases where people in county jails across the U.S. have died of starvation, dehydration, or related medical crises. Many were people with mental health issues arrested for minor crimes who languished behind bars without treatment, unable to make bail. Also, we remember renowned jazz critic and Terry Gross' husband, Francis Davis. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

In The Illegals: Russia's Most Audacious Spies and Their Century-Long Mission to Infiltrate the West, journalist Shaun Walker shares how agents were trained to blend into a target country and posed as citizens. Walker tells the story of Andrei Olegovich Bezrukov, aka "Donald," and Elena Vavilova, aka "Tracey," who were embedded in Cambridge, Mass. until a 2010 FBI raid. Even their two children didn't know their parents' true identities. Also, jazz historian Kevin Whitehead pays tribute to versatile tenor saxophonist Gene Ammons. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

In a new memoir, billionaire Melinda French Gates writes about the end of her marriage to Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, and her ongoing philanthropic work, directing funds and attention to women's health initiatives. Her book is The Next Day. Also, David Bianculli reviews the new season of Black Mirror. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

Kind is the announcer and host sidekick on the Netflix show Everybody's Live with John Mulaney. "I don't know what the hell I'm doing. You must understand — it's anarchy," he says of the show. He spoke with Terry Gross about having ego but no confidence, working with Sondheim, and working in his father's jewelry store as a teen. Ken Tucker reviews Kendrick Lamar and SZA's single "Luther." Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

Grammy-winning singer-songwriter Jason Isbell sings about his split from musician Amanda Shires on his latest album, Foxes in the Snow. "What I was attempting to do is document a very specific time where I was going through a lot of changes," he tells Terry Gross. David Bianculli reviews the FX/Hulu series Dying for Sex. When Scottish actor David Tennant was three, he told his parents he wanted to grow up to play Doctor Who on TV. His dream became a reality — he was Doctor Who for five years and, it turns out, he was suited for lots of other characters, including villains and detectives, and the lead in many Shakespeare plays. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

The Emmy and Peabody Award-winning comedy series returns for a fourth season this week. It's about two women — a successful comic/TV personality in her 70s, and her 20-something comedy writer — and the generational clashes that ensue. We're revisiting interviews with stars Jean Smart and Hannah Einbinder, and Paul W. Downs who co-created the series and plays their manager. Also, film critic Justin Chang reviews Warfare, a movie about U.S. Navy SEALs. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

Johnson & Johnson recently lost a bid to settle lawsuits that claimed its talc powder products, including baby powder, caused cancer. Author Gardiner Harris says the company's defense "is beginning to crumble." His book is No More Tears. Also, John Powers reviews the new Apple TV+ series Your Friends & Neighbors, starring Jon Hamm. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

President Trump's sweeping tariff policy has upended the global economy. Zanny Minton Beddoes, the editor-in-chief of The Economist, likens it to The Art of the Deal — on steroids. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

Author Chris Whipple says Biden's family and closest advisors operated in denial regarding his ability to serve another term: "There's no doubt that they were protecting the president." Whipple spoke with campaign insiders to get a behind-the-scenes look at what happened in 2024. His book is Uncharted: How Trump Beat Biden, Harris, and the Odds in the Wildest Campaign in History. Our book critic Maureen Corrigan shares an appreciation of The Great Gatsby for its 100th anniversary. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

When David Tennant was three, he told his parents he wanted to grow up to play Doctor Who on TV. As a teen, he held onto that dream: "I was quite weedy and I wore glasses and I had a terrible haircut, so all those things still felt possible in the world of the Doctor. There was something about that character I could be," Tennant tells Sam Briger. He was Doctor Who for five years and, it turns out, he was suited for lots of other characters–including villains and detectives, and the lead in many Shakespeare plays. Later, TV critic David Bianculli reviews the new series Dying for Sex, starring Michelle Williams and Jenny Slate. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

Amanda Knox was convicted — and ultimately exonerated — for the murder of her roommate Meredith Kercher while studying abroad in Italy. Now in a new memoir, Knox explains why getting out of prison was not the end of her saga. Also, we hear from British actor Stephen Graham. He stars in the Netflix miniseries Adolescence as the father of a 13-year-old boy arrested for murdering a girl from his school. He also co-created the series and talks about the ambitious style in which it was shot — in one long take. Ken Tucker reviews new albums by Lucy Dacus and Jeffrey Lewis. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

It's been 20 years since the debut of NBC's hit mockumentary sitcom The Office. To celebrate the anniversary, we're listening back to Terry Gross' archival interviews with some of the key players: Steve Carell, Jenna Fischer, John Krasinski, Rainn Wilson, Mindy Kaling and executive producer Greg Daniels. We'll also hear from Ricky Gervais, who co-created and starred the original British version. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

Isbell sings about his split from musician Amanda Shires on his latest album, Foxes in the Snow. "What I was attempting to do is document a very specific time where I was going through a lot of changes," he says. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

As ICE agents arrest international students at campuses across the U.S., immigration law professor Daniel Kanstroom discusses the human cost. He says the round-ups are designed to "send a message... to scare people, and it's working." Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

As a longtime staff writer at The New Yorker, Hilton Als's essays and profiles of figures like Toni Morrison, Joan Didion, and Richard Pryor have redefined cultural criticism, blending autobiography with literary and social commentary. Als is also a curator. His latest gallery exhibition is The Writing's on the Wall: Language and Silence in the Visual Arts, at the Hill Art Foundation in New York. The exhibit brings together the works of 32 artists across a range of media to examine how artists embrace silence. The show asked a powerful question: What do words — and their absence — look like? The Pulitzer Prize-winning writer spoke with Tonya Mosley. Also, Ken Tucker reviews new music from Lucy Dacus and Jeffrey Lewis. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy