Fresh Air

Attorney General William Barr's Unwavering Support Of Trump, Explained

By Dave Davies • 10 hours ago

DAVE DAVIES, HOST:

This is FRESH AIR. I'm Dave Davies in for Terry Gross, who's off this week. President Trump fired his first attorney general, Jeff Sessions, after complaining that Sessions had failed to protect him from a special counsel investigation. In his replacement, current Attorney General William Barr, Trump has a fierce advocate.

Intriguing 'Star Trek' Reboot Sends Patrick Stewart's Picard Back Into Space

By David Bianculli • 10 hours ago

DAVE DAVIES, HOST:

'Stable Genius' Authors Describe Trump Presidency As A 'Den Of Destruction'

By Dave Davies • Jan 22, 2020

DAVE DAVIES, HOST:

Remembering 'Monty Python' Star Terry Jones

By Terry Gross • Jan 22, 2020

DAVE DAVIES, HOST:

Marcus King Turns Toward Blue-Eyed Soul On The Solo Album 'El Dorado'

By Ken Tucker • Jan 21, 2020

DAVE DAVIES, HOST:

Tim Roth On Working With Tarantino And Getting His Start In London Pub Theater

By Dave Davies • Jan 21, 2020

DAVE DAVIES, HOST:

'Just Mercy' Attorney Asks U.S. To Reckon With Its Racist Past And Present

By Terry Gross • Jan 20, 2020

The third Monday in January is a U.S. federal holiday honoring the late civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr., but two Southern states — Alabama and Mississippi — also use the day to celebrate Gen. Robert E. Lee, commander of the Confederate forces during the Civil War.

Fresh Air Weekend: Martin Scorsese; 'Boys & Sex'

By editor • Jan 19, 2020

Fresh Air Weekend highlights some of the best interviews and reviews from past weeks, and new program elements specially paced for weekends. Our weekend show emphasizes interviews with writers, filmmakers, actors and musicians, and often includes excerpts from live in-studio concerts. This week:

Remembering Spiritual Leader Ram Dass

By Terry Gross • Jan 17, 2020

DAVID BIANCULLI, HOST:

Born 100 Years Ago, Filmmaker Federico Fellini Captured The Messiness Of Life

By John Powers • Jan 17, 2020

The first foreign filmmaker I ever heard of was Federico Fellini. Back then, he was an international brand name, and aside from Hitchcock, probably the most famous director in the world.

'Why Religion?' Asks 'How Hearts Can Heal' After Tragedy

By Terry Gross • Jan 17, 2020

DAVID BIANCULLI, HOST:

Filmed Before The Fires, 'Seven Worlds' Shows Off Australia's Amazing Wildlife

By David Bianculli • Jan 16, 2020

Seven Worlds, One Planet, BBC America's new big-budget, big-scope documentary series, devotes one episode to each of Earth's continents — beginning with an episode devoted to Australia.

Leaked Intelligence Reports Reveal The Vast Power Iran Wields In Iraq

By Terry Gross • Jan 16, 2020

TERRY GROSS, HOST:

'1917' Is A Mind-Boggling Technological Achievement — But Not A Great Film

By Justin Chang • Jan 15, 2020

TERRY GROSS, HOST:

This is FRESH AIR. After winning the Golden Globes for best motion picture, drama and best director, the new war movie "1917" opened wide this past weekend to a strong box office, and on Monday, it received 10 Oscar nominations. Set over two days during World War I, the movie follows two English soldiers trying to stop an impending attack and save the lives of their comrades. Film critic Justin Chang has this review.

'Can A Person Change?': Martin Scorsese On Gangsters, Death And Redemption

By Terry Gross • Jan 15, 2020

Growing up in New York City's Little Italy, as a kid, filmmaker Martin Scorsese spent a great deal of time surrounded by images of saints and martyrs at St. Patrick's Old Cathedral.

"Those images certainly stayed with me," he says. As did the sermons, which often focused on "death approaching like a thief in the night. You never know when. You never know how."

Book Details The 'Bottom-Feeders' And 'Fixers' Who Enabled Trump's Election

By Terry Gross • Jan 14, 2020

TERRY GROSS, HOST:

To Stand Still Is To Die: A New Novel Follows Migrants To 'American Dirt'

By Maureen Corrigan • Jan 14, 2020

It was over a year ago that I began to hear off-the-charts recommendations from trusted booksellers about a novel called American Dirt, by Jeanine Cummins. The novel's circle of admirers has since swelled to include the likes of Stephen King, Sandra Cisneros, John Grisham and Julia Alvarez.

Such a disparate line-up of blurbs signals what an unusual creature American Dirt is: It's a literary novel, to be sure, with nuanced character development and arresting language; yet, its narrative hurtles forward with the intensity of a suspense tale.

'Wilmington's Lie' Author Traces The Rise Of White Supremacy In A Southern City

By Dave Davies • Jan 13, 2020

TERRY GROSS, HOST:

This is FRESH AIR. I'm Terry Gross. The American South in the post-Reconstruction era was a land of broken promises and brutal oppression for African Americans, as white leaders stripped former slaves of many of the civil and voting rights they'd won after the Civil War. But in the 1890s, the port city of Wilmington, N.C., was an exception. It had a thriving black middle class, a large black electorate and a local government that included black aldermen, police officers and magistrates.

New Reissue From Eddie 'Lockjaw' Davis And Johnny Griffin Is A Love Letter To Fans

By Kevin Whitehead • Jan 13, 2020

TERRY GROSS, HOST:

Fresh Air Weekend: 'Joker' Director Todd Phillips; 'American Oligarchs'

By editor • Jan 11, 2020

Fresh Air Weekend highlights some of the best interviews and reviews from past weeks, and new program elements specially paced for weekends. Our weekend show emphasizes interviews with writers, filmmakers, actors and musicians, and often includes excerpts from live in-studio concerts. This week:

Remembering Jazz Trumpeter, Singer And Actor Jack Sheldon

By Terry Gross • Jan 10, 2020

DAVID BIANCULLI, HOST:

This is FRESH AIR. I'm David Bianculli in for Terry Gross. Jazz musician Jack Sheldon died last month at age 88. As a big-band and recording soloist on trumpet, he was featured with Sinatra, Bennett, Goodman, Basie and Gillespie. His bandmates have included Chet Baker, Art Pepper and Zoot Sims. For listeners of a certain age, Jack Sheldon may be even more familiar for singing one of the bounciest and most memorable songs from "Schoolhouse Rock!".

(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "SCHOOLHOUSE ROCK!")

Remembering 'Graduate' Screenwriter Buck Henry

By Terry Gross • Jan 10, 2020

DAVID BIANCULLI, HOST:

TV Adaption Of 'The Outsider' Takes Stephen King's Scary Story Seriously

By John Powers • Jan 10, 2020

If I had to make a list of the most important figures in pop culture over the last half-century, I would put Stephen King near the top. Since publishing his first novel, Carrie, in 1974, the 72-year-old writer has been a literary juggernaut whose books have spawned more than 20 TV shows and more than 40 movies. Still going strong, King is best known for tapping into and exploring that most primal of emotions — fear.

Journalist Details 'Dangerously Unstable' Relationship Between The U.S. And China

By Terry Gross • Jan 9, 2020

TERRY GROSS, HOST:

'American Oligarchs' Reveals How Trump, Kushner Families Learned To Work The System

By Terry Gross • Jan 8, 2020

Today President Trump is the face of the Republican Party, but as recently as 2011, Trump donated $5,000 to Democrat Kamala Harris' campaign to become California's attorney general. American Oligarchs author Andrea Bernstein says Trump's donation history is indicative of a practice he learned from his father, Fred Trump.