About 25 years ago, the acclaimed cellist asked a high school student to help him name his instrument. Yo-Yo Ma brings his cello — aka "Petunia" — to his conversation with Terry Gross. He talks about being a child prodigy, his rebel years, and straddling three cultures: American, French, and Chinese. For sponsor-free episodes of Fresh Air — and exclusive weekly bonus episodes, too — subscribe to Fresh Air+ via Apple Podcasts or at here.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

When journalist Rachel Somerstein had an emergency C-section with her first child, the anesthesia didn't work. She recounts her own experience and the history of C-sections in her book, Invisible Labor.TV critic David Bianculli reviews the last season of Evil. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

The small Memphis label Stax Records created soul hits by Otis Redding, Sam & Dave, Wilson Pickett, Rufus and Carla Thomas, and others. It's the subject of a new documentary on MAX. We're featuring interviews with musicians who were a big part of the Stax sound: Guitarist, songwriter, and producer Steve Cropper tells us about becoming part of the house rhythm section, and going on to help write hits for Otis Redding and Wilson Pickett. Keyboardist Booker T. Jones remembers being pulled out of class in high school to go play music at Stax. And Issac Hayes tells us about writing the classic hit "Soul Man."Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Grammy-winning musician Michael McDonald looks back on his childhood and his career in a new memoir. He spoke with Tonya Mosley about imposter syndrome and his first band as a tween. Also, investigative journalist and author Eric Schlosser talks about how mergers and acquisitions and very little regulation have all but decimated competition within food systems and supply chains. And Justin Chang reviews Furiosa, the latest film in the Mad Max franchise.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

The fifth installment of the Mad Max series of post-apocalyptic action films is roaring into theaters. It's called Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga, and it's a prequel to the 2015 film, Mad Max: Fury Road, which earned 10 Oscar nominations. First, Justin Chang reviews the new movie, and then we revisit our 2016 interview with director George Miller. Also, we remember alto saxophonist David Sanborn, who toured or recorded with David Bowie, James Brown, the Rolling Stones, Bruce Springsteen, and others.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

In Fat Leonard, journalist Craig Whitlock tells the story of a defense contractor who plied Navy commanders with lavish meals, trips, cash and sex workers. In return they let him overcharge taxpayers.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

In 2021, burnt out from the intensity of her early career, Maggie Rogers considered quitting music entirely. Instead, she took a detour — to Harvard Divinity School, where she earned a master's degree in religion and public life. Rogers spoke with Fresh Air's Sam Briger about her songwriting process, becoming a star overnight, and being a nostalgic person. Her new album is Don't Forget Me. This episode is a special extended version of the interview that aired on NPR. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

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.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

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.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

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.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

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.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

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.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

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.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

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.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

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. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

WNBA star Brittney Griner talks about the physical and emotional hell of her nearly 300 days in Russian prisons. Russian authorities apprehended Griner at the Moscow Airport when she was found carrying a tiny amount of medically prescribed cannabis — then charged her with drug smuggling. Her memoir is Coming Home. Jazz historian Kevin Whitehead reviews a 1959 Sonny Rollins reissue. And we'll talk about plant intelligence with climate journalist Zoë Schlanger. Her book is The Light Eaters.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Viet Thanh Nguyen's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel The Sympathizer has been adapted into a series on HBO/MAX. It's set in Vietnam during the last days of the war, and in LA, just after. The narrator becomes a consultant to a Hollywood film about the war. The novel is written from a Vietnamese perspective. "It's my revenge on Francis Ford Coppola, my revenge on Hollywood, to try to get Americans to understand that Vietnam is a country and not a war," he told Terry Gross in 2016. Nguyen's family fled their village in South Vietnam in 1975, when it was taken over by the North. Also, David Bianculli reviews Let It Be, the Beatles film restored and rereleased after being shelved for more than 50 years.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

We remember painter and sculptor Frank Stella, whose early work was considered revolutionary. He died last week at age 87. Stella became famous and controversial in the 1950s for his "black paintings," which were a stark contrast to the abstract expressionism of the time, and made him one of the fathers of minimalism. Later, we'll feature an interview with one of the most influential early rock and roll guitarists, Duane Eddy. He also died last week. Book critic Maureen Corrigan reviews Long Island, Colm Tóibín's new sequel to his bestselling novel Brooklyn. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

#BlackLivesMatter. #OscarsSoWhite. #ICantBreathe. Filmmaker Prentice Penny's docuseries about Black Twitter celebrates the voices and movements that impacted politics and culture. Penny was also the showrunner of the HBO series Insecure. Also, John Powers reviews the four-part series Shardlake, based on C.J. Sansom's first novel in a series about a crime-solving lawyer in 16th-century England.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Griner spent nearly 300 days incarcerated in Russia after authorities at the Moscow airport found two nearly empty cartridges of cannabis in her luggage. The WNBA star spoke with Terry Gross about the dehumanizing prison conditions, her release, and return to the court. Griner, who is 6'9", says she felt like a zoo animal in prison. "The guards would literally come open up the little peep hole, look in, and then I would hear them laughing." Her new memoir is Coming Home.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Climate journalist Zoë Schlanger explains the fascinating science behind how plants learn, communicate, and adapt to survive. She says plants can store memories, trick animals into not eating them, and even send alarm calls to other plants. Her new book is called The Light Eaters. TV critic David Bianculli reviews the new Netflix series A Man in Full, starring Jeff Daniels and Diane Lane.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

In a new Hulu docuseries, Jon Bon Jovi looks back on his career and his recovery after vocal surgery. He spoke with Terry Gross about his breakthrough hit "Runaway" and how he's evolved as a musician. Also, we'll hear from fantasy author Leigh Bardugo. She's best known for her YA series Shadow and Bone. Her new adult novel, The Familiar, set in 16th century Spain, is about a young woman who can perform miracles.Book critic Maureen Corrigan reviews a new collection of letters by Emily Dickinson.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

The New York Times described Paul Auster as the "Patron Saint of Literary Brooklyn." He died Tuesday of complications of lung cancer. He was 77. We'll listen back to some of our interviews with him, including one about his early career when he was desperately trying to make a living as writer, and even tried writing porn.Justin Chang reviews the new film The Fall Guy, starring Ryan Gosling and Emily Blunt.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Congress and President Biden say TikTok must shed its financial ties to China or face a ban in the U.S. But Washington Post tech reporter Drew Harwell says selling the company is complicated. For sponsor-free episodes of Fresh Air — and exclusive weekly bonus episodes, too — subscribe to Fresh Air+ via Apple Podcasts or here.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

In The Demon of Unrest, author Erik Larson chronicles the five months between the election of Abraham Lincoln in 1860 and the start of the Civil War, drawing parallels to today's political climate.Also, David Bianculli reviews the FX/Hulu spy thriller series The Veil, starring Elisabeth Moss.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Leigh Bardugo is best known for her YA Shadow and Bone series. Her adult novel, The Familiar, centers on a young woman in 16th century Spain who must hide her identity as a Jew who converted to Catholicism. She spoke with producer Sam Briger. Also, jazz historian Kevin Whitehead looks at a reissue of Sonny Rollins. For sponsor-free episodes of Fresh Air — and exclusive weekly bonus episodes, too — subscribe to Fresh Air+ via Apple Podcasts or here.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

A few years ago, Bon Jovi stopped performing because of a vocal cord injury. The Hulu docuseries Thank You, Goodnight offers a career retrospective, plus a view of his surgery and return to the stage. He spoke with Terry Gross about his voice, writing "Livin' on a Prayer," and his forthcoming album, Forever.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Songwriter, guitarist and singer St. Vincent talks about her new album, All Born Screaming. Also, we talk with child psychiatrist Harold Koplewicz. His latest book is called Scaffold Parenting: Raising Resilient, Self-Reliant and Secure Kids in an Age of Anxiety. To get staff recommendations, highlights from our archive, and intel on what's coming up on the show, subscribe to our newsletter.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Green's YA novel, Turtles All the Way Down, has been recently adapted to film (on MAX May 2). Green described living with OCD, and how "one little thought" could take over his mind, in this 2017 interview with Terry Gross. Also, Justin Chang reviews Challengers, starring Zendaya and directed by Luca Guadagnino.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Nearly a year after the Hollywood writers' strike started, the entertainment industry remains in flux. Harpers journalist Daniel Bessner says TV and film writers are feeling the brunt of the changes.Maureen Corrigan reviews a collection of Emily Dickinson letters. For sponsor-free episodes of Fresh Air — and exclusive weekly bonus episodes, too — subscribe to Fresh Air+ via Apple Podcasts or at here. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Journalist Susan Page talks about Barbara Walters's groundbreaking career as a newswoman and her signature interview specials, which blended news and entertainment. Page was interested in understanding Walters' inner life – the source of her drive, how she navigated hostile work environments, and being teased for her speech impediment. Page's book is The Rulebreaker.Also, rock critic Ken Tucker reviews Taylor Swift's 11th studio album, The Tortured Poets Department.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

The songwriter, guitarist and singer known as St. Vincent took her stage name from St. Vincent's Hospital in New York, where the poet Dylan Thomas died. Her seventh album, All Born Screaming, is out April 26. She spoke with Terry Gross about visiting her dad in prison, touring with her aunt and uncle as a teen, and the inspiration for her hit song "New York." For sponsor-free episodes of Fresh Air — and exclusive weekly bonus episodes, too — subscribe to Fresh Air+ via Apple Podcasts or at here.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Journalist Ari Berman says the founding fathers created a system that concentrated power in the hands of an elite minority — and that their decisions continue to impact American democracy today. Berman's book is Minority Rule.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Writer Salman Rushdie talks about the knife attack that nearly killed him — and his life since then. In 2022, he was onstage at a literary event when the assailant ran up from the audience, and stabbed him 14 times. His new book is called Knife. Also, Diarra Kilpatrick talks about writing and starring in the new series, Diarra From Detroit, a dark comedy about a public school teacher who is ghosted by a Tinder date and, in her quest to find out why, investigates a decades-old mystery that takes her into the underbelly of Detroit. Ken Tucker reviews Tierra Whack's new album World Wide Whack.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Longtime PBS news anchor Robert MacNeil died last week at 93. He spoke with Terry Gross a few times over the course of his journalism career. We revisit those conversations. Also, we listen back to Eleanor Coppola's 1992 interview about her documentary, Hearts of Darkness. It chronicles the chaotic filming of Francis Ford Coppola's movie Apocalypse Now. She also died last week, at age 87.David Bianculli reviews HBO's The Jinx — Part Two, which picks up where The Jinx left off: With Robert Durst admitting to murder.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Fast Food Nation author Eric Schlosser says mergers and acquisitions have created food oligopolies that are inefficient, barely regulated and sometimes dangerous. His new documentary with Michael Pollan is Food, Inc. 2. Also, Justin Chang reviews the film The Beast. Keep up with Fresh Air, learn what's coming next week, and get staff recommendations by subscribing to our weekly newsletter. 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

Alua Arthur works with families, caretakers, and people close to death who want to be intentional about the end of life. She's learned through her work and her own experiences with loss that facing the inevitable can help lessen the anxiety and fear so many of us have around death. Her new book is called, Briefly Perfectly Human. Also, we remember painter Faith Ringgold, who died Saturday at the age of 93.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Rushdie was onstage at a literary event in 2022 when he was attacked by a man in the audience: "Dying in the company of strangers — that was what was going through my mind." His new book is Knife.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Growing up, when Diarra Kilpatrick watched murder mystery shows with her grandmother, she never saw Black women driving the narrative. Her new BET+ series seeks to change that. It's called Diarra From Detroit.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Andrew Scott stars as a con artist with no conscience in the new Netflix series Ripley. It's an adaptation of the Patricia Highsmith novel The Talented Mr. Ripley. He spoke with Terry Gross about tapping into his darker side for the role — and playing the "hot priest" in Fleabag.Also, we hear about how cars became our most gendered technology. Women used to be considered unqualified to drive, or just terrible drivers. Glamorous women were used to advertise cars. And yet cars have been designed for male bodies, in ways that put women drivers at risk. Journalist Nancy Nichols is the author of Women Behind the Wheel. Maureen Corrigan reviews Lionel Shriver's latest novel, Mania.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Godzilla X Kong: The New Empire is the latest film starring two of cinema's biggest monsters. Today we take a look at the first time they were introduced to audiences. Film historian Rudy Behlmer tells us about the 1933 film King Kong. And Steve Ryfle wrote a book about the making of the 1954 Japanese film Godzilla.Also, film critic Justin Chang reviews Civil War.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Atlantic journalist Stephanie McCrummen says foreign interests are acquiring Serengeti territory in Northern Tanzania, effectively displacing indigenous cattle-herders from their traditional grazing lands. McCrummen spoke with Dave Davies about the billionaires, conservation groups, and safari tourism in this story. Also, John Powers reviews the TV adaptation of Viet Thanh Nguyen's Pulitzer Prize-winning book, The Sympathizer.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

What happens to the body in the deep sea? You need oxygen to survive, but too much oxygen can be deadly. Also, if you rise to the surface too quickly, nitrogen bubbles can form in your body and kill you. We'll talk with author and scientist Rachel Lance, who has conducted research for the military, using a hyperbaric chamber in which the air and the pressure can be controlled to mimic what divers and submarines are exposed to. Her new book is about the scientists whose dangerous experiments about underwater pressure and injury were critical to the success of D-Day. It's called Chamber Divers. David Bianculli reviews the new series Franklin, starring Michael Douglas as Ben Franklin.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Linguist Amanda Montell says our brains are overloaded with a constant stream of information that stokes our innate tendency to believe conspiracy theories and mysticism. Her book is The Age of Magical Overthinking. Also, Maureen Corrigan reviews Lionel Shriver's new novel, Mania. Subscribe to the Fresh Air newsletter for a peek behind-the-scenes at whyy.org/freshair 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

Andrew Scott (best known as "hot priest" from Fleabag) plays con artist Tom Ripley in the Netflix adaptation of The Talented Mr. Ripley. He says his job is to advocate for his characters, not judge them. He spoke with Terry Gross about finding soul in comedy and lightness in drama. Also, Lloyd Schwartz shares a little-known history of "soundies."Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

NCAA/WNBA star Sue Bird spoke with Terry Gross about her career, coming out publicly, and fighting for equity in women's sports. A new documentary about her last season on the court is Sue Bird: In the Clutch.Also, we hear from Carrie Brownstein and Corin Tucker, co-founders of the punk band Sleater-Kinney. While they were working on their latest album, Little Rope, Brownstein's mother died in an car accident. They'll talk about how the grief affected the album.Also, Ken Tucker reviews Beyonce's new album, Cowboy Carter.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

HBO's Curb your Enthusiasm comes to an end Sunday night, after 25 years and 12 seasons. We're featuring our interviews with cast members Larry David, Cheryl Hines, Jeff Garlin, Jeff Greene, Susie Essman and more.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

The Guardian's reproductive health reporter Carter Sherman says efforts are underway in a number of states to assign fetuses "some kind of rights that we would generally ascribe to a human person."Also, TV critic David Bianculli reviews Ripley starring Andrew Scott. Film critic Justin Chang reviews Woody Allen's new French-language drama Coup de Chance. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy