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George Clooney stars in ?Jay Kelly? as a famous actor at a crossroads. He talks about his own relationship to fame and what drew him to the role. Also, Oscar-winning costume designer Paul Tazewell talks about his road to ?Wicked.? He?s spent more than three decades shaping looks for the stage and screen.
And rock critic Ken Tucker has a round up of some of this year?s new Christmas songs.
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We remember guitarist, songwriter, and producer Steve Cropper, who helped create the Memphis soul sound of the ?60s and ?70s. He died this week at age 84. Stax Records produced soul hits by Booker T. & the M.G.s, Sam & Dave, Isaac Hayes, and more. Cropper spoke with Terry Gross in 1990 about how he became part of the house rhythm section, and went on to help write hits for Otis Redding and Wilson Pickett.
Also, we remember the celebrated English playwright Tom Stoppard, who was considered a giant of theatre. He died at age 88. Stoppard wrote ?Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead? and ?The Real Thing,? and the screenplays for ?Empire of the Sun? and ?Shakespeare in Love.?
Jazz historian Kevin Whitehead pays tribute to jazz organist Jimmy Smith, and John Powers reviews the new Brazilian film ?The Secret Agent.'
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Clooney stars as an aging movie star who has neglected his family life in favor of his career in Noah Baumbach?s new film ?Jay Kelly. ' He spoke with Tonya Mosley about his own journey with fame, his Broadway rendition of ?Good Night, and Good Luck,? and his op-ed calling for Biden to withdraw from the 2024 presidential race.
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Washington Post reporter Alex Horton talks about the Sept. 2 US military strike on a boat with alleged "narco terrorists," in which a second strike was ordered to kill two survivors in the water.
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Tazewell made history as the first Black man to win the Oscar for costume design for the first installment of Wicked. He talks with Tonya Mosley about Wicked: For Good, the movies that inspired him, and learning to sew as a child. ?I made the decision that I would devote myself to costume design and live vicariously through other characters,? he says. ?Where I might not be cast in certain roles because of how I looked, as a designer, I could be anyone.
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Food policy expert and nutritionist Marion Nestle's 2006 book, ?What to Eat,? became a consumer bible of sorts when it came out, guiding readers through the supermarket while exposing how industry marketing and policy steer our food choices. Now, two decades later, she's back with ?What to Eat Now,? a revised field guide for the supermarket of 2025.
Also, film critic Justin Chang reviews the new film Hamnet.
Science writer Mary Roach?s latest book, ?Replaceable You,? is about innovations in transplant medicine thanks to promising research and breakthroughs. She tells us about organs transplanted from pigs and attempts to replace bald spots on the scalp with hair from other parts of our bodies.
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We mark the 100th anniversary of The Grand Ole Opry, country music?s biggest stage, and feature interviews with two of its members. First up, bluegrass banjo player Earl Scruggs. He and guitarist Lester Flatt had a hit with ?Foggy Mountain Breakdown.? Scruggs told Terry Gross how he developed his famous three-finger picking style while absent-mindedly playing the banjo one day. Also, we listen back to Terry?s interview with country music star, ?Honky Tonk Girl? Loretta Lynn.
Film critic Justin Chang reviews a new documentary about Russia's crackdown on independent journalists. It?s called ?My Undesirable Friends: Part I ? Last Air in Moscow.?
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A filmed version of the live Broadway production of Stephen Sondheim?s ?Merrily We Roll Along? will open in theaters on Dec. 5. We listen back to a 2024 interview with revival director Maria Friedman and actor Jonathan Groff.
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Shannon's known for playing intense, menacing characters, like Agent Nelson Van Alden in ?Boardwalk Empire.? In two new projects, though, he plays good guys ? historical figures pursuing justice and political reform. He?s President James Garfield in the new Netflix series ?Death by Lightning.? And he?s a prosecutor trying Nazi leaders for war crimes in the new film ?Nuremberg.? Shannon spoke with Dave Davies.
Also, David Bianculli reviews a revived and expanded TV documentary series about the Beatles.Follow Fresh Air on instagram @nprfreshair, and subscribe to our weekly newsletter for gems from the Fresh Air archive, staff recommendations, and a peek behind the scenes.
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In his new film, 'Rental Family,' Brendan Fraser plays an actor in Tokyo who takes a job with a rental family service. It's based on a real phenomenon in Japan: companies where you can hire someone to fill a gap in your life. Fraser spoke with Tonya Mosley about shooting in Japan, working with Scorsese on ?Killers of the Flower Moon,? and his struggle with confidence.
Also, Ken Tucker shares three songs dominating the charts: Neko Case's "Oh, Neglect...," Valerie June's "Runnin' and Searchin'" and Olivia Dean's "Man I Need"
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Ben Stiller talks about his new Apple TV+ documentary about his actor/comedian parents Jerry Stiller and Anne Meara. In the ?60s and ?70s, they were famous as the comedy duo, Stiller and Meara. Ben talks about growing up in a showbiz family, where there was no separation between work and personal lives.
Also, we hear from Cynthia Erivo. She stars in ?Wicked: For Good,? reprising her role as Elphaba.
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Sixty-five years ago, Alfred Hitchcock shocked audiences with his film ?Psycho.? It broke Hollywood conventions about what a film should and should not do, ushered in a new era of horror/thriller, and became one of the most studied movies in cinema history. We listen back to Terry?s interview with star Janet Leigh, who talks about filming the famous shower scene. And we hear from screenwriter Evan Hunter about working with Hitchcock on his next film, ?The Birds.?
Also, Justin Chang reviews the new film ?Hamnet,? about Shakespeare as a young playwright, husband and father.
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Michelle Carr has spent years researching what goes on in the brain while we dream. She explains dream engineering, including how sensory inputs like light, sound and vibration can influence the subconscious. Her book is ?Nightmare Obscura.?
Also, TV critic David Bianculli reviews the new season of ?A Man on the Inside.?
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?New Yorker? staff writer Marc Fisher says Kash Patel became FBI director without senior law enforcement experience because of his loyalty to Trump and willingness to seek retribution for his perceived enemies. ?There are some ways in which many FBI agents like the fact that Patel has steered the agency back towards what they see as basic crime fighting,? Fisher says. ?But the overwhelming sentiment, I think, is that he has more than shaken up the Bureau?he has gutted it.?
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After the deaths of his parents, comedians Jerry Stiller and Anne Meara, Ben found a stash of their audio recordings. Those tapes are at the center of a new documentary, ?Stiller & Meara: Nothing Is Lost.? He spoke with Terry Gross about growing up in the spotlight, his father?s life-changing role on ?Seinfeld,? and the connection between his family life and ?Severance.?
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Erivo speaks with Tonya Mosley about the parallels between her life and the experience of her ?Wicked? character, Elphaba. She also talks about singing as a child, using perfume to get into character, and why she shaved her head. Erivo's new memoir is called ?Simply More: A Book for Anyone who Has Been Told They're Too Much.?
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Ethan Hawke stars in the new movie ?Blue Moon,? about lyricist Lorenz Hart, half of the Broadway duo Rodgers and Hart. It?s his ninth collaboration with director Richard Linklater. He?s also in the new noir-inspired streaming series ?The Lowdown.? He tells Terry Gross while playing Hart pushed him to the edge of his ability, he totally related to his character in ?The Lowdown.?
Also, we hear from actor and director Tim Robbins. He reflects on 30 years of making films and why he believes live theater can sometimes speak to us in more profound ways than film can. He spoke with Tonya Mosley.
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What happens to the body in the deep sea? You need oxygen to survive, but too much oxygen can be deadly. If you rise to the surface too quickly, nitrogen bubbles can form in your body and kill you. Terry Gross spoke with author and scientist Rachel Lance last year about her research for the military. She used a hyperbaric chamber that mimics what divers and submarines are exposed to. Her book, ?Chamber Divers,? is about the scientists whose dangerous experiments about underwater pressure and injury were critical to the success of D-Day.
Also, Justin Chang reviews ?Sirat,? which he calls one of the most gripping movies of the year.
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"Every now and then you bump up against a part that presses you to the wall of your ability," Hawke says of playing lyricist Lorenz Hart in ?Blue Moon.? Hawke spoke with Terry Gross about collaborating with Richard Linklater, 'The Lowdown,' and his thoughts on aging.
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'New Yorker? staff writer Antonia Hitchens describes how Laura Loomer went from a conspiracy theorist to a close ally of Trump who?s gotten government officials she claims are disloyal to the president fired. Hitchens has a new profile of Loomer in the magazine.
Also, David Bianculli reviews Ken Burns? new six-part PBS docuseries on the American Revolution.
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Food policy expert and nutritionist Marion Nestle's 2006 book, ?What to Eat,? became a consumer bible of sorts when it came out, guiding readers through the supermarket while exposing how industry marketing and policy steer our food choices. Now, two decades later, she's back with ?What to Eat Now,? a revised field guide for the supermarket of 2025.
Also, Justin Chang reviews Joachim Trier?s new film, Sentimental Value.?
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The Oscar-winning actor/director has a new play, ?Topsy Turvy,? about a chorus that loses its ability to sing together after COVID isolation."Things that I had held sacred or had held as truths were challenged," Robbins says of the pandemic. He talks with Tonya Mosley about ?Shawshank Redemption,? ?Dead Man Walking,? and how working with Robert Altman changed the trajectory of his career.
Also, David Bianculli reviews the new Netflix miniseries, ?Death by Lightning.?
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Before he was directing box office hits or launching the careers of comedy superstars, Judd Apatow was a kid writing fan letters to his heroes, collecting autographs, and obsessively documenting everything. He?s now opened his personal archive for a new book of photographs, letters, scripts, and journals that shaped movies like ?The 40-Year-Old Virgin,? ?Knocked Up,? and ?Trainwreck.?
Also, we hear from Misty Copeland, who captivated audiences as the first Black woman to become a principal dancer with American Ballet Theatre. She also performed with Prince, who helped change her perception of herself. ?He was my biggest supporter. He showed what it was the be one of a kind, to be unique and to use that as a power.?
Ken Tucker celebrates 50 years of Patti Smith?s album ?Horses.?
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50 years ago next week, Patti Smith released her debut album, ?Horses,? ushering in a new era of rock and roll. We?re listening back to portions of our interviews with Smith, from 1996 and 2010. She talks about her early days in New York City, when she was trying to find her way as a poet, performer and later songwriter. When it came to ?Horses,? she says, ?I thought I would do this record and then go back to my writing and my drawing and return to my somewhat abnormal normal life. But ?Horses? took me on a whole different path.? And Ken Tucker reviews the new anniversary edition of the album.
Also, we remember actress Diane Ladd in an excerpt of an interview with her daughter, Laura Dern. And David Bianculli reviews ?Pluribus,? the new series from ?Breaking Bad? creator Vince Gilligan.
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'Atlantic' journalist David Graham describes how President Trump could potentially use troops near polling places, pressure local election workers and have federal agents seize voting machines.
Also, Maureen Corrigan reviews Patti Smith?s ?Bread of Angels,? a prequel/sequel to ?Just Kids.?
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Copeland says her final performance with American Ballet Theatre was a thank you to the communities that had supported her. "What I represented is something far bigger than me," she says. She spoke with Tonya Mosley about her final bow, her relationship to pain, and the legacy of Black ballet dancers.
Also, David Bianculli reviews the new Peacock thriller series ?All Her Fault,? starring Sarah Snook.
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Pulitzer Prize-winning journalists Carol Leonnig and Aaron C. Davis talk about why the U.S. Justice Department?s cases against Donald Trump for alleged interference in the 2020 election and his retention of government documents never made it before a jury. They find both FBI officials and government prosecutors were at times reluctant to pursue leads out of concern for preserving the department?s commitment to fairness and independence from politics. Leonnig and Davis also detail many cases of Trump as president pressuring the DOJ to protect his friends and punish his perceived enemies. Their book is ?Injustice: How Politics and Fear Vanquished America?s Justice Department.? They spoke with Fresh Air?s Dave Davies.
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Filmmaker Richard Linklater doesn't speak French, but that didn't stop him from directing a movie that's almost entirely in French. ?Nouvelle Vague? focuses on the beginning of the New Wave of cinema, specifically Jean-Luc Godard and his landmark 1960 movie ?Breathless.? "I know that sounds insane," Linklater says, "but me not having the language wasn't even in my top 10 concerns about if I could pull off the movie." Linklater spoke with Terry Gross about the impact of the French New Wave, and his other new film, ?Blue Moon.? It?s about Broadway lyricist Lorenz Hart, the former creative partner of Richard Rodgers.
Also, Maureen Corrigan reviews the novel Heart the Lover by Lily King.
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Mel Brooks?s classic 1974 movie Young Frankenstein parodies the iconic Frankenstein movies of the 1930s. This Halloween, we?re featuring our interviews with director Mel Brooks and stars Gene Wilder, Peter Boyle, Teri Garr and Cloris Leachman.
And film critic Justin Chang reviews the new film Bugonia.
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In a New Yorker article co-published with ProPublica, reporter Andy Kroll describes Russell Vought, director of the Office of Management and Budget, as a "shadow president" with oversized influence. ?I don't think you can take in the full sweep of what this administration has done in less than a year and not come away with thinking that chaos is a goal, and certainly an outcome that serves Vought and his team?s larger agenda of putting cracks in the federal government, shaking the stability of this typically rock-solid steady institution that is the federal bureaucracy,? Kroll says.
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