This month, musician Bonnie Raitt and filmmaker Francis Ford Coppola were both honorees of the Kennedy Center for their contributions to American culture. We're revisiting interviews with both of them. First, blues guitarist, singer and songwriter Bonnie Raitt spoke with Terry Gross in 1996 about her early years, finding her blues sound. And Francis Ford Coppola told us in 2016 the story of casting Marlon Brando in The Godfather.

And film critic Justin Chang reviews two new movies: The Brutalist and Nickel Boys.

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Filmmaker and writer Miranda July, whose novel All Fours is on many best books of the year lists, and was described in the New York Times as "the year's literary conversation piece." July spoke with Terry Gross about issues in the novel, like separating from a spouse you're growing distant from, perimenopause, and having an affair.

And jazz historian Kevin Whitehead reviews a newly released recording of a concert he attended in 1978, by pianist Sun Ra and his Arkestra.

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A new law gives TikTok a January 19 deadline to sell to a non-Chinese company or face a nationwide ban. Law professor Alan Rozenshtein delves into what this means and whether President-Elect Trump could intervene.

David Bianculli reflects on the year in TV.

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The Grammy Award-winning singer says working with a vocal coach "honestly changed my life." Eilish and her brother/collaborator Finneas talk with Terry Gross about their new album, Hit Me Hard and Soft, voice lessons, and their favorite homework assignment.

Also, critic-at-large John Powers shares his highlights of the year ? from a documentary to an Olympic moment.

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When Ronny Chieng got a job as a correspondent and then anchor at The Daily Show, he kept the news to himself. "I didn't want to brag," the Malaysia-born comic says. "I just wanted to do the work." Chieng now costars in the series Interior Chinatown, and has a new Netflix comedy special, Love to Hate It.

Also, Ken Tucker reflects on the best pop music of 2024.

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Pop sensation Elton John wrapped up his farewell tour in 2023, only to pop up in a surprise concert at the October 2024 New York City premiere of the new documentary, "Elton John: Never Too Late." Still, as John reduces his public output ? and as that documentary drops on the Disney+ streaming platform ? we thought our listeners might like to hear again from the British music legend himself. Weekly bonus episodes like this, curated from our vast archive, are usually only available for our Fresh Air+ supporters. But today, in the spirit of giving, we're making this episode available to all. Not a Fresh Air+ supporter yet? Find out more, and join for yourself, at https://plus.npr.org/freshair. Listen to Elton John in 2013: https://n.pr/3BoEEYT| Listen to Elton John in 2019: https://n.pr/49ssSJG | Listen to 40+ years of Fresh Air's archives at https://FreshAirArchive.org.

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Jon Batiste joins us at the piano to play his reimaginings of Beethoven, and more. His new album is called Beethoven Blues.

Also, we hear from visual artist Mickalene Thomas. She puts Black women in the front and center of her work. Her latest exhibition, Mickalene Thomas: All About Love, celebrates the women in her life.

Book critic Maureen Corrigan shares her picks for the best books of the year.

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The British actor and singer played abolitionist Harriet Tubman in Harriet, and Aretha Franklin in Genius: Aretha. Now she's defying gravity as Elphaba in Wicked. She spoke with Terry Gross in 2021 about some of her roles and her vocal training.

Also, Ken Tucker shares his picks for great Christmas music, and David Bianculli reviews the Amazon Prime series The Sticky.

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Late Night host Stephen Colbert and his wife Evie McGee Colbert join Terry Gross to talk about family recipes. They have a new cookbook of South Carolina-inspired dishes called Does This Taste Funny? They also talk about Stephen's harrowing experience with a burst appendix in 2023, meeting the pope, and Evie's role on the show during COVID.

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The U.S. is short approximately 4 million homes. Wharton professor Ben Keys traces the beginning of the housing crisis to the 2008 financial meltdown ? and says climate change is making things worse.

Also, Justin Chang reviews the Iranian film The Seed of the Sacred Film.

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Danielle Deadwyler stars in the Netflix adaptation of the August Wilson play The Piano Lesson. She spoke with Tonya Mosley about her journey from the Atlanta theater scene to the big screen, her three masters degrees, and playing Mamie Till, mother of Emmett, in the 2022 movie Till.

Also, our book critic Maureen Corrigan shares her top 10 books of 2024.

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The former band leader for The Late Show with Stephen Colbert returns to talk with Terry Gross about his new album, Beethoven Blues. We also talk about his early years, like how he had a reputation at Juilliard for playing his melodica everywhere and breaking into song in class. It nearly resulted in him getting kicked out. Now he serves on the board.

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Herzog reflects on the curiosity that's fueled his career in the memoir, Every Man for Himself and God Against All, now out in paperback. The filmmaker and writer is drawn to extremes: extreme characters, extreme settings, extreme scenarios. But don't mistake him for a mad man like some of his film subjects: "You have to control what is wild in you. You have to be disciplined. And people think I'm the wild guy out there but I'm a disciplined professional," he tells Terry Gross.

Film critic Justin Chang reviews Queer.

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Musician Jerron Paxton is known for performing music from the 1920s and '30s. He just came out with an album of his own songs, called Things Done Changed. Paxton brought some of his instruments to his conversation with Sam Briger.

Also, Terry Gross talks with author Michael Owen about Ira Gershwin, the lyricist behind many of the most enduring songs in The Great American Songbook.

TV critic David Bianculli reviews the documentary Beatles '64.

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Are you hyper-vigilant about your health, constantly monitoring yourself and panicking when you feel the slightest symptom? You're not alone. Writer Caroline Crampton has a new book about illness anxiety disorder, a.k.a. hypochondria. We talk about our evolving understanding of the disorder, its connection to PTSD, and new treatments. Her book is A Body Made of Glass.

John Powers reviews two new spy series, Black Doves and The Agency.

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Economist David Wessel talks about Trump's plans on tariffs and tax cuts, and the potential economic impact of Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy's Department of Government Efficiency.

Maureen Corrigan reviews Niall Williams' novel, Time of the Child.

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In Mickalene Thomas' work, Black women are front and center. "We've been supportive characters for far too long," she says. "I would describe my art as radically shifting notions of beauty by claiming space." Her new exhibition of collages, paintings, and photographs is called All About Love. She spoke with Tonya Mosley about how she "draws with scissors," using her mother as a muse, and her reinterpretation of Manet.

Also, David Bianculli reviews the new documentary Beatles '64.

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We're going to hear from a musician whose music is vibrant, exciting and new ? even if it sounds like it could have been found on a scratchy record from the 1920s. His name is Jerron Paxton and he has a new album called Things Done Changed. He brought some of his instruments to the studio when he spoke with Fresh Air's Sam Briger.

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A new film adaptation of the Pulitzer Prize-winning August Wilson play The Piano Lesson is now on Netflix. It's about a brother and sister battling over what to do with a family heirloom piano. Denzel Washington and his daughter Katia served as producers, and his sons John David and Malcolm starred in and directed it. The brothers talk about bringing the play to the screen.

Also, we hear from Selena Gomez about the Spanish-language musical Emilia Pérez. Gomez plays the wife of a brutal drug cartel leader who decides to undergo gender-affirmation surgery.

Film critic Justin Chang reviews blockbusters Wicked and Gladiator II.

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The animated film Piece By Piece traces Pharrell Williams' early life as a boy growing up in Virginia Beach and follows his trajectory to a Grammy-winning songwriter, performer and producer. He spoke with Tonya Mosley about his synesthesia, the song Prince rejected, and disliking his own voice.

Subscribe to Fresh Air's weekly newsletter and get highlights from the show, gems from the archive, and staff recommendations.

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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.

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Ira Gershwin wrote the lyrics for some of the most enduring songs in the Great American Songbook, including "I Got Rhythm," "S'Wonderful," "Embraceable You," "Love is Here to Stay," and "Let's Call the Whole Thing Off." Biographer Michael Owen talks about Ira's collaboration with his brother George, his writing process, and the line he added to "Somewhere Over the Rainbow."

Later, jazz historian Kevin Whitehead remembers drummer Roy Haynes.

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August Wilson's Pulitzer Prize-winning play The Piano Lesson is about a conflict in a Black family over whether to keep an exquisite heirloom piano ? or to sell it to buy the land their family was enslaved on. Denzel Washington's son Malcolm directed the new film adaptation for Netflix, and his brother John David stars as Boy Willie. Tonya Mosley talks with the brothers about collaborating as a family on the project.

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During her years as a military linguist, Bailey Williams pushed her body to extremes. She later learned that eating disorders are more prevalent in the Marine Corps than in any other military branch. Her memoir is Hollow.

John Powers reviews the Paramount+ series Landman.

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Michael Schur wrote for the The Office, and created The Good Place, and co-created Parks and Recreation and Brooklyn Nine-Nine. His new show for Netflix, A Man on the Inside, features Ted Danson as a widowed retiree who goes undercover in a retirement community. He spoke with Terry Gross about the series.

Later, comic and Silicon Valley actor Jimmy O. Yang talks about his new Hulu series, Interior Chinatown. He plays a waiter who inadvertently becomes central to a crime story.

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Author Scott Eyman explains how silent film actor Charlie Chaplin was smeared in the press, scandalized for his affairs with young women, condemned for his alleged communist ties and banned from returning to the U.S. "At one time or another he was the target of the entire security apparatus of the United States of America," Eyman says. His book is Charlie Chaplin vs. America.

Also, Justin Chang reviews two highly-anticipated blockbusters, Wicked and Gladiator II.

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Michael Schur wrote for the The Office, and created The Good Place, and co-created Parks and Recreation and Brooklyn Nine-Nine. His new show for Netflix, A Man on the Inside, features Ted Danson as a widowed retiree who goes undercover in a retirement community. He spoke with Terry Gross about the series, making fun of NPR (lovingly) on Parks, and being a life-long rule-follower.

Also, our TV critic David Bianculli reviews the new series and says it's the sweetest show since Ted Lasso.

Subscribe to Fresh Air's weekly newsletter for staff recommendations, gems from the archive, and a peek at what's coming next week.

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Trump has called the press the "enemy of the people" and threatened retribution, including jailing reporters, investigating NBC for treason, and suggesting CBS's broadcast license be taken away. Terry Gross talks with David Remnick, editor of The New Yorker, and Marty Baron, former executive editor of The Washington Post, about the media landscape as we head into a second Trump administration.

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The actor-singer-entrepreneur stars in Emilia Pérez, the new Spanish-language musical about a cartel boss who undergoes gender-affirming surgery. Gomez talks with Tonya Mosley about re-learning Spanish, her Disney years, and working alongside comedy legends Martin Short and Steve Martin in Only Murders in the Building.

Also, Ken Tucker shares three great country songs: Maren Morris' "People Still Show Up," Dwight Yoakam's "A Dream That Never Ends," and Shawna Thompson's "Lean On Neon."

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In his new Hulu comedy series, Interior Chinatown, Jimmy O. Yang plays a waiter who inadvertently becomes central to a crime story. As an Asian American actor, he says he relates to the character's feeling of invisibility. Yang talks with Ann Marie Baldonado about auditioning for Silicon Valley, working alongside his dad, and feeling like an outsider among other Asians in California.

Also, film critic Justin Chang reviews the Indian movie All We Can Imagine as Light.

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Atlantic staff writer Annie Lowery suffers from a rare liver condition that causes severe chronic itch. It led her to look into the stigma of itchiness, the itch-scratch cycle, and finding acceptance in her body.

Also, we hear from screenwriter and author of one of the most anticipated novels of the season, Richard Price. His new novel, Lazarus Man, is about second chances. Price also wrote for the HBO shows The Wire, The Deuce and The Night Of.

And Maureen Corrigan has two books to recommend if you're looking for inspiration, beauty, and humor.

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Kerri Russell stars in the Netflix political drama The Diplomat as a foreign service officer tapped to become the American ambassador to the UK. Russell also starred in the series Felicity and The Americans. She spoke with us last year about these characters and getting her start on The All New Mickey Mouse Club as a kid.

Also, we remember author Dorothy Allison, who died this week at age 75. Her critically acclaimed 1992 novel Bastard out of Carolina was based on her own childhood experience of being physically and sexually abused. We listen back to Terry's interview with Allison about the book and her life.

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In Richard Price's new novel, Lazarus Man, a five-story building collapses, upending the lives of the building's residents. It's about second chances and finding the faith to carry on. Price has written for HBO's The Wire and The Deuce, and co-created HBO's The Night Of and The Outsider. Several of his novels, including Clockers, were adapted into films. He spoke with Terry Gross.

Also, Maureen Corrigan shares two books that offer humor and beauty: Billy Collins' collection of poetry Water, Water, and The Dog Who Followed The Moon by James Norbury.

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With wars in Gaza, Lebanon, and Ukraine, and with high tariffs on the horizon, The Economist Editor-In-Chief Zanny Minton Beddoes says president-elect Trump's agenda may be chaotic. But she stays resolutely optimistic about possible good elements in his foreign policy.

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We've all had bug bites, or dry scalp, or a sunburn that causes itch. But what if you felt itchy all the time ? and there was no relief? Atlantic journalist Annie Lowrey suffers from primary biliary cholangitis (PBC), a degenerative liver disease in which the body mistakenly attacks cells lining the bile ducts, causing them to inflame. The result is a severe itch that doesn't respond to antihistamines or steroids. She talks with Terry Gross about finding a diagnosis, treatment, and what scientists know about itch.

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Author Phil Klay says Trump has been willing to politicize the military to push his partisan agenda before, and is likely to further erode norms around the military as he looks for those willing to "go with his whims." Klay is a Marine Corps veteran and National Book Award-winning writer.

Also, John Powers on the Spanish language movie musical Emilia Pérez.

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Oscar-winning actor Al Pacino talks with Terry Gross about growing up in the South Bronx with a single mother and The Godfather, and why he almost passed on Part II. His new memoir is Sonny Boy.

Also, we hear from Saoirse Ronan. She stars in two new films: The Outrun, about a young woman struggling to get sober, and the World War II drama, Blitz. She spoke with contributor Ann Marie Baldonado about the roles, as well as the most intense on set experience she's ever had ? birthing lambs.

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Comic Jenny Slate spoke with Terry Gross earlier this year about finding comedy in her feelings, motherhood, and growing up in a haunted house. Her latest stand-up special on Amazon Prime Video is Seasoned Professional and she has a new book of essays out now called Lifeform.

Justin Chang reviews Clint Eastwood's new film, Juror #2.

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In Savings and Trust, historian Justene Hill Edwards tells the story of the Freedman's Bank. Created for formerly enslaved people following the Civil War, its collapse cost depositors millions. She spoke with Tonya Molsey about how this part of history reverberates today.

Also, book critic Maureen Corrigan reviews Vanishing Treasures.

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Irish actor Saoirse Ronan returns to Fresh Air to talk with contributor Ann Marie Baldonado about her two new films (The Outrun and Blitz) as well as her experience as a child actor and her collaboration with Lady Bird and Little Women director Greta Gerwig.

Also, Carolina Miranda reviews the Netflix film Pedro Páramo.

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We remember renowned composer, arranger and producer Quincy Jones and listen back to Terry Gross's 2001 interview with him. He died Sunday at the age of 91. He got his start playing with Ray Charles when they were both in their teens. Jones became famous as an arranger and producer for musicians including Ray Charles, Frank Sinatra, Aretha Franklin, and Michael Jackson on his albums Bad, Off the Wall and Thriller.

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Oscar-winning actor Al Pacino talks with Terry Gross about growing up in the South Bronx with a single mother, getting his start in Greenwich Village performing in avant-garde theater, nearly dying of COVID, and his life today. We'll also talk about The Godfather, and why he almost passed on Part II. His new memoir is Sonny Boy.

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Alex Van Halen has written a new memoir about forming the rock band Van Halen with his brother Eddie. It takes readers from their childhood to the wild ride of sex, drugs, and rock and roll. Eddie Van Halen died in 2020. Alex talks with Tonya Mosley about his grief and reflects on their relationship.

Also, artist Titus Kaphar talks about his new movie, Exhibiting Forgiveness, based on his life. It's about a celebrated painter whose world unravels when his estranged father suddenly resurfaces.

Carolina Miranda reviews the new Netflix film Pedro Paramo

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We remember actor Teri Garr, who died last week at age 79. She charmed audiences in her film roles and appearances on late night TV. She's best known for her role as the dim witted seductive lab assistant to Gene Wilder's mad scientist in Mel Brook's Young Frankenstein. She was later nominated for an Oscar for her performance in Tootsie. After being diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, Garr became a spokeswoman for MS research and support. She spoke with Terry Gross in 2005.

Also, Justin Chang reviews the new World War II drama Blitz, directed by Steve McQueen and starring Saoirse Ronan.

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New Yorker journalist David Kirkpatrick says a government command hub is tasked with tracking and protecting U.S. elections from foreign adversaries who try to disrupt them by sowing discord and foment violence.

Guest jazz critic Martin Johnson remembers composer Benny Golson, who died last month at the age of 95.

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New York Times reporter Ken Bensinger says the America First Policy Institute, which has nearly 300 executive orders ready to be signed, would influence a Trump second term more than Project 2025.

Also, John Powers reviews the movie A Real Pain.

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Alex Van Halen has written a new memoir about forming the rock band Van Halen with his brother Eddie, who died of cancer in 2020. The book, titled Brothers, takes readers from their childhood to the wild ride of sex, drugs, and rock and roll. He spoke with Tonya Mosley about grief, lighting his drums on fire, and what he really thinks of This is Spinal Tap.

Also, TV critic David Bianculli reviews the fall TV broadcast season.

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Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Eliza Griswold says complaints about homophobia, white privilege and diversity are splintering progressive organizations ? including one particular church in Philadelphia. Her book is Circle of Hope. It's a finalist for the National Book Award.

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The HBO series Somebody Somewhere is about a 40-something woman who returns home to Kansas to care for her dying sister, then stays, but feels like an outsider until she finds a place in the LGBTQ community. We talk Bridget Everett, star of the series, who is also an acclaimed (and bawdy) cabaret singer.

Also, writer Nick Harkaway talks about his novel Karla's Choice. It's a new story about George Smiley, the British spymaster made famous in the books written by Harkaway's late father, John le Carré.

Ken Tucker reviews a new biography of Randy Newman.

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The witty, cynical and often tongue-in-cheek songwriter Randy Newman is the subject of a new biography. He also wrote a bunch of film scores, including the music for Toy Story, Ragtime, A Bug's Life, and Monsters, Inc. We're revisiting Newman's interview with Terry Gross from 1998 and Ken Tucker reviews the book, A Few Words in Defense of Our Country.

Justin Chang reviews the new Vatican thriller Conclave.

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