Alfre Woodard stars in the new Netflix series ?The Boroughs,? a supernatural mystery from the producers of ?Stranger Things.? In it, she leads an ensemble of folks in a retirement community who band together to stop an otherworldly threat. She spoke with Tonya Mosley about the new show, her Emmy-winning performance on ?Hill Street Blues,? where she played a mother whose child was killed by a police officer, and her network of Black actresses in Hollywood. 


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Ben Rhodes was a speechwriter and Deputy National Security Advisor to President Obama. He spoke with Terry Gross about his experience negotiating with Iran during his time in the White House, and his read of the current conflict. His new book, ?All We Say,? is a collection of 15 speeches ? from Ben Franklin to President Trump ? about what it means to be American. He also reflects on collaborating with President Obama on one of his most impactful speeches, like the so-called "race speech." 


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Humorist David Sedaris says the best part of reading his work to an audience is earning the laughs ? or the groans. "A collective groan is fine with me," he says. Sedaris reflects on his Duolingo obsession, AI, and why he?ll continue writing and touring as long as he possibly can. His new book of essays is ?The Land and Its People.? He spoke with guest interviewer Sam Fragoso, host of the podcast ?Talk Easy.? 

Also, John Powers reviews two new mystery novels: ?The End of the Sahara,? by the Algerian writer Saïd Khatibi, and ?An Enigma by the Sea,? by Italian authors Carlo Fruttero and Franco Lucentini. 


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Popstar Billie Eilish has a new 3D concert film that she co-directed with James Cameron. She and her brother and co-producer Finneas spoke with Terry Gross in 2024 about the album ?Hit Me Hard and Soft.?

Also, for Memorial Day, book critic Maureen Corrigan reflects on the history of pocket-size books that soldiers were given in WWII. 


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Stephen Colbert?s ?Late Show? ended last night after 11 years. He spoke with Terry Gross in 2016 shortly after he took over from David Letterman. Before that, Colbert played a conservative persona in the vein of Bill O'Reilly on ?The Colbert Report.? When he started ?The Late Show,? out of character, he said, ?I knew it would be a little bit of a public discovery. It's somebody else's joke, but life is like learning to play the violin in public. You don't know what you're doing until you do it.?

Also we remember Massachusetts Congressman Barney Frank, who died this week at age 86. The influential Democrat helped normalize being openly gay in public office. He spoke with Terry Gross in 2015.

Also, John Powers reviews the horror-comedy Apple TV series ?Widow?s Bay.?


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Zayd Ayers Dohrn?s mother, Bernardine Dohrn, was a leader of SDS, a student group protesting the Vietnam War. She also led a faction that broke away and became the Weather Underground, advocating armed resistance against the government. His father, Bill Ayers, was also an activist-turned-revolutionary. In a new memoir, Zayd wrestles with questions he had growing up, like if his parents were living underground and on the run from the FBI, why did they have kids? He spoke with Terry Gross.  

Also, two-time National Book Award winning writer Jesmyn Ward (?Salvage the Bones,? ?Sing, Unburied, Sing?) has a new essay collection on grief, motherhood, and survival. It?s called ?On Witness and Respair.? She spoke with Tonya Mosley. 


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Rose Byrne starred in big box office comedies like ?Bridesmaids? and ?Neighbors,? and, more recently, the indie film ?If I Had Legs I?d Kick You,? which kind of defies genre. It?s about a woman trying to care of her sick daughter while her life is unraveling. ?In many ways, it tapped into the monster within and the fear of being a parent and the horror of being a parent ? and some of the joy, too.? Her raw performance won a Golden Globe and an Oscar nomination this year. Now Byrne is nominated for a Tony for her performance in a revival of Noël Coward?s play ?Fallen Angels.? She spoke with producer Ann Marie Baldonado. 

Later, TV critic Davie Bianculli reflects on the end of ?The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.? The final episode airs tonight. 


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D.O.J. gave President Trump and his family immunity from tax audits and set up a $1.8 billion fund for victims of "government weaponization." Former government lawyer Andrew Weissmann explains the settlement. His book is 'Liar?s Kingdom: How to Stop Trump's Deceit and Save America'

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Jesmyn Ward  learned the term "respair" ? the recovery of hope after despair ? in 2020, shortly after her partner died suddenly. Her new book, ?On Witness and Respair,? is an essay collection on grief, motherhood and survival. She spoke with Tonya Mosley about writing through painful things and why she returned to her native Mississippi. Her previous National Book Award-winning novels are ?Sing, Unburied, Sing? and ?Salvage the Bones.?  

Also, jazz critic Martin Johnson reviews an album from Tomeka Reid. 

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"From my very first memories, I knew that the FBI was chasing us," Zayd Ayers Dohrn says. "My parents tried to explain it in terms [like] we were like Robin Hood or we were like the Rebel Alliance in Star Wars. So I knew in the way a kid knows that our lives were precarious." 

His mother, Bernardine Dohrn, was a leader of the '60s radical student group Students for a Democratic Society (SDS), which opposed the war in Vietnam and racism. Along with his father, Bill Ayers, she helped found the Weather Underground, a group committed to armed resistance against the government. 

Dohrn spoke with Terry Gross about his radical childhood on the run, visiting his mom in prison, and the questions he needed to ask his parents. His book is ?Dangerous, Dirty, Violent, and Young: A Fugitive Family in the Revolutionary Underground.? 


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Boots Riley talks about his new film, ?I Love Boosters.' It stars Keke Palmer as the leader of a crew of women shoplifters who steal from luxury stores and sell the goods cheap to people who can't afford retail. Riley says he thinks of his work labor organizing, filmmaking and writing hip-hop music as the same project. 

Also, we?ll hear from actor Will Sharpe. He starred in season two of ?The White Lotus,? Lena Dunham?s series ?Too Much,? and the movie ?A Real Pain.? Now he plays Mozart in a new adaptation of ?Amadeus.? 

TV critic David Bianculli reviews a new special by David Attenborough.


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Philip Caputo wrote the 1977 acclaimed and unflinching memoir ?A Rumor of War,? about leading a Marine platoon during the Vietnam War. It taught him a painful truth. ?I had discovered that I had a capacity to be violent and dark in my actions in a way that totally shocked me,? he told Terry Gross in 2005. He went on to become a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist. Caputo died May 7 at 84. 

Also, celebrated naturalist and nature documentarian Sir David Attenborough turned 100 this month. We listen back to his 1995 interview with Terry Gross about working in the field. 

John Powers reviews the new film ?The Wizard of the Kremlin.?

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Former national security official Rush Doshi says President Trump?s 2025 sky-high tariffs on Chinese goods sparked a clash in which China prevailed. Doshi spoke with Dave Davies about  the current state of U.S.-China relations and President Trump?s meeting with President Xi in Beijing.

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Boots Riley?s new film is called ?I Love Boosters,? and it stars Keke Palmer as the leader of a crew of women shoplifters in the Bay Area who steal from luxury stores and sell the goods cheap to people who can't afford retail. 20 years before the movie, Riley wrote a song by the same name with his hip-hop group The Coup. The song is a love letter to shoplifters, or boosters, as they're called. Riley talks with Tonya Mosley about why his music, shows, and films -- including the 2018 movie ?Sorry To Bother You? -- continue to explore the contradictions that capitalism produces. Riley was a labor organizer in his teens.


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Tech writer Joanna Stern used AI to read medical results, respond to texts and serve as her therapist. She says her emotional connection to it was unsettling. Her new book is ?I Am Not a Robot.? She spoke with Terry Gross.

Also, TV critic David Bianculli reviews the new PBS special marking David Attenborough?s 100th birthday. 


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Sharpe played a newly rich tech bro on vacation in Italy the second season of ?The White Lotus.? Now he's starring as Mozart, a musical genius who struggles to "read the room" in the new STARZ limited TV series ?Amadeus.? He spoke with Fresh Air producer Ann Marie Baldonado about studying piano, acting opposite Kieran Culkin in ?A Real Pain,? and feeling like an outsider as a kid. 


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Like the main character in his Booker Prize-winning novel 'Shuggie Bain,' writer Douglas Stuart grew up in Glasgow, working class, queer, and with a mother addicted to alcohol. His first career was in fashion, designing underwear for Calvin Klein. ?Sometimes when I?m in an audience now and I feel a little nervous, I have a joke to myself and think, how many people in this audience have worn the underwear that you designed?? He spoke with Terry Gross about his new novel, ?John of John.?

Later, Richard Gadd, creator and star of the Netflix show ?Baby Reindeer' talks with Tonya Mosley about his new series, ?Half Man.' It's about two boys who become brothers when their mothers fall in love. They spend the next 30 years trying to survive each other.

David Bianculli reviews the latest adaptation of ?Lord of the Flies.?


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Broadway producer Jeffrey Seller played a key role in the production of RENT, Hamilton, In the Heights, Avenue Q, and the revival of Sondheim?s Sweeney Todd that starred Josh Groban. His memoir traced his path from ?Theater Kid? to producer of Broadway mega-hits.

Also, film critic Justin Chang reviews ?Silent Friend.? 


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Nathan Lane just received a Tony nomination for his starring role as Willy Loman in ?Arthur Miller?s Death of a Salesman.? He?s a veteran of the stage ? often in comedic and musical roles. But in the role of Loman, which he does eight times a week, he?s noticed something different in the audience. ?There?s an old joke ? my job is just to keep 1600 people from coughing. It's kind of true, but when you hear what we hear during ?Salesman,? you hear people weeping in the dark.?  At the age of 70, Lane says this production of ?Salesman? is the thing he?s most proud of. He spoke with ?Fresh Air? guest interviewer Sam Fragoso, host of the podcast ?Talk Easy.?  

Later, Ken Tucker reviews new songs by Ella Langley, Robyn, and Allison Russell. 


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Atlantic writer George Packer discusses how tech venture capitalists, who are heavily invested in AI and cryptocurrency, aligned with Trump and influenced policies related to their own investments. 

Also, David Bianculli reviews the new Netflix/BBC miniseries adaptation of ?Lord of the Flies.? 


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Crenshaw named two of the most contested ideas in American politics: intersectionality and critical race theory. Her new book is called ?Backtalker: An American Memoir.? It takes us to her childhood in Canton, Ohio, and along her path through Cornell, Harvard Law, and the University of Wisconsin, where, in 1988, as a graduate student, she sketched a diagram of an intersection to explain how race, class, and gender overlap. She spoke with Tonya Mosley about these moments in her career, and how she?s thinking about America?s 250th anniversary. 

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Like a number of his characters, Booker Prize-winning novelist Douglas Stuart grew up working class and queer in Glasgow. He went on to have a career in fashion, which plays into his latest novel, John of John. ?It's hard to tell people about grief. It?s hard to talk to people about poverty... and so I?d got very used to the silence in my own life, and my writing is the only thing that allows me to connect with myself,? Stuart told Terry Gross.

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Flea co-founded the Red Hot Chili Peppers in 1982. The bass/trumpet player spoke with Terry Gross about how his music and his life have changed. ?Thank God I've changed. I was a lunatic. I was 19 going on 10.? He has a new solo jazz album called ?Honora.? 

Also, we?ll hear from Nick Offerman. He stars in the new series ?Margo's Got Money Troubles,' about a bright college freshman who gets pregnant and decides to keep the baby. Offerman plays her estranged father, a former pro wrestler who comes back into her life to help. The ?Parks and Rec? actor spoke with producer Ann Marie Baldonado about transforming for the role. 

TV critic David Bianculli will review Zach Galifianakis? new gardening show.


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We remember conductor, composer and musician Michael Tilson Thomas, who died April 22 at age 81. He was a longtime music director of The San Francisco Symphony, known for his innovation, his ability to translate classical music for the general public, and for fostering contemporary music. He founded the New World Symphony for young players. He got his musical inheritance from his grandparents, who were stars of the Yiddish theatre. When he was a kid, his grandmother took him on stage and pointed up to the last row in the balcony, telling him: ?Up there are the cheapest seats and in those seats are the people who love the show the most. Whatever you?re doing you must remember that it must reach those people.? He spoke with Terry Gross in 1994 and 2012. 

John Powers reviews ?The Devil Wears Prada 2.?

Correction: A previous version of this episode incorrectly said that both Anne Frank and Audrey Hepburn were born in Holland. Anne Frank was born in Germany, and Audrey Hepburn was born in Belgium.


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?Baby Reindeer? was an unexpected hit on Netflix in 2024. Now its creator and star is back with ?Half Man,? an HBO series about two boys who become brothers after their mothers fall in love in 1980s Scotland. Gadd spoke with Tonya Mosley about exploring toxic masculinity, becoming famous overnight, and bombing stand-up sets. 

Also, book critic Maureen Corrigan recommends three playful novels: ?Yesteryear,? ?American Fantasy,? and ?Enormous Wings.?


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?New Yorker? staff writer Elizabeth Kolbert says EPA chief Lee Zeldin has rescinded regulations, cut or eliminated departments and terminated the jobs of many scientists. Trump calls Zeldin "our secret weapon." The Pulitzer Prize-winning environmental journalist spoke with Terry Gross. 


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The Red Hot Chili Peppers have sold tens of millions of albums and taken home multiple Grammy Awards. Now in his 60s, more than four decades after that band formed, Flea is releasing his first solo album. ?Honora? is a jazz album that connects back to his childhood. The legendary bassist spoke with NPR?s Terry Gross about some of his wild antics, his ?blood bond? with his band, and finding beauty in the world.


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Best known for his role as Ron Swanson on ?Parks and Recreation,? Nick Offerman plays a former professional wrestler reconnecting with his estranged daughter in ?Margo's Got Money Troubles.? He spoke with producer Ann Marie Baldonado about transforming into a wrestler, his ?Parks? group chat, and advice for young woodworkers. 

Also, John Powers reviews ?Big Mistakes,? starring Dan Levy on Netflix.


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Malala Yousafzai was 15 when a Taliban gunman shot her for advocating for girls' education in her native Pakistan. She understood that she was a target. ?I had pictured it many times that this could happen. I had pictured it at school. I had pictured it in my school bus. I knew that the Taliban could do anything,? she told Terry Gross. Yousafzai won the Nobel Peace Prize when she was just 17 years old. In an interview from a live event onstage, she talks about her childhood before the incident and finding herself after being in the public eye for so long.

Also, we hear from actor Oscar Isaac. He?s currently starring in the Netflix series ?Beef' and recently played Dr. Victor Frankenstein in Guillermo del Toro's adaptation of ?Frankenstein.? 

Book critic Maureen Corrigan recommends three books for the spring: ?Yesteryear,? by Caro Claire Burke; ?American Fantasy,? by Emma Straub; and ?Enormous Wings,? by Laurie Frankel.


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?Schmigadoon!? is now on Broadway. Adapted from the Apple TV series that lovingly satirized musicals of the ?40s and ?50s, we?ll hear from the co-creator, co-writer and songwriter of the series, Cinco Paul, who also wrote the book and songs for the Broadway show. He spoke with Terry Gross in 2021. 

Also, film critic Justin Chang reviews ?Blue Heron.? 


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In ?The Secret War Against Hate,? historian Steven J. Ross details the racist, anti-Semitic groups that sprung up after WWII, in the later half of the 20th century ? and the spy network that worked to bring them to justice. He spoke with Terry Gross about that, and how it connects to the Dept. of Justice?s recent indictment of the Southern Poverty Law Center.

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A former pro-wrestling executive, Linda McMahon is now the Education Secretary Trump tasked with abolishing her agency. ?New Yorker? staff writer Zach Helfand explains how her WWE experience led her to this role.


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Oscar Isaac stars in season 2 of the Emmy-winning Netflix series ?Beef,? which is an anthology about the unexpected consequences of everyday conflict. Isaac plays Josh, the manager of an upscale Los Angeles country club, whose life is unraveling. He spoke with Tonya Mosley about the series, his friendship with ?Frankenstein? filmmaker Guillermo del Toro, and being a ??vulture? of his own life. 

Also, David Bianculli reviews ?Margo?s Got Money Troubles,? starring Elle Fanning on Apple TV. 


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Nobel Laureate Malala Yousafzai spoke with Terry Gross about bravery, marriage, and defying cultural norms. She was 15 when a Taliban gunman shot her, in response to her advocacy for girls? education. ?When I look back, I'm like, yes, that was a crazy thing that I did. I put my life at risk. But, at the time, what scared me more was a life without an education as a girl. It terrified me.? 


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Amanda Peet is in the new film ?Fantasy Life? and the series ?Your Friends & Neighbors.? In a recent piece in ?The New Yorker,? she wrote about being diagnosed with breast cancer while both of her parents were in hospice. ?I didn?t really have that ?why me?? thing. Maybe because I am Jewish and am always waiting for that other shoe to drop. In this case it was three shoes,? she told Terry Gross. 

Also, we?ll talk about Toni Morrison with Harvard professor Namwali Serpell. She says no matter how many times she returns to Morrison?s work, she finds something new.  She?s still haunted by the last sentence of the novel ?Sula.? ?When that sentence comes into my life, whether I'm reading it to teach, whether I'm rereading it to write, whether I'm reading it out loud, even just now, tears always spring to my eyes," Serpell says. She spoke with Tonya Mosley.   

David Bianculli reviews the new Apple TV series ?Margo?s Got Money Troubles.?


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We celebrate the 80th birthday of the filmmaker known as ?The Pope of Trash? and ?The Prince of Puke,? John Waters. He's spent a career violating taboos and pushing boundaries. His films include the cult classic ?Pink Flamingos? and the relatively mainstream ?Hairspray,? which was adapted into a hit Broadway musical. He spoke with Terry Gross in 2014 and 2019. 


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Israeli Maoz Inon's parents were killed by Hamas in the Oct. 7 attacks. Palestinian Aziz Abu Sarah's brother died after being tortured in an Israeli military prison. Their new book, ?The Future Is Peace,? chronicles their eight day drive across Israel and Palestine, through checkpoints, holy sites, refugee camps, and separation walls. 

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Amanda Peet is always waiting for the other shoe to drop. Except last year there seemed to be three different shoes, as she faced her parents' deaths and a breast cancer diagnosis. Peet spoke with Terry Gross about her ?Season of Ativan,? navigating middle age in Hollywood, and her memories of Diane Keaton from the set of ?Something?s Gotta Give.? Peet stars in the new film ?Fantasy Life? and in the Apple TV series ?Your Friends & Neighbors,? now in its second season. 


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The war entered a new phase when President Trump began a U.S. naval blockade of the Strait of Hormuz. Aaron David Miller of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace explains what this means.


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In a new book, Harvard professor Namwali Serpell makes the case that we have been reading one of the most celebrated writers in American history all wrong. ?On Morrison? is a deep dive into the Nobel Laureate?s complete body of work ? her 11 novels, plays, and criticism. Serpell has been teaching Morrison for nearly two decades, and she says no matter how many times she returns to the work, she still finds something new. 

Jazz historian Kevin Whitehead reviews two new biographies of composers and pianists born 40 years apart.


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Arsenio Hall grew up in Cleveland dreaming of being the next Johnny Carson ? kind of. ?I wanted to do this show that didn't exist when I was a kid, and I knew the talent was out there.? Hall spoke with Tonya Mosley about his groundbreaking talk show, ?The Arsenio Hall Show,? and why he decided to end it, despite its massive success. 

Before he was a comic, producer and the ?roastmaster,? Jeff Ross was a kid growing up in his family's kosher catering hall in New Jersey, serving weddings and bar mitzvahs. ?My bar mitzvah was like something between a Super Bowl halftime show and like something Saddam Hussein would throw for one of his kids,? he tells Terry Gross. Ross shows his more vulnerable, introspective side in his new Netflix comedy special, ?Take a Banana for the Ride.? 


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Singer, songwriter, and guitarist St. Vincent is known for her powerful guitar riffs and dark, poetic songs. Her early influences were Nirvana and David Bowie. ?I've always felt like gender and identity were a performance. I've been aware of that since I was a young child and learning how to code switch growing up in Texas,? she told Terry Gross in 2024. She's backed by an orchestra at London?s Royal Albert Hall on her new live album.  

Book critic Maureen Corrigan reviews Nancy Foley's debut novel ?I am Agatha,' and TV critic David Bianculli reviews the brief return of the TV sitcom ?Malcolm in the Middle.? 


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Dr. Mary Fariba Afsari's book, ?Labor,? is a portrait of reproductive healthcare in post-Dobbs America, serving a community in Oregon with an RV clinic. She also talks about her Iranian heritage and her grandmother's death from an illegal abortion. 

Also, Ken Tucker reviews ?After the Flood,? by Robert Polito, a book about Bob Dylan?s past 30 years. 

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In 2020, writer Annabelle Gurwitch went to urgent care for a COVID-19 test and learned she had stage 4 lung cancer. She writes about life as a "cancer slacker" in her memoir, ?The End of My Life is Killing Me.? The humorist spoke with Terry Gross about facing her mortality, divorce, and going on a tour with her boyfriend and a young heavy metal band.

Also, John Powers reviews the Nordic noir series ?Jo Nesbø's Detective Hole? on Netflix. 


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Known for his ruthless celebrity roasts, Ross turns inward in his Netflix special, ?Take a Banana for the Ride,? which details the loss of his parents and grandfather. The comic spoke with Terry Gross about working at his family?s catering business, his breakthrough ?Letterman? set, and living with alopecia. And, upon Terry?s request, he roasts her.

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Hall grew up in Cleveland dreaming of being the next Johnny Carson. He got close ? closer than anyone expected ? and then he walked away. Thirty years later, he's finally telling the full story in a new memoir. ?I wanted to do this show that didn't exist when I was a kid and I knew the talent was out there,? he tells Tonya Mosley. I found Bruno Mars and put him on the show when he was two feet tall. I wanted those things that Johnny didn't do.? He talks about some of the iconic moments of 'The Arsenio Hall Show,' his decision to end it, and his friendships with Jay Leno and Richard Pryor.

Jazz historian Kevin Whitehead marks the 100th birthday of the composer Randy Weston.


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We talk with John Lithgow, veteran of hundreds of performances on stage, screen and television. He?s currently starring in the play ?Giant? on Broadway. He plays renowned children?s book author Roald Dahl, caught in a public controversy after he wrote an article laced with antisemitic statements. Also, we?ll talk about Stephen Sondheim?s life and music with Daniel Okrent, author of a new book ?Stephen Sondheim: Art Isn't Easy.?  


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As a gay, atheist teenager in El Salvador, Julio Torres felt like an alien. He was legally labeled ?alien? when he came to the U.S. on a student visa, and then tried to get a work visa.  The comic/filmmaker drew on those experiences to write, direct, and star in the satirical film, ?Problemista.? He spoke with Terry Gross in 2024 about immigrant stress, his odd form of comedy, and why he's attracted to difficult people. ?I don't see difficult people as nightmares to escape. I'm really drawn to them like a moth to a flame,? he says. His new comedy special on HBO is called ?Color Theories.?

Also, film critic Justin Chang reviews ?The Drama.? 


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Lithgow, 80, plays an intelligence agent in the FX action series 'The Old Man,' and he's currently starring in the Broadway production of 'Giant,' about a dark side of children's book author Roald Dahl. He spoke with Dave Davies. 

Also, John Powers reviews 'Stay Alive' by Ian Buruma, about daily life in Nazi Berlin. 

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In award-winning journalist Beth Gardiner?s new book, ?Plastic Inc.,? she traces how plastic went from a wartime miracle to the survival strategy of the fossil fuel industry. What Gardiner found after years of reporting is that while millions of us were recycling and using less fuel, the companies that make plastic are producing more to make up for it. She spoke with Tonya Mosley about recycling, microplastics in the human body, and the environmental impact.   

Rock critic Ken Tucker reviews the new album from Megan Moroney, ?Cloud 9.?


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