Podcast: Fresh Air

Former Inspector General Glenn Fine oversaw investigations of the mishandling of documents in the Oklahoma bombing case, the treatment of detainees at Guantanamo and corruption in the Navy. He spoke with Dave Davies about his work to uncover abuse, waste, and fraud in the Departments of Justice and Defense. His book is Watchdogs. Also, Maureen Corrigan reviews the book Clean, about a housekeeper who is the primary suspect in the death of a child.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Legal scholar Mary Ziegler talks about the legal battles shaping reproductive rights across the U.S. — including the scope of abortion access and the fate of IVF. And we look ahead at two very different outcomes with the election. "I don't think in the past 50 years we've had an election where the stakes could be as high, simply because Roe v. Wade isn't there as a floor anymore," Ziegler says. Also, John Powers controversial French writer Michel Houellebecq's new novel, Annihilation. Subscribe to Fresh Air's weekly newsletter and get highlights from the show, gems from the archive, and staff recommendations. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Mosab Abu Toha was able to escape Gaza, along with his wife and three young children. The award-winning poet talks about being detained at a check-point, parenting in war, and the devastation of leaving his family and friends behind. His new book of poetry is Forest of Noise.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Lisa Marie Presley, the only child of Elvis Presley, was working on a memoir when she died in 2023. In From Here to the Great Unknown, actor Riley Keough details her mother's unusual life in Graceland. She also talks about grief and her own time at Neverland Ranch. Maureen Corrigan reviews the novel Shred Sisters by Betsy Lerner. Subscribe to Fresh Air's weekly newsletter and get highlights from the show, gems from the archive, and staff recommendations. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Jeremy Strong played Kendall Roy on HBO's Succession. He's now starring in The Apprentice, as Donald Trump's unscrupulous lawyer and mentor Roy Cohn. Strong says the film examines the playbook Cohn passed on to Trump: "Always attack, deny everything and never admit defeat."Also, Will Ferrrell and his friend and former SNL writing partner Harper Steele, talk about the road trip they took after Harper came out as a trans woman. Their trip is the subject of the new Netflix documentary, Will & Harper.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

We remember singer Cissy Houston, who died Oct. 7 at the age of 91. She got her start in gospel and sang backup vocals for Elvis, Dusty Springfield, Wilson Pickett, Van Morrison and Aretha Franklin, most notably on "A Natural Woman." She was also the mother of Whitney Houston. Houston spoke with Terry Gross in 1998. Also, we remember Major League Baseball's Pete Rose, a legend on the field who was banned from baseball because he bet on the game. He died Sept. 30 at the age of 83. Rose spoke with Dave Davies in 2004. TV critic David Bianculli reviews the new film Saturday Night, a dramatization of the first episode of SNL. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Internationally-acclaimed writer Etgar Keret, who lives in Tel Aviv, reflects on the protests in Israel and the U.S. over the hostages and Gaza. The son of Holocaust survivors, he has left- and right-wing political views in his own family.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Best-known for his role as Kendall Roy in HBO's Succession, Jeremy Strong now stars as lawyer and political hitman Roy Cohn in The Apprentice. The movie, he says, "explores essentially how Trump was made and his philosophical moral framework." Strong talks with Terry Gross about playing Cohn and about some of Kendall's most memorable scenes. Subscribe to Fresh Air's weekly newsletter and get highlights from the show, gems from the archive, and staff recommendations.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

The animated film Piece By Piece traces Pharrell's 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.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Will Ferrell and his longtime friend and former SNL writing partner Harper Steele traveled from New York to California, talking along the way about Steele coming out as a trans woman. Their documentary, Will & Harper, is now streaming on Netflix. Also, classical music critic Lloyd Schwartz reflects on "maverick" composer Charles Ives.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Ta-Nehisi Coates talks about his trip to Senegal and reflects on his ancestors taken from that side of the ocean and sent to their enslavement in America. Coates is best known for his Atlantic magazine cover story "The Case for Reparations" and for his book Between the World and Me, which he wrote as a letter to his son about what he'll face as a Black man.We'll also hear from actor, comedian, and activist John Leguizamo. His latest project is a docuseries on PBS about the history of Latinos in the Americas, covering thousands of years, from pre-Columbian Inca, Maya, and Aztec civilizations to the fight for Latino civil rights.Plus, Ken Tucker reviews Bob Dylan's new collection, The 1974 Live Recordings.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Beloved British actor of stage and screen Maggie Smith died last week at age 89. Though the Oscar-winner had a long and successful career, it wasn't until she was in her 70s that she got approached by scores of fans. "It only happened to me since Downton Abbey, so I blame the whole thing on television." We revisit Dave Davies' 2016 interview with Smith. Also, we remember singer, songwriter, and actor Kris Kristofferson. He was a Rhodes Scholar, and an Army Ranger before taking a chance at songwriting. "Me and Bobby McGee" is perhaps his most famous song, recorded by Janis Joplin. He told Terry Gross in 1999. Also, John Powers reviews the new film Wolfs, starring George Clooney and Brad Pitt on Apple TV+.To keep up with what's on Fresh Air and get a peek behind the scenes, subscribe to our free weekly newsletter. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

David Wessel, a senior fellow in economic studies at the Brookings Institution, compares the candidates' records and campaign promises on taxes, spending, tariffs, housing and more. TV critic David Bianculli reviews Netflix's rom-com series Nobody Wants This.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

More often than not, U.S. history classes fail to include the contributions of Latino people. Leguizamo's three-part PBS docuseries, VOCES American Historia, is an attempt to set the record straight. Also, David Bianculli reflects on SNL's season 50 opener. Subscribe to Fresh Air's weekly newsletter and get highlights from the show, gems from the archive, and staff recommendations. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

In his new book, Coates reflects on his time in Senegal, as well as trips he took to South Carolina and to Israel and the Israeli-occupied West Bank. "It is about the nationalisms of people who are told that they are nothing, that they are not a nation, that they are not a people ... and the stories that we construct to fight back against that," he says.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

The host of the Food Network's Barefoot Contessa tells Tonya Mosley about a disastrous party she threw when she was 21. Garten invited 20 guests, with the intention of making an individual omelet for each person — except she barely knew how to cook an omelet. Her new memoir is Be Ready When Fate Happens.Ken Tucker reviews The 1974 Live Recordings, a newly released recording of some of Bob Dylan's most raucous rock and roll.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Todd Phillips, the director and co-writer of the new musical sequel to Joker, shares what it was like to direct Joaquin Phoenix and Lady Gaga in a singing, dancing, very dark adaptation of the DC character. And actor Uzo Aduba, best-known for her role as "Crazy Eyes" on Orange is the New Black and HBO's In Treatment, has written a new memoir that pays homage to her mother, a Nigerian immigrant who raised her family in a nearly all-white Massachusetts suburb. Also, David Bianculli reviews the new Disney+/Marvel series Agatha All Along, a spinoff of the series WandaVision. Subscribe to Fresh Air's weekly newsletter and get highlights from the show, gems from the archive, and staff recommendations.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

25 years ago, the TV series The West Wing premiered. It was a behind-the-scenes look at a fictional White House. We revisit our interviews with show creator/writer Aaron Sorkin, and actors Allison Janney, who played C.J., and John Spencer, who played Leo McGarry. They talk about the show's signature walk-and-talk and the quippy, rapid-fire style of dialogue. Also, Justin Chang reviews Francis Ford Coppola's Megalopolis.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

New Yorker writer Andrew Marantz describes Michigan's uncommitted, thousands of pro-Palestinian, anti-war protest voters who say they won't support Kamala Harris unless she changes her policy on Israel.Also, Kevin Whitehead shares an appreciation of jazz pianist Bud Powell, for his centennial. And film critic Justin Chang reflects on two new movies that examine the extremes of self-improvement: The Substance and A Different Man. Subscribe to Fresh Air's weekly newsletter and get highlights from the show, gems from the archive, and staff recommendations.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Orange Is the New Black actor Uzo Aduba grew up the daughter of Nigerian immigrants in a predominantly white Massachusetts suburb. She looks back on her late mother's influence in the memoir, The Road Is Good. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy