Fresh Air

The Oscar-nominated animated film 'Soul' imagines a place where souls are matched with unique passions. It follows Joe Gardner, a middle school band teacher and aspiring jazz musician, who nearly dies right after securing the gig of his life. Filmmakers Pete Docter and Kemp Powers say their movie is meant to challenge conventional notions of success and failure.

There are 45,000 laws, policies and administrative sanctions in the U.S. that target people with criminal records. We talk with University of Chicago sociologist Reuben Jonathan Miller about how they affect people's lives. "I want us to think about all these traps that we've created, we've produced, and I want us to unmake them," Miller says. His book is 'Halfway Home.'

Riz Ahmed plays a drummer who loses his hearing in 'Sound of Metal.' To prepare for the role, he immersed himself in deaf culture — an experience that changed the way he thought about communication and listening. The film earned him a Best Actor Oscar nomination.

Also, we listen back to our 2019 interview with actor Kathryn Hahn. She's known for her roles in 'Parks & Rec,' 'Mrs. Fletcher,' and 'I Love Dick.' Now she's co-starring in 'WandaVision' as a nosey and mysterious neighbor. "The most complicated and messy roles I've been able to get have been offered through women," she says. "I'm just so buoyed and galvanized that the juiciest part of [my career] has been post-kids."

Elizabeth Neumann resigned from the Department of Homeland Security in April of 2020. She says the Trump administration ignored the threat — and fanned the flames — of violent domestic extremism. She's now co-director of the Republican Accountability Project, which pushes back on conspiracy theories and false claims that the election was stolen and is trying to hold accountable elected leaders who have supported those narratives.

John Powers reviews the Danish film 'Another Round.'

There are 45,000 laws, policies and administrative sanctions in the U.S. that target people with criminal records. University of Chicago sociologist Reuben Jonathan Miller researches how they affect people's lives in 'Halfway Home.' "I want us to think about all these traps that we've created, we've produced, and I want us to unmake them," Miller says.

The Oscar-nominated animated film imagines a place where souls are matched with unique passions. It follows Joe Gardner, a middle school band teacher and aspiring jazz musician, who nearly dies right after securing the gig of his life. Pete Docter and Kemp Powers say their movie is meant to challenge conventional notions of success and failure. We talk about lost souls, appreciating the small things, and early versions of the film.

Also, Maureen Corrigan reviews Christine Smallwood's novel 'The Life of the Mind.'

The former first lady is often remembered as a genteel Southerner who promoted highway beautification, but author Julia Sweig says archival records show Lady Bird was a savvy political strategist and key advisor to her husband, President Lyndon Johnson. Lady Bird was a supporter of women's rights, and a sponsor of ambitious programs to protect the environment and address urban poverty and blight. Sweig's book is 'Lady Bird Johnson: Hiding in Plain Sight.'

Also, jazz critic Kevin Whitehead reviews an album from pianist Benoit Delbecq.

Deborah Feldman's memoir, 'Unorthodox,' about leaving the Satmar Hasidic community in Brooklyn, inspired the Netflix series of the same name. Growing up, she wasn't supposed to pursue an education or career, and, at 17, she entered into an arranged marriage with a man she'd barely met. Her departure from the community earned the scorn of Satmar leaders and forced a break with family members she'd known all her life.

Ken Tucker reviews Julien Baker's third studio album, 'Little Oblivions.'

Nobel Prize-winning novelist Kazuo Ishiguro's new book, 'Klara and the Sun,' is set in the future and has an artificially intelligent narrator. "I wanted some of that childlike freshness and openness and naivety to survive all the way through the text in her," he says.

The country music star's 50th studio album, 'Still Woman Enough,' is out now. Lynn spoke with Terry Gross in 2010 about her memoir, 'Coal Miner's Daughter.'

Also, Justin Chang reviews 'The Father,' starring Anthony Hopkins and Olivia Coleman. And Lloyd Schwartz reviews a PBS special about Black contralto singer Marian Anderson.

'New Yorker' writer Jane Mayer talks about the criminal investigation into whether Donald Trump engaged in tax, banking and/or insurance fraud. If convicted, he could be sentenced to prison. "The thing that's most complicated about this case and makes it really hard is that in order for this to be a criminal act, they have to prove that there was criminal intent — that Trump intended to break the law and knew what the law was," Mayer says.

The Nobel Prize-winning novelist's new book, 'Klara and the Sun,' is set in the future and has an artificially intelligent narrator. "I wanted some of that childlike freshness and openness and naivety to survive all the way through the text in her," he says. We talk about his writing process, hitchhiking in the '60s, and his family history in Nagasaki.

Ken Tucker reviews Julien Baker's third studio album, 'Little Oblivions.'

'New York Times' tech columnist Kevin Roose says we've been approaching automation all wrong. "What we should be teaching people is to be more like humans, to do the things that machines can't do," he says. We talk about misconceptions about A.I, how algorithms decide who gets government assistance, and which jobs are less likely to be automated. His new book is 'Futureproof.'

Also, Justin Chang reviews the film 'Quo Vadis, Aida?' about the legacy of the Bosnian war through the eyes of a U.N. translator.

Deborah Feldman's memoir, 'Unorthodox,' about leaving the Satmar Hasidic community in Brooklyn inspired the Netflix series of the same name. Growing up, Feldman spoke Yiddish and was discouraged from speaking or reading English at home. She wasn't supposed to pursue an education or career, and, at 17, she entered into an arranged marriage with a man she'd barely met. Her departure from the community earned the scorn of Satmar leaders and forced a break with family members she'd known all her life. "I left on faith," she says. "I think it's important to say that, because where I come from, faith is everything. And when you leave this community, you also leave on faith — because that's how you've been trained to take risks. I sold my jewelry. I sold a book proposal. I had enough money to make a start."

The bandleader of 'The Late Show with Stephen Colbert' joins us from his home piano where he plays music he wrote for the Pixar movie 'Soul' and songs from his new album 'We Are.' Batiste has been playing pop-up shows at Black Lives Matter protests, vaccination sites, and voter registration events.

Sleight-of-hand master Derek DelGaudio explores themes of identity, honesty and the emotional cost of keeping secrets in the memoir, 'AMORALMAN.' His one-man show 'In & Of Itself' is now available on Hulu.

Journalist David Zucchino tells the forgotten story of a murderous coup that led to a white supremacist takeover of a Southern city. In the 1890s, Wilmington, N.C., was a mixed-race community with a thriving Black middle class, Black aldermen and police officers, and a Black newspaper. But white supremacists plotted a bloody purge around the 1898 election. They rampaged through the streets, killing 60 Black men, and banished prominent Black people and their white allies from the city. His book is 'Wilmington's Lie.'

Also, John Powers reviews 'Bloodlands,' a four-part original series from Acorn TV.

The bandleader of 'The Late Show with Stephen Colbert' joins us from his home piano where he plays music he wrote for the Pixar movie 'Soul' and a stirring rendition of the national anthem. Batiste has been playing pop-up shows at Black Lives Matter protests, vaccination sites, and voter registration events. "I wanted to articulate through the music and through my presence there that we're all in this together," Batiste says. "Ultimately, this is our time. This is our world. We have to come together and understand that or else everything is going to completely disintegrate." His new album is 'We Are.'

MIT professor and social scientist Sherry Turkle was 27 when she learned that her estranged father had conducted psychological experiments on her when she was a child. She looks back on her childhood in a new memoir, 'The Empathy Diaries.'

Also, Maureen Corrigan reviews 'Reality and Other Stories,' John Lanchester's collection of ghost stories about the digital era.

Journalist Katie Engelhart's new book, 'The Inevitable,' follows people who are planning to end their lives due to terminal illness or unbearable disability — either legally with physician-assisted death, or as part of the "euthanasia underground," outside of the law. "Most people who choose to end their lives at a preplanned moment are more concerned with things like dignity ... autonomy," she says. "They're worried less about the physical pain than the loss of themselves."

Biochemist Jennifer Doudna, the subject of Walter Isaacson's new biography 'The Code Breaker,' shared a Nobel Prize in chemistry in 2020 for the part she played in developing the CRISPR gene editing technology. We discuss mRNA vaccines, how gene editing works, and some of the moral questions that these developments raise.

Also, Ken Tucker reviews 'Living The Dream,' an expanded album by Hailey Whitters.

Known for his novel 'The Things They Carried,' Tim O'Brien is now the subject of a new documentary, 'The War and Peace of Tim O'Brien.' When he became a father in his late 50s, he initially feared parenthood would curtail his writing. "Much as Vietnam did, [parenthood] gave me a body of material, that kind of context to write about," he says.

Also, TV critic David Bianculli reviews 'Behind Her Eyes,' a thriller series on Netflix with many twists and turns.

George Polk Award-winning journalist Luke Mogelson followed a mob of MAGA supporters into the Capitol on Jan. 6 and filmed what he saw. His video footage from inside the Senate chamber was used as evidence in the second impeachment trial of Donald Trump.

James McBride's novel 'Deacon King Kong' takes place in 1969, in a Brooklyn housing project similar to the one he grew up in. "In this book and in this community, people generally love each other," he says. McBride's novel 'The Good Lord Bird' was adapted last year into a miniseries starring Ethan Hawke.

Also, Kevin Whitehead reviews the new box set of music by jazz saxophonist and composer Julius Hemphill. And Justin Chang reviews the new Disney animated film 'Raya and the Last Dragon.'

America's 19-year war in Afghanistan may soon be coming to an end. The Trump administration negotiated a deal with the Taliban, in which the U.S. agreed to withdraw all its troops by May 1. But the Afghan government was not included in those talks. Now President Biden has to decide whether to honor the Trump deal and risk that the Taliban will try to take over the country again. We speak with 'New Yorker' reporter Dexter Filkins about what he saw in Afghanistan while he was there in January.

Based on Chung's own childhood, 'Minari' is about a Korean American family that moves to rural Arkansas to start a farm. The director spoke with contributor Arun Venugopal about the memories that inspired the film, why he initially kept the project a secret from his family, and choosing the title of the movie. 'Minari' just won a Golden Globe for best foreign language film.

Also, Maureen Corrigan reviews 'Klara and the Sun,' by Kazuo Ishiguro.

Eliot Higgins is the founder of an online collective that picks apart conspiracy theories and investigates war crimes and hate crimes using clues from the Internet — like social media posts, leaked databases and free satellite maps. We talk about how Bellingcat traced the origin of the missile that shot down flight MH17 in Ukraine, the ethics of the Bellingcat methods, and the emotional impact of seeing atrocities online. His new book is 'We Are Bellingcat.'

Also, David Bianculli reviews the Netflix miniseries 'Behind Her Eyes.'

The sleight-of-hand master explores themes of identity, honesty and the emotional cost of keeping secrets in the memoir, 'AMORALMAN.' DelGaudio's one-man show 'In & Of Itself' is now available on Hulu. "[Secrets] are like a drug," he says. "They enter your system and they intoxicate you and they get you to modify your behavior, whether you know it or not. And so it's learning to control the effects of secrecy that really were key for me, in terms of creating a convincing illusion."

John Powers reviews Mick Herron's spy thriller 'Slough House.'

British actor Sacha Baron Cohen is known for taking his absurd characters like Borat, Brüno and Ali G into the world and interacting with unwitting real people. Baron Cohen has been chased, sued and nearly arrested while in character. We talk about why he revived Borat after a 13-year hiatus and playing Yippie leader Abbie Hoffman in 'The Trial of the Chicago 7.'

Also, John Powers reviews the film 'Minari.'

For four years, Georgetown Law professor and human rights activist Rosa Brooks carried a badge and a gun and worked a minimum of 24 hours a month for the DC police department — all on a voluntary basis. Brooks writes about her experiences with the police in 'Tangled Up in Blue.'

The movie 'One Night in Miami,' directed by Regina King, imagines the conversations between four Black icons in 1964: Cassius Clay, Sam Cooke, Jim Brown and Malcolm X, on the night of Clay's surprise win over Sonny Liston. We listen back to archival interviews about three of those men. We hear from Peter Guralnick, who wrote a biography of Sam Cooke, the popular singer and one of the first gospel artists to cross over to soul music; with Jonathan Eig, who spent four years researching and writing a biography of Muhammad Ali (previously known as Cassius Clay); and with Alex Haley, who was chosen by Malcolm X to help write his now famous autobiography. This was before Haley wrote his seminal book 'Roots'.

Jazz critic Kevin Whitehead reviews the film 'The United States vs. Billie Holiday' on Hulu.

George Polk Award-winning journalist Luke Mogelson followed a mob of MAGA supporters into the Capitol on Jan. 6 and filmed what he saw. His video footage from inside the Senate Chamber was used as evidence in the second impeachment trial of Donald Trump. "I think that the majority of people who were there were generally geared up and prepared for some kind of violence," he says. "So once all these folks were gathered on the Mall and listening to Trump, I think that they could have been sent in any number of directions. What did happen was Trump specifically directed them towards a target, a specific target, and that was the Capitol."

Known for his novel 'The Things They Carried,' O'Brien is now the subject of a new documentary, 'The War and Peace of Tim O'Brien.' When he became a father in his late 50s, he initially feared parenthood would curtail his writing." Much as Vietnam did, [parenthood] gave me a body of material, that kind of context to write about," he says. "Maybe it's biology just keeping the species going, but I feel that I'm part of something age-old that's going to continue long after I'm gone."

Also, Maureen Corrigan reviews the true crime book 'Two Truths and a Lie,' about a botched execution and a quest for justice.

In his new book, 'The Ten Year War,' Jonathan Cohn looks at the intense debate surrounding the Affordable Care Act, the compromises of the law itself, and how it has been functioning during the pandemic.

Also, John Powers reviews 'Minari,' about a South Korean family struggling to start a farm in Arkansas.

The British actor is known for taking his absurd characters like Borat, Brüno and Ali G into the world and interacting with unwitting real people. Baron Cohen has been chased, sued and nearly arrested while in character. A scary experience at a gun rights rally while filming 'Borat Subsequent Moviefilm' has finally solidified his decision to stop doing his undercover style of comedy. "At some point, your luck runs out," he says. We talk about why he revived Borat after a 13-year hiatus, the ethics of his comedy, and playing Yippie leader Abbie Hoffman in 'The Trial of the Chicago 7.'

Rashida Jones filmed 'On the Rocks' shortly after her son's birth and her mother's death. She nearly turned down the role, and is glad she didn't. "This movie was kind of a salvation for me," she says. We talk about biracial representation in Hollywood and the toxicity of fame.

Justin Chang reviews 'Judas and the Black Messiah.'

The world is on the precipice of cyber catastrophe, and everything is vulnerable, including our government, nuclear weapons, elections, power grid, hospitals, and cell phones. 'New York Times' cybersecurity reporter Nicole Perlroth explains how the U.S. went from having the world's strongest cyber arsenal to becoming so vulnerable to cyber attack. Perlroth's new book is 'This Is How They Tell Me The World Ends.'

Historian Kerri Greenidge tells the story of William Monroe Trotter, a Black newspaper editor who was a forceful crusader for civil rights in the early 20th century. He built a national following in his time as a fierce advocate for the full citizenship rights that had been promised to former enslaved people after the Civil War. Trotter organized mass protests, confronted presidents, and openly challenged leaders such as Booker T. Washington who took a more cautious approach to Black empowerment. Greenidge's book is 'Black Radical.'

Justin Chang reviews 'Nomadland starring Frances McDormand, and Kevin Whitehead shares a remembrance of legendary jazz pianist Chick Corea.

Women are bearing the brunt of kids' virtual schooling and the increased household work associated with the pandemic. 'NYT' reporter Claire Cain Miller says many working mothers have scaled back on their hours or left the workforce entirely due to the pandemic — which could have lasting effects on gender and economic equity. "It took a very, very slow moving process from the 1970s until today to get women where they are professionally," Miller says. "I do worry that this has erased so much of it so quickly that it could be a massive setback for decades."

In her book, 'The Sum of Us,' Heather McGhee examines the cost of racial discrimination in the U.S., and draws on a wealth of economic data to make the case that discriminatory laws and practices that target Black people also negatively impact society at large. McGhee says when racial barriers to voting, employment, and housing are broken down, white working people are among the beneficiaries.

Also, John Powers reviews the miniseries 'It's a Sin' about a group of friends in London during the AIDS epidemic.

For four years, Georgetown Law professor and human rights activist Rosa Brooks carried a badge and a gun and worked a minimum of 24 hours a month for the DC police department — all on a voluntary basis. "If you want to change something, you have to understand it," she says. Brooks writes about her experiences as with the police in 'Tangled Up in Blue.'

Guest host Sam Sanders talks with Spike Lee about 'Da 5 Bloods,' about four Black Vietnam War vets who return together to Vietnam. Lee also talks about working with late actor Chadwick Boseman.

Also, we remember Cloris Leachman and listen back to an excerpt of her 2009 interview. She co-starred in the Mel Brooks films 'Young Frankenstein' and 'High Anxiety,' won an Oscar for her role in 'The Last Picture Show.'

Only a few weeks into the new Biden administration, infectious disease expert Dr. Anthony Fauci is encouraged by the president's approach to the pandemic. We'll talk about an early chapter of his career, during the AIDS crisis, when he was criticized for not making experimental drugs available to people with AIDS. Fauci listened to his critics and worked with them, leading to medical reforms that are benefiting us today, during the pandemic.

The new documentary 'Women in Blue' follows four women who worked for the Minneapolis Police Department. We talk with the director, Deirdre Fishel, as well as Sergeant Alice White, one of the women profiled in the film.

We remember Mary Wilson, one of the founding members of The Supremes. She died Monday at the age of 76. We'll listen back to our 1986 interview with her about the early days of the Supremes, when they were just starting out.

Also, we remember actor Christopher Plummer who died last Friday. Though he had a long stage and film career, he's best-known for his role as Captain von Trapp in 'The Sound of Music.'

Film critic Justin Chang reviews 'Judas and the Black Messiah' about the 1969 death of Fred Hampton, one of the leaders of the Black Panthers.

Jones filmed 'On the Rocks' shortly after her son's birth and her mother's death. She nearly turned down the role, and is glad she didn't. "This movie was kind of a salvation for me," she says. We talk about 'Parks & Rec,' the toxicity of fame, and growing up surrounded by musicians in her father, Quincy Jones', studio.

The world is on the precipice of cyber catastrophe, and everything is vulnerable, including our government, nuclear weapons, elections, power grid, hospitals, and cell phones. 'New York Times' cybersecurity reporter Nicole Perlroth explains how the U.S. went from having the world's strongest cyber arsenal to becoming so vulnerable to cyber attack. "We have to stop leaving gaping holes in software that could be used by adversaries to pull off some of these attacks," she says. Perlroth's new book is "This Is How They Tell Me The World Ends."

'New Yorker' writer Elizabeth Kolbert talks about efforts to reverse some of the harm humans have done to the natural world. Her new book, 'Under a White Sky,' details visionary ideas, like scattering tiny particles into the stratosphere to block some sunlight and cool the planet. She also reports on current efforts, like the millions spent trying to control Asian carp imported to American rivers. "We're now intervening to counter the effects of our own intervention," Kolbert says. "I call it the control of the control of nature." Kolbert is also author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning book 'The Sixth Extinction.'

Also, Ken Tucker reviews three new songs that confront the ache and fury of lost love: Jazmine Sullivan's "Pick Up Your Feelings"; Matthew Sweet's "At a Loss"; and Olivia Rodrigo's "Drivers License."

The new documentary 'Women in Blue' follows four women who worked for the Minneapolis Police Department. We talk with the director, Deirdre Fishel, as well as Sergeant Alice White, one of the women profiled in the film. Fishel set out to examine how women police differently. "They rely less on physical force, that they possess more effective communication skills, and that they're better at defusing potentially violent confrontations before they turned deadly," she says. 'Women in Blue' is on the PBS Independent Lens series.

Also, book critic Maureen Corrigan reviews 'We Run the Tides' by Vendela Vida, which she calls "a wonder of a novel."

Ellen Harper, and her Grammy award-winning son, musician Ben Harper, both grew up in the Folk Music Center in Claremont, Calif. Ellen's parents founded the center in 1958, and Ellen runs it today. Her new memoir, 'Always a Song,' is her story of the folk music revival of the '50s and '60s, and about raising her three biracial sons, mostly as a single mother.

Also, John Powers reviews 'The Copenhagen Trilogy' by Tove Ditlevsen.

Finally, writer Russell Shorto's grandfather was a mob boss in the industrial town of Johnstown, Pa., where Shorto grew up. He talks about uncovering his family's secret gambling operation in his new memoir, 'Smalltime.'

The late British singer Dusty Springfield was best-known for her seemingly effortless singing and distinctive voice. She had many hits in the 1960s in England and the U.S. We listen back to a 2002 interview with her longtime friend and manager Vicki Wickham, who co-wrote a biography of her. There's a new anthology that collects Springfield's singles for Atlantic Records.

Also, we remember the venerable actor Hal Holbrook. He devoted his life and career to playing Mark Twain on stage and in film. He also played the role of Deep Throat in 'All the President's Men.'

Finally, Justin Chang reviews two international Oscar submissions: 'Two of Us,' from France, and 'Preparations to Be Together for an Unknown Period of Time,' from Hungary.

Less than three weeks into the new Biden administration, the infectious disease expert is encouraged by the president's approach to the pandemic. "Science [is] going to rule," Fauci says. He talks about what he learned from the AIDS epidemic that he's applying to the current pandemic, the problem with achieving herd immunity through infection, and the new mutations of COVID-19.

Also, podcast critic Nick Quah reflects on the era of Trump podcasts.

'New York Times' reporter Jim Tankersley talks about Biden's $1.9 trillion rescue plan for the economy amid the pandemic. For much of his reporting career, Tankersley has focused on the declining middle class — and what the country can do about it. His 2020 book on the subject is 'The Riches of This Land.'

Also, John Powers reviews 'The Copenhagen Trilogy' by Tove Ditlevsen.

Russell Shorto's grandfather was a mob leader in the industrial town of Johnstown, Pa. He writes about the family havoc that resulted from his grandfather's operation in the new memoir, 'Smalltime.'

Ellen Harper runs the Folk Music Center in Claremont, Calif., and her son Ben Harper is a Grammy award-winning singer and songwriter. Ellen Harper's new memoir 'Always a Song' tells her story of the '50s and '60s folk music revival and her experience raising three biracial children, mostly as a single mom. They talk about growing up surrounded by folk music luminaries.

German journalist Kai Strittmatter says the Chinese state has amassed an astonishing amount of data about its citizens, which it uses to punish people for even minor offenses. We talk about facial recognition, a citizen point system, and the widespread use of barcodes. Strittmatter's new book is 'We Have Been Harmonized.'

Justin Chang reviews the serial killer thriller film 'The Little Things,' starring Denzel Washington, Rami Malek and Jared Leto.

We talk with 'New Yorker' writer John Colapinto about how voices work, Colapinto's own vocal injury and the procedure to repair damaged vocal cords. His book is 'This Is the Voice.'

Azaria plays a colorful baseball announcer in the IFC comedy series 'Brockmire.' All 4 seasons are now available for streaming. Azaria spoke with 'Fresh Air' about sobriety, his flamboyant character in 'The Birdcage,' and why he doesn't voice the Indian American convenience store owner Apu on 'The Simpsons' anymore.

Also, Justin Chang reviews the serial killer thriller film 'The Little Things,' starring Denzel Washington, Rami Malek and Jared Leto.