Podcast: Fresh Air

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

Mueller deputy Aaron Zebley looks back on the investigation of Trump's ties to Russia and explains why his team didn't indict the president in 2017. Zebley is the co-author of Interference. David Bianculli reviews WandaVision spin-off, Agatha All Along on Disney+.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

After his 2019 hit Joker, Todd Phillips knew he wanted to do more with the character. Joker: Folie à Deux picks up two years after the original, and features singing by Joaquin Phoenix and Lady Gaga. The director spoke with Terry Gross about his collaboration with Phoenix, how he got into filmmaking, and casting Gaga.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Pioneering television journalist Connie Chung gives us a behind-the-scenes look at what it took for her to climb to the top in the male-dominated field of TV news. Her new memoir is Connie. Also, we talk with Demi Moore about her new horror film The Substance, in which she plays an aging actress who loses her job hosting a workout show because her boss thinks she's too old and not hot enough. John Powers reviews the new documentary ¡Casa Bonita Mi Amor!Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Florida's population has quintupled since writer Carl Hiaasen grew up near Fort Lauderdale in the '50s. As a former Miami Herald columnist and novelist, Hiaasen railed against, and made fun of, politicians and developers who he said were covering the state with concrete, and the tourists and retirees who just kept coming. Hiaasen's 2013 novel, Bad Monkey, a wacky murder mystery set in Key West COMMA is now a television series streaming on Apple TV +, starring Vince Vaughn.Also, we remember revered jazz historian, archivist and critic Dan Morgenstern, who died earlier this month. Critic-at-Large John Powers reviews Kate Atkinson's latest mystery novel, and TV critic David Bianculli reviews the new HBO series, The Penguin.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

NYT senior political correspondent Maggie Haberman, who has spent years covering former President Trump, discusses his behavior on the campaign trail, including his need to respond to every slight, even when it damages his appeal to voters.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

TV news journalist Connie Chung has written a new tell-all memoir. It's about breaking into the boys club of her industry, her marriage to Maury Povitch, and the big scoops of her career. The funny and off-the-cuff news icon spoke with Tonya Mosley.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Pulitzer Prize-winning reporters Susanne Craig and Russ Buettner spent years investigating the former president's finances and various businesses. They dispel Trump's myth of being a self-made billionaire, and trace the missteps he made, squandering his father's fortune. Their book is Lucky Loser.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

In the horror movie The Substance, Demi Moore plays an aging actress who uses a black-market drug to create a younger version of herself. She says the film examines the pressures middle-aged women face to remain youthful. Moore spoke with Tonya Mosley about "compare and despair" in Hollywood, and why she's entered a new chapter of her life. Also, John Powers reviews the documentary ¡Casa Bonita Mi Amor!, about the South Park creators' ill-fated attempt to restore a beloved Colorado landmark.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Journalists Ryan Mac and Kate Conger talk about the chaos Elon Musk created inside Twitter, how Musk moved further to the political right, and how Trump wants to appoint Musk to head a new efficiency commission. Their book is Character Limit. Also, we'll hear from comedian Taylor Tomlinson, host of CBS's late-night talk show After Midnight. Tomlinson started doing stand up when she was 16 and took a class with a Christian comedian. Then she started testing her material on the church circuit. And, Maureen Corrigan reviews Rachel Kushner's new novel, Creation Lake.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

James Earl Jones was the voice of Darth Vader in Star Wars and Mafusa in The Lion King, and once the voice of CNN. But there was a time when he didn't want to be heard. We revisit his 1993 interview with Terry Gross about how he overcame his stutter. Jones died this week at 93. Also we remember late guitarist Russell Malone. He played with Diana Krall and Harry Connick Jr.Film critic Justin Chang reviews His Three Daughters.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Democrats and Republicans learned from the legal fight over the 2020 elections, New York Times reporter Nick Corasaniti explains how both sides are prepping for 2024 ballot box fight.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

After buying Twitter in 2022, Elon Musk instituted sweeping changes. He laid off or fired about 75% of the staff –including about half the data scientists. He also ended rules banning hate speech and misinformation. Authors Kate Conger and Ryan Mac recount the takeover in Character Limit.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Investigative journalist Jessica Pishko says that a growing group of "constitutional sheriffs" have become a flashpoint in the current politics of toxic masculinity, guns, white supremacy, and rural resentment. "Constitutional sheriffs would argue that there is no one who can tell them what to do," Pishko says. "Not the president, not the Supreme Court, not the governor, not the legislature. Sometimes constitutional sheriffs will call themselves something like a king." Her book is The Highest Law in the Land. Also, Maureen Corrigan reviews Creation Lake, by Rachel Kushner.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

The After Midnight host was initially unsure about sharing her bipolar II diagnosis on-stage. But, she tells co-host Tonya Mosley, "I got such amazing feedback from people who had been struggling with their mental health." Her new Netflix comedy special is Have It All. Also, David Bianculli reviews the new season of Only Murders in the Building.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson's new memoir, Lovely One, gives us a rare glimpse into her legal mind. And she gets personal about her childhood, marriage and her time as a public defender. Also, we hear from writer Danzy Senna, who writes about the experiences of being biracial in America and the meaning of race itself. Her new novel Colored Television. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

25 years ago, The Sopranos premiered on HBO and changed expectations of what TV could be. There's a new two-part documentary, called Wise Guy, about the making of the show, centering on the series creator and executive producer, David Chase. We're using that as an excuse to revisit our interviews with Chase, as well as Lorraine Bracco, who played Tony's psychiatrist, Dr. Melfi, and Michael Imperioli, who played Tony's impetuous nephew. Film critic Justin Chang reviews Beetlejuice Beetlejuice.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy