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...

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 act...

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, i...

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."...

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 au...

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 diff...

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 hea...

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 contem...

‘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 kn...

‘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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