Fresh Air

The FX/Hulu series Reservation Dogs follows four teens on an Oklahoma Indian reservation who are frustrated and alienated, caught between what's left of traditional Native culture on the reservation and the broader pop culture. We talk with co-creator and showrunner Sterlin Harjo about his own upbringing in Indian Territory and how he was inspired by the storytellers in his family.

Ken Tucker reviews some previously unreleased early Lou Reed demos...

Science writer Mary Roach (Stiff, Gulp) explores scenarios where animals are the ones committing "crimes" — and how society deals with it. We talk about bear attacks, drunk elephants, and monkey thieves. Her book is Fuzz: When Nature Breaks the Law.

Justin Chang reviews the Marilyn Monroe biopic, Blonde.

Washington Post reporter Brady Dennis warns our aging infrastructure systems weren't built to withstand the stresses of climate change: "There is a certain amount of suffering that we can't avoid."

Edward Enninful grew up in Ghana, assisting his seamstress mother in her dressmaking shop. "For me, fashion was always such an inclusive, beautiful thing," he says. We talk about making the fashion industry more diverse, the famous "all Black" issue of Vogue Italia, and modeling as a teen. Enninful's memoir is A Visible Man.

And David Bianculli reviews Reboot on Hulu.

Geoffrey Berman served as U.S. Attorney in the Southern District of New York. In his memoir, Holding the Line, he describes how the Dept. of Justice demanded he use his office to aid the Trump administration. "The Department of Justice has to remain independent of politics," Berman says. "It's supposed to be unbiased. And what happened was President Trump treated the Department of Justice like his own personal law firm, and he put people in charge there who did his bidding."

The FX/Hulu series Reservation Dogs follows four teens on an Oklahoma Indian reservation who are frustrated and alienated, caught between what's left of traditional Native culture on the reservation and the broader pop culture. We talk with co-creator and showrunner Sterlin Harjo about his own upbringing in Indian Territory and how he was inspired by the storytellers in his family.

NPR's longtime legal affairs correspondent, Nina Totenberg, talks about her long friendship with Ruth Bader Ginsburg, which began years before Ginsburg became a Supreme Court Justice. Her book is Dinners with Ruth.

Sheryl Lee Ralph just won her first Emmy for role as a no nonsense kindergarten teacher in the ABC sitcom Abbott Elementary. Sidney Poitier gave Ralph her first screen role in his 1977 film A Piece of the Action...

The British actor played the brooding Mr. Darcy in the 2005 film adaptation of Pride & Prejudice. Now he's won an Emmy for playing scheming Midwesterner Tom Wambsgans on Succession.

Kevin Whitehead remembers jazz pianist Ramsey Lewis, who had the 1965 crossover hit "The In Crowd."

Justin Chang reviews The Woman King starring Viola Davis.

Friday Night Lights author Buzz Bissinger tells the story of Marines in 1945 who, while waiting for the Battle of Okinawa to begin, staged a football game broadcast on Armed Services Radio throughout the Pacific. Bissinger's book is The Mosquito Bowl: A Game of Life and Death in World War II.

TV critic David Bianculli reviews Ken Burns' new documentary, The U.S. and the Holocaust.

The NPR legal affairs correspondent met the future SCOTUS justice in the early '70s, when Totenberg interviewed Ruth Bader Ginsburg for a story about a decision pertaining to women's rights. Her memoir about her life and friendship is Dinners with Ruth.

Also, Maureen Corrigan reviews Ling Ma's new collection of stories, Bliss Montage.