Fresh Air

Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson talks about directing the new film 'Summer of Soul,' documenting the 1969 Harlem Cultural Festival. It features performances by Nina Simone, Stevie Wonder, Mahalia Jackson and more, and reflects on the cultural and political changes of the time. We'll also talk about big changes in Questlove's life.

Jazz critic Kevin Whitehead remembers electric guitarists George Barnes and Mary Osborne, who were born 100 years ago...

Hugh Grant has been nominated for an Emmy for his role in the HBO miniseries 'The Undoing,' in which he played an adulterous doctor suspected of murder. Grant got his start in romcoms, but lately he's been getting darker roles. "It's alarming how many pretty unpleasant narcissists I've played or been offered in the last six or seven years. But It's certainly been a blessed relief after having to be Mr. Nice Guy for so many years," he says...

Journalist Ron Brownstein says Republican-controlled state legislatures are taking a sharp right turn, in a conscious backlash against unified Democratic control of Congress. These states are not only passing voting rights restrictions, they're passing a torrent of other conservative bills that reflect the cultural and racial priorities of Trump's base. Brownstein is a senior editor at 'The Atlantic' and a senior political analyst at CNN...

Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson is coming out of the pandemic a changed man. The co-founder of the Roots and the music director for 'The Tonight Show' did something he never thought he'd do — he bought a farm in upstate New York. "I thought chaos was the only way that I could exist. But now I embrace quiet and I can hear myself think...

Long after Jeffrey Epstein got a lenient sentence for sexual abuse of minors, 'Miami Herald' reporter Julie K. Brown identified 80 women who said they survived his abuse. "There is nothing that was more powerful than the words of the women talking about this themselves," she says. Her book is 'Perversion of Justice.'

Memoirist Akash Kapur was raised in an intentional community in India, then moved to the U.S. at age 16. He's seen the idealism of people trying to remake human society and renounce materialism. He's also seen how idealism and spirituality can turn into zealotry--and how individuals can become victims of their own search for perfection. Kapur writes about the reality of utopian communities in 'Better to Have Gone: Love, Death, and the Quest for Utopia in Auroville...

Tahmima Anam's new novel is about a married couple, Cyrus and Asha, who found a social media platform that customizes ceremonies and rituals for people who aren't religious. The platform's success turns the husband into a messiah figure — even though it was his wife who designed it. We talk with Amam about how her real life boardroom experience helped inspire the novel.

TV critic David Bianculli reviews the comedy series 'Schmigadoon!'

Six-time All Star C.C...

We revisit our 2016 interview with culinary icon Anthony Bourdain. He hosted the CNN series 'Parts Unknown' which took audiences to countries all over the world. He spoke with 'Fresh Air' about his breakout book, 'Kitchen Confidential,' and why he didn't think of himself as a journalist. Bourdain died in 2018 by suicide while filming in France. 'Roadrunner,' a new documentary about his life and tragic death, is now in theaters...

'New York Times' reporter Ivan Penn unpacks the debate over infrastructure: Do we go big and fund huge wind and solar farms with new transmission lines, or go local, with rooftop solar panels, batteries and micro-grids?

Also, Maureen Corrigan reviews a reprint of Gloria Naylor's landmark novel, 'The Women of Brewster Place.'

The six-time All Star pitched for the Yankees and the Indians over the course of his 19-year career. He also struggled with alcoholism. Sabathia reflects on baseball and sobriety in the memoir, 'Till the End.'

Justin Chang shares his favorite picks from the Cannes Film Festival, which he screened from L.A. Also, jazz critic Kevin Whitehead celebrates the centennial of two early electric guitarists, George Barnes and Mary Osborne.