Fresh Air

Harold McGee is best-known for his books about food science. In his new book, 'Nose Dive,' he writes about why things smell the way they do — and the ways different chemicals combine to create surprising (and sometimes distasteful) odors. We talk about stinky cheese, cat pee, mask breath and why cooking releases smells.

Also, John Powers reviews season 4 of 'The Crown,' in which Princess Diana is introduced.

Writer Katherine Standefer tells us about long QT syndrome — and the implanted cardiac defibrillator that helps regulate her heart. In her new memoir, 'Lightning Flowers,' she writes about how the device changed her life, and about trying to get medical care with little income 11 years ago — just as Congress was trying to establish the Affordable Care Act. "One of the greatest gifts is to feel alive while you are alive," Standefer says...

The USWNT soccer star and activist spoke with Terry Gross about her World Cup wins, the ongoing fight for pay equality in women's sports, and taking a knee in solidarity with Black Lives Matter. Her new memoir about her life on and off the field is 'One Life.'

Also, we remember longtime 'Jeopardy!' host Alex Trebek. He died Nov. 8.

Author Jerald Walker talks about growing up on Chicago's South Side, raising his two sons in a predominantly white suburb and preventing his essays from turning into clichés about the Black experience. His new collection of essays is 'How to Make a Slave.' The title is a reference to Frederick Douglass' line, "You've seen how a man was made a slave; you shall see how a slave was made a man."

Also, jazz critic Kevin Whitehead reviews a new album by cornet player Ron Miles...

McLorin Salvant's repertoire includes jazz standards and forgotten early songs, show tunes, and originals. ​She'​s one of this year's MacArthur fellows​. We'll also listen back to our 2001 interview with dancer and choreographer Marge Champion, who died Oct. 21.

Jack Goldsmith, former legal counsel to George W. Bush's White House, says no matter when Trump leaves office, his successor will face tough questions about how to reconstruct the battered presidency. In his book, 'After Trump,' Goldsmith and his co-author Bob Bauer write that Trump has exposed the presidency's vulnerability to excesses of authority and weaknesses in accountability...

'Atlantic' writer Barton Gellman returns to discuss what this election has revealed about our system's strengths and weaknesses, and what he's learned about the legal strategies the Trump and Biden campaigns are considering if the election is contested. Trump claimed victory on Election Night, and said he'd petition the Supreme Court to halt the vote counting. Gellman's latest articles are titled "The Election That Could Break America," and "How Trump Could Attempt a Coup...

Walker talks about growing up on Chicago's South Side, raising his two sons in a predominantly white suburb and preventing his essays from turning into clichés about the Black experience. His new collection of essays is 'How to Make a Slave.' The title is a reference to Frederick Douglass' line, "You've seen how a man was made a slave; you shall see how a slave was made a man."

In 1968, several prominent anti-war activists were accused of conspiring to start a riot at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago. Aaron Sorkin, writer of 'The West Wing,' and 'The Social Network,' has a new film that follows the trial of the so-called Chicago Seven. He spoke with new 'Fresh Air' contributor Sam Sanders about parallels between the summer of '68 and 2020, and if the past year has changed his idealistic style of writing...

'Atlantic' writer Mike Giglio profiles the Oath Keepers, a pro-Trump militia group, in a new article. They have recruited thousands of police, soldiers and veterans. We talk about what they might do on Election Day and after.

Ken Tucker reviews three songs by The Pretenders, Bruce Springsteen, and Stevie Wonder.

Harlem chef Marcus Samuelsson talks about his new book, 'The Rise...