Fresh Air

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...

We remember the songwriter that Johnny Cash described as his favorite writer: Billy Joe Shaver. His songs have been performed by Cash, Kris Kristofferson, Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson, Bob Dylan and Elvis Presley. Shaver first became known as the songwriter for the country music outlaws of the '70s. He died this week at the age of 81. We'll listen back to two of his interviews with Terry Gross...

Nicholas Christakis is a doctor and a sociologist who has studied the science of infectious diseases and how plagues of the past have altered societies. "Everywhere you see the spread of germs, for the last few thousand years, you see right behind it the spread of lies," he says. "Denial and lies ... [are] almost an intrinsic part of an epidemic." Christakis's book is 'Apollo's Arrow: The Profound and Enduring Impact of Coronavirus on the Way We Live...

'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. "We, as Americans, are so comfortable with the idea of sending people out into foreign wars. And now [these militia groups are] starting to look at America itself as a part of that battle space." Giglio also shares insights from covering civil wars overseas.

We talk with journalist Evan Osnos about the former vice president's long career in the Senate, how personal tragedy changed him, and some of the political missteps he made along the way. Osnos' new biography is 'Joe Biden: The Life, the Run, and What Matters Now.'

Samuelsson's new book, 'The Rise,' is a celebration of Black excellence in the culinary world — and the many Black cooks who have influenced American food, often without credit. He also talks about converting his Harlem restaurant Red Rooster into a community kitchen during the pandemic, and his roots in both Ethiopia and Sweden.

Also, film critic Justin Chang reviews 'The Witches,' an adaptation of Roald Dahl's classic children's book.