Fresh Air

Jim McCloskey, a lay minister, has devoted the past 40 years of his life to seeking justice and exoneration for men and women on death row or serving life sentences for crimes they didn't commit. "I saw firsthand how police and prosecutors manipulate evidence, coerce witnesses into giving false testimony," he says. His memoir is 'When Truth is All You Have.'

Ken Tucker reviews the new album by HAIM, 'Women in Music Pt. III.'

The towering civil rights leader John Lewis died July 17 at the age of 80. Lewis grew up the son of sharecroppers and later became an associate of Martin Luther King Jr. He co-led the 1965 civil rights march in Selma, Ala., which turned violent when state troopers beat and tear gassed the peaceful protestors. The protest became known as "Bloody Sunday." He spoke with Terry Gross in 2009. We'll also hear from the first Black lawyer in Selma, J.L...

'Saturday Night Live' "Weekend Update" co-anchor Colin Jost talks about telling jokes about race with Michael Che and why he prefers writing to speaking. His new memoir is 'A Very Punchable Face.' Film critic Justin Chang says 'Palm Springs,' starring Andy Samberg and Cristin Milioti, is a perfect comedy for our current times. And Welsh actor Matthew Rhys talks about living out his boyhood fantasies in his new role as hardboiled detective Perry Mason.

Charlize Theron spoke with Terry Gross last year about growing up in Apartheid-era South Africa and growing up with an abusive father. She now stars in the film 'The Old Guard' on Netflix. Also, we listen back to our 2018 interview actor Danny Trejo. He's known for playing menacing characters in 'Breaking Bad,' 'Sons of Anarchy' and 'Machete.' The documentary 'Inmate #1: The Rise of Danny Trejo' chronicles his unlikely journey from prison to stardom.

Dr. Christine Montross says in the U.S., people with serious mental illnesses are far more likely to be incarcerated than to be treated in a psychiatric hospital. Montross studied systemic change in the Norwegian prison system, and what the U.S. might learn from it. Her new book is 'Waiting for an Echo.'

TV critic David Bianculli shares his thoughts on NBC's new streaming platform, Peacock.

Journalist Jane Mayer reports the Trump administration has weakened federal health and safety regulations of the poultry industry as plants have become COVID-19 hotspots, and allowed managers to speed up production lines. She says the U.S. Labor Department is effectively supporting an effort at one Delaware plant — owned by a major Trump campaign donor — to expel the union that has represented workers there for decades...

The 'Saturday Night Live' "Weekend Update" co-anchor and writer Colin Jost acknowledges that his clean-cut image sometimes rubs people the wrong way. "When I get hurt or hit on camera," he says, "the audience really loves it." His new memoir is 'A Very Punchable Face.'

Film critic Justin Chang reviews 'Palm Springs,' a nod to 'Groundhog Day' starring Andy Samberg.

Rhys says his version of the iconic criminal defense attorney Perry Mason is more hardboiled than the one Raymond Burr played on TV: "He's a man who kind of lives on whiskey and cigarettes." We also talk about playing a spy in 'The Americans' and growing up in Wales (and masking his accent in auditions).

Kevin Whitehead reviews a new album from trumpeter Ambrose Akinmusire.

In her new Hulu series, 'Taste the Nation,' Padma Lakshmi explores the different cultures that contribute to American cuisine. Lakshmi spoke with Terry Gross about splitting her childhood between the U.S. and India and her early modeling career.

Ken Tucker reviews Bob Dylan's new album, 'Rough and Rowdy Ways.'

Patrick Stewart is back as Captain Jean-Luc Picard in the CBS All Access series 'Star Trek: Picard...

Growing up in Alabama, André Holland's parents were voting rights activists and his father was a preacher. Holland is best known for his roles in 'Moonlight' and 'Castle Rock.' Next week he'll star in a radio version of Shakespeare's 'Richard II,' a co-production of WNYC and The Public Theater. Holland spoke with Terry Gross in 2018.

John Powers reviews the action movie 'The Old Guard' starring Charlize Theron.