Fresh Air

Nobel Peace Prize-winning Filipina journalist Maria Ressa faced criminal charges in the Philippines after her news organization's reporting angered government officials. She has a new memoir called How to Stand Up to a Dictator.

Critic Maureen Corrigan shares her list of the best books of the year.

Guardian journalist Luke Harding shares his experience reporting from Ukraine. "It's almost impossible to process," he says. "You can see a flourishing city of half a million people with ports, with restaurants, with live music, with culture, coffee — and now it's a ghostly ruin." We talk about how the war might end — and why the West needs to pay attention. Harding's book is Invasion.

James Gray's new film was inspired by his childhood in Queens in the 1980s. Though his grandparents had fled antisemitism in Ukraine, his family didn't recognize their own biases against Black people. He talks about his life and the film.

The hit parody artist "Weird Al" Yankovic talks about what made him weird — and bringing "the sexy back" to accordion. The new movie Weird, inspired by the story of his life, is a parody of music biopics.

TV critic David Bianculli reviews Wednesday, an Addams Familiy spin-off.

LA Times columnist Steve Lopez turned the issue of retirement into a reporting project, speaking to geriatric experts, a psychiatrist, a rabbi, plus people who had retired and some who refuse...

The Grammy winner got her start onstage as a kid, singing backup for an Elvis impersonator. Her memoir, 'Broken Horses,' is about her early life and the family of misfits she's built. "I think I'm starting to really feel sort of solid and loved in my world. Like maybe I've kind of finally found my place," Carlile says.

John Powers reviews the Polish film EO about a wandering donkey.

This week marks the centennial of the birth of Charles Schulz, the creator of Charlie Brown and the beloved Peanuts comic strip. We'll listen back to our 1990 interview with him. Plus, jazz critic Kevin Whitehead talks about pianist Vince Guaraldi, who created the music for A Charlie Brown Christmas.

Also, Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck have recently been revived in the podcast, "Bugs and Daffy's Thanksgiving Adventure...

Brooks wrote countless edgy jokes over the years, but he doesn't regret any of them. In fact, his only regret is the jokes he didn't tell. Brooks calls comedy his "delicious refuge" from the world. His memoir is All About Me! is now out in paperback.

David Bianculli reviews Wednesday, the new Addams Family spin-off.

LA Times columnist Steve Lopez turned the issue of retirement into a reporting project, speaking to geriatric experts, a psychiatrist, a rabbi, plus people who had retired and some who refuse. His book is Independence Day.

Maureen Corrigan reviews Claire Keegan's Foster.

Physician Siddhartha Mukherjee explains how cellular science could lead to breakthroughs in the treatment of cancer, HIV, Type 1 diabetes and sickle cell anemia. His new book is The Song of the Cell.

Misty Copeland was the first Black principal ballerina for the American Ballet Theatre. We talk about the pressure of being first, touring with Prince, and experiencing homelessness as a child. Her memoir is The Wind at My Back.

Michael Imperioli plays a sex-addicted Hollywood producer on vacation in Sicily in HBO's The White Lotus. He's best known for his role as Tony Soprano's hot-headed protégé, Christopher Moltisanti. He talks about both roles with us.