Fresh Air

New Yorker journalist Andrew Marantz says Prime Minister Viktor Orbán's administration has rewritten Hungary's constitution to consolidate his power. U.S. conservatives are taking note.

Rafael Agustin's parents were physicians in Ecuador, but when they came to the U.S. they worked at a car wash and Kmart to get by. It wasn't until he was a teen that he learned they were undocumented. Agustin tells his story in his new memoir, Illegally Yours. He wrote for the TV series Jane the Virgin and is the CEO of the Latino Film Institute.

Also, Ken Tucker reviews the album Beatopia from the artist beabadoobee, out July 15.

The British Empire covered 24% of the Earth's land mass by 1920. Harvard historian Caroline Elkins says British rulers portrayed themselves as benevolent, but used systematic violence to maintain control. Her book is Legacy of Violence.

Later, TV critic David Bianculli reviews Better Call Saul, whose final handful of episodes begin tonight and Kevin Whitehead reviews trombonist Jacob Garchik's latest album.

Dr. Jay Wellons regularly feels the exhilaration of saving a child from near certain death — and sometimes the anguish of failing to prevent it. He shares stories from the operating room, and talks about how the overturning of Roe v. Wade will impact pregnant women whose fetuses have neurological defects. His new memoir is All That Moves Us.

Also, film critic Justin Chang reviews the science fiction movie Apples, set during a pandemic of sudden memory loss...

Washington and Rapinoe are among this year's recipients of the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Washington's films include "Malcolm X," "Philadelphia," "Glory," and "Training Day." Rapinoe is a soccer champion and LGBTQ activist. She fought for, and helped win, equal pay in women's soccer.

Also, Justin Chang reviews the new French film Both Sides of the Blade, starring Juliette Binoche and directed by Claire Denis.

The court's super majority of conservative judges has already passed down rulings about abortion and the 2nd Amendment. New York Times journalist Adam Liptak says more legal upheavals are likely. "[It's] a court that seems to be in an exceptional hurry," he says.

Dr. Jay Wellons regularly feels the exhilaration of saving a child from near certain death — and sometimes the anguish of failing to prevent it. He's operated on various parts of the pediatric central nervous system, including performing spine surgery on an in-utero fetus to correct spina bifida. He says he has a big book of photos and mementos from his patients that he pulls out whenever he needs to be lifted up or grounded...

Historian Kelly Lytle Hernández tells the story of the rebels who fled Mexico to the United States, and helped incite the 1910 Mexican Revolution that overthrew dictator Porfirio Díaz. Hernández spoke with guest interviewer Tonya Mosley about her new book, Bad Mexicans...

Green's string of hits in the '70s include "Let's Stay Together" and "Love and Happiness." He later became an ordained minister, and bought a church in Memphis. He spoke with Terry Gross in 1991 and 2000.

Also, Justin Chang reviews the Greek film Apples.

Mat Johnson's new satirical novel, Invisible Things, is set in the future, on a moon of Jupiter, in an artificial ecosystem designed to replicate life on Earth. We talk about writing satire in our current political climate, mass denialism in America, and being a caretaker of his late mother.

Nick Quah reviews new podcasts that are directly inspired by reality TV's mechanics and style...