Fresh Air

Greenwood plays guitar and keyboard in Radiohead, but in 2007 auteur director Paul Thomas Anderson enlisted him to score his film There Will Be Blood. Since then, Greenwood has scored such films as The Power of the Dog, Spencer, and Phantom Thread. We talk with the musician about his scoring process, his experiments with instruments, and how he joined Radiohead.

Also, Ken Tucker reviews Connie Smith's new album The Cry of the Heart.

Guillermo del Toro's new movie, Nightmare Alley, is a film noir starring Bradley Cooper as a murderer who joins a traveling carnival, first as part of the crew, and then as part of a clairvoyant act. The Oscar-winning Mexican director talks about researching psychics and why he relates to Frankenstein's monster. Del Toro also directed The Shape of Water, the Hellboy movies and Pan's Labyrinth...

Actor and singer Christine Baranski is now one of the stars of the new HBO series The Gilded Age. She spoke with Terry Gross in 2020.

Also, we listen back to our 1988 interview with Howard Hesseman, who died last Saturday at the age of 81. Hesseman played a DJ in the series WKRP in Cincinnati, and a teacher in Head of the Class.

Justin Chang reviews the Norwegian film The Worst Person in the World.

Across the U.S., educators are being censored for broaching controversial topics. Since January 2021, researcher Jeffrey Sachs says that 35 different states have introduced 137 bills limiting what schools can teach with regard to race, American history, politics, sexual orientation and gender identity. One proposed law in South Carolina, for instance, prohibits teachers from discussing any topic that creates "discomfort, guilt or anguish" on the basis of political belief...

Russell Shorto's grandfather was a mob leader in the industrial town of Johnstown, Pa. Shorto writes about the havoc that resulted from his grandfather's operation in the memoir, Smalltime. The story involves rackets, political payoffs, and the unsolved murder of a bookie.

John Powers reviews Reacher, a series on Amazon Prime Video.

Science writer Florence Williams experienced what felt like a brain injury when her husband left her after more than 25 years together. So she decided to explore the connection between heartache and physical pain — including possible changes in the immune, digestive and nervous systems. Her new book is Heartbreak: A Personal and Scientific Journey.

Also, Maureen Corrigan reviews Free Love, by Tessa Hadley.

Del Toro's new movie, Nightmare Alley, is a film noir starring Bradley Cooper as a murderer who joins a traveling carnival, first as part of the crew, and then as part of a clairvoyant act. The Oscar-winning Mexican director talks about researching psychics, his feelings about mortality, and why he relates to Frankenstein's monster. Del Toro also directed The Shape of Water, the Hellboy movies and Pan's Labyrinth.

Princeton African American Studies professor Imani Perry says the South can be seen as an "origin point" for the way the nation operates. Her book, South to America, reflects on the region's history and traces the steps of an enslaved ancestor.

Ken Tucker reviews Neil Young's newest album, Barn.

Buster Keaton was a silent film star in the 1920s, but he was far more than an actor and stuntman...

Anderson grew up poor in Minnesota, in a family with 11 children. His Emmy-winning performance in the FX series Baskets was based upon his own mother. Anderson died Jan. 21. He spoke with Terry Gross in 2016 about his family, mortality, and how his material onstage has evolved.

Also, TV critic David Bianculli reviews the four-part documentary series We Need to Talk About Cosby, created by W. Kamau Bell.

New Yorker staff writer Jane Mayer discusses the conservative beliefs and influence of Ginni Thomas, wife of Justice Clarence Thomas. She's a right-wing activist and has been associated with some groups involved in the Jan. 6 Capitol riot.