Fresh Air

New York Times reporter Alexandra Berzon says election deniers are joining the electoral process at the precinct level. Their hope is to remake the machinery of American elections. She spoke with guest interviewer Arun Venugopal.

Jazz critic Kevin Whitehead reviews a new album from the trio Thumbscrew. And David Bianculli reviews the Weird Al Yankovic biopic, Weird, starring Daniel Radcliffe.

Ramona Emerson's novel, Shutter, is about a police department photographer, who, like Emerson, grew up in the Navajo Nation. The protagonist is haunted by the ghosts of victims from scenes she's photographed. We talk with Emerson about her own experience in forensic photography and how it informed the book.

John Powers reviews two foreign crime films: Decision to Leave and Argentina, 1985.

Till tells the story of Mamie Till-Mobley, whose decision to hold an open-casket funeral for her murdered son served as a catalyst for the civil rights movement. "Without Mamie Till-Mobley, the world wouldn't know who Emmett Till was," director Chinonye Chukwu says. "She wanted the world to witness what happened to her child so then this can stop happening to other Black children and Black people."

Also, Maureen Corrigan reviews a new biography of Samuel Adams.

This Halloween, we're venturing into the crypt (our archives). We'll hear from Anthony Hopkins on playing Hannibal Lecter in Silence of the Lambs, Sissy Spacek on Carrie, George Romero, director of Night of the Living Dead, Kathy Bates on Misery, and Mercedes McCambridge, who voiced the demon in The Exorcist. Listen if you dare!

New Yorker writer Evan Osnos traces the path of Guo Wengui, a billionaire who fled China and insinuated himself into the MAGA inner circle. But his true allegiances are suspect.

Maureen Corrigan reviews The Year of the Puppy, by Alexandra Horowitz.

Former co-anchor of ESPN's SportsCenter, Jemele Hill, faced criticism in 2017 for calling Trump a white supremacist. In her memoir, Uphill, she talks about her career and her life growing up in Detroit...

We're dipping in the archive and finding our spookiest tape. Stephen King talks about what terrified him as a child — and what frightens him as an adult. Director Jordan Peele talks about the scares that inspire his filmmaking.

Justin Chang reviews Armageddon Time.

Scott Franzke has been calling MLB games in Philadelphia since 2006. He sizes up the teams headed into the World Series and reflects on upcoming changes designed to put more action in the game.

Ken Tucker reviews Taylor Swift's new album, Midnights.

David Rothkopf explains how veteran U.S. government officials, sometimes scorned as the so-called Deep State, repeatedly intervened in the Trump administration to undermine presidential orders they thought were illegal, immoral, unworkable, or against America's interests. His book is American Resistance.

Justin Chang reviews the Martin McDonagh film The Banshees of Inisherin.

The former co-anchor of ESPN's SportsCenter faced criticism in 2017 for calling the president a white supremacist. In her memoir, Uphill, she talks about her career and her life growing up in Detroit. She spoke with contributor Tonya Mosley.

Also, David Bianculli reviews Guillermo del Toro's horror anthology series on Netflix.

You won't find wheat flour, dairy or sugar at Sean Sherman's award-winning Minneapolis restaurant, Owamni. The menu has been "decolonized," but that doesn't mean it feels antiquated. "We look at showcasing the amazing diversity and flavor profiles of all the different tribes across North America, all the different regions, and really celebrating that and cutting away colonial ingredients," Sherman says.

Maureen Corrigan reviews The Year of the Puppy, by Alexandra Horowitz.