Fresh Air

Emma Stone has two Oscar nominations for Poor Things: One for best actress and one for best picture, as a producer. She spoke with Terry Gross about working with an intimacy coordinator and why she sees her anxiety as a superpower.

Mark Ruffalo plays a debauched cad opposite Emma Stone in the movie. The role was a big departure from his previous work playing real people, in dramas like Spotlight or Foxcatcher, or as the Incredible Hulk in the Marvel movies...

Writer, director and producer Ed Zwick has made dozens of films and TV shows including Legends of the Fall, The Last Samurai, and Blood Diamond. In his memoir, Hits, Flops, and Other Illusions, he writes about studios, actors and the frustrations and joys of the business.

John Powers reviews the pulpy noir crime film Love Lies Bleeding.

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In a wide-ranging conversation with The New Yorker, President Biden proclaimed that he is the best option to beat Donald Trump — despite polls indicating he is falling behind. We talk with Evan Osnos about Biden's outlook. Among the things that Americans are unsure of are Biden's age, his mental agility, his handling of immigration, and the war in Gaza.

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As a war correspondent, Rod Nordland faced death many times over. But in 2019, Nordland confronted a different type of danger when he was diagnosed with glioblastoma, the most lethal form of brain tumor. "I had to face the reality that my death was within a fairly short timespan, highly probable," he says. "I think it made me a better person." His new memoir is Waiting for the Monsoon.

Also, Maureen Corrigan reviews Sloane Crosley's new memoir Grief Is For People...

The Emmy-winning host of RuPaul's Drag Race describes himself as "an introvert masquerading as an extrovert." In a new memoir, he writes about growing up Black and queer in San Diego. And how he forged a new and glamorous identity in the punk rock and drag scenes of Atlanta and New York City. The memoir is titled The House of Hidden Meanings.

Also, Maureen Corrigan reviews a new oral history of the Village Voice.

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Denis Villeneuve remembers watching the 1984 movie version of Frank Herbert's 1965 sci-fi novel Dune and thinking, "Someday, someone else will do it again" — not realizing he would be that filmmaker. He spoke to Sam Briger about shooting Dune in the desert and his love of silent film.

Ken Tucker reviews a new solo album from guitarist Mary Timony.

Neuroscientist Dr. Charan Ranganath's book is Why We Remember...

Paul Giamatti stars in The Holdovers as a pompous and disliked teacher at a boys boarding school in the '70s. He's now up for an Oscar for best actor. Giamatti spoke with Sam Briger about the role and reuniting with director Alexander Payne, 20 years after Sideways.

Also, we remember comic and Curb Your Enthusiasm actor Richard Lewis, who died Feb. 27. The Brooklyn-born comic made his standup debut in 1971...

Why do many Christian nationalists think Trump is chosen by God to lead the country? We talk with Bradley Onishi about the ties between Christian nationalism and political and judicial leaders. Onishi became a Christian nationalist and a youth minister in his teens and then left the church. He is the author of Preparing for War: The Extremist History of White Christian Nationalism — and What Comes Next, and he cohosts a podcast about religion and politics called Straight White American Jesus...

Villeneuve remembers watching the 1984 movie version of Frank Herbert's 1965 sci-fi novel Dune and thinking, "Someday someone else will do it again" — not realizing he would be that filmmaker. He spoke to Sam Briger about shooting Dune in the desert, depicting sandworm surfing, and his love of silent film.

Also, David Bianculli reviews the new CBS murder mystery series, Elsbeth...

Busy Philipps plays Mrs. George, a "cool mom" seeking the approval of her teen daughter in the new movie musical version of Mean Girls. Philipps got her start in acting as a teen on the series Freaks and Geeks. She spoke with Ann Marie Baldonado about sexism in Hollywood, collaborating with Tina Fey, and the best friendship advice her mom gave her.

Also, Ken Tucker reviews a new solo album from Mary Timony, and David Biacnulli reviews the series Shōgun...