Fresh Air

For nearly 30 years, 'This American Life' producer Susan Burton kept her binge eating disorder a secret. "As long as I was bingeing, I didn't have to think. I didn't have to think about any loss or pain or wanting or yearning." Burton also had anorexia, though that was harder to hide. She talks about her difficult relationship with food and work toward recovery. Burton's memoir is 'Empty.'

Ken Tucker reviews Lady Gaga's 'Chromatica' and Carly Rae Jepsen's 'Dedicated Side B...

Psychiatrist Dr. Julie Holland has used psychedelic-assisted therapy to treat patients with post-traumatic stress disorder. In some cases, she says, MDMA or marijuana can help make treatment more efficient and effective. She discusses this "revolutionary way" to treat trauma. Holland's book is 'Good Chemistry.'

Also, John Powers shares his favorite espionage thriller series, a French show called 'The Bureau.'

Eve Ewing's poetry collection '1919' looks back on a century-old riot in Chicago, set off after Eugene Williams, a black teen, drowned because he was stoned by white people on the beach. Police refused to make an arrest. Ewing connects the systemic racism that plagued the U.S. then to what we see happening now.

Kevin Whitehead talks about a film genre that many jazz fans gripe about — the jazz biopic...

Singer and banjo player Rhiannon Giddens' 2017 album 'Freedom Highway' includes songs based on slave narratives. She notes that the modern banjo draws from the African instrument known as the akonting, which is made from a gourd. "In the first 100 years of its existence, the [American] banjo was known as a plantation instrument, as a black instrument," she says.

During the civil rights movement, Bernice Johnson Reagon sang freedom songs from jail, in marches and churches...

Blogger and licensed family therapist Kristen Howerton talks about how raising two white biological daughters and two black adopted sons helped her understand white privilege. She reflects on motherhood, miscarriage, divorce and faith. Her new memoir is 'Rage Against the Minivan.'

David Bianculli reviews HBO's new take on the courtroom drama 'Perry Mason,' starring Matthew Rhys.

With certain states loosening restrictions — and others partially in lockdown — there's a lot of widespread confusion about COVID-19 risks. We talk with University of Minnesota epidemiologist Michael Osterholm about the safety concerns in terms of protests, indoor gatherings, touching surfaces, and why the antibody test is so flawed.

Dr. Diana Greene Foster interviewed 1,000 women over 10 years who either had or were denied abortions. Her study looked at the women's mental, physical and economic health. Foster says the data reveal, "95 percent of women who receive an abortion later report that it was the right decision for them." Her book is 'The Turnaway Study.'

Kevin Whitehead says, while jazz fans like to hate on jazz biopics, there are plenty of interesting details embedded in the messy stories.

Ewing's poetry collection '1919' looks back on a century-old riot in Chicago, set off after a black teen drowned while being stoned by white people. Police refused to make an arrest. Ewing connects the systemic racism that plagued the U.S. then to what we see happening now. Ewing teaches at the University of Chicago's Center for the Study of Race, Politics, and Culture.

Also, John Powers reviews a reissue of the novel 'The End of Me' by Alfred Hayes.

Journalist Jamiles Lartey ​writes about criminal justice, race and policing for the non-profit news organization 'The Marshall Project.' ​Terry Gross spoke with Lartey about systemic racism in American policing and how we might begin to rethink these systems. "Policing wasn't always this way. It wasn't always this big. It wasn't always this bureaucratic," he says. "Sometimes as a society, you need to rethink institutions...

'I Am Not Your Negro' is the documentary about James Baldwin, one of the most influential black writers to emerge during the civil rights Era and address racial issues head on. We listen back to Terry Gross' 1986 interview with Baldwin, and we'll hear an excerpt of an interview with the director of the documentary, Raoul Peck. He was born in Haiti and was influenced by Baldwin as a young man...