Fresh Air

Kim Ghattas grew up in Lebanon during the civil war and covered the Middle East for the BBC for 20 years. She says events in the Mideast in 1979 set off a wave of extremism and violence that continues today. Her new book is 'Black Wave.'

Also, we talk with 'Mudlark' author Lara Maiklem. She scours the edge of London's tidal River Thames in search of items that were lost to history. Among her finds: Roman pottery, medieval jug handles and a 500-year-old child's shoe.

Imagine the power grid goes out in a major city on Election Day. Or the losing candidate refuses to concede. How secure are new voting machines? These are among the things law professor Rick Hasen considers in his book, 'Election Meltdown.' "There's lots of ways that things could go south," he says.

Also, Ken Tucker reviews the concept album, 'The Neon Skyline' by Andy Shauf.

Rigby's memoir, 'Girl to City,' tracks how a Catholic girl from the Pittsburgh suburbs became part of New York City punk scene — and invented and reinvented herself as a performer, songwriter and a mother. She talks about going on tour with her baby, her manifesto, and meeting her husband, Wreckless Eric.

And film critic Justin Chang reviews the indie movie 'The Assistant,' inspired by the allegations against Harvey Weinstein.

In his new book, 'The Bomb,' journalist Fred Kaplan pulls back the curtain on how U.S. presidents, their advisers and generals have thought about, planned for — and sometimes narrowly avoided — nuclear war.

Also, we remember longtime PBS NewsHour anchor Jim Lehrer. He died last week at 85.

Pulitzer Prize-winning 'Washington Post' reporters Carol Leonnig and Philip Rucker did over 200 interviews with Trump administration insiders. Their new book, 'A Very Stable Genius,' details presidential rages, erratic decision-making and other troubling tendencies of the Trump presidency.

Ken Tucker reviews Marcus King's solo album, 'El Dorado.'

British actor Tim Roth can be seen in the Tarantino films 'Reservoir Dogs,' 'The Hateful Eight' and 'Pulp Fiction...

To mark the 75th anniversary of the liberation of the Nazi death camp, we're revisiting archival interviews with Auschwitz survivor and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Elie Wiesel, and Holocaust historian Laurence Rees.

'New Yorker' editor David Rohde says Barr acts as Trump's political "sword and shield," which has made him the most feared, criticized and effective member of the president's cabinet. He talks about the attorney general with contributor Dave Davies.

Also, TV critic David Bianculli reviews 'Star Trek: Picard,' dropping today on CBS All Access.

Pulitzer Prize-winning 'Washington Post' reporters Carol Leonnig and Philip Rucker did over 200 interviews with Trump administration insiders. Their new book, 'A Very Stable Genius,' details presidential rages, erratic decision-making and other troubling tendencies of the Trump presidency.

Also, we remember Monty Python co-founder Terry Jones. He died yesterday at 77. He spoke with Terry Gross in 1987.

The British actor can be seen in the Tarantino films 'Reservoir Dogs,' 'The Hateful Eight' and 'Pulp Fiction,' and the new movie 'The Song of Names.' His first onscreen role was a white supremacist skinhead in the 1982 TV movie 'Made in Britain.' "There were questions asked about it in Parliament," Roth says. "It took me by surprise. I got chased by skinheads down the road in London."

Also, Ken Tucker reviews Marcus King's solo album, 'El Dorado.'

Public interest attorney Bryan Stevenson is the founder of the Equal Justice Initiative, which represents people who have been illegally convicted, unfairly sentenced or abused in state jails and prisons. In 2018, EJI founded a museum and monument in Montgomery, Ala., to address the atrocities of slavery, lynching and segregation. "We need to create institutions in this country that motivate more people to say 'Never again,'" he says...