- Connie Chung Regrets Being A Good Girl
TV news journalist Connie Chung has written a new tell-all memoir. It's about breaking into the boys club of her industry, her marriage to Maury Povitch, and the big scoops of her career. The funny and off-the-cuff news icon spoke with Tonya Mosley. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy
- How Trump Created The Illusion Of Success
Pulitzer Prize-winning reporters Susanne Craig and Russ Buettner spent years investigating the former president's finances and various businesses. They dispel Trump's myth of being a self-made billionaire, and trace the missteps he made, squandering his father's fortune. Their book is Lucky Loser. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy
- Demi Moore's New Beginning
In the horror movie The Substance, Demi Moore plays an aging actress who uses a black-market drug to create a younger version of herself. She says the film examines the pressures middle-aged women face to remain youthful. Moore spoke with Tonya Mosley about "compare and despair" in Hollywood, and why she's entered a new chapter of her life. Also, John Powers reviews the documentary ¡Casa Bonita Mi Amor!, about the South Park creators' ill-fated attempt to restore a beloved Colorado landmark. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy
- Best Of: Inside Elon Musk's Twitter Takeover / Comic Taylor Tomlinson
Journalists Ryan Mac and Kate Conger talk about the chaos Elon Musk created inside Twitter, how Musk moved further to the political right, and how Trump wants to appoint Musk to head a new efficiency commission. Their book is Character Limit. Also, we'll hear from comedian Taylor Tomlinson, host of CBS's late-night talk show After Midnight. Tomlinson started doing stand up when she was 16 and took a class with a Christian comedian. Then she started testing her material on the church circuit. And, Maureen Corrigan reviews Rachel Kushner's new novel, Creation Lake. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy
- Remembering Actor James Earl Jones
James Earl Jones was the voice of Darth Vader in Star Wars and Mafusa in The Lion King, and once the voice of CNN. But there was a time when he didn't want to be heard. We revisit his 1993 interview with Terry Gross about how he overcame his stutter. Jones died this week at 93. Also we remember late guitarist Russell Malone. He played with Diana Krall and Harry Connick Jr. Film critic Justin Chang reviews His Three Daughters. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy
- Gearing Up For A Post-Election Legal Fight
Democrats and Republicans learned from the legal fight over the 2020 elections, New York Times reporter Nick Corasaniti explains how both sides are prepping for 2024 ballot box fight. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy
- How Elon Musk Destroyed Twitter
After buying Twitter in 2022, Elon Musk instituted sweeping changes. He laid off or fired about 75% of the staff –including about half the data scientists. He also ended rules banning hate speech and misinformation. Authors Kate Conger and Ryan Mac recount the takeover in Character Limit. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy
- The Unchecked Power Of Sheriffs
Investigative journalist Jessica Pishko says that a growing group of "constitutional sheriffs" have become a flashpoint in the current politics of toxic masculinity, guns, white supremacy, and rural resentment. "Constitutional sheriffs would argue that there is no one who can tell them what to do," Pishko says. "Not the president, not the Supreme Court, not the governor, not the legislature. Sometimes constitutional sheriffs will call themselves something like a king." Her book is The Highest Law in the Land. Also, Maureen Corrigan reviews Creation Lake, by Rachel Kushner. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy
- Taylor Tomlinson Is Ready To Joke About Her Bipolar II. Mostly.
The After Midnight host was initially unsure about sharing her bipolar II diagnosis on-stage. But, she tells co-host Tonya Mosley, "I got such amazing feedback from people who had been struggling with their mental health." Her new Netflix comedy special is Have It All. Also, David Bianculli reviews the new season of Only Murders in the Building. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy
- Best Of: SCOTUS Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson / Novelist Danzy Senna
Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson's new memoir, Lovely One, gives us a rare glimpse into her legal mind. And she gets personal about her childhood, marriage and her time as a public defender. Also, we hear from writer Danzy Senna, who writes about the experiences of being biracial in America and the meaning of race itself. Her new novel Colored Television. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy
- Inside The Making Of 'The Sopranos'
25 years ago, The Sopranos premiered on HBO and changed expectations of what TV could be. There's a new two-part documentary, called Wise Guy, about the making of the show, centering on the series creator and executive producer, David Chase. We're using that as an excuse to revisit our interviews with Chase, as well as Lorraine Bracco, who played Tony's psychiatrist, Dr. Melfi, and Michael Imperioli, who played Tony's impetuous nephew. Film critic Justin Chang reviews Beetlejuice Beetlejuice. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy
- The Anti-Fascist Vigilantes Infiltrating White Nationalist Groups
New Yorker writer David Kirkpatrick says anti-fascists are using extra judicial methods to do what the FBI can't, by infiltrating white nationalist groups to expose them and their planned attacks. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy
- SCOTUS Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson Gets Personal
Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson talks with Tonya Mosley about her teen years, her time as a public defender, and the poem she keeps in her office. Her new memoir is called Lovely One. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy
- Danzy Senna Writes Herself (And Other Mixed-Race People) Into Existence
Novelist Danzy Senna spoke with Terry Gross about racial identity, growing up with a Black father and white mother in an era when "mixed-race" wasn't a thing. "Just merely existing as a family was a radical statement at that time," she says. Her new book is Colored Television. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy
- Film Icons: Spike Lee / Samuel L. Jackson
To wrap up our series, we're closing with director Spike Lee and actor Samuel L. Jackson. Lee spoke with Terry Gross in 2017 about growing up in Brooklyn and his acting and directorial debut, the 1986 movie She's Gotta Have It. In 2000, Jackson talked about playing tough guys, watching movies in segregated theaters, and nearly dying on the New York subway. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy