Terry Gross

Steven Levitsky studies how healthy democracies can slip into authoritarianism. He says the Trump administration has already done grave damage: "We are no longer living in a democratic regime."

After 11 seasons playing Dr. John Carter on the hit medical show ER, actor Noah Wyle thought he was done with hospital scrubs. Then COVID-19 happened. Suddenly, Wyle began receiving letters from first responders, thanking him — and ER — for inspiring them to enter the field of medicine. He's now starring in and executive producing the Max series The Pitt.

Reid's book, Medgar and Myrlie, tells the stories of the civil rights leader from Mississippi and his wife, who became an activist after Medgar's 1963 assassination. Originally broadcast Feb. 7, 2024.