COVID-19

Iconoclastic humorist Fran Lebowitz used to be known as a writer. Back in the late 1970s and '80s, she released two popular collections of essays featuring her cutting observations and opinions about life. But that part of her career was cut short by a decades-long case of writer's block — now she's known for talking. The Netflix series Pretend It's a City features Lebowitz in conversation with Martin Scorsese — who directed both the new series and the 2010 HBO documentary about Lebowitz, Public Speaking.

The horror writer says he understands why fans have said the pandemic feels like living inside one of his novels. In April 2020, King told Fresh Air that COVID-19 filled him with a "gnawing anxiety."