Entertainment

ISAAC BUTLER is the author of The Perfect Moment: God, Sex, Art, and the Birth of America's Culture Wars. It focuses on the religious right attacks on certain books, art and film of the 70’s, 80’s and 90’s. His previous books The World Only Spins Forward - about the play Angels in America. And The Method, about the history of the acting technique known as the method. We recorded the interview last Thursday. (THIS INTERVIEW CONTINUES INTO THE SECOND HALF OF THE SHOW).

Smith's new show is about her great-great-grandfather, a free Black man who reburied the Union dead at Gettysburg and prepared the ground for Lincoln's most famous speech.

Actor Wendell Pierce. Over a career spanning four decades, he's played some of the most memorable characters on television - Detective Bunk Moreland on HBO's "The Wire," the trombone player Antoine Batiste in "Treme." And in 2022, he became the first Black actor to play Willy Loman in "Death Of A Salesman" on Broadway. He's currently starring as Captain Wagner on the CBS series "Elsbeth," is back as a CIA officer, James Greer, in "Jack Ryan: Ghost War" and in the final season of "Raising Kanan" on Starz.

Our guest today is actor and transgender activist Laverne Cox.

Andrew Scott speaking with Terry Gross, recorded in 2024. He stars in the new film "Pressure."

Actor JOSH O'CONNOR. He's one of the stars of Disclosure Day, the new Steven Spielberg film about what happens when the world learns that aliens live among us. O'Connor broke through in the British film God's Own Country and won an Emmy as Prince Charles in The Crown. (INTERVIEW BY TONYA MOSLEY) (THIS INTERVIEW CONTINUES INTO THE SECOND HALF OF THE SHOW).

Another beloved Tony winner ANGELA LANSBURY. LANSBURY delivered unforgettable performances in the Broadway musicals “Mame,” “Gypsy,” and “Sweeney Todd.” Her work on stage earned her five Tony Awards, plus a lifetime achievement Tony Award in 2022. She also starred as Jessica Fletcher on the CBS mystery series “Murder, She Wrote” for twelve years. On film, she appeared in 1944 film “Gaslight” when she was only 19, and provided the voice of Mrs. Potts, singing the title song to the 1991 animated movie “Beauty and the Beast”. She died in 2022 at 96. (THIS INTERVIEW IS A REBROADCAST.

Actor CLARKE PETERS is one of the stars of the new Netflix series “The Boroughs”. In HBO show “The Wire” he played police detective Lester Freamon. He also co-starred in the HBO series “Treme”. In Spike Lee’s 2020 film “Da 5 Bloods”, Peters was one of the 4 Vietnam Veterans who returned to Vietnam decades after the war. He’s also been in London stage productions of the musicals “Guys and Dolls”, “Porgy and Bess”, and “Chicago”. He co-wrote and co-starred in the original production of the musical “5 Guys Named Moe”, which was first staged in London.

Alfre Woodard stars in the new Netflix sci-fi series "The Boroughs."

Rose Byrne spoke with FRESH AIR producer Ann Marie Baldonado. Byrne is starring in the Broadway revival of the Noel Coward play "Fallen Angels."

Ann Marie Baldonado interviews Will Sharpe who stars in the new limited series "Amadeus"

Writer, actor, and comedian RICHARD GADD. His Netflix series Baby Reindeer became a phenomenon in 2024, a story about a struggling comedian, a stalker who wouldn't let go, and a sexual assault he'd kept hidden for years. The show won six Emmys. His new HBO series called Half Man, about two boys who become brothers when their mothers fall in love, and who spend the next thirty years trying to survive each other. (INTERVIEW BY TONYA MOSLEY)
(THIS INTERVIEW CONTINUES INTO THE SECOND HALF OF THE SHOW).

Terry Gross interviews actor Amanda Peet.

Tonya Mosley interviews actor OSCAR ISAAC. He's the star of the second season of the Netflix series Beef; he plays Josh , a country club manager whose polished exterior is hiding a crumbling marriage and a financial secret. ISAAC also is known for his role as Victor Frankenstein in Guillermo del Toro's Frankenstein.

Terry Gross interviews humorist, memoirist and actress ANNABELLE GURWITCH about her new memoir called The End of My Life is Killing Me: The Unexpected Joys of a Cancer Slacker. It is a national bestseller.

In addition to his kung fu and action films, Norris, who died March 19, starred in the TV show Walker, Texas Ranger. He spoke with Terry Gross in 1988 about learning karate while stationed in Korea.

(1.) Actor, writer, and producer RIZ AHMED. He stars in the new Prime Video series Bait, and in the upcoming film Hamlet, a modern reimagining of Shakespeare's *classic set in London's South Asian community (in theaters April 10th). Ahmed has built a distinctive career in film and television, from a rebellious intelligence officer in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, a young Pakistani American on trial for murder in HBO's The Night Of, a performance that made him the first Muslim and first South Asian man to win the Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actor.

One of del Toro's early acting teachers taught him to understand his character before learning lines. He's up for an Oscar for his role in One Battle After Another. Originally broadcast June 12, 2025.

Harrison Ford costars in the series "Shrinking." Seasons 1, 2 and 3 are streaming on Apple TV, and it's been renewed for a fourth season.

Sedaka, who died Feb. 27, was a classical piano prodigy whose hits in the late '50s and early '60s included "Calendar Girl" and "Breaking up is Hard to Do." Originally broadcast in 2007.