Society & Culture

Goodall, who died Oct. 1, became one of the most famous scientists of the 20th century for her work observing chimpanzees in the wild in East Africa. Originally broadcast in 1993 and 1999.

Law's Netflix series with Jason Bateman follows two brothers in New York City, one a successful restaurateur, the other on the run and in debt. Law's also an executive producer of the series.

When Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Trymaine Lee was 38, he suffered a sudden heart attack that nearly killed him. The incident made him reconsider the years he had spent reporting on the lives cut short by gun violence — and the stress it had put on his body.

Bluegrass singer-songwriter Billy Strings talks with Fresh Air producer Sam Briger. Though he never took formal lessons, Strings learned to play the guitar by hanging around with his dad and listening to him play Doc Watson. Strings' newest album is a collaboration with bluegrass guitarist Bryan Sutton called Live at the Legion.

Emmy Award-winning Law & Order: Special Victims Unit actor Mariska Hargitay was just 3 years old in 1967 when her movie star mother, Jayne Mansfield, died in a tragic car crash. Hargitay's new documentary, My Mom Jayne, is an attempt to reconcile the public and private versions of Mansfield.

Bergman died July 17 at the age of 99. For more than 60 years he collaborated on award-winning songs with his wife and co-writer Marilyn Bergman. The couple spoke with Terry Gross in 2007.

After pressuring elite universities, the Trump administration is now focusing on George Mason. Education reporter Katherine Mangan discusses why GMU's president says it's a backlash to DEI efforts.

As a member of the Aquinnah Wampanoag, Joseph Lee takes readers beyond the celebrity summer scene of Martha's Vineyard and into the heart of Noepe, the name his people have called the island for centuries. His book is Nothing More of This Land: Community, Power, and the Search for Indigenous Identity.

In a new book, Grynbaum explores how Condé Nast publications were the arbiters of taste for decades in the U.S. Grynbaum's new book is called Empire of the Elite: Inside Condé Nast, the Media Dynasty That Reshaped America.

Leila Mottley's latest novel, The Girls Who Grew Big, follows three women, ages 16, 18 and 20, as they navigate pregnancy and motherhood in a small town in the Florida panhandle. With the state's abortion laws in flux, Mottley says she had to keep adjusting her characters' experiences to fit the new reality.

Author Ricky Riccardi says Armstrong's innovations as a trumpeter and vocalist helped set the soundtrack of the 20th century. His book is Stomp Off, Let's Go. Originally broadcast Jan. 30, 2025.

Pulitzer Prize-winning fashion critic Robin Givhan explains how the late designer challenged tradition and opened doors — and why she believes his unique voice left such a mark on the fashion world.

Carter Sherman is a reproductive health and justice reporter at The Guardian, where she's covered the real-world results of abortion bans, access to health care for trans people and how technology is reshaping our view of our bodies and our choices. In her new book, "The Second Coming: Sex And The Next Generation's Fight Over Its Future," Sherman explores why Gen Z - that's people ages 13 to 28 - are having less sex than previous generations.

Growing up, White tried to "cure" his own homosexuality; he later drew upon that time for his 1982 bestseller, A Boy's Own Story. White died June 3. Originally broadcast in 1985, 1994, 1997 and 2006.

In her new memoir, Jong-Fast writes that her mother, Erica Jong — who penned the 1973 feminist novel Fear of Flying — had become addicted to fame and couldn't bear losing it.

Atsuko Okatsuka's new stand-up special is called "Father." It debuts on Hulu June 13. And she's currently performing her new stand-up as part of her Big Bowl Tour.

interview with comic, writer and actor Sarah Silverman. Her new Netflix comedy special, called "PostMortem," is about her father, who everyone called Schleppy, and her stepmother, Janice, and how they died within nine days of each other two years ago. For Janice, it was pancreatic cancer. Sarah's father had kidney disease.

Patterson's books have sold over 400 million copies worldwide. He says he often gets ideas for them late at night. His latest, The #1 Dad Book, offers advice for fathers.

In SLY LIVES!, Questlove documents the genius of a funk trailblazer — and the overwhelming pressure Sly felt as a Black artist. Originally broadcast Feb. 10, 2025.

Crumb's comics were staples of 1960s counterculture. He's now the subject of a new biography. Crumb spoke to Fresh Air in 2005, and again, with his wife, fellow comic Aline Kominsky Crumb, in 2007.