Terry Gross
Stories
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Arts & Life
Remembering James Earl Jones, legend of the stage and screen
Jones, who died Sept. 9, voiced Darth Vader in Star Wars and Mufasa in The Lion King. He started out in theater in the 1950s, and later won a Tony and an honorary Oscar. Originally broadcast in 1993.
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Politics
How Democrats and Republicans are gearing up for a post-election legal fight
Trump has claimed that the only way he can lose on election day is if there’s voter fraud. New York Times reporter Nick Corasaniti explains the battle over the ballot box and post-election results.
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Arts & Life
What Musk's Twitter takeover could tell us about a possible government appointment
After buying Twitter in 2022, Elon Musk instituted sweeping changes — including rebranding the social media platform as "X." Authors Kate Conger and Ryan Mac recount the takeover in Character Limit.
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Arts & Life
Celebrating 25 years of 'The Sopranos,' the series that changed TV
David Bianculli reviews Wise Guy, a documentary about the landmark HBO series. Plus, we listen back to archival interviews with creator David Chase, and actors Michael Imperioli and Lorraine Bracco.
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National
Why anti-fascist vigilantes are infiltrating far-right 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 planned attacks.
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Arts & Life
'I want to write myself into existence,' says 'Colored Television' author
Danzy Senna was born in 1970, just a few years after Loving v. Virginia legalized interracial marriage. “Just merely existing as a family was a radical statement at that time,” she says.
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Arts & Life
Celebrating movie icons: Samuel Jackson
In this 2000 interview, the Pulp Fiction star remembered watching movies in segregated theaters. Though he often plays tough guys he said, in real life, "I don't walk around looking for trouble."
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Arts & Life
Celebrating movie icons: Spike Lee
Lee's first film, 1986's She’s Gotta Have It, helped make him a central figure in independent and Black cinema. In 2017, he talked about adapting that film into a 10-part Netflix series.
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Fresh Air Weekend: Celebrating movie icons Steven Spielberg and Carrie Fisher
In 2022, Spielberg describes himself as a fearful kid who found solace in storytelling. In 2016, opened up about Star Wars, the famous gold bikini and her on-set affair co-star with Harrison Ford.
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Arts & Life
Celebrating movie icons: The films of Sergio Leone
Once disparaged as "spaghetti Westerns," Leone's films helped revive the genre, and ushered in a unique visual style. In 2005, cultural historian Christopher Frayling reflected on Leone's influence.