Best Of: Brittney Griner / Discovering Plant Intelligence

Musician, activist, and punk pioneer Kathleen Hanna talks about being at the epicenter of the '90s riot grrrl movement. She talks about the early days of Bikini Kill and writing the anthem "Rebel Girl." Book critic Maureen Corrigan reviews Claire Messud's new novel.Also, actor Tyler James Williams shares the motivation behind his role as a no-nonsense teacher on the hit series Abbott Elementary.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Filmmaker Roger Corman, the "King of the B" movies, died last week at the age of 98. He made hundreds of films, such cult classics as Little Shop of Horrors, A Bucket of Blood, House of Usher, The Last Woman on Earth, and The Cry Baby Killer. We feature our 1990 interview with him, and with those whose careers he helped launch – including actors Peter Fonda and Bruce Dern, as well as directors James Cameron, Martin Scorsese, and Jonathan Demme. And our critic at large, John Powers, has an appreciation.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Wallace is known for his celebrity profiles, but his new memoir, Another Word For Love, is about his own life, growing up unhoused, Black and queer, and getting his start as a writer at the age of 40.David Bianculli shares an appreciation of John Mulaney's six-part live Netflix talk show, Everybody's in L.A.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

The Economist Middle East correspondent Gregg Carlstrom explains why some Arab leaders hate Hamas, fear Iran and have some sympathy for Israel — although not for how Israel is waging the war.For sponsor-free episodes of Fresh Air — and exclusive weekly bonus episodes, too — subscribe to Fresh Air+ via Apple Podcasts or here.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Williams was thrust into the public eye as a kid, when he starred in Everybody Hates Chris. Now, playing a teacher on Abbott Elementary, he strives to make the child actors on set feel comfortable. He spoke with Tonya Mosley about the trauma of fame as a kid, his Crohn's diagnosis, and tuning out online chatter. Justin Chang reviews the Japanese film Evil Does Not Exist, by Drive My Car director Ryûsuke Hamaguchi.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Kathleen Hanna's band Bikini Kill was the epicenter of the riot grrrl feminist punk movement of the '90s. Their song "Rebel Girl" was the anthem. Now Hanna has a memoir (also called Rebel Girl) about her time in the punk scene, her childhood, and finding joy in expressing anger in public. Also, book critic Maureen Corrigan reviews Claire Messud's new novel, This Strange Eventful History. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

WNBA star Brittney Griner talks about the physical and emotional hell of her nearly 300 days in Russian prisons. Russian authorities apprehended Griner at the Moscow Airport when she was found carrying a tiny amount of medically prescribed cannabis — then charged her with drug smuggling. Her memoir is Coming Home. Jazz historian Kevin Whitehead reviews a 1959 Sonny Rollins reissue. And we'll talk about plant intelligence with climate journalist Zoë Schlanger. Her book is The Light Eaters.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Viet Thanh Nguyen's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel The Sympathizer has been adapted into a series on HBO/MAX. It's set in Vietnam during the last days of the war, and in LA, just after. The narrator becomes a consultant to a Hollywood film about the war. The novel is written from a Vietnamese perspective. "It's my revenge on Francis Ford Coppola, my revenge on Hollywood, to try to get Americans to understand that Vietnam is a country and not a war," he told Terry Gross in 2016. Nguyen's family fled their village in South Vietnam in 1975, when it was taken over by the North. Also, David Bianculli reviews Let It Be, the Beatles film restored and rereleased after being shelved for more than 50 years.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

We remember painter and sculptor Frank Stella, whose early work was considered revolutionary. He died last week at age 87. Stella became famous and controversial in the 1950s for his "black paintings," which were a stark contrast to the abstract expressionism of the time, and made him one of the fathers of minimalism. Later, we'll feature an interview with one of the most influential early rock and roll guitarists, Duane Eddy. He also died last week. Book critic Maureen Corrigan reviews Long Island, Colm Tóibín's new sequel to his bestselling novel Brooklyn. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

#BlackLivesMatter. #OscarsSoWhite. #ICantBreathe. Filmmaker Prentice Penny's docuseries about Black Twitter celebrates the voices and movements that impacted politics and culture. Penny was also the showrunner of the HBO series Insecure. Also, John Powers reviews the four-part series Shardlake, based on C.J. Sansom's first novel in a series about a crime-solving lawyer in 16th-century England.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy