A 'Curb Your Enthusiasm' Appreciation

Journalist Ari Berman says the founding fathers created a system that concentrated power in the hands of an elite minority — and that their decisions continue to impact American democracy today. Berman's book is Minority Rule.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Writer Salman Rushdie talks about the knife attack that nearly killed him — and his life since then. In 2022, he was onstage at a literary event when the assailant ran up from the audience, and stabbed him 14 times. His new book is called Knife. Also, Diarra Kilpatrick talks about writing and starring in the new series, Diarra From Detroit, a dark comedy about a public school teacher who is ghosted by a Tinder date and, in her quest to find out why, investigates a decades-old mystery that takes her into the underbelly of Detroit. Ken Tucker reviews Tierra Whack's new album World Wide Whack.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Longtime PBS news anchor Robert MacNeil died last week at 93. He spoke with Terry Gross a few times over the course of his journalism career. We revisit those conversations. Also, we listen back to Eleanor Coppola's 1992 interview about her documentary, Hearts of Darkness. It chronicles the chaotic filming of Francis Ford Coppola's movie Apocalypse Now. She also died last week, at age 87.David Bianculli reviews HBO's The Jinx — Part Two, which picks up where The Jinx left off: With Robert Durst admitting to murder.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Fast Food Nation author Eric Schlosser says mergers and acquisitions have created food oligopolies that are inefficient, barely regulated and sometimes dangerous. His new documentary with Michael Pollan is Food, Inc. 2. Also, Justin Chang reviews the film The Beast. Keep up with Fresh Air, learn what's coming next week, and get staff recommendations by subscribing to our weekly newsletter. For sponsor-free episodes of Fresh Air — and exclusive weekly bonus episodes, too — subscribe to Fresh Air+ via Apple Podcasts or at https://plus.npr.org/freshairLearn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Alua Arthur works with families, caretakers, and people close to death who want to be intentional about the end of life. She's learned through her work and her own experiences with loss that facing the inevitable can help lessen the anxiety and fear so many of us have around death. Her new book is called, Briefly Perfectly Human. Also, we remember painter Faith Ringgold, who died Saturday at the age of 93.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Rushdie was onstage at a literary event in 2022 when he was attacked by a man in the audience: "Dying in the company of strangers — that was what was going through my mind." His new book is Knife.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Growing up, when Diarra Kilpatrick watched murder mystery shows with her grandmother, she never saw Black women driving the narrative. Her new BET+ series seeks to change that. It's called Diarra From Detroit.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Andrew Scott stars as a con artist with no conscience in the new Netflix series Ripley. It's an adaptation of the Patricia Highsmith novel The Talented Mr. Ripley. He spoke with Terry Gross about tapping into his darker side for the role — and playing the "hot priest" in Fleabag.Also, we hear about how cars became our most gendered technology. Women used to be considered unqualified to drive, or just terrible drivers. Glamorous women were used to advertise cars. And yet cars have been designed for male bodies, in ways that put women drivers at risk. Journalist Nancy Nichols is the author of Women Behind the Wheel. Maureen Corrigan reviews Lionel Shriver's latest novel, Mania.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Godzilla X Kong: The New Empire is the latest film starring two of cinema's biggest monsters. Today we take a look at the first time they were introduced to audiences. Film historian Rudy Behlmer tells us about the 1933 film King Kong. And Steve Ryfle wrote a book about the making of the 1954 Japanese film Godzilla.Also, film critic Justin Chang reviews Civil War.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Atlantic journalist Stephanie McCrummen says foreign interests are acquiring Serengeti territory in Northern Tanzania, effectively displacing indigenous cattle-herders from their traditional grazing lands. McCrummen spoke with Dave Davies about the billionaires, conservation groups, and safari tourism in this story. Also, John Powers reviews the TV adaptation of Viet Thanh Nguyen's Pulitzer Prize-winning book, The Sympathizer.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy