Al Pacino & Sidney Lumet: 'Dog Day Afternoon' At 50

Oscar-nominated actors Scarlett Johansson and June Squibb talk about their new film, Eleanor The Great. In Johansson's directorial debut, a woman starts passing off her deceased friend's Holocaust survival story as her own.Also, Grammy-winning producer Mark Ronson talks about his memoir Night People—a love letter to the '90s club scene in New York City. He's 50 now and still DJing, but some things have definitely changed. "I used to be leaving the club and dialing the dealer on the way out of the club -- and now I'm making an appointment with my acupuncturist online as I'm leaving the club because my back is just so jacked." Follow Fresh Air on instagram @nprfreshair, and subscribe to our weekly newsletter for gems from the Fresh Air archive, staff recommendations, and a peek behind the scenes. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

A film about a man trying to fund a gender-affirming operation by robbing a bank sounds like a modern-day plot. But 50 years ago, that was the scenario for the classic film Dog Day Afternoon. We're featuring our interviews with director Sidney Lumet and with Al Pacino, who starred as the bank robber. Lumet gave his lead license to take the role as far as he wanted, and then pushed Pacino to do more. "It's really one of the best pieces of movie acting I've ever seen. It was blinding in its intensity, agonizingly painful," he told Terry Gross in 1988.Also, Maureen Corrigan reviews The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny by Kiran Desai which has been shortlisted for the Booker Prize.  Follow Fresh Air on instagram @nprfreshair, and subscribe to our weekly newsletter for gems from the Fresh Air archive, staff recommendations, and a peek behind the scenes.  Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

The WWE superstar considered pursuing a career in mixed martial arts before realizing, "I don't like getting punched in the face." Johnson plays MMA fighter Mark Kerr in Benny Safdie's The Smashing Machine. He spoke with Terry Gross about his many injuries, his relationship with his late father, and his wrestling personas. Follow Fresh Air on instagram @nprfreshair, and subscribe to our weekly newsletter for gems from the Fresh Air archive, staff recommendations, and a peek behind the scenes. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

President Trump is pressuring the Department of Justice to pursue his political enemies, like former FBI director James Comey. Legal scholar (and former U.S. attorney) Barbara McQuade explains how this damages the rule of law.Follow Fresh Air on instagram @nprfreshair, and subscribe to our weekly newsletter for gems from the Fresh Air archive, staff recommendations, and a peek behind the scenes. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Oscar and Grammy-winning music producer Mark Ronson says nothing beats the rush of a great DJ set. "You can call it the scream, the chant, whatever it is. It's like clay or Play-Doh, like the whole crowd is this thing that you're able to mold together. It's incredible. It's kind of why I can't stop DJing," he tells Tonya Mosley. "It's still a feeling that I only get from this one thing, no matter what else I do in my work as a producer." His new memoir, Night People, is a love letter to the 1990s New York City club scene. Follow Fresh Air on instagram @nprfreshairSubscribe to our weekly newsletter for gems from the Fresh Air archive, staff recommendations, and a peek behind the scenes. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

For the first seven years of her life, Cristela Alonzo lived in an abandoned diner in a south Texas border town. She spoke with Terry Gross about ICE raids, being mentored by labor activist Dolores Huerta, and the culture shock of having money after growing up so poor. Her new Netflix stand-up special is called Upper Classy. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

After the tremendous success of Salt Fat Acid Heat, chef and author Samin Nosrat realized she needed to recalibrate her life. "I really believed on some level if I achieved all of these things, that that would fill this hole of loneliness in my heart," she tells Fresh Air's Sam Briger. Nosrat's new book, Good Things, is about sharing food with the people you love.Elizabeth Gilbert, the bestselling author of Eat Pray Love, talks to Tonya Mosley about her new memoir, All the Way to the River. It’s about her intense relationship with her late partner Rayya, a love that she describes as deep and life-changing, but also destructive, marked by addiction and heartbreak.Film critic Justin Chang reviews the new romantic fantasy movie A Big Bold Beautiful Journey, starring Colin Farrell and Margot Robbie. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

With Jimmy Kimmel Live! at the center of a free speech debate, we're revisiting Kimmel's 2013 interview with Terry Gross. The late night host talked about his David Letterman obsession as a teen and the pressure of putting on a late night show. Also, TV critic David Bianculli reviews House of Guinness, the new Netflix series by Stephen Knight, who brought us the shows Peaky Blinders and A Thousand Blows. Film critic Justin Chang reviews the new action-thriller One Battle After Another, by director Paul Thomas Anderson, starring Leonardo DiCaprio.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Actor Scarlett Johansson makes her directorial debut with Eleanor The Great, about a 94-year-old woman who claims her dead friend's Holocaust story as her own. "It's rare to feel surprised when you read a script," Johansson says. Squibb stars as Eleanor. They spoke with Tonya Mosley about Squibb's Broadway nickname, Johansson's memories of working with the late Robert Redford, and hosting SNL.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

After the tremendous success of Salt Fat Acid Heat, chef and author Samin Nosrat realized she needed to recalibrate her life. "I really believed on some level if I achieved all of these things, that that would fill this hole of loneliness in my heart," she tells Fresh Air's Sam Briger. Nosrat's new book, Good Things, is about sharing food with the people you love. Also, Justin Chang reviews Big Bold Beautiful Journey, starring Colin Farrell and Margot Robbie. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy