Best Of: Meshell Ndegeocello / Betty Gilpin

Singer, songwriter, and bassist Meshell Ndegeocello helped define the sound of neo-soul, blending funk, jazz, and R&B into music that was unmistakably her own. Now, on her new album, Synonym, she's taking familiar duets and turning them into something unexpected.  In the hit horror/comedy series Widow's Bay, Betty Gilpin plays a new bride in 1700s New England who finds herself caught in a terrifying satanic curse. She talks about why she’s drawn to weird "anti-algorithm" projects. Rock critic Ken Tucker reviews some newly released recordings by Stevie Wonder for the 50th anniversary of Songs in the Key of Life. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.NPR Privacy Policy

Hall of Fame songwriter Jimmy Webb talks about writing some of the 1960s songs he’s best known for: “By the Time I Get to Phoenix,” “Wichita Lineman,” and “MacArthur Park.” Now 80, he’s got a new album of unreleased songs titled Yours for the Taking. He spoke with Terry Gross in 2004. Also, Justin Chang reviews the new film Possible Love, South Korea’s official Oscar submission for Best International Feature.Support public media with NPR+ and enjoy perks for over 25 podcasts like this one. This show’s perks include bonus episodes and curated playlists of archive interviews. Learn more at plus.npr.org.See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.NPR Privacy Policy

"There's an understandable pull in my industry to make things that are kind of like a gleaming vanilla car commercial, like super safe, super familiar, appeal to the masses. And [then there are] people that are out there who are like, I'm actually going to go the other way,” she tells Fresh Air’s Ann Marie Baldonado. Gilpin won an Emmy for her guest role in the horror-comedy Widow’s Bay, and now she currently stars in the noir series The Lowdown. She talks about growing up with actor parents, aging out of archetypal roles, and the 105% it takes to play Mary Todd Lincoln in “Oh, Mary!” on Broadway. Also, John Powers reviews the documentary Once Upon a Time in Harlem.Subscribe to our free weekly newsletter Follow us on Instagram Subscribe to our YouTube channel Check out the Fresh Air ArchivesSee pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.NPR Privacy Policy

Ahead of the midterms, we talk with two election experts about President Trump’s efforts to interfere with voting. Richard Hasen, director of the Safeguarding Democracy Project, and Pennsylvania’s lead election official, Al Schmidt. Both are hoping the states, the courts and the public will ensure free and fair elections. They spoke with Fresh Air's Dave Davies.Subscribe to our free weekly newsletter Follow us on Instagram Subscribe to our YouTube channel Check out the Fresh Air ArchivesSee pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.NPR Privacy Policy

Ojibwe writer David Treuer’s new book, The Savage Mind: An American Legacy, is written as a letter to his three children. It examines how the violence that shaped America's founding still influences who we are today. Treuer has spent much of his career challenging the idea that Native American history is a story of tragedy and disappearance, and that Native culture is a thing of the past. He spoke with Tonya Mosley about why he felt compelled to write the book now. Plus, rock critic Ken Tucker reviews an extended version of Stevie Wonder’s iconic 50 year-old album Songs in the Key of Life. Subscribe to our free weekly newsletter Follow us on Instagram Subscribe to our YouTube channel Check out the Fresh Air ArchivesSee pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.NPR Privacy Policy

Grammy-winning singer, bassist, and composer Meshell Ndegeocello helped shape the sound that became known as "neo-soul," but she's spent more than three decades resisting the labels placed on her and her music. Now, on her new album, Synonym, she's reimagining familiar songs, including duets made famous by Sonny and Cher and the Human League. But these aren't simply new arrangements. “This album is not just about rearranging chords and rhythms, but also about queerness and self-expression, visibility, liberation," she tells Tonya Mosley. Meshell talks about her "soulful" musical influences, growing up in the Baptist church, and why she loves 'Wicked.'Subscribe to our free weekly newsletter Follow us on Instagram Subscribe to our YouTube channel Check out the Fresh Air ArchivesSee pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.NPR Privacy Policy

In his new film, Your Mother Your Mother Your Mother, Oscar-winning actor Mahershala Ali plays a devout Muslim father and hit man whose life is upended when he suddenly has to care for his children on his own. The role brings together a lot of what has shaped Ali as an actor, including an attraction to characters who live in morally complicated places. “That’s why I think someone like myself signs up to do a part like this,” he tells Tonya Mosley. “Because it isn’t simple. It isn’t easy. It’s a little nasty. It’s a little gray. But it just makes for great drama.” Also, we hear from writer Yiyun Li. She won a Pulitzer for her memoir about the suicides of her two teenage sons. In her new novel, she escapes the present and writes about two piano prodigies. “I’ve written everything I’ve known about life into this novel,” Li tells Terry Gross. Subscribe to our free weekly newsletter Follow us on Instagram Subscribe to our YouTube channel Check out the Fresh Air ArchivesSee pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.NPR Privacy Policy

The actor Eva Marie Saint died last week at age 102. She won an academy award for her first film role in On the Waterfront opposite Marlon Brando, and in Alfred Hitchcock's North by Northwest she co-starred with Cary Grant. She said Hitchcock didn't give her much direction. “Things like lower your voice, don't use your hands… and look directly into Cary Grant's eyes at all times – which was not difficult.” She told Terry Gross in 2000. Also Anne Rice's debut novel Interview with the Vampire turns 50 this year. Terry spoke with Rice in 1990. “I think if a vampire were to come to me and say, 'I can make you immortal, we do exist,' I think I might find the offer irresistible,” she said. Film critic Justin Chang reviews Nathan Fielder’s highly-anticipated documentary about Elizabeth Holmes, You Can See Everything. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.NPR Privacy Policy

Atlantic staff writer Josh Tyrangiel says Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos each want to colonize the moon, mine its resources and launch thousands more satellites -- but their only real competition is each other. “Ordinarily, we have entrusted the future of our civilizations to people we elect to office,” Tyrangiel tells Terry Gross. “We now have folks with a tremendous amount of power over our future, particularly if you view the future as being partially in space, and we have to reckon with it.”Subscribe to our free weekly newsletter Follow us on Instagram Subscribe to our YouTube channel Check out the Fresh Air ArchivesSee pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.NPR Privacy Policy

As polar ice melts in the Arctic, shipping lanes are opening up, making the region a new zone of super-power competition. Writer Rana Foroohar spoke with Dave Davies about the stakes. Her book is in Sea Change.Also, Maureen Corrigan reviews the new graphic book The Saddest Kitchens, by New Yorker cartoonists Roz Chast and Jason Adam Katzenstein. Subscribe to our free weekly newsletter Follow us on Instagram Subscribe to our YouTube channel Check out the Fresh Air ArchivesSee pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.NPR Privacy Policy