Michael McDonald

About 25 years ago, acclaimed cellist Yo-Yo Ma asked a high school student to help him name his instrument. He brings his 18th century cello — aka "Petunia" — to the Fresh Air studio for music and conversation. Actor Griffin Dunne grew up in Beverly Hills, where his family would entertain Hollywood celebrities. That made for entertaining stories, but at the heart of his new memoir, Griffin writes about how the Dunne family overcame significant traumas, including the murder of his sister, Dominique. It's called The Friday Afternoon Club.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Hall of Famer Satchel Paige started his career pitching in the Negro leagues and later became a major league star. Author Larry Tye tells his story in Satchel. Plus, Justin Chang reviews Inside Out 2.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Journalist Alexia Fernández Campbell says that some freed men and women were given titles to land following the Civil War — but after President Lincoln's death, the land was taken back. Campbell is a contributor to 40 Acres And A Lie, a three-part series featured in Mother Jones and the public radio show and podcast Reveal, which explores how the land loss deprived Black people of building intergenerational wealth. David Bianculli reviews the new Apple TV+ series, Presumed Innocent.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

'The Always Sunny in Philadelphia' co-creator and co-star bought a Welsh football club during the pandemic. McElhenney says he and actor Ryan Reynolds bought the team to "bring hope to a town that had fallen on hard times." The FX series 'Welcome to Wrexham,' now in its third season on Hulu, chronicles the team, its owners and fans.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson still remembers the first time he heard The Sugarhill Gang's 1980 hit "Rapper's Delight." It felt like a paradigm shift: "Suddenly they start talking in rhythmic poetry and we didn't know what to make of it," The Roots bandleader says. Questlove's new book is Hip-Hop is History.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Dunne grew up in Beverly Hills, in a family of storytellers — including his father, author Dominic. He talks about his complicated relationship with fame and the trauma the family experienced after the 1982 murder of his sister, Dominique. Dunne's new memoir is 'The Friday Afternoon Club.'Maureen Corrigan reviews 'Consent,' by Jill Ciment.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Stephen Sondheim's musical Merrily We Roll Along flopped when it debuted in 1981. But its Broadway revival has been a hit, garnering seven Tony nominations. We talk with director Maria Friedman, who was a friend of Sondheim's, and actor Jonathan Groff. MSNBC host Ali Velshi traces his family's migration across three continents, from a village in India to South Africa — where his grandfather crossed paths with Mahatma Gandhi — to Kenya, Canada and the U.S. Velshi's new memoir is Small Acts of Courage.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Comic, actor and filmmaker Julio Torres came to the U.S. from El Salvador in his early 20s — and he says he is personally familiar with "all the Catch-22s of the immigration system." Torres addressed immigration in Problemista; his new HBO comedy series is Fantasmas. Plus, John Powers reviews Becoming Karl Lagerfeld.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

While reporting on Harvey Weinstein and the #MeToo movement, Farrow unearthed details of the National Enquirer's plan to pay for damaging stories about Trump and then bury those stories — a practice known as "catch and kill." The connection between that practice and the 2016 election gave prosecutors a felony case against the former president.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Whitehead's sequel to Harlem Shuffle centers on crime at every level, from small-time crooks to Harlem's elite. "My early '70s New York is dingy and grimy," the Pulitzer Prize-winning author says. Plus, Ken Tucker reviews Swamp Dogg's new album, Blackgrass.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy