David Byrne's Christmas Playlist

Brown won an Emmy for his portrayal of Christopher Darden in The People v. O.J. Simpson, and another for This Is Us. He now appears in the film American Fiction. He spoke with Terry Gross about losing his father, how his feelings about the O.J. Simpson case changed, and prejudice he faced in Hollywood.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Ruffalo played a debauched cad in Yorgos Lanthimos' bawdy, dark comedy Poor Things. It was a big departure from his previous work playing real people in dramas like Spotlight or Foxcatcher, or as the Incredible Hulk in the Marvel movies. The Oscar-nominated actor spoke with Sam Briger about these roles, how he got his start in acting, and how a brain tumor changed his life.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Jimmy Carter died Sunday at age 100. The 39th president spoke with Terry Gross a few times over the years about growing up on a Georgia farm, entering politics, and his career in human rights and conflict resolution.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

In 2021, burnt out from the intensity of her early career, Maggie Rogers considered quitting music entirely. Instead, she took a detour — to Harvard Divinity School, where she earned a master's degree in religion and public life. Her 2024 album is Don't Forget Me. 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. Her memoir this year was about her time in the punk scene, her childhood, and finding joy in expressing anger in public.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

This year TV news journalist Connie Chung wrote a new tell-all memoir. It's about breaking into the boys club of her industry, her marriage to Maury Povitch, and the big scoops of her career. The funny and off-the-cuff news icon spoke with Tonya Mosley. Also, jazz historian Kevin Whitehead remembers musicians who died this year.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Jeremy Strong is nominated for a Golden Globe for his role as lawyer and political hitman Roy Cohn in The Apprentice. The movie, he says, "explores essentially how Trump was made, and his philosophical moral framework." Strong talks with Terry Gross about playing Cohn and about playing Kendall Roy on HBO's Succession.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

The new biopic A Complete Unknown follows a young Bob Dylan as he arrives in New York and changes American folk music forever. Edward Norton plays folk icon Pete Seeger, who had a big impact on Dylan. Seeger was famous for his songs about working people, unions, and social justice. We're revisiting Terry's 1984 interview with Seeger, as well as her 2016 interview with Bruce Springsteen, who was compared to Dylan when he broke onto the scene.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

The singer-songwriter and Talking Heads frontman presents some of his favorite holiday music — including songs by The Pogues, James Brown, LCD Soundsystem and Paul Simon. Find his playlist on Apple Music and Spotify. Also, our film critic Justin Chang shares his list of the best movies of 2024.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Jon Batiste joins us from the piano and plays some of his favorite Christmas songs. It's part two of our recent session with him. Batiste is the former band leader and music director for The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. He's won multiple Grammys and an Oscar. Inviting musicians to perform or play recordings of their favorite Christmas songs is a new Fresh Air tradition. It started two years ago, with DJ and co-founder of the Roots, Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson, who put together a playlist of Christmas songs and talked us through his picks.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Award-winning sister-brother duo Billie Eilish and Finneas O'Connell talk about their songwriting process, her changing voice, and their new album, Hit Me Hard and Soft. Later, Stephen Colbert and his wife Evie McGee Colbert talk about their cookbook of home recipes inspired by their South Carolina roots. It's called Does This Taste Funny?Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy