A culture critic reflects on the limits of language -- and the magic of silence
Pulitzer Prize-winning New Yorker writer Hilton Als says we "don't actually have much silence left" in our world. His latest exhibition challenges the way we see art, identity and storytelling.
Understanding the mental health crisis afflicting American teens
Rates of depression, anxiety, self-harm and suicide have risen in recent years. NY Times reporter Matt Richtel says we lack the therapists and treatment centers to care for teens who are suffering.
How a Black neighborhood association in Pittsburgh helped shape emergency medicine
American Sirens author Kevin Hazzard tells the story Freedom House, a neighborhood nonprofit that, with the help of a pioneering physician, trained some of the nation's first paramedics.
A critic revisits his list of the TV and movies he wished he covered in 2022
Every year, John Powers looks back on the great features he never got around to talking about. This year's list includes White Lotus, The Menu, Nanny and Dark Winds — plus one vodka commercial.
What a classic '50s Western can teach us about the Hollywood Blacklist
Author Glenn Frankel says the 1952 film High Noon was inspired by the toxic political climate of the time. Originally broadcast Feb. 21, 2017.
Rachel Maddow uncovers a WWII-era plot against America in 'Ultra'
Maddow's podcast uncovers the widespread anti-Semitic, pro-German sympathies active among major religious and political leaders in the U.S. in the lead-up to U.S. entering WWII.
Critic David Bianculli rounds up the best TV moments of 2022
There was a lot of great television this year, but the winning moment came from HBO's special, The Howard Stern Interview: Bruce Springsteen, an extended two-plus hour conversation between two icons.
Remembering Marijane Meaker, a pioneer of lesbian pulp fiction
Meaker wrote Spring Fire in 1952, and was surprised when it sold 1.5 million copies. She went on to write other lesbian-themed books under pen names. She died Nov. 21. Originally broadcast 2003.
Pioneering writer Octavia Butler on writing Black people and women into sci-fi
Butler's 1979 book, Kindred, is now a series for FX on Hulu. In 1993, the pioneering author, who died in 2006, told Fresh Air she made up her own stories so that she could see herself in them.
Woodrow Wilson led the U.S. into WWI. He also waged war on democracy at home
Author Adam Hochschild says Wilson used the first World War as an excuse to spy on Americans, censor the press and plan for the mass deportation of immigrants. His new book is American Midnight.