Fresh Air Weekend: 'Orange Is The New Black,' Valerie June, Sherpas

Fresh Air Weekend highlights some of the best interviews and reviews from past weeks, and new program elements specially paced for weekends. Our weekend show emphasizes interviews with writers, filmmakers, actors and musicians, and often includes excerpts from live in-studio concerts. This week:

Behind 'The New Black': The Real Piper's Prison Story: When she was 24, Piper Kerman dated a woman who was part of a drug smuggling ring. Years later, after being named as part of that ring, Kerman served time in a federal prison and at one point shared a cell with her former girlfriend. Her memoir of that experience inspired the Netflix series.

'Orange' Creator Jenji Kohan: 'Piper Was My Trojan Horse': Orange Is the New Black's showrunner explains how a story about a privileged white woman and criminality allows her to tell "really fascinating tales" of black women, Latinas, old women and criminals. Kohan also created the Showtime series Weeds.

Valerie June Wants To Be On Your Mind: June can sing a duel with the Devil, even as her voice tells you she knows she's already triumphed.

On Mount Everest, Sherpa Guides Bear The Brunt Of The Danger: Sherpa guides are 10 times more likely to die than commercial fishermen, the most dangerous, nonmilitary occupation in the U.S. But they're offered little financial protection by companies who charge Western climbers thousands of dollars for a trip up the mountain.

You can listen to the original interviews here:

• Behind 'The New Black': The Real Piper's Prison Story
• 'Orange' Creator Jenji Kohan: 'Piper Was My Trojan Horse'
• Valerie June Wants To Be On Your Mind
• On Mount Everest, Sherpa Guides Bear The Brunt Of The Danger

Copyright 2015 NPR. To see more, visit http://www.npr.org/.