Mahmoud Khalil's wife on his detention and her search for answers
Noor Abdalla and her husband, Mahmoud Khalil, are expecting their first child next month, and they were getting ready. Planning a baby shower. Buying a stroller. Picking out tiny baby clothes. Those preparations are all on hold now as Abdalla, a U.S. citizen born in the Midwest, fights for her husband, Khalil's release.
Khalil is a Columbia University graduate student and lawful permanent resident of the United States who was detained by Homeland Security, apparently for his prominent roles in protests at Columbia against Israel's war in Gaza.
"He's on a green card. He is not doing anything wrong. Exercising your First Amendment rights is not illegal," she said. "I think what's so scary about this and what people need to realize, is the fact that you can kidnap someone basically from their home for going to a protest. That's terrifying."
She spoke to Morning Edition's Leila Fadel about Khalil's legal fight and what's next. Read more, or listen to the full interview.
Seth Rogen lands the 'tragic job' of studio executive in his new comedy series
In 2000, when Seth Rogen and his creative partner Evan Goldberg were just starting out in Hollywood, they met with a studio executive who made a cynical confession: He said that although he had entered the profession because he loved movies, he felt his job was to ruin them.
The sentiment stuck with Rogen, and now he and Goldberg have made it the basis of their new Apple TV+ comedy series, The Studio. In it, Rogen plays a flustered Hollywood executive who gets an unexpected promotion as the head of a movie studio after his boss is fired.
On Fresh Air, Tonya Mosley talked to Rogen about his new show, celebrity cameos, and the secret to his recent "glow up." Read the highlights here, or listen to the full interview.
Trump administration cuts funding for program that tracked Ukrainian children abducted by Russia
Funding for a U.S.-based program that tracks thousands of Ukrainian children allegedly abducted and taken to Russia has been cut and U.S. lawmakers are worried that a database with crucial information has been permanently deleted, according to a letter to Secretary of State Marco Rubio signed by more than 15 lawmakers.
"This data is absolutely crucial to Ukraine's efforts to return their children home … The foreign aid freeze has jeopardized, and may ultimately eliminate, our informational support of Ukraine on this front," the letter states.
One of the lawmakers behind the letter to Rubio is Rep. Greg Landsman, a Democrat from Ohio. He spoke with All Things Considered's Ailsa Chang.
For Uzo Aduba, there's no such thing as "too late"
Uzo Aduba very nearly wasn't an actor. She wasn't getting traction in auditions so she convinced herself that she should give it all up and go to law school. The same exact day she made this decision, she came home to a message saying she landed the part of Suzanne on the hit show Orange Is the New Black.
Honestly, I'm pretty sure Uzo Aduba would have been a damn good lawyer. There's a sense of authority and competence under so many of her performances. Whether playing Shirley Chisholm in Mrs. America or therapist Brooke Taylor in the show In Treatment. Now she's working with Shonda Rhimes in her latest show, The Residence, where she plays detective Cordelia Cupp — a woman who suffers ZERO fools in this Netflix whodunnit.
Black lady detectives are used to being "the only one" in a room. But Cordelia also has this other weight to bear because she's clearly the smartest person in every room she's in, so she spends a lot of her time explaining things to people who can't keep up.
So yes, while a sliding doors scenario might have taken Uzo Aduba in an entirely different professional direction, once you have watched her inhabit one of these characters, it is impossible to imagine her doing anything else.
Watch the full interview here, read the highlights or listen on the NPR app.
At 83, Martha Stewart celebrates gardening with her 101st book
For four decades, Martha Stewart has been an emblem of all things homemaking. From her elaborate spreads of food to her revered home décor tips, she has built her home and lifestyle expertise into a sprawling media empire.
At 83, she just published her 101st book, Martha Stewart's Gardening Handbook: The Essential Guide to Designing, Planting, and Growing. In the book, Stewart shares advice on topics such as growing produce and arranging flowers. Along with her practical tips, she also opens up about the importance of gardening in her life — which she says is a source of both immediate and long-term gratification.
Stewart spoke with NPR's Morning Edition host Michel Martin about how she came to love gardening, tips for beginners and the blooms she's looking forward to this spring. Read the highlights or listen to the full interview.
Japanese Breakfast's Michelle Zauner embraces melancholy in new album
The music of the indie rock band Japanese Breakfast is suffused with longing. In songs from the group's first LP, 2016's Psychopomp, author, musician and singer Michelle Zauner longs for her mother, who died of cancer more than a decade ago.
The 35-year-old Zauner explores other kinds of longing on the band's latest album, For Melancholy Brunettes (& sad women). The lyrics tell stories of figures who yearn — some who get what they want, and others who do and wish they hadn't.
"All of these characters succumb to some sort of temptation or disrupt a balance in their lives and are then grappling with the consequences or regrets of that decision-making," says Zauner.
She spoke with Lindsay Totty on Morning Edition this week. Read the highlights or listen to the full interview.
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