Fresh Air Weekend: Comic Mike Birbiglia; 'Zero Day'; 'Veep' Showrunner David Mandel

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:

Comic Mike Birbiglia On His Best Failure And The 3 Rules Of Improv: Birbiglia says the failure of his sitcom pilot is the best thing that could have happened to him, artistically. His new film, Don't Think Twice, tells the story of an improv comedy group.

'Zero Days' Documentary Exposes A Looming Threat Of The Digital Age: Filmmaker Alex Gibney's new documentary focuses on the large-scale implications of computer malware. Critic John Powers calls Zero Days an important — and chilling — film.

'Veep' Showrunner On Politics And The 'Thankless Task' Of Being Second In Command: David Mandel, the Emmy-nominated writer, director and executive producer of the HBO series Veep, discusses the current season of the show, his work on SNL and the 2016 presidential election.

You can listen to the original interviews here:

Comic Mike Birbiglia On His Best Failure And The 3 Rules Of Improv

'Zero Days' Documentary Exposes A Looming Threat Of The Digital Age

'Veep' Showrunner On Politics And The 'Thankless Task' Of Being Second In Command

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