Interviews

Kevin Breel: What Can Depression Teach Us About Comedy?

9:10am March 24, 2017

by NPR/TED Staff

The image of the "sad clown" can seem like a cliche. But for Kevin Breel, it's very real. He describes how he struggled with depression while performing as a stand-up comedian.

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Writer-director Jordan Peele says that making Get Out represents his "truest passion."

Fresh Air Weekend: Jordan Peele; 'Monk Dreams'; Novelist Sebastian Barry

12:43pm March 18, 2017

Get Out Director Jordan Peele discusses his love of horror films. Kevin Whitehead reviews Frank Carlberg's new tribute to Thelonious Monk. Barry's novel, Days Without End, features Irish immigrants.

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Chris sits down for tea with Rose's parents in Get Out. (From left, Catherine Keener, Bradley Whitford, Allison Williams, Betty Gabriel and Daniel Kaluuya).

Arts

'Get Out' Sprang From An Effort To Master Fear, Says Director Jordan Peele

4:07pm March 15, 2017

As a kid, Peele was terrified of "the demons that lurked in the dark." Then he realized that by making a horror-thriller, he "would be wielding this power, as opposed to being a victim to it."

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Samantha Bee doesn't sit behind a desk on her TBS show Full Frontal. She says, "For me, it would've been a crutch."

Fresh Air Weekend: Samantha Bee; 'Personal Shopper'; Novelist Mohsin Hamid

11:44am March 11, 2017

For Bee and her Full Frontal co-creator, Trump's election meant doubling down on their White House coverage. Justin Chang reviews Personal Shopper. Hamid discusses his novel Exit West.

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Books
Arts

Malcolm Gladwell: Do More Choices Make Us Happier?

8:48am March 10, 2017

by NPR/TED Staff

We assume that our choices come with prepackaged consequences. But author Malcolm Gladwell explains how we aren't simply passive recipients of our decisions.

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Science
Arts

Sheena Iyengar: Why Are Some Choices So Paralyzing?

8:48am March 10, 2017

by NPR/TED Staff

Psycho-economist Sheena Iyengar explains how we can actively use choice as a tool to help us arrive at decisions we can live with.

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Science
Arts

Ruth Chang: How Can Making Hard Choices Empower Us?

8:48am March 10, 2017

by NPR/TED Staff

One choice isn't always better than the other. Philosopher Ruth Chang says, once we realize that, it's easier to embrace the hard work of decision-making.

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Dan Ariely: When Are Our Decisions Made For Us?

8:48am March 10, 2017

by NPR/TED Staff

We often think that our decisions are our own. But Behavioral Economist Dan Ariely explains how our environment — even something as simple as how a question is framed — can affect what we choose.

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Comedian Cristela Alonzo discusses her role in her new Netflix special, "Lower Classy" at Build Studio in New York City on January 19.

Arts

From Mom Jokes To Trump-Era Racism, Cristela Alonzo Aims To Skewer Latino Stereotypes

9:21pm March 05, 2017

by Lulu Garcia-Navarro

The star of the new Netflix special Lower Classy talks to NPR's Lulu Garcia-Navarro about how she writes her Mexican-American identity into comedy, along with stories from her childhood on the border.

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Maj. Mary Jennings Hegar served three tours in Afghanistan.

Fresh Air Weekend: Women In Combat; 'Bette And Joan'; 'The Photo Ark'

11:26am March 04, 2017

Maj. Mary Jennings Hegar discusses her memoir, Shoot Like a Girl. David Bianculli says Bette and Joan is "wickedly funny." Joel Sartore talks about his effort to photograph 12,000 animal species.

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