George Clooney stars in ‘Jay Kelly’ as a famous actor at a crossroads. He talks about his own relationship to fame and what drew him to the role. Also, Oscar-winning costume designer Paul Tazewell talks about his road to ‘Wicked.’ He’s spent more than three decades shaping looks for the stage and screen. 

And rock critic Ken Tucker has a round up of some of this year’s new Christmas songs.


Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices

NPR Privacy Policy

We remember guitarist, songwriter, and producer Steve Cropper, who helped create the Memphis soul sound of the ‘60s and ‘70s. He died this week at age 84. Stax Records produced soul hits by Booker T. & the M.G.s, Sam & Dave, Isaac Hayes, and more. Cropper spoke with Terry Gross in 1990 about how he became part of the house rhythm section, and went on to help write hits for Otis Redding and Wilson Pickett.  

Also, we remember the celebrated English playwright Tom Stoppard, who was considered a giant of theatre. He died at age 88. Stoppard wrote ‘Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead’ and ‘The Real Thing,’ and the screenplays for ‘Empire of the Sun’ and ‘Shakespeare in Love.’

Jazz historian Kevin Whitehead pays tribute to jazz organist Jimmy Smith, and John Powers reviews the new Brazilian film ‘The Secret Agent.'

Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices

NPR Privacy Policy

Clooney stars as an aging movie star who has neglected his family life in favor of his career in Noah Baumbach’s new film ‘Jay Kelly. ' He spoke with Tonya Mosley about his own journey with fame, his Broadway rendition of “Good Night, and Good Luck,” and his op-ed calling for Biden to withdraw from the 2024 presidential race. 

Follow Fresh Air on instagram @nprfreshair, and subscribe to our weekly newsletter for gems from the Fresh Air archive, staff recommendations, and a peek behind the scenes. 

Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices

NPR Privacy Policy

Washington Post reporter Alex Horton talks about the Sept. 2 US military strike on a boat with alleged "narco terrorists," in which a second strike was ordered to kill two survivors in the water. 

Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices

NPR Privacy Policy

Tazewell made history as the first Black man to win the Oscar for costume design for the first installment of Wicked. He talks with Tonya Mosley about Wicked: For Good, the movies that inspired him, and learning to sew as a child. “I made the decision that I would devote myself to costume design and live vicariously through other characters,” he says. “Where I might not be cast in certain roles because of how I looked, as a designer, I could be anyone.

Follow Fresh Air on instagram @nprfreshair, and subscribe to our weekly newsletter for gems from the Fresh Air archive, staff recommendations, and a peek behind the scenes. 

Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices

NPR Privacy Policy

Food policy expert and nutritionist Marion Nestle's 2006 book, ‘What to Eat,’ became a consumer bible of sorts when it came out, guiding readers through the supermarket while exposing how industry marketing and policy steer our food choices. Now, two decades later, she's back with ‘What to Eat Now,’ a revised field guide for the supermarket of 2025.

Also, film critic Justin Chang reviews the new film Hamnet.

Science writer Mary Roach’s latest book, ‘Replaceable You,’ is about innovations in transplant medicine thanks to promising research and breakthroughs. She tells us about organs transplanted from pigs and attempts to replace bald spots on the scalp with hair from other parts of our bodies.

Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices

NPR Privacy Policy

We mark the 100th anniversary of The Grand Ole Opry, country music’s biggest stage, and feature interviews with two of its members. First up, bluegrass banjo player Earl Scruggs. He and guitarist Lester Flatt had a hit with “Foggy Mountain Breakdown.” Scruggs told Terry Gross how he developed his famous three-finger picking style while absent-mindedly playing the banjo one day. Also, we listen back to Terry’s interview with country music star, “Honky Tonk Girl” Loretta Lynn. 

Film critic Justin Chang reviews a new documentary about Russia's crackdown on independent journalists. It’s called ‘My Undesirable Friends: Part I — Last Air in Moscow.’

Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices

NPR Privacy Policy

A filmed version of the live Broadway production of Stephen Sondheim’s ‘Merrily We Roll Along’ will open in theaters on Dec. 5. We listen back to a 2024 interview with revival director Maria Friedman and actor Jonathan Groff.

Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices

NPR Privacy Policy

Shannon's known for playing intense, menacing characters, like Agent Nelson Van Alden in ‘Boardwalk Empire.’ In two new projects, though, he plays good guys – historical figures pursuing justice and political reform. He’s President James Garfield in the new Netflix series ‘Death by Lightning.’ And he’s a prosecutor trying Nazi leaders for war crimes in the new film ‘Nuremberg.’ Shannon spoke with Dave Davies.

Also, David Bianculli reviews a revived and expanded TV documentary series about the Beatles.Follow Fresh Air on instagram @nprfreshair, and subscribe to our weekly newsletter for gems from the Fresh Air archive, staff recommendations, and a peek behind the scenes.

Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices

NPR Privacy Policy