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Lee Sung Jin on the breakthrough that led him to ‘BEEF’ Jul 23, 2026

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The second season of Lee Sung Jin’s Netflix series ‘BEEF’ earned 16 Emmy nominations. Set at an exclusive country club, it stars Oscar Isaac and Carey Mulligan in a story about class struggles and generational differences. The storylines of both seasons were inspired by real events in Lee's life. Before ‘BEEF,’ he spent two decades in comedy writers' rooms, often feeling alienated as the only Asian person on staff. “That's what people first thought of me when I first started – I was the diversity hire." He spoke with Tonya Mosley about the years he spent masking to fit in, and the breaking point that changed how he writes.
TV critic David Bianculli reviews the new Apple TV series ‘Lucky.’
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Jia Tolentino on ‘Our Plastic Surgery Nightmare’ Jul 22, 2026

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Botox, fillers, facelifts: Plastic surgery is becoming so normalized and undetectable, it's changing our relationship to reality. ‘New Yorker’ staff writer Jia Tolentino considers how beauty standards have dovetailed with AI.
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Broadway legend André De Shields doesn't walk, he floats Jul 21, 2026

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At the age of 80, Broadway legend André De Shields now starring in "CATS: The Jellicle Ball." He won a Tony in 2019 for his performance in "Hadestown," and co-stars in the new film of last year’s London revival. He made his Broadway debut in the title role of the 1975 original production of "The Wiz."
De Shields describes himself as Afro Queer, a longtime HIV survivor, and unreformed hippie, who grew up in inner city Baltimore. He’s always gone his own way in how he thinks, speaks, dresses and moves. "I don’t rush anywhere. I walk slowly. My reputation is that Andre DeShields doesn’t walk, he floats." He spoke with Terry Gross.
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Harriet Clark spent 37 years visiting her mom in prison Jul 20, 2026

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In 1981, members of radical offshoots of the Weather Underground and the Black Panthers robbed a Brinks truck carrying over $1.5 million. It ended in a shootout, killing two police officers and a security guard. Judith Clark was driving a getaway car. She was sentenced to a minimum of 75 years. Her 11-month-old daughter was left to be raised by Judith’s collective and later by Judith’s parents. Terry Gross talks with her daughter, Harriet Clark, whose new acclaimed novel is drawn from childhood experiences visiting her mother in prison. “I think she figured out how to mother me in some of the most difficult conditions possible,” she says.
Also, Ken Tucker reviews two albums that draw on rock's past: The Dirty Knobs’ ‘Mission of Mercy’ and Low Cut Connie's ‘Livin in the USA.’
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Best Of: ‘The Invite’ screenwriters / Guitarist Lenny Kaye Jul 18, 2026

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Rashida Jones and Will McCormack are the screenwriting duo behind ‘The Invite.’ It takes on the realities of marriage in middle age, told over the course of one dinner party that spirals out of control. They’ve been mining stories like this together for decades, finding the funny inside the painful. “We are never above a laugh. There's nothing that's grave enough for us not to laugh about, because that's how we release. That's how we process our pain,” Jones tells Tonya Mosley.
Also, Lenny Kaye, Patti Smith’s longtime guitarist, has his first solo album at age 79. It’s called ‘Goin’ Local.’ He spoke with Terry Gross about his decades-long collaboration with Smith and evolving with age and experience.
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Ebon Moss-Bachrach on ‘The Bear’ Jul 17, 2026

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As ‘The Bear’ wraps its final season, TV critic David Bianculli reflects on the show’s run. Also, we listen back to our interview with Ebon Moss-Bachrach, who plays Cousin Richie, the abrasive and ornery cook/maître d'. The show is known for kitchen chaos, but he says the set is calm. He spoke with 'Fresh Air' producer Ann Marie Baldonado.
Film critic Justin Chang reviews Christopher Nolan’s epic ‘The Odyssey.’
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Apache Chef Nephi Craig says cooking saved his life Jul 16, 2026

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White Mountain Apache chef Nephi Craig had an unconventional culinary path: from a reservation to a fine dining restaurant to cooking for 7,800 inmates while in county jail. Now he's the executive chef at Café Gozhóó. He spoke with Terry Gross about Native cuisine, getting sober, and bringing nutrition education and addiction treatment to his community on the reservation. His memoir is ‘Our Knives Will Save Us.’
Also, John Powers reviews the big tech heist novel ‘Cloudthief’ by Nathaniel Rich.
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Gold, secrets, never-ending meetings: Inside the Trump White House Jul 15, 2026

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Journalist Jonathan Swan’s book, ‘Regime Change,’ co-written with fellow ‘New York Times’ reporter Maggie Haberman, is a portrait of President Trump’s second term – which Swan calls "unrecognizable" from term one. The reporting duo interviewed over 1,000 sources for the book, including the president himself. Their work adds rich detail to developments that were generally known, and explores stories that had somehow slipped under the radar. Swan spoke with Fresh Air contributor and former politics reporter Dave Davies.
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Uncovering abuse inside America's largest ICE detention center Jul 14, 2026

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‘New Yorker’ staff writer Jonathan Blitzer says thousands of people are being held in tents in the El Paso, Texas, desert, where inhumane conditions have become a tool to pressure people to accept deportation. There have been 52 deaths in detention centers since President Trump took office, and a significant number of them are suicides. Blitzer spoke with co-host Tonya Mosley.
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'The Invite' screenwriters Rashida Jones & Will McCormack Jul 13, 2026

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The new film, ‘The Invite,’ directed by Olivia Wilde, offers a portrait of a marriage in middle age, told over the course of one dinner party that spirals out of control. Screenwriters Rashida Jones and Will McCormack have been mining this territory together for decades, while finding the funny inside the painful. “We are never above a laugh,” Jones says. “There's nothing that's grave enough for us not to laugh about, because that's how we release. That's how we process our pain.” They spoke with Tonya Mosley about their creative process and their other films, ‘Celeste & Jesse Forever,’ ‘Quincy,’ and ‘If Anything Happens I Love You.’
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