A conversation with R. Crumb, the king of underground comics
Crumb's comics were staples of 1960s counterculture. He's now the subject of a new biography. Crumb spoke to Fresh Air in 2005, and again, with his wife, fellow comic Aline Kominsky Crumb, in 2007.
Remembering comic Gilbert Gottfried
Gottfried was known for his unusual voice and cranky stage persona — which made him a perfect fit to play the evil parrot Iago in Disney's Aladdin. He spoke with Fresh Air in 1992.
The midterm elections will show if Trump is still a 'kingmaker'
NYT's Shane Goldmacher says Trump doles out endorsements to Republican candidates to elevate allies, punish enemies and make the 'Big Lie', that the 2020 election was stolen, into a party litmus test.
Kazuo Ishiguro draws on his songwriting past to write novels about the future
The Nobel Prize-winning novelist explains how he honed his craft earlier in his career. His book, Klara and the Sun, is set in the future and has an A.I. narrator. Originally published March 17, 2021.
Emily St. John Mandel tackles the big questions in 'Sea of Tranquility'
Mandel's latest work is an ingeniously constructed, deeply absorbing novel that summons up three fully realized worlds in three distinct time periods — including the 25th century.
How the abortion underground is prepping for a post-Roe v. Wade world
Nomadland author and Atlantic journalist Jessica Bruder explains how health advocates and activists are preparing ways to provide abortions if Roe is either overturned or weakened by the SCOTUS.
Reissue traces jazz giant Ornette Coleman's 'Genesis of Genius'
Coleman's first LPs from the late 1950s are newly available. They showcase Coleman's sound before he began making the records with his own bands that made him a controversial jazz star.