Interviews

A family road trip in 1963 inspired Roger Tofte to build a fairy tale theme park. At first, he made everything on his own, by hand. Now, more than 100,000 people a year visit his dream come to life.

Travel website Atlas Obscura and All Things Considered team up for a West Coast summer road trip from California to Washington. The journey starts in the desert outside Los Angeles.

Russell Gackenbach was a 22-year-old second lieutenant on Aug. 6, 1945, when he flew in the Necessary Evil, one of three planes in the mission that dropped the first nuclear weapon used in warfare.

Behrouz Boochani has lived in detention on Manus for five years. He tells NPR about the book he wrote using WhatsApp that tells the story of his failed attempt to flee Iran for asylum in Australia.

Journalist Michael Scott Moore recounts his time in captivity in Somalia. David Bianculli says Better Call Saul is "delightful" in its fourth season. Shalhoub says he questions his worth as an actor.

When Percy White's father left the Virginia farm he worked to move north, the land owner said he wouldn't make it, and would come back. He didn't. That is, until he returned to say "I told you so."

NPR sat down with Jair Bolsonaro, who is in the lead ahead of other (eligible) candidates for the Brazilian presidency.

Desiree Akhavan's film, based on Emily Danforth's novel, centers on a teen sent to gay conversion therapy. Critic Ken Tucker reviews Lori McKenna's new album. Arceneaux's memoir is I Can't Date Jesus.

When James Kirchick was in college, someone he found deeply offensive spoke on campus. Rather than protest, James attended the talk. He says free speech benefits everyone, especially the powerless.

Turkish novelist Elif Shafak has seen firsthand what can happen when a country restricts free speech. She says democracy depends on the right to openly exchange diverse, even oppositional, ideas.

The town of Peabody, Mass., calls him "The King of Cool." Allan Ganz reflects on how his father introduced him to the business, and the cherry on top of his lifelong career: meeting his wife.

For much of her life, Maria Toorpakai has been threatened by extremist groups like the Taliban. Now the subject of a PBS documentary, she tells how she found the courage to keep playing sports.