Terry Gross

Juneteenth celebrates the day slavery ended in Texas, June 19, 1865. Historian Annette Gordon-Reed studies the early American republic and the legacy of slavery. Originally broadcast May 25, 2021.

The Sound of Music star will soon be honored with the AFI's Life Achievement Award. In 2008 and 2019, she spoke to Fresh Air about growing up during WWII and performing in her parents' vaudeville.

NY Times Congressional reporter Luke Broadwater says the effort to overturn the '20 election results was a "sprawling and diffuse" one that involved local governments as well as White House insiders.

Blackwell grew up in Jamaica, and, as the head of Island Records, helped launch the careers of reggae stars like Bob Marley and Jimmy Cliff, as well as rock bands like U2. His memoir is The Islander.

The SNL alum talks with friends and other comics about queer culture, relationships and racism on her HBO show. Jay's comedy special, 3 in the Morning, is about her relationship with her fiancée.

Staley's won Olympic gold medals as a player and as a head coach. She played in the WNBA, and is now head coach of the South Carolina Gamecocks women's team, which won the NCAA championship in 2022.

Liotta, who died May 26, started out playing a nice guy on a soap opera. Then came his tough-guy roles in Something Wild and Goodfellas. He was also in Field of Dreams. Originally broadcast in 2016.

In 2019, Houston Chronicle journalist Robert Downen helped break the story about sexual abuse within the SBC. That led the church to commission its own independent study, which suggested a coverup.

"My father was not a good person, but he was a great character," Sedaris says. The humorist writes about his efforts to make peace with his memories of his late father in Happy-Go-Lucky.

In June, Lansbury will receive the Tony Award for lifetime achievement. The Murder, She Wrote star previously won Tonys for her performances in Gypsy and Sweeney Todd. Originally broadcast in 2000.

Nina Jankowicz was tapped to head the Biden administration's new Disinformation Governance Board but resigned after being deluged with online threats. Her new book is How to Be a Woman Online.

Goetsch grew up in a time when she didn't have the language to help her understand what it meant to be trans. She chronicles her later-in-life transition in the memoir is This Body I Wore.

Angell's writing earned him a place in the Baseball Hall of Fame, when he received a career excellence award in 2014. He died May 20 at the age of 101. Originally broadcast in 2001.

As a kid, Silverman says, the fact that she wet the bed was her "deepest, darkest shame." Decades later, she wrote about the humiliation in her 2010 memoir The Bedwetter — now adapted into a musical.

Carlin's "Seven Dirty Words" act ignited an obscenity case in the '70s. We listen back to two archival interviews with the late comedian, and David Bianculli reviews a new HBO documentary about him.

The New York Times columnist says the stroke forced him to choose: He could focus on what had been lost, or on what remained. His memoir is The Beauty of Dusk. Originally broadcast March 22, 2022.

In his book The Women's House of Detention, Hugh Ryan writes about the New York City prison and the role it played in the gay rights movement of the '60s, including the 1969 Stonewall Uprising.

A decade ago, Costanzo had surgery that threatened to destroy his singing voice. Now he stars as a gender-fluid Egyptian pharaoh in the Met Opera's production. Originally broadcast Oct. 7, 2019.

Obama's attorney general says that when it comes to voting rights, the Supreme Court has increasingly become "an impediment to justice." Holder's new book is Our Unfinished March.

Raised in a convent for abandoned kids, The Flight Attendant co-star used to dream of stability and a loving home. Now that she has it, Perez says, "It's priceless."