Terry Gross

Staples began singing with her family as a teenager. The Staple Singers started out in gospel, but moved over to pop, eventually playing the '69 Harlem Cultural Festival. Originally broadcast in 1989.

The nation's first Native American poet laureate has a new memoir in which she tells her own story — as well as the story of her sixth-generation grandfather, who was forced from his ancestral land.

Lincoln started out as a nightclub singer, but began performing in a style influenced by the civil rights movement after she met drummer/bebop pioneer Max Roach. Originally broadcast in 1986 and 1987.

The renowned bluesman, who died in 2015, spoke to Fresh Air in 1996 about growing up as the son of a sharecropper — and leaving the plantation as a young man to pursue a career in music.

Masekela, who died in 2018, was a symbol of South Africa's anti-apartheid movement. He performed around the world, including at the 1969 Harlem Cultural Festival. Originally broadcast in 1988.

The 1969 Harlem Cultural Festival featured some of the biggest names in Black music, but it had largely faded from history. The Roots co-founder sought to change that. Originally broadcast July 2021.

To mark the debut of the biopic RESPECT, we listen back to archival interviews with Aretha, as well as with Jerry Wexler, producer of the hit "Respect," and Dan Penn, who co-wrote "Do Right Woman."

In The Chair, Oh plays a professor who is the first woman and person of color to head the English department at a prestigious college. Oh says she "profoundly" understood the themes of the show.

Galloway, who died Aug. 18, was the only civilian to be awarded the medal of valor in the Vietnam War. He later co-authored We Were Soldiers Once ... and Young. Originally broadcast in 1992 and 2003.

Known for his giant hyper-realist paintings of faces, Close kept painting even after a stroke left him partially paralyzed. Close died Aug. 19. Originally broadcast in 1998.

During his 58 years with the Stones, Watts, who died Aug. 24, often let the other members of the band take the spotlight on stage and in the press. Originally broadcast in 1991.

CNN correspondent Clarissa Ward says educated Afghan women fear they will lose everything under Taliban rule. "Based on my experience with the Taliban, you can't expect them to change," she says.

Psychiatrist Anna Lembke's new book explores the brain's connection between pleasure and pain. It also helps explain addictions — not just to drugs and alcohol, but also to food, sex and smartphones.

Cinco Paul loves musicals — unlike his long-time writing partner, with whom he created the new Apple TV+ satire. Their series centers on a couple who become trapped in a musical town.

Bennett continued performing even after he was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease in 2016. Now, at 95, he will retire, following doctor's orders. Bennett spoke with Terry Gross in 1982, 1991 and 1998.

Journalist Adam Harris explains how the higher education system has been built on an uneven foundation from the start — and how slavery, segregation and racism have stymied Black education.

NY Times journalist Katie Benner says a division head at the DOJ secretly plotted with the President to oust the head of the agency and join his plan to subvert the results of the 2020 election.

The SNL veteran plays a widowed father on his NBC show. Thompson says being a dad and playing a dad on TV can be a whirlwind: "I'm living my character kind of 24/7 in a weird way."

Strong stars in the new Apple TV+ satire — a couple gets lost in the woods and end up trapped in a town where life is a musical and the townspeople frequently burst into song.

Popeil, who died July 28, was an infomercial pioneer whose products included the Chop-O-Matic, the Veg-O-Matic, the smokeless ashtray and many other household gadgets. Originally broadcast in 1993.