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We look back at the 1992 siege at Ruby Ridge in Idaho, where gunfire left two civilians and a deputy U.S. Marshal dead. Chris Jennings’ new book explores the apocalyptic religious beliefs that led Randy Weaver and his family to move to a remote cabin, armed to resist government intrusion. He traces the impact of Ruby Ridge on the spread of conspiratorial anti-government and white-supremacist movements. His book is ‘End of Days.’Also, Maureen Corrigan reviews the memoir 'Dizzy,’ by Rachel Weaver.   Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

The XXV Winter Olympics are taking place in Milan, and snowboarding will begin its events this weekend. In this archive Fresh Air interview from 1998, Jake Burton Carpenter — the founder of Burton Snowboards and one of the inventors of the modern snowboard — spoke to Terry Gross about the sport’s Olympic debut in Nagano that year, how he started out snowboarding, and how it hoped it would grow in later years. | Listen to 40+ years of Fresh Air's archives at FreshAirArchive.org. | To access bonus episodes, sponsor-free listening and to support public radio, become a Fresh Air+ supporter at plus.npr.org/freshair.

Julia Loktev’s latest documentary, ‘My Undesirable Friends - Part 1: Last Air in Moscow,’ follows independent Russian journalists in the months leading up to, and just after, Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The film has arrived in the U.S. at a moment when questions about press freedom feel newly present. “Every day it feels like there is something to bring the story home for Americans, where it almost feels like there’s Easter eggs in the film that become more and more relevant.” she says. Also, Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Heather Ann Thompson revisits a 1984 New York City subway shooting, when Bernhard Goetz, a white man, shot four Black teenagers. In the days that followed, Goetz became  a hometown hero. “We are watching someone tell us exactly who they are, exactly what they did, and it will not matter. Up will become down, down will become up. And that also felt very, very familiar to where we are today.” Her book is ‘Fear and Fury.’  Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

Martin Scorsese's masterpiece about loneliness, urban decay, and vigilantism is 50 years old this month. We’re revisiting archival interviews about ‘Taxi Driver’ with Scorsese, screenwriter Paul Schrader and actors Harvey Keitel, Cybill Shepherd, Jodie Foster, and Al Brooks.Also, film critic Justin Chang reviews 'Pillion.' Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

Julia Loktev's acclaimed documentary, ‘My Undesirable Friends,’ follows young Russian journalists in the months before and after Putin's invasion of Ukraine — and the impossible choices they face when dissent means prison or exile. Also, jazz historian Kevin Whitehead revisits a two-night set Miles Davis did in Chicago in 1965. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

Atlantic writer Robert Kagan says as President Trump violates norms, laws and the Constitution, including his call to nationalize elections, we’re on the edge of the consolidation of dictatorship. “I think we're already well into a dictatorship. It's just a question of whether [Trump] will go ahead and basically disrupt the '26 elections, which I think he's made it clear he has every intention of doing now,” Kagan tells Terry Gross. “So I think that this should be a five-alarm fire for everybody.” Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

We go inside the real succession story within the Murdoch family media empire. It includes Fox News, The Wall Street Journal and the New York Post. In 2023 Rupert Murdoch chose his eldest son and most conservative child, Lachlan, as his successor – buying out three of his other children from the family trust and estranging them in the process. “His dream was to build a family business. And what he built was a business that destroyed his family,” journalist Gabriel Sherman says. His book, ‘Bonfire of the Murdochs,’ also examines how the Murdochs changed politics on three continents over half a century. He spoke with guest interviewer Sam Fragoso. Later, TV critic David Bianculli reviews the return of ‘The Muppets.’  Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

"Every now and then you bump up against a part that presses you to the wall of your ability," Hawke says of playing lyricist Lorenz Hart in ‘Blue Moon.’ He’s nominated for an Oscar for his performance. Hawke spoke with Terry Gross about collaborating with Richard Linklater, losing his friend River Phoenix, and his thoughts on aging.  Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

Pauline Kael reviewed films for The New Yorker for more than 20 years, and she was and still is widely acknowledged as considered the most influential American film critic. In this Fresh Air interview from 1986, she told Terry Gross about how she approached writing her reviews, her view of the role of film critic, and why she thought the ‘80s were a terrible time for movies. | Listen to 40+ years of Fresh Air's archives at FreshAirArchive.org. | To access bonus episodes, sponsor-free listening and to support public radio, become a Fresh Air+ supporter at plus.npr.org/freshair.

Liz Moore’s bestselling book, ‘Long Bright River,’ was set in a troubled Philadelphia neighborhood where she’d worked on a photo essay. “My own family has a long history of addiction. I was kind of emotionally drawn back to the neighborhood over and over again because of that,” she tells Dave Davies. The resulting thriller about a policewoman searching for her missing sister was made into a series on Peacock. Moore’s latest book, ‘The God of the Woods,’ where a child goes missing from a remote children’s camp, will be adapted to a Netflix series.Also, we hear from one of England’s most acclaimed writers, Julian Barnes. He has a new book, which he says will be his last. It’s called ‘Departures.’ He spoke with Terry Gross. Maureen Corrigan reviews George Saunders’ new novel, ‘Vigil.’ Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

Brooke Nevils was a young NBC producer working the 2014 Sochi Olympics when, she says, ‘Today Show’ host Matt Lauer sexually assaulted her. Lauer has denied her account, calling their relationship consensual. Now, in her new memoir, ‘Unspeakable Things,’ Nevils doesn't just revisit what happened – she interrogates why it took years to understand it. She spoke with co-host Tonya Mosley. Also, book critic Maureen Corrigan reviews George Saunders’ new novel, ‘Vigil,’ and Ken Tucker reviews music from country artist Stephen Wilson Jr. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

President Trump calls global warming "a hoax." As the U.S. faces more severe storms and extreme weather events, New York Times climate reporter David Gelles describes what this means for climate change policy and shares what global leaders were saying at Davos.  Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

‘New Yorker’ staff writer Jason Zengerle says after Tucker Carlson was let go from CNN and MSNBC, and joined Fox News, Trump’s 2016 presidential candidacy revived his career. “Those more prestigious Fox shows… they could not find camera-ready, intelligent human beings to go on their programs and make a sensible case for Donald Trump -- and Tucker was someone who could,” he tells Terry Gross. After Fox fired Carlson in 2023, he started his own streaming show and moved further to the right. Zengerle writes that Carlson’s story shows how conservative media has changed. His book is  ‘Hated By All The Right People: Tucker Carlson and the Unraveling of the Conservative Mind.’  Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

Pulitzer Prize–winning historian Heather Ann Thompson talks about the 1984 New York City subway shooting, when Bernhard Goetz, a white man, shot four Black teenagers. "We are watching someone tell us exactly who they are, exactly what they did, and it will not matter. Up will become down, down will become up. And that also felt very, very familiar to where we are today," she tells Tonya Mosley. Thompson argues reactions to the Goetz case helped fuel a politics of racial resentment that reshaped criminal justice, national policy and media narratives. Her book is 'Fear and Fury: The Reagan Eighties, the Bernie Goetz Shootings, and the Rebirth of White Rage.' Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

This week, we’re sharing never-before-aired clips from Tonya Mosley’s interview with Cynthia Erivo from 2025. The “Wicked” actress spoke about how she plans to let go of the character Elphaba, why she wanted to write a memoir at this stage of her life, and how she manages feedback about taking on big roles portraying beloved, well-known figures. | Listen to 40+ years of Fresh Air's archives at FreshAirArchive.org. | To access bonus episodes, sponsor-free listening and to support public radio, become a Fresh Air+ supporter at plus.npr.org/freshair.