Fresh Air Folgen

In 2013, historian Rhae Lynn Barnes was researching blackface in America at the Library of Congress when she encountered something strange: Various primary sources on the subject were listed as "missing on shelf." It turns out that a librarian had purposely hid the materials to keep it from the KKK, which had a resurgence in the ‘80s. Barnes’s new book, ‘Darkology,’ looks at the proliferation of racist minstrel shows, and how amateur blackface became one of the most popular forms of entertainment in America in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Barnes also explains how blackface fell out of fashion and then ultimately became taboo. “It is our patriotic duty as American citizens [to] help make sure that the American public has access to our history in all of its complexity,” she says. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.NPR Privacy Policy

Irish actor Jessie Buckley is nominated for an Oscar for her starring role as Shakespeare’s wife in ‘Hamnet.’ She talks about the film and how motherhood has changed her. “The thing this story offered me that brought me into this next chapter of my life as a mother was tenderness.” Also, documentary filmmaker Morgan Neville tells us about his new documentary, ‘Man on the Run,’ which focuses on Paul McCartney’s life and music after the break-up of The Beatles. John Powers reviews ‘Kokuho,’ a Japanese film about a gangster’s son who dreams of being a star in Kabuki theater.See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.NPR Privacy Policy

Sedaka, who died last week at 86, wrote and recorded hits in the late ‘50s and early ‘60s – songs like “Calendar Girl” and “Breaking up is Hard to Do.” He was nine years old when he began studying piano at Juilliard. Sedaka told Terry Gross in 2007, “To the shock of my family, after studying at Juilliard I sold 40 million records in five years.” The British invasion derailed his career until years later when Elton John helped revive it, by signing Sedaka to his label. Rock critic Ken Tucker reviews the new album by The Paranoid Style, led by composer-singer Elizabeth Nelson. And Justin Chang reviews the new Pixar film, ‘Hoppers.’See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.NPR Privacy Policy