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Fresh Air Weekend: The Lonely Island; Paul Simon's New Album; The Science Of Warfare

Akiva Schaffer, Andy Samberg and Jorma Taccone play the hip-hop trio The Style Boyz in the film <em>Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping.</em>
Glen Wilson
/
Universal Studios
Akiva Schaffer, Andy Samberg and Jorma Taccone play the hip-hop trio The Style Boyz in the film Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping.

Fresh Air Weekend highlights some of the best interviews and reviews from past weeks, and new program elements specially paced for weekends. Our weekend show emphasizes interviews with writers, filmmakers, actors and musicians, and often includes excerpts from live in-studio concerts. This week:

The 'Best Fake Rappers Out There' Satirize Breakout Success In 'Popstar': Andy Samberg, Jorma Taccone and Akiva Schaffer describe themselves as "frappers" — fake rappers. Working together as The Lonely Island, they created a comic film about pop-music documentaries.

Paul Simon Mixes Music And Mystery On 'Stranger To Stranger': Simon blends his trademark wordplay with unique rhythms and exotic instruments on his new album. Critic Ken Tucker calls it a daring record that can be appreciated on a number of levels.

From Medical Maggots To Stench Soup, 'Grunt' Explores The Science Of Warfare: When it comes to curiosity, science writer Mary Roach describes herself as someone who is "very out there." Her new book, Grunt, looks at some scientific developments that help keep soldiers safe.

You can listen to the original interviews here:

The 'Best Fake Rappers Out There' Satirize Breakout Success In 'Popstar'

Paul Simon Mixes Music And Mystery On 'Stranger To Stranger'

From Medical Maggots To Stench Soup, 'Grunt' Explores The Science Of Warfare

Copyright 2021 Fresh Air. To see more, visit Fresh Air.

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SOMOS CONNECTICUT es una iniciativa de Connecticut Public, la emisora local de NPR y PBS del estado, que busca elevar nuestras historias latinas y expandir programación que alza y informa nuestras comunidades latinas locales. Visita CTPublic.org/latino para más reportajes y recursos. Para noticias, suscríbase a nuestro boletín informativo en ctpublic.org/newsletters.

The independent journalism and non-commercial programming you rely on every day is in danger.

If you’re reading this, you believe in trusted journalism and in learning without paywalls. You value access to educational content kids love and enriching cultural programming.

Now all of that is at risk.

Federal funding for public media is under threat and if it goes, the impact to our communities will be devastating.

Together, we can defend it. It’s time to protect what matters.

Your voice has protected public media before. Now, it’s needed again. Learn how you can protect the news and programming you depend on.