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Fresh Air Weekend: Gabourey Sidibe; 'No One Can Pronounce My Name'; Rhiannon Giddens

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:

Actress Gabourey Sidibe On Anxiety, Phone Sex And Life After 'Precious': As a young woman, Sidibe struggled to find work before landing the film role that would change her life. "This is my path, and I'm really grateful that I'm on it," Sidibe says of her acting career.

'No One Can Pronounce My Name' Is A Charming Take On Loneliness And Connection: Set in an Indian-American community in suburban Cleveland, Rakesh Satyal's new novel uses intertwined plots to explore the comedy of everyday life. Critic Maureen Corrigan says readers will be amused.

Rhiannon Giddens Speaks For The Silenced: Giddens' Freedom Highway is an exploration of African-American experiences accompanied by the banjo, with "a sound, that deepness, that quality is what people associated with American music."

You can listen to the original interviews here:

Actress Gabourey Sidibe On Anxiety, Phone Sex And Life After 'Precious'

'No One Can Pronounce My Name' Is A Charming Take On Loneliness And Connection

Rhiannon Giddens Speaks For The Silenced

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

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SOMOS CONNECTICUT is an initiative from Connecticut Public, the state’s local NPR and PBS station, to elevate Latino stories and expand programming that uplifts and informs our Latino communities. Visit CTPublic.org/latino for more stories and resources. For updates, sign up for the SOMOS CONNECTICUT newsletter at ctpublic.org/newsletters.

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.