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Fresh Air Weekend: Rapper-Turned-Director Boots Riley; The Flint, Mich., Water Crisis

Fresh Air | By Terry Gross
Published July 7, 2018 at 9:00 AM EDT
In 2014, Flint, Mich., changed its water source from the Great Lakes to the nearby Flint River. Tests later revealed elevated levels of lead in the water coming from the river.
Carlos Osorio
/
AP
In 2014, Flint, Mich., changed its water source from the Great Lakes to the nearby Flint River. Tests later revealed elevated levels of lead in the water coming from the river.

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:

Boots Riley Mines His Experiences As A Telemarketer In 'Sorry To Bother You': The social satire takes aim at corporations that underpay and exploit workers. This is Riley's first film — he has a long career as a rapper — and his band, The Coup, plays on the film's soundtrack.

Amy Adams Gives An Unforgettable Performance In HBO's 'Sharp Objects': A new miniseries adapted from Gillian Flynn's novel stars Adams as a newspaper reporter who returns to her small hometown to investigate the disappearance of one girl and the murder of another.

Pediatrician Who Exposed Flint Water Crisis Shares Her 'Story Of Resistance': After warning of elevated lead levels in her patients in Flint, Mich., Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha faced a backlash: "The state said that I was an unfortunate researcher, that I was causing near-hysteria."

You can listen to the original interviews here:

Boots Riley Mines His Experiences As A Telemarketer In 'Sorry To Bother You'

Amy Adams Gives An Unforgettable Performance In HBO's 'Sharp Objects'

Pediatrician Who Exposed Flint Water Crisis Shares Her 'Story Of Resistance'

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

Terry Gross
Combine an intelligent interviewer with a roster of guests that, according to the Chicago Tribune, would be prized by any talk-show host, and you're bound to get an interesting conversation. Fresh Air interviews, though, are in a category by themselves, distinguished by the unique approach of host and executive producer Terry Gross. "A remarkable blend of empathy and warmth, genuine curiosity and sharp intelligence," says the San Francisco Chronicle.
See stories by Terry Gross

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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.

Federal funding is gone.

Congress has eliminated all funding for public media.

That means $2.1 million per year that Connecticut Public relied on to deliver you news, information, and entertainment programs you enjoyed is gone.

The future of public media is in your hands.

All donations are appreciated, but we ask in this moment you consider starting a monthly gift as a Sustainer to help replace what’s been lost.

Donate