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Fresh Air Weekend: Comic Wanda Sykes; Crime Novelist Laura Lippman

Wanda Sykes surprised herself by coming out publicly as a lesbian at a 2008 LGBTQ rally in Las Vegas. "I didn't even know that I was going to do it," she says. "It wasn't planned at all."
Atsushi Nishijima
/
Netflix
Wanda Sykes surprised herself by coming out publicly as a lesbian at a 2008 LGBTQ rally in Las Vegas. "I didn't even know that I was going to do it," she says. "It wasn't planned at all."

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:

Wanda Sykes Loves Stand-Up: That's Where 'I Can Be Free,' She Says: Before Sykes became a comic, she worked at the National Security Agency, where she had top security clearance. Now she takes on the president in her Emmy-nominated Netflix special Not Normal.

'Cities Are Resilient,' Says Baltimore Crime Novelist Laura Lippman: Lippman's latest novel, Lady in the Lake, was inspired by two real-life Baltimore disappearances in the 1960s. She says Trump's recent tweets show a "basic disrespect" for the residents of her city.

You can listen to the original interviews here:

Wanda Sykes Loves Stand-Up: That's Where 'I Can Be Free,' She Says

'Cities Are Resilient,' Says Baltimore Crime Novelist Laura Lippman

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.