© 2026 Connecticut Public

FCC Public Inspection Files:
WEDH · WEDN · WEDW · WEDY
WEDW-FM · WNPR · WPKT · WRLI-FM
Public Files Contact · ATSC 3.0 FAQ
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Fresh Air Weekend: 'Persian Version' filmmaker; Electronic music producer TOKiMONSTA

Maryam Keshavarz was banned from returning to Iran in 2011 after the release of her first feature, <em>Circumstance</em>.
Fred Hayes
/
Getty Images for SAGindie
Maryam Keshavarz was banned from returning to Iran in 2011 after the release of her first feature, Circumstance.

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:

Banned in Iran, a filmmaker finds inspiration in her mother for 'The Persian Version': Loosely based on Maryam Keshavarz's own life, The Persian Version centers on an Iranian American woman who identifies as bisexual and whose mother entered into an arranged marriage as a teen.

'Archives' box set surveys a crucial part of Joni Mitchell's pop career: The five discs in Joni Mitchell Archives Vol. 3, The Asylum Years (1972-1975) represent both a summation of Mitchell's pop achievement and a harbinger of her later, more experimental work.

Brain surgery left TOKiMONSTA unable to understand music. Now every song is precious: Electronic music producer and DJ Jennifer Lee — aka TOKiMONSTA — underwent two brain surgeries in 2016 that temporarily stripped her of her ability to understand words or music.

You can listen to the original interviews and review here:

Banned in Iran, a filmmaker finds inspiration in her mother for 'The Persian Version'

'Archives' box set surveys a crucial part of Joni Mitchell's pop career

Brain surgery left TOKiMONSTA unable to understand music. Now every song is precious

Copyright 2023 Fresh Air. To see more, visit Fresh Air.

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.

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.