Morocco's Bab L'Bluz fuses traditional Gnawa with rock and psychadelia. Spin Magazine says their latest album, Swaken, defies the "limits of style and space-time." We catch them in the middle of a U.S. tour and they perform live in our studio.

In the past month, President Donald Trump extended the TikTok ban deadline, Elon Musk sold X (formerly Twitter) to his company xAI, and AI has become a fixture on nearly every major social network. Clare Duffy, a CNN tech writer and host of CNN Audio’s “Terms of Service with Clare Duffy” explains what it all means, and listeners call in with their questions.

These days, photographer Dona Ann McAdams lives on a goat farm in Vermont. But a new exhibit of her work incorporates five decades of her photography from around the world. "Dona Ann McAdams: 'Black | Box'" is on view at the Pratt Manhattan Gallery through June 7. She discusses her practice, explains how her childhood growing up in Ronkonkoma on Long Island informed her interest in photography, and shares stories from her adventures in California and New York, including her gig as the longtime staff photographer of Performance Space 122. Dona will be at Park Avenue Armory on Friday April 25 at 3 pm for a photography show event, and will also be in conversation with poet Eileen Myles  at the Pratt Manhattan Gallery on Thursday May 15 at 6:30 pm.

[REBROADCAST FROM Dec. 11, 2024] The lead singer of the hit band MUNA, Katie Gavin has struck out on her own to make her debut solo album, What a Relief. We present her live performances from WNYC's performance studio ahead of her shows this week at Radio City Music Hall and Market Hotel.  

The new play "Becoming Eve" is based on the memoir of the same name from Rabbi Abby Chava Stein. It explores her journey from growing up in an ultra-Orthodox Jewish community to coming out as a trans woman. The play stars Tommy Dorfman as Stein. Stein and Dorfman discuss "Becoming Eve," which is running at the New York Theater Workshop through April 27.

Icebox desserts are no-bake or low-bake desserts that assemble quickly and set in the refrigerator. Plus they have a unique history dating to when Americans were modernizing their kitchens and embracing electricity. Bobbie Lloyd is the CEO and chief baking officer at Magnolia Bakery. She joins us to talk about some of the recipes in the new cookbook The Magnolia Bakery Handbook of Icebox Desserts: Classic and Creative Icebox Desserts with a Magnolia Bakery Twist. She’ll also share how to adapt them, and field listener's calls and questions.

Magnolia Bakery’s Famous Banana Pudding
Banana pudding has been around since the late 1800s, when faster steam ships meant bananas could make their way to US ports. It was first made with sponge cake, but by the 1920s, cake was replaced with vanilla wafers. For this recipe, I use Nabisco Nilla wafers and strongly recommend you don’t make any substitutions to ensure you get the same crave-worthy texture of this iconic dessert.

MAKES 4 to 5 quarts; serves up to 16

INGREDIENTS
PART ONE

• 1 (3.4oz) package instant vanilla pudding mix, preferably Jell-O
• 1 (14oz) can sweetened condensed milk
• 1 ¼ cups (300g/10.6oz) ice-cold water

PART TWO

• 3 cups (720g/24oz) heavy cream

ASSEMBLY

• 1 (11oz) box Nilla wafers
• 4 large or 6 small bananas, sliced

INSTRUCTIONS

1. MAKE PART ONE: Place the pudding mix into a 4-quart bowl and set aside.
2. In a 2-quart liquid measuring cup or bowl with a spout, whisk together the sweetened condensed milk and water until smooth.
3. Slowly pour the liquid into the bowl with the pudding mix while whisking constantly until thoroughly combined. Scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl with a spatula and stir until smooth. Cover with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator for a minimum of 30 minutes. The pudding can be made ahead up to 24 hours.
    
4. MAKE PART TWO: In a stand mixer fitted with the whisk, whip the heavy cream on medium speed for 1 minute, until the cream starts to thicken, then increase the speed to medium-high and whip until stiff peaks form. Be careful not to overwhip.
5. With the mixer running on low speed, add the pudding mixture a spoonful at a time. Mix until well blended and no streaks of pudding remain. Scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl.
    
6. TO ASSEMBLE: Select either a trifle bowl, a 9 × 13-inch pan, a wide glass bowl with a 4- to 5-quart capacity, or individual bowls.
7. If using a trifle bowl, spread one-quarter of the pudding over the bottom of the bowl, then layer with one-third of the cookies and enough banana slices to cover the cookie layer. Repeat the layering twice more. End with a final layer of pudding. Garnish the top with additional vanilla wafer cookies or cookie crumbs.
8. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 4 to 6 hours. The cookies should be tender when poked with a knife. This dessert is best served within 12 hours of assembling.

From The Magnolia Bakery Handbook of Icebox Desserts by Bobbie Lloyd. Copyright © 2025 by Magnolia Intellectual Property, LLC. Reprinted by permission of Harvest, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers.

A new exhibition at the Queens Museum marks 60 years since the 1964–1965 New York World’s Fair, and explores its cultural and political legacy. Assistant Director of Archives and Collections Lynn Maliszewski, discusses the new show “A Billion Dollar Dream: The 1964-1965 New York World’s Fair on its 60th Anniversary,” on view through July 13.

Josh Rogosin is the engineer responsible for shaping the sound of NPR's “Tiny Desk.” Now, he runs “Global Sound Concerts,” a music series which travels the world, producing videos in the cities and locations that matter to artists. He's also a judge for WNYC's Public Song Project (which you too can join through April 28). Tonight, he'll be at the New York Public Library’s Stavros Niarchos Foundation Library to lead a free masterclass on recording and mixing. Jenna Li, program manager for NYPL's Studio 40 and Technology Training, also joins us to talk about the the NYPL's recording resources for local musicians.

Paste Magazine calls Valerie June "casually masterful, deceptively mellow." Her latest album Owls, Omens and Oracles is a celebration of joy and positivity in the face of adversity. June performs live in WNYC's studio five, and will play The Town Hall on May 6.

A house without color is a boring one. But it can be difficult and stressful to pick and match the right colors while also avoiding your living room turning into a kindergartner's art project. Laura Perryman, color consultant and author of the new book, The Rainbow Home: Over 200 Ideas and Tips for Adding Color to Your Home, shares strategies to incorporate more color into our interior design, and listeners share their thoughts and questions.