Stephen Sondheim's 1981 flop is now a Broadway hit. This revival of Merrily We Roll Along is nominated for seven Tony Awards. Two of those nominees, actor Jonathan Groff and director Maria Friedman, talk with Terry Gross about the show.

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In 2021, burnt out from the intensity of her early career, Maggie Rogers considered quitting music entirely. Instead, she took a detour — to Harvard Divinity School, where she earned a master's degree in religion and public life. Her new album is Don't Forget Me.

SNL alum Kristen Wiig co-stars with Carol Burnett in Palm Royale, an Apple TV+ series about a former pageant queen who wants to break into high society. Wiig talks about working with Burnett and the rush of SNL.

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How do you get on with life after an accident that leads to disability and chronic pain? That's the central question in Andre Dubus III's novel, Such Kindness. He talks about the injuries he faced when he was a carpenter, and how his relationship changed with his father after the senior Dubus was struck by a car and never walked again. His previous books include Townie and House of Sand and Fog.

Justin Chang reviews the Western film The Dead Don't hurt.

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Yohance Lacour's Pulitzer Prize-winning podcast, You Didn't See Nothin', tells the story of Lenard Clark, a 13-year-old Black boy who was beaten into a coma by white teenagers, after riding his bike into a predominantly white neighborhood. Lacour talks about the importance of the case today, and how it shaped his life and the city of Chicago.

Also, John Powers reviews the film Kidnapped: The Abduction of Edgardo Mortara.

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About 25 years ago, the acclaimed cellist asked a high school student to help him name his instrument. Yo-Yo Ma brings his cello — aka "Petunia" — to his conversation with Terry Gross. He talks about being a child prodigy, his rebel years, and straddling three cultures: American, French, and Chinese.

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When journalist Rachel Somerstein had an emergency C-section with her first child, the anesthesia didn't work. She recounts her own experience and the history of C-sections in her book, Invisible Labor.

TV critic David Bianculli reviews the last season of Evil.

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The small Memphis label Stax Records created soul hits by Otis Redding, Sam & Dave, Wilson Pickett, Rufus and Carla Thomas, and others. It's the subject of a new documentary on MAX. We're featuring interviews with musicians who were a big part of the Stax sound: Guitarist, songwriter, and producer Steve Cropper tells us about becoming part of the house rhythm section, and going on to help write hits for Otis Redding and Wilson Pickett. Keyboardist Booker T. Jones remembers being pulled out of class in high school to go play music at Stax. And Issac Hayes tells us about writing the classic hit "Soul Man."

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Grammy-winning musician Michael McDonald looks back on his childhood and his career in a new memoir. He spoke with Tonya Mosley about imposter syndrome and his first band as a tween.

Also, investigative journalist and author Eric Schlosser talks about how mergers and acquisitions and very little regulation have all but decimated competition within food systems and supply chains.

And Justin Chang reviews Furiosa, the latest film in the Mad Max franchise.

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The fifth installment of the Mad Max series of post-apocalyptic action films is roaring into theaters. It's called Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga, and it's a prequel to the 2015 film, Mad Max: Fury Road, which earned 10 Oscar nominations. First, Justin Chang reviews the new movie, and then we revisit our 2016 interview with director George Miller.

Also, we remember alto saxophonist David Sanborn, who toured or recorded with David Bowie, James Brown, the Rolling Stones, Bruce Springsteen, and others.

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In Fat Leonard, journalist Craig Whitlock tells the story of a defense contractor who plied Navy commanders with lavish meals, trips, cash and sex workers. In return they let him overcharge taxpayers.

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