Fresh Air

American socialists are having their best year since 1912. In last week's midterms, six socialists were elected to Congress, and three were elected mayor, which means New York, L.A., Washington, D.C., Seattle, Ann Arbor and Providence are now led by democratic socialists. But socialism means different things to different people. Terry Gross talks with Pulitzer Prize-winning Harvard historian and New Yorker staff writer Jill Lepore about these victories and the history of American socialism.

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Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Mona Chalabi spent five years following 10 Americans living  across the economic spectrum – from those living paycheck-to paycheck to top wage earners  Her new book, Ten Lives, explores why financial security can feel so elusive. She spoke with Tonya Mosley about our stunted language around class, inheritance, and why so many people in the U.S. self-identify as middle class.

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Filmmaker and playwright Martin McDonagh talks about his new movie, Wild Horse Nine. It’s a dark comedy about two CIA agents (Sam Rockwell, John Malkovitch) who travel to Easter Island before the 1973 coup d’etat in Chile. McDonagh also wrote and directed The Banshees of Inisherin, In Bruges, and Three Billboards Outside of Ebbing, Missouri. He spoke with Terry Gross about the themes across his work – male friendship, guilt, regret, redemption, and mortality.   

Maureen Corrigan reviews new books about Edgar Allen Poe and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. 

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John Turturro stars in the new film The Only Living Pickpocket in New York. To prepare, he studied with a pickpocket. Turturro is known for his roles in films by Spike Lee and the Coen Brothers, in acclaimed TV series The Night Of, and Severance. He spoke with Terry Gross about how growing up around volatility helped him understand some of his characters. 

Also, Jordan Firstman talks about writing, directing and starring in the new comedy/drama film Club Kid. He plays a hard-partying gay club promoter who discovers he has a 10 year-old kid. He spoke with Ann Marie Baldonado about capturing the highs and lows of club life.  

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Min Jin Lee’s new novel American Hagwon is her first in nearly a decade. ‘Hagwon’ is the Korean term for private tutoring centers. It’s the third installment of a four-part series on the Korean diaspora. Her previous, Pachinko, was a finalist for a National Book Award. In American Hagwon, Lee is taking on the promise and perils for Koreans who pursue a Western education. “I think education is a really beautiful thing,” she tells guest interviewer Aarti Shahani. “But I think we now really have to ask: Why do we get it and what do we want from it?” She’ll also reflect on surviving what she was told was a terminal diagnosis.  

Critic-at-large John Powers reviews the new British comedy series Small Prophets. 

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