Fresh Air NPR

Benedict Cumberbatch stars in Jane Campion's Western The Power of the Dog as Phil Burbank, a hyper-masculine cattle rancher living on the plains of Montana in the 1920s. We talk about how body odor helped him channel the character, toxic masculinity, and filming on location in breathtaking landscapes of New Zealand.

Maureen Corrigan reviews one of this year's most anticipated books, To Paradise, by Hanya Yanagihara.

Succession actor Brian Cox says ruthless business tycoon Logan Roy is one of the most extraordinary roles he's ever played: "He is a misanthrope [who] is very disappointed with the human experiment."

André Leon Talley, titan of the fashion world, died this week at 73. He was Vogue editor-at-large from 1998 until 2013. He spoke with Terry Gross in 2018 about his journey from the Jim Crow South to Paris ateliers.

Also, we remember Ronnie Spector, the leader of the '60s girl group the Ronettes, best-known for their hit "Be My Baby." She died last week at 78.

Also, David Bianculli reviews the HBO series The Gilded Age.

Thomas Gibbons-Neff served two tours in Afghanistan in the Marines, and is now a New York Times reporter and Kabul bureau chief. He recently interviewed a high-level Taliban commander about a battle they had both been engaged in.

Ken Tucker reviews Neil Young's new album Barn.

Cumberbatch stars in Jane Campion's Western The Power of the Dog as Phil Burbank, a hyper-masculine cattle rancher living on the plains of Montana in the 1920s. We talk about how body odor helped him channel the character, toxic masculinity, and filming on location in breathtaking landscapes of New Zealand. Cumberbatch also shares stories from his past — like his experiences teaching English at a Tibetan monastery and getting kidnapped in South Africa in 2005.

Cox says ruthless business tycoon Logan Roy is one of the most extraordinary roles he's ever played: "He is a misanthrope [who] is very disappointed with the human experiment." We talk with the Scottish actor about the musicality of his voice, why he doesn't practice method acting, and growing up in poverty.

Also, Justin Chang reviews Asghar Farhadi's new film, A Hero.

While working for the Department of Justice, attorney Laura Coates says she saw voter rolls being purged and instances where polling places were moved to known Klan locations. She also worked as a prosecutor and had to grapple with her own relationship with law enforcement, as a Black woman. Coates is a CNN analyst and hosts a SiriusXM show. Her new memoir is 'Just Pursuit.'