Fresh Air Fresh Air

In his new book, Kenan Thompson shares stories from his life and career, like his early days at SNL, his estrangement from his longtime co-star Kel Mitchell, and how he was conned by an accountant, lost all of his Nickelodeon money and had to file for bankruptcy. "It's humbling when people in the McDonald's drive-thru line recognize you, and then they also recognize that you're paying for a meal with change," he tells Tonya Mosley. His new book is When I Was Your Age. Also, John Powers reviews the documentary Anselm.

More than half of the population menstruates, and yet there is still so much shame and stigma surrounding what is a normal part of life. We talk with filmmaker Lina Lyte Plioplyte about her new documentary Periodical. The film looks at the origins of the cultural stigma around periods. We also talk about period poverty, taxation on menstrual products, and reframing how we think about menopause. The documentary is streaming on Peacock and airing on MSNBC. 
Also, Maureen Corrigan shares her picks for the 10 best books of the year.

The former representative says a second Trump presidency would be an "existential threat" to democracy: "There's simply no defense, no excuse for putting that power back in the hands of Donald Trump."

Dave Davies, Fresh Air's longtime fill-in host, is cutting back workload on the show. Today we're paying tribute to him — by listening to clips of some of his memorable interviews. And we'll talk about his reporting career in Philadelphia and the odd jobs he had along the way.

The late poet, author and activist Maya Angelou may best be known for her writing, but earlier in her life, she had a career as a night club singer, too. Through that, she came to know famous jazz singer Billie Holiday, who came to stay with Angelou and her young son, Guy, for a brief time in the late 1950s. Holiday's visit was a difficult one, but her critical read of Angelou's vocals helped turn her towards a life on the page. It's a powerful story Angelou tells in her 1981 memoir, "The Heart of a Woman," and one she relayed to host Terry Gross in a 1981 interview. Listen to the full 1981 interview: https://n.pr/47NXkfP. Listen to Angelou in 1986: https://n.pr/3uARzTT | https://n.pr/411edRB. Listen to Angelou in 1990: https://n.pr/3T4fHZ8. Hear all 40+ years of Fresh Air at https://FreshAirArchive.org. Not a Fresh Air+ supporter yet? Find out more at http://plus.npr.org.

Computer scientist Joy Buolamwini coined the term the "coded gaze" while in grad school at MIT. As a brown-skinned woman, the facial recognition software program she was working on couldn't detect her face until she put on a white mask. She's written a book about the potential harms of AI — which include the social implications of bias and how it affects everyone. Also, we'll talk about UFO conspiracy theories with journalist Garrett Graff. He talks with us about how they've led to other conspiracy theories about the government.And Justin Chang will review the latest film by Japanese animator Hayao Miyazaki, The Boy and the Heron.