FCC: Fed Censorship Commission (Fresh Air)

Examining Kimmel's suspension and Trump's threats to free speech

Fresh Air (WHYY via NPR) with Terry Gross, Sept. 24, 2025 (43-minute audio)

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I'm just a court jester for blind kings

Jimmy Kimmel Live! is back, but New York Times reporter Adam Liptak and former Washington Post editor Martin Baron say the Trump administration is using federal power to control speech and [stifle] the press.

• Pop star PINK deletes IG comment mocking Charlie Kirk's [Neo-Nazi white Christian nationalist rally] funeral

TRANSCRIPT 

TERRY GROSS, HOST: This is FRESH AIR. I'm Terry Gross. Jimmy Kimmel and his show "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" returned to ABC last night after he was suspended indefinitely a week ago. The story of his suspension and return has implications beyond Kimmel, pertaining to conglomerate ownership of broadcast networks and news publications, the First Amendment and freedom of the press, the FCC and Pres. Trump. Here to talk about the larger story are [journalists] Marty Baron and Adam Liptak.

Collision of Power: Trump...

Baron was the editor of The Washington Post from 2013 until his retirement in 2021. During most of his tenure, The Post was owned by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos. Baron's memoir about that time is titled Collision of Power: Trump, Bezos, and the Washington Post. He was previously the editor of The Boston Globe. In the movie Spotlight, a drama based on The Globe's investigation, revealing sexual abuse within the Catholic Church, Baron was portrayed by Liev Schreiber.

Adam Liptak covers the courts and legal issues for The New York Times. Before joining the Times' news staff, he practiced law for 14 years, concentrating on First Amendment issues, including in The New York Times Company's corporate legal department. Let's start with a clip from Jimmy Kimmel's monologue last night.

• AUDIO: Trump's threats to free speech (NPR)

I, BB, will decide what you hear.

The sure mark of an Orwellian dystopia is the use of Newspeak: euphemismistic bill names.

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Big Brother is Watching You (1984)

(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "JIMMY KIMMEL LIVE!") JIMMY KIMMEL: I've been hearing a lot about what I need to say and do tonight, and the truth is, I don't think what I have to say is going to make much of a difference. If you like me, you like me. If you don't, you don't. I have no illusions about changing anyone's mind. But I do want to make something clear because it's important to me as a human, and that is you understand that it was never my intention to make light of the murder (CRYING) of a young man. I don't... (APPLAUSE)

Federal Censorship Commission (FCC)

KIMMEL: ...I don't think there's anything funny about it. I posted a message on Instagram on the day he was killed, sending love to his family and asking for compassion, and I meant it. And I still do. Nor was it my intention to blame any specific group for the actions of what -- it was obviously a deeply disturbed individual. That was really the opposite of the point I was trying to make. But I understand that to some that felt either ill-timed or unclear, or maybe both. And for those who think I did point a finger, I get why you're upset. If the situation was reversed, there's a good chance I'd have felt the same way. I have many friends and family members on the other side who I love and remain close to, even though we don't agree on politics at all. I don't think the murderer who shot Charlie Kirk represents anyone. This was a sick person who believed violence was a solution, and it isn't. It - ever. And also selfishly... (APPLAUSE)

KIMMEL: ...I am a person who gets a lot of threats. I get many ugly and scary threats against my life, my wife, my kids, my coworkers because of what I choose to say. And I know those threats don't come from the kind of people on the right who I know and love. So that's what I wanted to say on that subject. But I don't want to make this about me because - and I know this is what people say when they make things about them. (LAUGHTER)

KIMMEL: But I really don't. This show is not important. What is important is that we get to live in a country that allows us to have a show like this.

UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #1: Woo!

UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #2: Yeah! (CHEERING)

Federal Communications Commission 1937

KIMMEL: I've had the opportunity to meet and spend time with comedians and talk show hosts from countries like Russia, countries in the Middle East, who tell me they would get thrown in prison for making fun of those in power, and worse than being thrown in prison. They know how lucky we are here. Our freedom to speak is what they admire most about this country. And that's something I'm embarrassed to say I took for granted until they pulled my friend Stephen [Colbert] off the air and tried to coerce the affiliates who run our show in the cities that you live in to take my show off the air. That's not legal. That's not American. That is un-American. And it is so dangerous. (CHEERING)

I am the King of the USA!

GROSS: All right, so that was an excerpt of last night's monologue by Jimmy Kimmel. Kimmel went on to praise Charlie Kirk's widow, Erika Kirk, for forgiving her husband's assassin. And he added while tearing up...

(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "JIMMY KIMMEL LIVE!") KIMMEL: There it was. That's it, a selfless act of grace, forgiveness from a grieving widow. (Crying) And it touched me deeply. And I hope it... (APPLAUSE)

KIMMEL: ...It touches many. And if there's anything we should take from this tragedy to carry forward, I hope it can be that, and not this.

GROSS: So, Marty Baron, Adam Liptak, welcome to FRESH AIR. What was your reaction to last night's monologue?

FCC Censors/Commissioners inspect latest TV 1939 - Federal [Censorship] Commission

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MARTY BARON: Well, it was very moving, very emotional and, I think, very effective. I really think that this could end up being an extraordinarily important moment in the history of the country. And you know, I think back to the 1950s, actually. It recalled for me the Army-McCarthy hearings in 1954, when Joseph Welch was representing the U.S. Army. He told Senator Joseph McCarthy, have you no decency, sir? And that really proved to be a turning point when the country turned against McCarthy and his incredibly malicious behavior. So, you know, now we live in a time where - era where performative behavior is rewarded. It's all about spectacle. You know, we have a president who really revels in showmanship. So maybe what we need is a different spectacle in this instance, from an entertainer like Jimmy Kimmel, really, as a counterweight, as a corrective, because the standard forms of argument just aren't as effective as they once were. So I thought it was highly effective and effective in a way that traditional debate hasn't been.

GROSS: Adam Liptak, what are your thoughts?

Nineteen Eighty-Four (Orwell)

ADAM LIPTAK: I agree with Marty. It was, among other things, a robust defense of free speech in the sense that you don't have to agree with what Jimmy Kimmel was saying, although it's hard to disagree with much of what he said because it was so moving. But what free speech requires is that you hear him out and you consider it, and you don't try to stifle it or censor it. That said, my viewing of this was a little frustrating because I live in Washington, D.C., and I learned last night, as I tried to watch Jimmy Kimmel, that the local ABC affiliate is owned by Sinclair, and they had chosen not to air it. And while it appeared on YouTube soon enough, this is not an unalloyed victory. In much of the country, Kimmel remains unavailable, and this fight is not over.

GROSS: Yeah. I think that between Sinclair and Nexstar, they own about 20% of the ABC affiliates.

BARON: Yeah, I think they...

GROSS: They own 70 stations, and I think it's like 20% of...

BARON: ...Households. More

• AUDIO: Examining Kimmel's suspension and Trump's threats to free speech (NPR)
• Terry Gross, Fresh Air, WHYY.org via NPR.org; CC Liu, Seth Auberon (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

Terry Gross

43-Minute Listen

Transcript

Jewish comedy: Larry Charles, Seinfeld

Notorious Anti-Dentite Jerry Seinfeld is now a big time Zionist*

Zionism is a criminal project and is not Judaism. Neturei Karta (NK USA) is the voice of masses of Orthodox Jews who follow TRADITIONAL Judaism in its opposition to the political (often secular) philosophy of "Zionism," the existence of the State of Israel, opposes the Zionist occupation of Palestine and condemns Israel's atrocities committed to and by many of its people. There are many Jews who oppose Zionism and Israel.

(Planet News) Israel under retaliatory fire! Bases hit, 220K affected, trapped by BN | BBC News

How Larry Charles went from selling jokes on the street to writing for Seinfeld

Larry David and Larry Charles

(Fresh Air, WHYY, June 17, 2025) In his new memoir, Comedy Samurai, Larry Charles reflects on his career in comedy — from writing for Seinfeld to directing Sacha Baron Cohen's films Borat and Brüno — and a recent near-death experience.

This is FRESH AIR. I'm Terry Gross. My guest, Larry Charles, has been an integral part of TV shows and films that both reflected and made an impact on American popular culture.

He was a writer on Seinfeld, showrunner on Mad About You, a writer and executive producer on HBO's Entourage and a director and executive producer on Curb Your Enthusiasm. He directed Sacha Baron Cohen's films Borat and Bruno. He also collaborated with Bob Dylan on the film Masked and Anonymous.

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  Expert interviewer Terry Gross (NPR)

  From Peabody, Golden Globe, and Emmy Award-winning writer and director Larry Charles comes a rollicking journey through modern American comedy. He shares behind-the-scenes stories from his life's work. To tell his life story is to tell the story of modern American comedy. Over the last 40 years, few comedians have been a part of so many iconic, beloved projects. He was one of the original writers and producers on Seinfeld, directed over 20 episodes each of Curb Your Enthusiasm...

Larry David developed "Cosmo Kramer"

Larry Charles has a new memoir called Comedy Samurai: Forty Years of Blood, Guts, and Laughter. When he says blood and guts, he means it. He and Sacha Baron Cohen took enormous risks with their films, in which Baron Cohen took his characters Borat and Bruno into the real world and shot scenes with people who thought Borat and Bruno were real people.

To expose antisemitism, racism, and homophobia, Baron Cohen's fictional characters pushed his targets to reveal their darker feelings and beliefs, and it sometimes ended in near violence, with Baron Cohen, Larry Charles and the crew fleeing.

(JimmyDore.com) All Israeli prime ministers lie with their fake names

Larry Charles also did a documentary series called Larry Charles' Dangerous World of Comedy, where he went to dangerous places run by authoritarian rulers or were controlled by militias to see what comedy was like there. Larry Charles, welcome back to FRESH AIR.

Julia Louis Dreyfus as "Elaine"

LARRY CHARLES: Thank you. It's great to be here again. Thank you so much.

HOST TERRY GROSS: So the book starts with you having a heart attack and thinking...

CHARLES: *Laughter*

GROSS: This might be the end. Did facing the prospect of death make you rethink parts of your life and lead you to think you should rewrite parts of the book?

Woody Allen as Death

CHARLES: Well, I think it gave me a little more perspective on my own mortality. I have been obsessed with death since I'm a kid. But the reality of death and the obsession with death are two very different things.

And so I think I wanted to go back and be a little more honest and take a little bit more responsibility for my behavior. And I did add that layer to the book after all this happened.

GROSS: Yeah, because there's part of the book where you write you realized you were the agent of your own misfortune.

CHARLES: Very much so, yes.

GROSS: And that happened after...

CHARLES: And I had some bad agents, believe me. But I was...

GROSS: *Laughter* More: How Larry Charles went from selling jokes on the street to writing for 'Seinfeld' (NPR)

• *Anti-Dentite? The Yada Yada episode; Seinfeld lived on a kibbutz
• Psychedelic Therapy for Depression and Anxiety | Ketamine Therapy - Better U
• (The Tanya Rabbi) Jerry Seinfeld accused of being complicit in Gaza genocide: Is it an Ashkenazi white supremacist Jewish or Jewish superiority position to take to say we Jews have a "Jewish soul" that no one else has or can get. We are different. We are the best. Is that racist?

Freedom of speech/thought: comedy w/ Nikki

Am I a hybrid descended from space beings?

Genius, comic, and professional roaster Nikki Glaser (born June 1, 1984) is an American stand-up comedian, actress, podcaster, radio host, and TV host. She was the host of the television series Not Safe with Nikki Glaser, which premiered on Comedy Central and Much on Feb. 9, 2016.

She is the star of the 2022 reality show Welcome Home Nikki Glaser? on E! [2]. She hosted the Reality TV dating shows Blind Date (2019) on Bravo, and FBoy Island (2021-present) on HBO Max and The CW and its spinoff Lovers and Liars on The CW.

She has acted in the Amy Schumer comedy films Trainwreck (2015) and I Feel Pretty (2018) and has appeared on shows such as Inside Amy Schumer and A.P. Bio. She has participated in competition shows such as Dancing with the Stars (2018) and The Masked Singer (2022). She has also performed in the roasts of Rob Lowe (2016), Bruce Willis (2018), Alec Baldwin (2019), and [killed] Tom Brady (2024). More

After a roast, comic Nikki Glaser says she needs to cleanse her brain

Fresh Air with Terry Gross, NPR.org, July 29, 2024

Nikki Glaser's Emmy-nominated HBO comedy special is Someday You'll Die (Jennifer Clasen)

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From addiction to depression to sex, comic Nikki Glaser doesn't shy away from sensitive subjects. She says the goal of her comedy is to "mention the unmentionable."

"My only motivation for what I write and what I say on stage is to make people laugh, but also just be honest and say the thing that I'm frustrated more people aren't saying," Glaser says. "I've found stand-up as a rebellion to all those kind of awkward silent moments."

Sex is a recurring theme throughout Glaser's stand up — a focus she attributes to all the fears she felt about sex when she was younger: "that I was going to be bad at it, that I was going to get made fun of, that I was going to do it wrong."

She says she hopes her comedy helps fill an information void that young women face. "The places where we find out [about sex], it's either sex-ed [class] or porn, and there's nothing in between," Glaser says. "And neither of those are really realistic representations of sex."

Glaser's new Emmy-nominated HBO special is Someday You'll Die. She made headlines in May for her roast of Tom Brady, in which she joked about Brady's divorce from Gisele Bündchen, and his losing $30 million in crypto currency.

"I don't know why anyone signs up [to be roasted]," Glaser says. "In terms of Tom Brady...because he said yes to it, it's kind of like, unless you tell me things are off limits, I'm going to go there. I have license. I have your consent.…I can't believe the places my mind will go to."

Interview highlights

• On performing offensive or mean jokes at roasts

I really do have to do kind of a cleanse after I write for a roast. Because my mind is in just such a bad place where I'm just constantly thinking the worst thing about someone, looking at pictures of them thinking, what is something I can think about them that is going to haunt them the rest of their life?Because I'm going to reveal it to everyone. It's a disgusting place to write from, but that's the job.

• On being on the receiving end of roast cruelty

It was Cybill Shepherd at the roast of Bruce Willis, and she said, "I saw Nikki before the show. I walked into the bathroom, and I saw her from behind, and I go, 'Oh, my God, look at this model!' And then she turned around and I go, 'Oh, she's a comedian.' "And that really, that really stung because I have so many insecurities about my face and it's not good enough. And that's why I'm a comedian, is because I wish I could just be pretty. It's like, that one hurt and then the laughter that follows is…the kicker as well, where you just go, "Oh no, that might be true."

…

You just put on a happy face, and then you don't think about it until the car ride home, when you're just, like, despondently looking out the window and everyone around you was like, "That was so amazing tonight!" And you're like, “But like the thing that Tony Hinchcliffe said, do you, like, think that comes from a real place?”…I've cried at, I think two out of the three roast after parties because of my feelings getting hurt. And then I also, after the roast of Bruce Willis, I got a ton of stuff injected in my face and laser stuff done to fix what Cybill saw.

• On whether she thinks about being mean or tasteless in her comedy

I think that what I intend is just to say what's honest and what is funny to me. And it's always interesting to hear how people perceive or take in my comedy. …"Tasteless" is totally fine, but it is a word that no one aspires to be. But I can't refute it.…

"I don't love people getting offended.

...All I want is people to like me."

- Nikki Glaser

"I don't love people getting offended. I think sometimes, because of the nature of what I talk about, people think that I enjoy if people leave a show or are scoffing at things or groaning at things, and all I want is people to like me, really. And it's a weird approach to achieve that. It's worked in many aspects, but it's been a roundabout kind of way of getting there. But it really is the underlining motivation is — "Just like me!" — which I think is most comedians.

• On doing comedy about sex because of her fear of it

Sex was always the scariest thing to me, was always the most interesting thing. I didn't have sex until I was 21. I didn't kiss a boy till I was 18, I think. I was scared of boys. I was scared of sex. I was in a constant battle with my body from the age of 17 on, of just not liking what it was and being ashamed of it. So I think immediately when I started doing stand-up [I] was attracted to those kinds of unspeakable things that I was just wondering why more people don't talk about [them], especially when it comes to sex.

• On whether topics like rape or autism should be off limits because she personally hasn’t experienced them

I feel like I have a right to talk about rape because I definitely am fearful of it, and it is something that could happen to me. But...if someone is like, "I was offended by what you said," I'm just like, "Oh, yeah, yeah, I get that. I'm sorry." …If you have a panic attack on my show because I talk about a subject that is really close and personal to you and traumatized you, I'll give you your money back, or at least the part of the ticket that I made out of the money, because I don't want anyone to have a bad experience, but I definitely don't think that that's reason enough not to talk about these things.

…I do think that my jokes aren't meant to be cruel or make fun of anyone who's a victim or has a condition. …I don't want to offend anyone. …I don't understand this rule of 'you only get to talk about things that you've lived.' Because also, I am just a comedian. I might not have the right take. I'm not right about everything. And I'm not enacting change politically with my stand-up. It's just an entertainment thing. So for me to be taken so seriously that you said this thing, and it's offensive. It's like, well, I'm a clown. There's no requirements or courses I had to take. I have no certification for what I'm doing. So you shouldn't expect me to get everything right. And I am completely open to people saying, “Hey, you have the wrong take on this, and here's why.” And for me to adjust my joke to that, I have no problem with that.

• On performing when she’s depressed

It's hard to perform when I'm really, really depressed. It's hard to get to the theater and to be backstage and to think, I'm about to go do this thing. I have to turn this on. But I will say, the second I step out there, the adrenaline kicks in and it will offer me relief. And then I'm able to be honest about it. That's the nice thing about doing stand-up, because I don't have to perform the same songs every night or at the same play. I get to kind of say what I want to say, so I can kind of talk about it and work through it in that way.

…I think of depression as like getting a flu. And when I first get those sniffles or a little sore throat, like a little tingle in the back of my throat of depression, that's when I need to throw on some comedy. And it really does help. And I'm realizing that late in my life, actually, my depression is way more in check now.

Therese Madden and Thea Chaloner produced and edited this interview for broadcast. Bridget Bentz, Molly Seavy-Nesper and Clare Lombardo adapted it for the web.

• Nikki Glaser, Terry Gross (NPR), 7/29/24; Eds., Wisdom Quarterly

Stormy disgusted by sex with Trump (video)

Donald Trump gets up on image of himself as he works his tongue onto the chalk canvas (JK

His breath smells as bad as his court farts. - Why? - Adderall and his all fast food meat diet.

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Sell courtroom art: Biden at his war crimes trial

Stormy Daniels describes alleged sexual encounter with criminal defendant Donald "John" Trump, who called her "Honeybunch" in repeated calls after their infidelity, while stringing her along with false promises of putting her on his TV show The Apprentice, as he cheated on his young wife, Melania, who was at home caring for their long newborn son, Barron Trump.

"You remind me of my daughter [Ivanka]": Stormy reveals incestuous encounter with horny Trump

Ivanka: I know Daddy wants me. [He's had me.]

(MSNBC) May 7, 2024: Stormy Daniels is detailing her sexual encounter with former Pres. Trump in 2006, lying to her that she should go on his show "The Apprentice." Former federal prosecutor Paul Butler, MSNBC legal contributor Katie Phang, and criminal defense attorney David Markus join José Díaz-Balart to analyze the testimony. #Trump #StormyDaniels #Trial

(ABC News) May 7, 2024: In dramatic testimony, Ms. Stormy testified in vivid detail about the grotesque sexual experience Trump made her endure in an almost blackout condition, where she wished she was dead rather than having this happen to her.

Trump pushes into his adult diaper in court.

Her encounter with Donald Trump was recounted as almost rape (which is what attorney Gloria Allred prompted her to label it) with a disgusting man with a small and misshapen penis (as previously pointed out in extreme detail to late night host Jimmy Kimmel) as he was sitting just a few feet away, farting and trying not to fall asleep, as he and one of his sons were trying to look disinterested.

Trump mouthed "bullsh*t" at one point because he still maintains that he does not know Ms. Daniels, none of this ever happened, and he has never even met her.

I can't wait to use the bathroom in prison.

The judge, who could throw Trump in jail for contempt of court (after dinging him with ten $1,000 fines) is being very patient. He seemed put off by Stormy's graphic sexual details, but it was necessary to hear her out to establish that Trump does know her, this did happen, and Trump did commit financial crimes like fraud in attempting to conceal it with a hush money payment made through his former attorney Michael Cohen, who it was revealed in open court used to refer to Trump as "VonShitzinPantz" (Von Shits in Pants) because of Trump's incontinence and inability to hold in either his farts or feces.

The judge is getting angrier with Trump than the last judge, who famously fined Trump over half-a-billion dollars for being a contemptible defendant in his courtroom. How much will this first of many criminal trials cost Trump?

Subscribe to ABC News on YouTube: abcnews.visitlink.me/59aJ1G. Watch 24/7 coverage of breaking news and live events on ABC News Live: • LIVE: Latest News Headlines and Events. Watch full episodes of World News Tonight with David Muir: • ABC World News Tonight with David Muir...

• MSNBC, May 7, 2024; ABC News, May 7, 2024; Pfc. Sandoval, Seth Auberon, CC Liu, Ashley Wells (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

Q (Q-Anon) w/ Will Sommer, Al Franken, NPR

Terry Gross, Al Franken, Will Sommer; Pfc. Sandoval, Sheldon S. (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

(Wiki) QAnon is an American political conspiracy theory and political movement. It originated in the American far right [Republican] political sphere in 2017. QAnon centers on claims made by an anonymous individual or individuals known as "Q."

A new book explains how QAnon took hold of the GOP (Grand Old Party, aka Republicans) — and why it's not going away.

(Fresh Air) March 2, 2023. Fresh Air journalist Will Sommer went to conservative roadshows and spoke to believers and their families while investigating QAnon. His book, Trust the Plan [and Plandemic], makes the case that there are more conspiracy theories to come.

ABOUT: “FRESH AIR” from WHYY [an NPR station], the Peabody Award-winning weekday magazine of contemporary arts and issues, is one of public radio's most popular programs. Hosted by Terry Gross, the show features intimate conversations with today's biggest luminaries.

QAnon is weirder than you know!

(Al Franken) Author Will Sommer talks to podcaster Al Franken. May 27, 2023. About 15% of Americans believe this stuff, some of which while sounding outlandish for consumers of mainstream media is actually (shockingly) true. Explore the podcast's 217 episodes (The Al Franken Podcast).

Adrenochrome? Child molestation? PizzaGate? British royal reptilians? Hillary Clinton is in prison (or wearing an ankle bracelet)?

There's a THIRD SEX doc: "Every Body"

Fresh Air Weekend, July 8, 2023; CC Liu, Seth Auberon (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

Female? No. Male (XY)? Sort of. Weigel is intersex (born in between with testes).

One's a man, two's a woman, and three's a, wait a minute. That first one's a... Hold on. Intersex activists Sean Saifa Wall, Alicia Roth Weigel, and River Gallo share their stories in the new documentary Every Body (Focus Features).

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It's not okay to be gay in Ukraine, not at all.

Know how we're all forced to say LGBTQIA+? Few people even know what that means.

For instance, the A is for asexual, a variable term ranging from psychological introvert to biologically damaged neutered person. What's the Q for? Betcha don't know. (Hint: It's not queer). Yes, it is! No, it's not; people just think it is. That would be redundant. It means "questioning."

One third of millennials identify as LGBTQ?

That means you, Robby Joiner, are LGBTQ because remember when we were kids and you said you didn't know if you were straight? You questioned it (like everybody else in existence). Haha, you noncisgender warrior! That ought to teach you to throw rocks at Kevin. What's the I for?

Intersex specimens persons at the convention

It stands for intersex (a kind of hermaphroditic or ambiguous genitalia condition, a third sex -- neither strictly male nor female -- called pandaka in ancient Buddhist and Indian texts). So what if there are a few eccentric anomalies out there?

• As an intersex individual, Alicia Roth Weigel (pictured above) knows that biological sex is more complicated than two boxes on a birth certificate. "Intersex people are born with physical traits that don't fit neatly into a 'male' or 'female' box," Weigel says. "We have combinations of hormones, chromosomes, internal reproductive organs, external genitalia that just doesn't fit neatly on one of those two binary options that you were taught in elementary biology class are the only options." Weigel, who identifies as she/they, was born with androgen insensitivity syndrome — a condition in which a person has both X and Y chromosomes but does not respond to male hormones [so is a male but isn't or at least doesn't look like one or express the customary phenotypic characteristics of one]. Though Weigel presented as female at birth, tests revealed that she lacked a uterus and ovaries, and that she had internal testes ["balls"]. More

Redheads don't seem completely human.

There are as manty intersex persons born as there are redheads (about 2%). That means more than two out of every hundred births are ambiguous or mixed, containing both features or neither. This is not transgenderism but an actual third presentation (phenotype with backing genotype).

• What is a "woman"? We no longer know
• VIDEO: Fate? Luck? Chance? Miracle? Karma

What's the plus for? Whatever anyone likes, such as NAMBLA's entry MAPs ("minor attracted persons"), along with what perverted-academic Alfred Kinsey started in 1948:

(The Becket Cook Show) "The strategy to make gay OK" (Episode 78)

This week: For the intersex community, Every. Body. exists on a [sexual, gendered] spectrum:

Alicia Roth Weigel is one of three activists profiled in Julie Cohen's new documentary. She says "intersex" is an umbrella term for people whose "anatomy doesn't fit super neatly into a binary box."

Fresh Air Weekend highlights some of the best interviews and reviews from past weeks, and new program elements specially paced for weekends. It emphasizes interviews with writers, filmmakers, actors, and musicians, and often includes excerpts from live in-studio concerts.

AI dangers

Flawed chatbot, threat to society? Both? Fresh Air explores the risks and benefits of AI: Artificial intelligence experts recently signed an open letter warning that AI could destroy humanity. New York Times reporter Cade Metz explains why we are at a turning point with this technology.

Original full-length interviews and review:

• For the intersex community, Every Body exists on a spectrum
• Flawed chatbot or threat to society? Both? We explore the risks and benefits of AI