Places & Travel

Fresh Air celebrates Ellis Marsalis, who died April 1 of COVID-19, by listening back to interviews with two of his sons. Branford spoke of his father in 2002; Wynton's interview is from 1994.

For more than two decades, trauma surgeon David Nott spent several weeks each year volunteering in some of the world's most dangerous conflict zones, including Syria, Afghanistan, Congo, Iraq, Yemen and Sarajevo. Now he's in London, applying some of what he learned in war zones and disaster areas as he treats patients with COVID-19.

Two years ago, science writer Ed Yong wrote an article for The Atlantic in which he warned that a new global pandemic was inevitable — and that the world would be unprepared for it when it arrived. Now, with the outbreak of COVID-19, much of what Yong warned about in his reporting has come true.

In The Splendid And The Vile, author Erik Larson details the British prime minister's first year in office, during which England endured a Nazi bombing campaign that killed more than 44,000 civilians.

McNally, who died March 24 due to complications related to COVID-19, won Tony awards for Love! Valour! Compassion!, Kiss of the Spider Woman, Ragtime and Master Class. Originally broadcast June 1993.

Apocalyptic novelist Max Brooks is something of an expert on planning for pandemics and other disasters. The author, whose books include World War Z, Germ Warfare and the forthcoming Devolution, has toured the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and has reviewed government response plans related to various emergency situations — all in the course of research.

Politico reporter Dan Diamond says infighting at the Department of Health and Human Services and the need to flatter Trump impeded the response to the coronavirus.

New York Times reporter Ben Hubbard says Saudi Arabia's leader is full of contradictions: He ended a ban on women driving, but his agents also carried out the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

Four and a half million Americans are on probation or parole — more than twice the nation's jail population. Parolees and probationers are required to check in regularly with officials, who are charged with helping them rebuild their lives.

In the HBO series, which was adapted from Stephen King's novel, the Australian actor plays a detective trying to solve a murder — and resisting the idea that the killer may be a supernatural entity.

One of Hollywood's biggest stars of the 1950s and '60s, the Spartacus and Lust for Life actor went on to run his own production company. Douglas died Feb. 5. Originally broadcast in 1988.

New Yorker writer Adam Entous says the U.S. could face further retaliation from Iran for the death of Qassem Soleimani: "If you look at their history, they take a long time before they strike back."

Science writer David Quammen puts the Coronavirus into perspective.

In 2008, GM closed its manufacturing plant in Dayton, Ohio, sending the community into a tailspin. Workers who had been unionized at GM struggled to find jobs that paid close to the wages the plant had paid.

Mudlark author Lara Maiklem scours the edge of London's River Thames looking for historical artifacts. Among her finds: Roman pottery, medieval jug handles and a 500-year-old child's shoe.

Kim Ghattas grew up in Lebanon during the civil war and covered the Mideast for the BBC for 20 years. She says events in the region in 1979 set off waves of extremism and violence that continue today.

What if a blackout were to happen in a major city in one of America's swing states on Election Day 2020? Or if an error occurred while tabulating electronic ballots? How would the electorate respond if one of the candidates refused to concede the election? These are all scenarios that law professor and Election Law Blog founder Richard Hasen considered while writing his new book, Election Meltdown: Dirty Tricks, Distrust and the Threat to American Democracy.

Amy Rigby was a sheltered Catholic teen from the Pittsburgh suburbs when she moved to New York City to attend Parsons School of Design and fell in love with the '70s punk scene.

The British actor has over 100 acting credits, including the new film The Song of Names and the streaming TV series Tin Star. Roth also appeared in Reservoir Dogs, The Hateful Eight and Pulp Fiction.