Fresh Air Weekend: Edward Snowden; Journalist Andrea Mitchell

Fresh Air

Published September 21, 2019 at 9:00 AM EDT

Reflecting on his decision to go public with classified information, Edward Snowden says, "The likeliest outcome for me, hands down, was that I'd spend the rest of my life in an orange jumpsuit, but that was a risk that I had to take."

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

Edward Snowden Speaks Out: 'I Haven't And I Won't' Cooperate With Russia: In 2013, Snowden showed journalists thousands of top-secret documents about U.S. intelligence agencies' surveillance efforts. He's been living in Russia ever since. His new book is Permanent Record.

'Ad Astra' Approaches The Sublime With Its Portrait Of Masculinity In Crisis: Brad Pitt is an astronaut who saves the world by traveling millions of miles to reunite with his long-absent dad. It's an unabashedly ridiculous premise, but somehow Ad Astra manages to pull it off.

Journalist Andrea Mitchell: Asking Tough Questions Is 'Very Empowering': Mitchell, the chief foreign affairs correspondent for NBC News and anchor of her own MSNBC show, looks back on her career in journalism. She's receiving a lifetime achievement Emmy on Sept. 24.

You can listen to the original interviews and review here:

Edward Snowden Speaks Out: 'I Haven't And I Won't' Cooperate With Russia

'Ad Astra' Approaches The Sublime With Its Portrait Of Masculinity In Crisis

Journalist Andrea Mitchell: Asking Tough Questions Is 'Very Empowering'