© 2026 WRVO Public Media
NPR News for Central New York
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Fresh Air Weekend: Zayd Ayers Dohrn's childhood on the run; Writer Jesmyn Ward

Zayd Ayers Dohrn walks with his parents Bill Ayers and Bernardine Dohrn outside the Federal Court Building in New York, May 17, 1982.
David Handschuh
/
Associated Press
Zayd Ayers Dohrn walks with his parents Bill Ayers and Bernardine Dohrn outside the Federal Court Building in New York, May 17, 1982.

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

Son of radicals, Zayd Ayers Dohrn details a childhood underground and on the run: Dohrn's parents, Bill Ayers and Bernardine Dohrn, helped found the Weather Underground. "I knew that the FBI was chasing us," he says. His memoir is Dangerous, Dirty, Violent, and Young.

In the face of devastating loss, Jesmyn Ward holds onto 'respair': Ward learned the term "respair" — meaning the recovery of hope after despair — during the pandemic. Her new book On Witness and Respair is an essay collection on grief, motherhood and survival.

You can listen to the original interviews here:

Copyright 2026 NPR

Recent cuts to federal funding are challenging our mission to serve central and upstate New York with trusted journalism, vital local coverage, and the diverse programming that informs and connects our communities. This is the moment to join our community of supporters and help keep journalists on the ground, asking hard questions that matter to our region.

Stand with public media and make your gift today—not just for yourself, but for all who depend on WRVO as a trusted resource and civic cornerstone in central and upstate New York.