Best Of: The life and legacy of Fela Kuti / Michael Pollan on consciousness

This episode of Fresh Air Weekend features two interviews. The first explores the life and music of Fela Kuti, the Nigerian musician and father of Afrobeat, with Jad Abumrad, creator of the podcast series "Fela Kuti, Fear No Man". They discuss Fela's use of music as a weapon against colonial values and his country's dictatorship, his unique musical style blending trance-like grooves with political lyrics, and his creation of the Calacouta Republic. The second interview features Michael Pollan, author of "A World Appears: A Journey Into Consciousness," discussing the nature of consciousness, contrasting it with artificial intelligence, and the implications of technology on our minds. Pollan shares insights from a beeper experiment and explores the importance of spontaneous thought.