Fresh Air – Best Of: Malala Yousafzai / Ken Burns on the Revolutionary War
Date: October 25, 2025
Hosts/Interviewers: Tonya Mosley, Terry Gross
Guests: Malala Yousafzai, Ken Burns
Additional Segment: TV Critic David Bianculli Reviews "Mr. Scorsese" Documentary
Episode Overview
This "Best Of" episode of Fresh Air features powerful, reflective interviews with two notable figures: Malala Yousafzai, who discusses her new memoir Finding My Way and the complex realities of growing up as a global symbol and advocate for girls' education; and Ken Burns, exploring the layered and frequently untold stories of America’s Revolutionary War in his new PBS documentary series. The episode also includes a review of the Apple TV documentary Mr. Scorsese by David Bianculli.
Malala Yousafzai: Beyond the Symbol
[Segment Start: 02:37]
Host: Tonya Mosley
Guest: Malala Yousafzai
Main Themes & Purpose
- Malala shares her personal journey from Nobel laureate and activist to university student navigating ordinary life, trauma, relationships, and mental health.
- Her memoir Finding My Way aims to humanize her story, moving past the public icon to reveal vulnerability, humor, growth, and the impact of trauma.
Key Topics & Insights
The Burden of Expectation and the Desire for Normalcy
[04:37 – 07:21]
- Malala reflects on entering Oxford after winning the Nobel Peace Prize at 17.
"I thought I had to act differently...I always have felt that now I need to live up to the expectation...it was also given for the work that is ahead of us."
— Malala Yousafzai [05:25] - She describes grappling with living up to others’ expectations while trying to discover her own identity as a young adult.
- University life became "reliving all the mystic years of my childhood because of the activism that I had to take from such a young age that I missed.”
— Malala Yousafzai [07:21]
Moments of Liberation and Fear
[07:21 – 09:40]
- Malala describes experiencing a sense of freedom at college, exemplified by a "roof-climbing" escapade:
"On the rooftop there’s this bell tower...I just thought I had like conquered something. I was breathing in the fresh air...just feeling a moment of victory."
— Malala Yousafzai [08:40] - Despite protection and scrutiny, she longed to rebel and test boundaries.
Trauma, PTSD, and the Complexity of Recovery
[10:20 – 17:09]
- Malala shares a harrowing story: after trying marijuana with friends, she unexpectedly re-lived the trauma of the Taliban shooting.
“Suddenly I was 15 years old again...I was awake and buried alive in the coffin of my body.”
— Malala Yousafzai reading from her memoir [11:08] - She recounts how suppressed trauma surfaced years later, leading to episodes of anxiety and fear of self-harm:
"I thought that I had lost my courage, that I was not brave enough, the titles I had received my whole life and I thought I had to live up to them. I felt like an imposter."
— Malala Yousafzai [14:16] - Therapy was both culturally stigmatized and personally transformative:
"This was like the first time that I actually heard the word PTSD...Seven years later, the PTSD appeared."
— Malala Yousafzai [16:03]
Love, Marriage, & Personal Agency
[19:30 – 23:55]
- Malala discusses her complicated feelings about marriage, influenced by observing how marriage limited girls’ futures in her community.
“Marriage...was the last thing I wanted to think about. If you wanted to have a future as a girl, you wanted to keep yourself away from marriage for as long as you could.”
— Malala Yousafzai [19:32] - She describes falling in love with Asser, reconciling her fears with cultural expectations, and seeking wisdom in feminist literature:
"I was like, please, Virginia Woolf, help me. Bell hooks, can you share a few words of wisdom?"
— Malala Yousafzai [21:45] - Her insistence on shared values and guarantees in marriage, culminating in a key realization:
"No answers would clear all my doubts...I knew that I was a very independent person. I did not need a husband. Literally, I did not need him, but I wanted him."
— Malala Yousafzai [22:30]
TV Critic David Bianculli Reviews "Mr. Scorsese"
[24:44 – 32:05] Reviewed Documentary: Mr. Scorsese (Apple TV series, directed by Rebecca Miller)
Highlights
- New five-part documentary explores Martin Scorsese’s life, his approach to filmmaking, and his legacy.
- Key insights into Scorsese's process, the impact of Taxi Driver and its continuing relevance (“Feels like there’s a lot of Travis Bickles, especially right now.” —[26:45])
- Contributions and anecdotes from collaborators (Spielberg, De Niro, Jodie Foster, Schrader, and others).
- Scorsese’s own creative origin story, illustrating how his imagination and early love of movies shaped his directorial style:
“I became obsessed with all kinds of films. And I used my imagination. I was making up all these stories.”
— Martin Scorsese [29:29] - Bianculli describes the series as “closer to a patiently painted masterpiece” than a “hasty sketch.”
— David Bianculli [31:58]
Ken Burns on the Revolutionary War
[Segment Start: 33:33]
Interviewer: Terry Gross
Guest: Ken Burns
Main Themes & Purpose
- Burns’s new PBS documentary explores the Revolutionary War through not just the Founding Fathers, but also women, Native Americans, enslaved/freed Black people — challenging the myth of a united revolution and presenting a more inclusive narrative.
Key Topics & Insights
The Divided Revolution & Untold Stories
[35:10 – 38:11]
- The war was as much a civil conflict (Patriots vs. Loyalists) as a fight against Britain.
- About 20% of the colonies’ population were Black, both enslaved and free—many of whom fought for both sides, but with ambiguous or compromised promises of freedom.
“Many, we think 20,000, fought; 15,000 for the British...the man who issued this proclamation, Dunmore himself, owned other human beings and didn’t think that that was inconsistent.”
— Ken Burns [35:39]
Women and Early Advocacy For Rights
[37:10 – 38:11]
- Women like Abigail Adams advocated for representation and threatened “rebellion” if ignored:
"All husbands would be tyrants if they want to...if we don’t get some sort of representation, we’re likely to foment a rebellion."
— Ken Burns paraphrasing Abigail Adams [37:14]
The War’s Human Costs and the Question of “Side”
[39:18 – 41:11]
- Burns and Gross ponder how ordinary people chose sides and the incredible risks involved.
“I really don’t know what side I’d be on. I don’t know whether I could take up arms for a cause, whether I would be willing to die for a cause, whether I would be willing to kill for a cause.”
— Ken Burns [39:18]
Flaws, Contradictions, and the Fight for Democracy
[41:57 – 43:12]
- The revolution started as a war of property owners, but ended fought by the landless, marginalized, and desperate.
“By the end of the war, the war is being fought...by people who have little or no property...Democracy is not an object of the American Revolution. It's a consequence of it.”
— Ken Burns [42:35]
Facing DEI Backlash & the Importance of Inclusive Narratives
[44:25 – 46:03]
- Burns addresses criticism of telling “diversity, equity, and inclusion” stories, reframing DEI as rooted in the American motto “e pluribus unum.”
“The best arguments in the world won’t change a single person’s point of view. The only thing that can do that is a good story.”
— Ken Burns quoting Richard Powers [44:38] - Burns observes America is losing public funding and public spaces for nuanced, complex, inclusive history, lamenting recent funding cuts to PBS:
"The losers will be the rural stations, the poor rural areas that will now be news deserts...This is a big deal."
— Ken Burns [47:23]
Redefining Patriotism
[48:43 – 50:27]
- Gross reflects on the shifting meaning of “proud to be an American,” from severing British identity to embracing a complex, flawed national project.
“No more do I feel, even in things so drenched in contradiction and hypocrisy and blood, does that authentic patriotism...come out and raise the kind of questions...What would I have been? Could I have done this? Could I have killed somebody else? Would I be willing to die for a cause...?”
— Ken Burns [49:12]
Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments
- “I received the Nobel Peace Prize when I was in my chemistry class, so I was still a school student.”
— Malala Yousafzai [05:25] - “I was awake and buried alive in the coffin of my body.”
— Malala Yousafzai (reading memoir) [11:08] - “Therapy has definitely helped me....This was like the first time that I actually heard the word PTSD.”
— Malala Yousafzai [16:03] - “Democracy is not an object of the American Revolution. It's a consequence of it.”
— Ken Burns [42:35] - “The best arguments in the world won’t change a single person’s point of view. The only thing that can do that is a good story. A good story. Is a good story. Is a good story.”
— Ken Burns quoting Richard Powers [44:38]
Timestamps for Important Segments
- 02:37 — Start of Malala Yousafzai interview
- 10:58 — Malala reads about reliving trauma in her book
- 19:30 — Malala discusses love and the complexities of marriage
- 24:44 — David Bianculli reviews "Mr. Scorsese" documentary
- 33:33 — Terry begins interview with Ken Burns on Revolutionary War
- 39:18 — Ken Burns and Terry Gross discuss the personal cost and choices of war
- 44:25 — DEI, censorship, and the state of inclusive storytelling in public media
Conclusion
This rich “Best Of” Fresh Air episode weaves together personal testimony, new perspectives in history, and thoughtful cultural commentary. Malala Yousafzai’s revelations about trauma, identity, and agency as a young activist illustrate the ongoing costs and inner life behind a revered public image. Ken Burns’s deep dive into the Revolutionary War underscores the importance of broadening our historical narratives to include voices long left in the margins – and why telling the “good stories” of all people remains essential, especially amidst cultural and political headwinds.
For listeners seeking understanding and empathy behind public figures and events, these conversations offer substance, humanity, and hope.