Bruce Springsteen

In 2016, Springsteen spoke about New Jersey, masculinity and wishing to be his stage persona: "People see you onstage and, yeah, I'd want to be that guy. ... I want to be that guy myself very often."

This week, we're listening back to some favorite Fresh Air interviews from the past decade. In 2016, Springsteen reflected on how he and his music were shaped by home, roots, family and community.

Twenty-one songs Springsteen recorded for his 1978 album Darkness on the Edge of Town are now being released for the first time. Springsteen spoke to actor Ed Norton at the Toronto Film Festival about the making of Darkness.

There's clearly a limit to what the former president will say —even on his own platform. Obama's conversation with the Boss is at its most fluid and introspective when the two discuss masculinity.

Magic, Bruce Springsteen's first studio album with the E Street Band in five years, came out earlier this month. The event has occasioned at least a pair of network-TV appearances — including a live morning concert on NBC's Today show and a mortifying 60 Minutes interview.

Fresh Air rock critic Ken Tucker says Springsteen's approach to promoting the album — and the way the news media are receiving it — says something about both the state of the media (precarious) and Springsteen's place in American pop culture.

Rock critic Ken Tucker reviews The Rising (Sony) the new CD by Bruce Springsteen, inspired by the events of Sept. 11.