Ethan Hawke On The Role That Pushed Him To His Limit

This week on Shortwave, the internet is obsessed with inflammation. And yeah, it is true. Inflammation is at the heart of nearly every disease in the body. But it's also the body's natural response to danger. So who really needs to be worried about it?

Find out on Shortwave, the science podcast from NPR. This is Fresh Air. I'm Terry Gross. My guest Ethan Hawke stars on two new movies. In Blue Moon he plays lyricist Lorenz Hart.

In the horror film Blackphone Two, he's a serial killer who dies and becomes a spirit and he haunts people's dreams. He also stars on the current FX streaming series The Lowdown. It's a loving but humorous take on film noir created by Sterling Harjo, who also directed Hawk in an episode of the popular series Reservation Dogs. Hawk just completed a new documentary called Highway 99, a double album, about country music star, songwriter, singer, and guitarist Merle Haggard.

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