Best Of: Malala Yousafzai / Oscar Isaac

Best Of: Malala Yousafzai / Oscar Isaac

April 25, 2026 · 48 min

About this episode

Malala Yousafzai discusses her experience after being targeted for advocating girls' education, while Oscar Isaac shares insights on his recent roles.

Malala Yousafzai was 15 when a Taliban gunman shot her for advocating for girls' education in her native Pakistan. She understood that she was a target. “I had pictured it many times that this could happen. I had pictured it at school. I had pictured it in my school bus. I knew that the Taliban could do anything,” she told Terry Gross. Yousafzai won the Nobel Peace Prize when she was just 17 years old. In an interview from a live event onstage, she talks about her childhood before the incident and finding herself after being in the public eye for so long. Also, we hear from actor Oscar Isaac. He’s currently starring in the Netflix series ‘Beef' and recently played Dr. Victor Frankenstein in Guillermo del Toro's adaptation of ‘Frankenstein.’ Book critic Maureen Corrigan recommends three books for the spring: ‘Yesteryear,’ by Caro Claire Burke; ‘American Fantasy,’ by Emma Straub; and ‘Enormous Wings,’ by Laurie Frankel. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences. NPR Privacy Policy

People in this episode

Host: Terry Gross

Guests: Malala Yousafzai, Oscar Isaac

Topics covered

Keywords

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Nobel Peace Prize, Netflix

Books & works: Beef, Frankenstein, Yesteryear, American Fantasy, Enormous Wings

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