Two decades ago, when I first saw Denzel Washington in Spike Lee's Malcolm X, ... it feels like I'm listening to snippets of a longer TED Talk—and I get the feeling I'm not the only one.

BIANCULLI: Denzel Washington speaking to Terry Gross in 2008. More after a break, this is FRESH AIR. (SOUNDBITE OF TED NASH'S "THE FOUR FREEDOMS (FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT)") BIANCULLI: This is FRESH AIR.