On today's show:

Singing It Straight, No Chaser

(Starts at 7:45)

Throughout her 25-year career, singer Lila Downs has never shied away from addressing politics and injustice in her work, covering wide-ranging issues such as immigration, feminism and indigenous rights in both the U.S. and Mexico. Downs talks with John Horn about her latest album, “Al Chile,” singing with her mother in the Mixtec language, working with producer Camilo Lara (Mexican Institute of Sound), and how she uses art to make sense of the world around her. Downs performs at the Ford Theatres in Los Angeles on Oct. 19 and 20, and at the Segerstrom Center in Costa Mesa on Oct. 27.

A Veteran Soul Man Gets His Due

(Starts at 18:45)

If you’ve seen "The Last Black Man in San Francisco," you might have been struck by the film’s powerful reimagining of a famous hippie anthem. R&B singer Michael Marshall transforms “San Francisco (Be Sure to Wear Flowers In Your Hair)” and he also happens to be the original vocalist on “I Got Five On It,” a hit song from the 1990s that makes a prominent appearance in another of this summer’s most talked-about movie releases, Jordan Peele’s "Us." The Frame contributor Chloe Veltman recently met up with Marshall in the Bay Area. After fighting for recognition for decades, Veltman says the singer might now be starting to get his due.

The Michael Jackson Musical Is Back On

(Starts at :45)

John Horn talks with Greg Evans, Broadway Critic at Deadline, about the forthcoming Michael Jackson musical. Written by Pulitzer-winning playwright Lynn Nottage, the musical was renamed "MJ" last week. Originally titled "Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough," the production was met with controversy following the January premiere of "Leaving Neverland," a documentary which presented new child molestation allegations against Jackson.