Fresh Air : NPR

If You Want Groundbreaking Noir, Try Looking 'In A Lonely Place'

Tue, 22 Aug 2017 13:31:00 -0400

The 1950 film starring Humphrey Bogart and Gloria Grahame was adapted from a lesser-known 1947 novel by Dorothy B. Hughes, who belongs in the crime-writing pantheon. The novel's just been re-released.

FBI Profiler Says Linguistic Work Was Pivotal In Capture Of Unabomber

Tue, 22 Aug 2017 12:18:00 -0400

James R. Fitzgerald says Ted Kaczynski's writings helped cracked the case that confounded the FBI for more than 17 years. Manhunt: Unabomber, a TV series on the Discovery Channel, retells the story.

Jerry Lewis On His Borscht Belt Childhood And The Lonely Work Of Comedy

Mon, 21 Aug 2017 14:37:00 -0400

In 2005, Lewis told Fresh Air about his partnership with singer Dean Martin and how he honed his comic skills while working as a busboy. The comedian, actor and director died Sunday at the age of 91.

Haunting 'Marjorie Prime' Is Suffused With Forgiveness And Despair

Mon, 21 Aug 2017 14:37:00 -0400

The new film is set in the near future, when people can purchase holographic versions of their dead loved ones. This drama isn't about technology — it's sci-fi as a means of exploring our inner lives.

Daniel Romano's 'Modern Pressure' Is The Work Of A Confident Pop Craftsman

Mon, 21 Aug 2017 14:07:13 -0400

The singer-songwriter mostly recorded this album in a cabin in Sweden. You can hear that intensity and obsessiveness in his attractive, eccentric pieces, which sometimes sound like works-in-progress.

Fresh Air Weekend: Novelist Max Brooks; 'What She Ate'; Poet Molly McCully Brown

Sat, 19 Aug 2017 09:00:20 -0400

Brooks discusses Minecraft: The Island. Maureen Corrigan recommends a book about the appetites of notable women. Brown, who has cerebral palsy, imagines life inside the "Virginia State Colony."

Billy Eichner Makes A Career Out Of Love/Hating Celebrity Culture

Fri, 18 Aug 2017 15:02:01 -0400

In addition to starring in Hulu's Difficult People, Eichner roams the streets of NYC, asking open-ended questions about celebrities in Billy on the Street. Originally broadcast Dec. 12, 2016.

Snark Aside, Julie Klausner Says 'Difficult People' Is Inspired By Love

Fri, 18 Aug 2017 15:02:01 -0400

Klausner plays an unsuccessful comic who quips about celebrities in her Hulu series, which recently launched its third season. Originally broadcast Aug. 16, 2016.

High Spirited 'Patti Cake$' Dresses Its Cinderella Story In Dirty Jersey Drag

Fri, 18 Aug 2017 15:02:01 -0400

A hard-working aspiring rapper rises above her dead-end existence with the help of some supportive friends and her own irrepressible talent. Critic Justin Change says Patti Cake$ is irresistible.

'Cabaret Hurricane' Bridget Everett Moves To The Big Screen In 'Patti Cake$'

Thu, 17 Aug 2017 15:30:49 -0400

The comic and cabaret performer says she's had audience members walk out of her raunchy live act. In her new film, she plays a washed-up local rock star whose daughter is an aspiring rap artist.

In 'Columbus,' John Cho Reckons With His Own First-Generation Culture Clash

Thu, 17 Aug 2017 14:20:26 -0400

Cho, who moved to the U.S. from South Korea as a child, says the cultural distance his Columbus character feels towards his immigrant father was "an unwelcome reflection of my own life."

In Trump's Government, The 'Regulated Have Become The Regulators'

Wed, 16 Aug 2017 14:20:37 -0400

Eric Lipton of The New York Times says lobbyists now working for the government are leading a regulatory roll back that is benefiting the industries they used to represent.

In 'Defenders,' Netflix Enlists Marvel Superheroes In Quest For TV Domination

Wed, 16 Aug 2017 14:20:00 -0400

Netflix's plan was to take relatively minor or underused Marvel titles and heroes, and star them in their own season-long TV series. After that, they'd feature them together in an all-star team-up.

Novelist Max Brooks On Doomsday, Dyslexia And Growing Up With Hollywood Parents

Tue, 15 Aug 2017 14:29:08 -0400

Brooks' stable childhood with parents Mel Brooks and Anne Bancroft stands in contrast to the wild stories he tells in novels like World War Z and Minecraft: The Island.

Reissued 'Party Of One' Captures Nick Lowe At His Witty, Melodic Best

Tue, 15 Aug 2017 14:29:08 -0400

Six albums the British songwriter recorded between 1982 and 1990 are being reissued in remastered versions. Critic Ken Tucker singles out Party of One as being among Lowe's finest works.

Comments (0) - Read and Add your own Comments