Actress Lynn Redgrave, known for numerous stage productions and the film Georgy Girl, comes from a family of actors. She joins Fresh Air to discuss her craft and how both her weight and famous last name shaped her career.
Cinematographer and film director Garrett Brown has created the "Philadelphia: Getting to Know Us" advertising campaigns. He returns to Fresh Air to discuss why he wanted to show both the "grimy outskirts" and "scrubbed-up insides" of his home city.
The Philadelphia-based musician didn't begin playing his instrument until he was 22, after serving in the Air Force as a fighter pilot. He describes his first 10 years performing with jazz legends as his version of going to school.
In her new memoir, Dreamgirl, singer Mary Wilson outlines the history of the girl group, including their contentious legal and financial relationship with Motown Records.
Film director John Waters has cultivated a second career as a writer. His newest collection of essays is called Crackpot. He joins Fresh Air to talk about his television watching and filmgoing habits, and to discuss some of his favorite recent releases. Listeners call in with their questions.
John Houseman has had an illustrious career as an actor and producer of film, television, and radio. He is known for bringing Shakespeare to diverse audiences via Broadway, the Federal Theater Project, and film adaptations of the playwright's work.
Deborah Eisenberg began writing short fiction in her 30s, without any formal training, while she worked as a waitress. Her first collection, Transactions in a Foreign Currency, received critical acclaim.
Film critic Roger Ebert returns to Fresh Air to discuss the impact VCRs and the home video market has affected an audience's movie watching habits--a topic he explores in the book Roger Ebert's Movie Home Companion. The newest iteration of his television show with fellow critic Gene Siskel is called At the Movies. Fresh Air listeners call in with their questions.
Anne Rice latest installment in her Vampire Chronicles series, The Vampire Lestat, continues the story of the titular protagonist, who first appeared in Interview with the Vampire.
The singer and pianist perform classic American popular songs for a live studio audience. They talk to Fresh Air producer and guest host Amy Salit about what makes some popular music endure.
Anand Nagar, which translates into the City of Joy, is one of the most densely-populated slums in Calcutta. In order to learn more about how people survive in dire poverty, French writer Dominique LaPierre and his wife lived in a hovel alongside the neighborhood's residents. His book about the experience, called The City of Joy, has just been released in paperback.
In contrast with other women television news anchors, journalist Linda Ellerbee eschews fashion and formality to focus her viewers' attention on her reporting rather than her appearance. After a salary dispute, she recently left her post at NBC. Her new memoir is called And So It Goes.
The Nobel Prize-winning writer's formative experiences were informed by war in Eastern Europe, an itinerant childhood, and American novels and films. He has lived in the United States since 1960.
The musician started his career as a pianist, later focusing on vocals at the age of 27. He has developed an unusual technique and impressive three-and-a-half octave range.
Independent filmmaker Spike Lee's first feature, She's Gotta Have It, has garnered critical adulation and popular success. He joins Fresh Air to discuss his experiences as a black director, having an all-black cast, and making a movie that deals frankly with women's sexual desires.
John Phillips, who led The Mamas and the Papas, has a new autobiography, which details the tensions, drug use, and affairs that ultimately led to the band's demise.
Malcom Rebennack writes and performs music under the name Dr. John. He began as a studio musician before developing his theatrical stage show, which drew from New Orleans traditions.
Caribbean writer Derek Walcott divides his time between Trinidad and Boston. While his work often focuses on his West Indian identity; Walcott writes in English--the language of the colonizers who suppressed and diluted is country's indigenous culture.
Broadcast journalist Robert MacNeil is producing a new television series called The Story of English, which examines how the language is changing. His experience working in three Anglophone countries--Canada, England, and the United States--has given him unique insights into the subject. He joins Fresh Air's Terry Gross to talk about his experiences as a journalist in conflict zones, as well as his start in television broadcasting.
