This Sunday, HBO premieres Girls, a new comedy series written and directed by 25-year-old Lena Dunham, who first grabbed the media spotlight with her film Tiny Furniture in 2010. David Bianculli says the series is a cross between Sex and the City and Louie.
New York Times reporter Jason DeParle recently traveled to Arizona, where many people have been dropped from the welfare program. Republican leaders now want to apply the changes made to the welfare program to other aspects of the social safety net, such as Medicaid and food stamps.
Director Fernando Trueba talks about his Oscar-nominated animated film Chico and Rita, which follows a pair of lovers who leave Havana's music scene in the 1940s to head to New York City.
Carole King wrote songs for others before becoming a performer and writing for herself. In her new memoir, A Natural Woman, she details the stories behind some of her most famous songs and her relationships with songwriters like James Taylor, Gerry Goffin and Paul Simon.
Nadine Gordimer has always incorporated political themes into her novels, but her latest work turns its sights toward the domestic sphere. In No Time Like the Present, a South African activist couple struggles to find happiness in a world of their own making.
Slipstream is Raitt's first album since 2005's Souls Alike, and she's produced most of the tracks herself. Rock critic Ken Tucker says that this return to recording and her renewed control over her music has resulted in one of Raitt's finest albums.
New York Mets pitcher R.A. Dickey is currently the only knuckleball pitcher in the major leagues. His new memoir, Wherever I Wind Up, explains how his life — and career — have mimicked the unpredictable trajectory of the difficult pitch he throws game after game.
Anthropologist T.M. Luhrmann studies the personal relationships evangelicals develop with God. In her book When God Talks Back, she explains how relationships with God are often cemented through the power of prayer.
The CBS News correspondent who became famous for his two-fisted interview style and hard-hitting interviews with politicians, celebrities and newsmakers died Saturday. He was 93. Fresh Air remembers Wallace with excerpts from a 2005 interview.
Mike McGonigal runs the literary magazine Yeti. In his spare time, he's been collecting gospel 45s on vanity and tiny independent labels for years. He's now released a pair of three-CD sets featuring amazing, long-forgotten African-American gospel tracks from his collection.
Terence Davies' newest film is a free adaptation of Terence Rattigan's play The Deep Blue Sea, starring Rachel Weisz as a woman who leaves her older, aristocratic husband for a young and penniless ex-officer. (Recommended)
Publishers initially passed on Lionel Shriver's satire on terrorism, The New Republic. The manuscript languished in a drawer until now, but can a work written 13 years ago remain relevant today?
Bitter debates about the national debt date back to the earliest days of the Republic, economist Simon Johnson says. Back then, the nation's failure to borrow was the problem. In White House Burning, Johnson and co-author James Kwack explore the meaning of the national debt and prospects for managing it.
New York Times correspondent Jeffrey Gettleman will receive a George Polk Award this week for being the first to report that the militant Islamist group al-Shabab had prevented starving people from leaving Somalia. He details how he got the story.
Peter Beinart's new book, The Crisis of Zionism, argues that Israel cannot be a true democratic state as long as there are settlements in the West Bank and calls for a boycott of goods made in those settlements. Gary Rosenblatt, publisher of The Jewish Week of New York, disagrees with this argument.
One Direction recently became the first U.K. act to make its debut on the U.S. Billboard albums chart with Up All Night. Rock critic Ken Tucker says the new record is reminiscent of The Backstreet Boys and other pop stars.
Journalist Peter Beinart supports Israel but thinks the Jewish settlements in the West Bank are compromising Israel's commitment to democracy. He has proposed a boycott of goods made in those Jewish settlements.
Day started singing and dancing when she was a teenager, and made her first film at 24. After nearly 40 movies, she walked away from that part of her life in 1968, and started rescuing and caring for animals. Here, she speaks to Terry Gross in a lengthy interview about her career in film and music.
The comedian, who plays Tom Haverford on the NBC sitcom Parks and Recreation, just released a new comedy special directly on his website. He's also embarking on a multicity tour, where he'll be riffing on the things that terrify him — marriage, for instance, and babies.
Writer Harry Crews had a hard life and didn't make it any easier for the characters in his novels. He died Wednesday at age 76. Fresh Air remembers the Southern novelist with excerpts from a 1988 interview.
