Jeffrey Eugenides' third novel, The Marriage Plot, charts the lives of three young adults as they finish college, fall in love and navigate the real world after graduating from Brown University in 1982. Eugenides, also a Brown alum, based some of the novel on his own experiences directly after college.
Laura Dern is Amy Jellicoe, a health and beauty executive who returns from a post-meltdown retreat to pick up the pieces of her broken life in the new HBO series Enlightened. Dern and series creator Mike White talk about the tone of the show, and whether it's possible for people to really change.
The new FX drama series American Horror Story premiered last week and last night, the AMC drama Breaking Bad presented its season finale. TV critic David Bianculli says both are must-sees — because they both leave him wanting more.
Bell, the first tenured black professor at Harvard Law School, died this week at age 80. His 1973 book, Race, Racism and American Law, is a staple at law schools nationwide. He spoke with Terry Gross in 1992.
It's been more than 30 years since the rugged film star's death, yet he still looms large in the national psyche. Critic John Powers was surprised to find that the indomitable American fighting man was actually a hard-earned act of self-invention.
An idealistic campaign press secretary (Ryan Gosling) finds himself in the middle of a scandal that could threaten his candidate's chances of becoming president.
Everyone should be able to harness technology, Jobs told Fresh Air's Terry Gross in 1996. In memory of Apple's co-founder and former CEO, we listen back to excerpts of their conversation. "Our goal was to bring a liberal arts perspective ... to what had traditionally been a very geeky technology," he said.
Businessman Art Pope poured millions of dollars into state legislative campaigns during the 2010 campaign. Republicans went on to win 18 of the 22 campaign seats Pope and his organizations targeted. New Yorker writer Jane Mayer talks about Pope's growing power — and how his money may influence the 2012 presidential election.
What motivates someone to become a terrorist? That's the question former prosecutor Ken Ballen set out to tackle when he traveled to Saudi Arabia and Indonesia to interview more than 100 Islamist extremists. "We've never sat back and said, 'Let's really understand our adversaries,' " he says.
Heroic POW or al-Qaida double agent? Howard Gordon, creator and producer of the new Showtime thriller, Homeland, talks about the twists and turns of the series, and explains why it's very different from his previous show, 24.
In Boomerang, writer Michael Lewis tells the stories of the countries hit hardest by the 2008 financial crisis. He also profiles some people who bet against European governments and are likely to make millions if and when they default.
Words like "proletariat" and "masses" have largely left the lexicon, but linguist Geoff Nunberg says "class warfare" is a specter that haunts the English language — whenever there are appeals for making the rich pay more.
Several apostles affiliated with the movement helped organize or spoke at Rick Perry's recent prayer rally. A leading apostle, C. Peter Wagner, talks about the movement and its missions, which include acquiring leadership positions in government, the media, and arts and entertainment.
TV critic David Bianculli says most shows on TV this fall are a big disappointment. But three offerings this upcoming Sunday night — Prohibition, Dexter and Homeland — are all excellent, invigorating and exceptionally intelligent.
In Take Shelter, Michael Shannon dreams of an apocalyptic storm, and builds a backyard bunker for his family to survive. Critic David Edelstein says the film is terrific.
Many people who live close to gas drilling sites complain of serious illnesses. But there are few concrete data to help explain why they're getting sick. Investigative reporter Abrahm Lustgarten says weak industry regulations also make it hard to establish a clear connection between gas drilling and health effects.
The Haqqani Network operates in eastern Afghanistan, where it carries out bombings and kidnappings. It was also blamed for the recent bombing at the U.S. Embassy in Kabul. New York Times reporter Mark Mazzetti says the network finances its activities partially through extortion money it receives from U.S.-funded contractors in Afghanistan.
A band formed by Adam Weiner from Philadelphia and Dan Finnermore from Birmingham, England, Low Cut Connie has just released its debut album, Get Out the Lotion. Rock critic Ken Tucker says it's both a throwback to early rock and a vital collection of raucous new music.
