For some, the summer is a time to indulge in frothy beach reading: the latest chick lit or globetrotting, highly unbelievable thriller. But book critic Maureen Corrigan has taken a different tack this year: She's catching up on more substantial reading that she hasn't had time for yet.
Neil Clark Warren is the founder of the online dating service eHarmony. The company performs extensive personality profiling and then introduces couples with matching values and interests. Warren is an Evangelical Christian with strong ties to the conservative Christian community.
Actor, writer and producer Jonathan Katz stars in Hopeless Pictures as psychiatrist Jonathan Katz. The Peabody Award winner also co-created and starred in Comedy Central's animated series Dr. Katz: Professional Therapist.
A new animated comedy series, Hopeless Pictures centers on a dysfunctional Hollywood indie film studio. Actor Bob Balaban writes, directs and produces the show, which will debut on the Independent Film Channel August 19.
Filmmaker Jim Jarmusch's new film Broken Flowers stars Bill Murray and won the Grand Prix at the 2005 Cannes International Film Festival. Other films by the idiosyncratic director/writer, known for his deadpan style, include Coffee and Cigarettes, Down by Law and Night on Earth.
More than 20 years ago, Jody Arlington was at home when her 18-year-old brother murdered their parents and younger sister. She thought she was next, but instead her brother told her they were now free. He went to prison, and Arlington changed her name and had to learn how to live without her family. A similar family slaying has prompted her to speak out about her experiences.
In Junebug, a story of characters and culture clashes, Embeth Davidtz plays a Chicago art dealer who meets her new in-laws on a business trip to North Carolina, including a very pregnant Amy Adams.
The Kite Runner, the debut novel by Afghani-born physician and author Khaled Hosseini, has been on best-seller and book club lists for nearly a year. Writer Isabel Allende says the book — about a young man who returns to Afghanistan after a long absence — is "one of those unforgettable stories that stays with you for years."
Rock historian Ed Ward looks at the career of producer and arranger Jack Nitzsche. He worked with a wide variety of artists: Phil Spector, Bobby Darin, Doris Day, Little Stevie Wonder, Neil Young and Marianne Faithful. The new CD Hearing Is Believing collects his work.
Book critic Maureen Corrigan reviews Icendiary, the debut novel by British writer Chris Cleave. The story is triggered by an al-Qaeda bomb attack on a London soccer match.
The anti-Vietnam War documentary Winter Soldier is having its first major theatrical release -- 34 years after it was made. It focuses on a three-day gathering in 1971 when Vietnam veterans, including former Marine pilot Rusty Sachs, told of the atrocities they had participated in or witnessed during the war.
Fresh Air broadcasts the second part of its interview with singer-songwriter Paul Anka. He's new album is called Rock Swings. It's a collection of covers from the 1980s and '90s, re-set to a swing beat.
Bill Maher, host of HBO's Real Time With Bill Maher, has a new book, New Rules: Polite Musings of a Timid Observer. It's a compilation of satiric segments from the show, in which he takes aim at everything from cell phones and fast food to politics.
Muzammil Siddiqi is chairman of the Fiqh Council of North America, an association of Islamic legal scholars that interprets Muslim religious law. On July 28, the group issued a fatwa, or religious ruling, condemning all acts of terrorism and religious extremism as fundamentally un-Islamic.
ABC reporter and anchor Peter Jennings died Sunday at age 67 after a four-month battle with lung cancer. The intrepid journalist had helmed ABC's World News Tonight since 1983. (This interview originally aired Nov. 17, 1998.)
Increasingly catchy terminology is used to package government missions and policies. Consider "war on terror" and "no child left behind," for instance. Linguist Geoff Nunberg offers his thoughts on the subject.
Bill Murray and his deadpan delivery star in a Jim Jarmusch film about an aging Don Juan who learns a 19-year-old son he has never met is looking for him. A strong cast offers support.
The film Hustle & Flow follows the story of a Memphis pimp who dreams of becoming a rapper. Relative newcomer Craig Brewer wrote and directed the film, which won the 2005 Audience Award at Sundance. Brewer and star Terrence Howard discuss the gritty movie.
