Memoir
For classical pianist Jeremy Denk, life is like a series of music lessons
Denk talks about what he learned from his teachers, and his failures, frustrations and pivotal moments as an artist. His new memoir is Every Good Boy Does Fine. Originally broadcast March 21, 2022.
Fairport Convention band cofounder Richard Thompson looks back on his life in music
The British singer/guitarist talks about his formative years, and about pioneering a new musical genre that blended rock with traditional music of the British isles. Thompson's new memoir is Beeswing.
Remembering Madeleine Albright, the first woman to serve as secretary of state
Appointed by President Clinton in 1997, Albright advocated for the expansion of NATO into the former Soviet bloc countries of Eastern Europe. She died March 23. Originally broadcast in 2003 and 2018.
After a stroke blinded one eye, Frank Bruni focused on the future
In the memoir, The Beauty of Dusk, Frank Bruni chronicles the changes to his vision and the adaptations he's had to make in his work, personal life and attitude. The book also profiles a number of other people who've survived and thrived in ways that Bruni says are profoundly instructive.
For classical pianist Jeremy Denk, life is like a series of music lessons
The MacArthur "genius" grant winner talks about what he learned from his piano teachers, and his failures, frustrations and pivotal moments as an artist. Denk's new memoir is Every Good Boy Does Fine.
After an Alzheimer's diagnosis, her husband asked for help to die with dignity
Shortly after he was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease in 2019, architect Brian Ameche, then in his mid-60s, told his wife, novelist Amy Bloom, that he wanted to end life on his own terms, before the disease robbed him of everything.
It took this 'New Yorker' cartoonist 25 years to achieve his childhood dream
David Sipress endured years of rejection before finally landing a gig with The New Yorker in '98. "I wasn't about to let all that rejection get in the way," he says. His new memoir is What's So Funny?
Remembering activist Todd Gitlin, who helped lead the '60s antiwar movement
Gitlin was part of the tumultuous student protest movement of the 1960s, and continued his commitment to social change through teaching and writing. He died on Feb. 5. Originally broadcast in 1987.
After his son's suicide and the Jan. 6 attack, Rep. Jamie Raskin is not giving up
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., asked Raskin to serve as the lead manager in the second impeachment trial of President Donald Trump. Looking back now, Raskin sees Pelosi's request as a lifeline. He has a new memoir.
Remembering Sen. Bob Dole, former Republican presidential candidate
Dole, who died Dec. 5, represented Kansas in the Senate for 27 years, and was the Republican nominee for president in 1996. He spoke to Fresh Air in '05 about his experiences fighting in World War II.