Classical music critic Lloyd Schwartz reviews a new CD that captures the legendary maestro Arturo Toscanini leading the NBC Symphony Orchestra in rehearsals of the second and third acts of Verdi's "La Traviata."
A liberal voice in the U.S. Senate for decades, Kennedy led a life marked by tragedy and scandal. Historian Neal Gabler talks about the first volume of his two-part biography, Catching the Wind.
Author, doctor and bioethicist Robert Martensen has treated an estimated 75,000 patients in the emergency room and the ICU. In his new book, A Life Worth Living Martensen presents case studies that illustrate the problems and complexities of American health care system
Author and professor Padraig O'Malley's most recent books is called "Biting At the Grave," about the IRA hunger strikes in 1981 that ended in 10 deaths. O'Malley challenges conventional wisdom on each side of the conflict. Formal talks between Protestant and Catholic political leaders over the future of Northern Ireland are to begin next Monday.
Food scientist Massimo Marcone travels the world's remotest corners to investigate bizarre food "delicacies" — cheese infested with squirming maggots, coffee brewed from coffee beans extracted from the feces of a cat-like creature, salad oil made from nuts excreted by goats, and so on.
Marcone teaches food science at the University of Guelph, in Ontario. His new book is In Bad Taste? The Adventures and Science Behind Food Delicacies
A new investigative report from Reuters special enterprise correspondent Scot Paltrow details how the antiquated and error-ridden payroll system for the U.S. military is erroneously cutting soldiers' paychecks and causing terrible hardship.
Former NYPD officer Vincent Murano worked in the Internal Affairs Division, and went undercover to investigate crooked cops. His new book details his methods and some of his more memorable cases.
His new movie is Capturing the Friedmans. It's a non-fiction feature film about a seemingly normal Long Island, New York family. The film takes a look at the convoluted case and attempts to determine the true story. Capturing the Friedmans won the Grand Jury Prize at the 2003 Sundance festival. This is Jarecki's first feature film. He was also the founder and CEO of Moviefone, which was acquired by AOL in 1999 for nearly $400 million.
The brothers team up to create strips, panels, and movie poster take-offs that appear in Spy Magazine, National Lampoon, and Raw. They are known for their realistic drawings and caustic wit. Their new book is called Warts and All.
Hes professor of Neurology at Harvard Medical School and Director of the Massachusetts General Hospitals Genetic and Aging Unit. In the early 80s, Tanzi worked on an experiment that made disease genes identifiable. Since then, Tanzi has been on the forefront of Alzheimer research. His new book is called Decoding Darkness: The Search for the Genetic Causes of Alzheimers Disease (Perseus Books).
A new fiction podcast from Audible stars SNL's Bowen Yang as a fortune teller who's trying to steal samples from a sperm bank. Hot White Heist is a playfully zany production with an all-star cast.
The new series is set in Atlantic City in the 1920s -- where corruption and organized crime run as freely as the banned booze. Critic David Bianculli is impressed by the cast, which includes Steve Buscemi and Kelly Macdonald, and says the emotionally intense drama is worth adding to your must-see list this fall.
Dr. Walter Lear is the founder and co-chair of the National Gay Health Coalition, the former state Health Commissioner, for Southeast Pennsylvania and the president and founder of the Institute of Social Medicine and Community Health in West Philadelphia. Dr. Nick Ifft is the secretary of Philadelphia Health Professionals for Human Rights (an organization of gay and lesbian physicians and dentists), the coordinator of the Philadelphia A.I.D.S. Task Force, and a general practitioner at South East Health Center in Philadelphia. The doctors join the show to discuss A.I.D.S.
Joseph and Julia Quinlan. They are the parents of Karen Ann Quinlan. Joseph Quinlan died this past Saturday at the age of 71. A lawyer for the family said the cause was bone cancer. He and his wife became early pioneers in the "right to die" debate" after they fought for the legal authority to remove a respirator that their daughter was attached to after doctors said she had no hope of coming out of a coma. She then lived nine more years.
By refusing to serve up even one likable main character, Zoe Heller's new novel raises implicit questions about readers' expectations about fiction. Reviewer Maureen Corrigan calls The Believers a "smart, caustic novel."
In 1989, 15-year-old Yusef Salaam was one of five Black and Latino teenagers who were wrongly accused of assault and rape in the so-called Central Park jogger case. Long after he’d served a seven-year prison sentence, DNA evidence confirmed that a serial rapist and murderer had committed the crime, and acted alone. Salaam's new memoir is 'Better Not Bitter.'
.J.M. Berger studies extremists, their twisted ideologies, the misinformation they feed on, how they use social media to amplify their message and recruit new followers, and the violent acts they incite and commit.
Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry follows the famous artist around the world as he repeatedly irks Chinese authorities with his art and political critiques. Fresh Air's John Powers says the documentary casts important light on the fight for greater freedom in China.
Film critic for the Wall Street Journal, Julie Salamon. She's just written a new book about the making of the film, "The Bonfire of the Vanities." The book is "The Devil's Candy: The Bonfire of the Vanities Goes to Hollywood," (published by Houghton Mifflin). The movie, based on the Tom Wolfe novel of the same name, was directed by Brian DePalma and was eagerly anticipated but turned out to be a critical and financial bomb. Salamon followed the entire film making process from casting to editing.