Film critic Stephen Schiff reviews Sydney Pollack's new movie, a love story that's supposed to be steamy, but, according to Schiff, lacks both passion and political sophistication.
Not surprisingly, Disney+ streaming service offers an array of Disney, Marvel, Pixar and Star Wars features. What's less expected — and maybe even more welcome — is its menu of new programming.
Rock historian Ed Ward looks back at the Woodstock Festival and tries to separate the facts of the 3-day event from the warp of nostalgia twenty years later.
Film critic Stephen Schiff says that Cassavetes, who died this month at the age of 59, was just starting to live up to the promise of his jagged talent. The director's films were often indulgent and overwrought, but never without power.
Randy Shilts has a new biography about Harvey Milk, the openly-gay mayor of San Francisco who was assassinated at the age of 48. Shilts details Milk's coming out later in life and his adroitness as a unity-building politician.
Gone Baby Gone, a new film based on the Dennis Lehane novel, stars actor Casey Affleck as a blue-collar private investigator drawn into a child-abduction case. The film is directed by Affleck's movie-star brother, Ben Affleck.
Casey Affleck has also appeared in the American Pie films, Ocean's 11 and its sequels, and Good Will Hunting.
Peter L. Stein is producer, director and writer of the documentary "The Castro." It will air nationally on PBS this Friday, June 12. "The Castro" is the name of a San Francisco neighborhood that is at the heart of the city's gay community. His film recently won a Peabody Award. He serves as Executive Producer of KQED's series Neighborhoods: The Hidden Cities of San Francisco. AND We'll also hear from Cleve Jones who lived in the Castro district where he became involved in the gay-rights movement. He is featured in Stein's film.
Historian Mary Beard says many of our popular notions about the empire are based on culture rather than fact. Her new book is called SPQR. Originally broadcast Nov. 30, 2015.
Transportation expert Daniel Sperling estimates that the world's car population — which currently stands at 1 billion vehicles — is likely to double in the next 20 years. Sperling is the co-author (with Deborah Gordon) of Two Billion Cars: Driving Toward Sustainability.
The actor stars in Aaron Sorkin's new HBO drama The Newsroom, playing an anchorman inspired to give up fluff pieces and return to hard-hitting journalism.
Vatican reporter John Allen's new book is Opus Dei: An Objective Look Behind the Myths and Reality of the Most Controversial Force in the Catholic Church. The book is billed as the first serious journalistic investigation of the highly secretive organization Opus Dei, an international association of Catholics.
Journalist Steven Brill's latest book critiques the Affordable Care Act, which he call "unsustainable." In the next few years, "something is going to snap," he says. "We cannot pay for this."
Andrew Greely is a priest, sociologist and writer. He has written a book with his sister, theologian Mary G. Durkin, about how Vatican II dispensed with traditions which they believed were essential to Catholic identity. In order to stay vital, they believe the Church should adopt more positive attitudes toward sexuality and the role of women.
The title of Maile Meloy's new novel is misleading: Do Not Become Alarmed sounds like a suspense story. Granted, I did read it in two nights; but, while I'm a unapologetic fan of thrillers, Meloy's novel is something else, something trickier to characterize. I'd call it a very smart work of literary fiction that exposes how very thin the layer of good luck is that keeps most of us from falling into the abyss.
We remember singer June Carter Cash, who died Thursday at the age of 73. She was a Grammy-award winning singer, a songwriter, musician, actress and author. She was married to the legendary Johnny Cash, and she came from the Carter Family, the country music pioneers. June Carter Cash died of complications from heart surgery. (Original airdate: June 18, 1987.)
Jazz critic Kevin Whitehead says critical darling's piano music is often considered dark and heavy. But Blake's new album, Painted Rhythms Volume II, also has a sharp wit.
In her new book The Case for God, the author — a former nun — argues that religion is a practical discipline that can teach us to discover new capacities of the mind and heart.
Author Aljean Harmetz's new book, Round Up the Usual Suspects, tells the inside story of the making of the film Casablanca. Harmetz is also the author of The Making of the Wizard of Oz. She was the Hollywood film correspondent for The New York Times for 12 years, and is now a contributing editor for Esquire.
A new book explores the ways melting Arctic ice yield new shipping channels, new oil and gas resources — and potential profits. Journalist McKenzie Funk delves into the "booming business of global warming" in Windfall.
