The new Italian film "Kidnapped" tells the true story of how a young Jewish boy was taken away from his parents by the Catholic Church. The film was made by the celebrated director Marco Bellocchio. Our critic-at-large John Powers says it's a strong, often surprising film that uses a historical incident to raise issues that are of the moment.
Spalding Gray's career performing humorous, autobiographical monologues has sometimes been a detriment to his attempts to break into film and television acting; no casting director wants to be mentioned in one of Gray's stage shows.
In 1962, 11-year-old Carlos Eire was one of thousands of children airlifted out of Cuba and sent to Florida to escape Fidel Castro's regime. His parents thought he'd return when Castro was deposed — but he never went home again. Eire recounts the experience in a new memoir.
Executive producer Lisa Henson (daughter of legendary puppeteer Jim Henson) and design supervisor Toby Froud talk about their Netflix fantasy series and creating a cast of handmade, sculpted puppets.
TV critic David Bianculli review The Arsenio Hall Show and The Pat Sajak show, both of which attempt to recreate the success of Johnny Carson and David Letterman's late night programs. Bianculli says Hall leans a little too heavily on name-dropping, while Sajak borrows too much from Letterman.
Griswold, who died March 5, presided over the ordination of the church's first openly gay bishop. That was one of the issues which nearly caused a schism in the church. Originally broadcast in 2006.
Dr. Irving Rust's Planned Parenthood clinic in the South Bronx challenged a ban on federally funding family planning clinics giving information on abortion. The case went to the Supreme Court last week, and the court upheld the lower court decision. Terry talks with Dr. Rust about his work at the clinic and his experience going before the Supreme Court.
Journalist Paul Eisenstein covers the automotive industry and is publisher and editorial director of TheCarConnection.com, a site of news, opinions and reviews about cars. He'll talk about the latest car trends and the economic outlook for automakers. The North American International Auto Show — where most manufacturers unveil their new products — takes place in Detroit Jan. 11-20, 2003.
Underground comic book artist Robert Crumb created ZAP COMIX and is the artist behind such 1960s and 1970s icons as Mr. Natural, Fritz the Cat, and Keep-on-Truckin. His wife, Aline Kominsky Crumb, was one of the earliest underground female cartoonists. Her new book, Need More Love: A Graphic Memoir, chronicles her life and career. Robert's new book is The Sweeter Side of R. Crumb.
New York Times journalist Adam Liptak says the court's conservative justices have increasingly based their decisions on the foundation of free speech — including a case that dealt a blow to unions.
Book critic John Leonard says that all of Gunter Grass's work can be seen as a sometimes fanciful examination of his country's brutal history. Case in point: Grass's new book, The Rat, is a science fiction-inspired novel about the end of the world.
A discussion about the exhibition "Norman Rockwell: Pictures for the American People" with art critic Dave Hickey. He wrote an essay for the exhibition catalogue. Hickey is Associate Professor of Art Criticism and Theory at the University of Nevada. He's also author of the book "The Invisible Dragon: Four Essays on Beauty." (THIS INTERVIEW CONTINUES AFTER THE :60 FLOATER)
Heath Allen was recently commissioned to write new liturgies for the Calvary United Methodist Church in West Philadelphia. His theater piece, Report on a Castaway, features the poetry of Bertolt Brecht.
Rich got his start working with the Sun record label in the late 50s, writing tunes for Jerry Lee Lewis, Roy Orbison, and Johnny Cash. From there he began making records himself. In the 70s his songs, "The Most Beautiful Girl," and "Behind Closed Doors," were big country-pop hits. During the 80s he dropped out of sight. But he has a new album now, "Pictures And Paintings," of jazz and blues standards.
Vanity Fair, based on the comic 19th century novel by William Thackeray, stars Reese Witherspoon and Gabriel Byrne. Critic David Edelstein says the supporting cast is superb, but the tone of the film is directly opposite that of the novel.
The film is based on du Pont's fraught relationship with two Olympic wrestlers. Wealth isn't enough — his identity hinges on winning. It's a fascinating case study, but as drama, it's one sick joke.
Journalist Annie Lowrey suffers from primary biliary cholangitis (PBC), a degenerative liver disease in which the body mistakenly attacks cells lining the bile ducts, causing them to inflame. The result is a severe itch that doesn't respond to antihistamines or steroids. Lowrey writes about living with PBC in the Atlantic article, "Why People Itch and How to Stop It."
Historian Jon Wiener spent 14 years fighting to gain access to the FBI’s secret files on former Beatle John Lennon. Wiener’s Freedom of Information case went all the way to the Supreme Court before the FBI decided to settle. His new book “Gimme Some Truth” (University of California Press) outlines and reproduces the most important pages of the file, revealing that the Nixon administration plotted to deport Lennon in 1972 and silence him as a voice of the anti-war movement.
Journalist Will Sommer went to road shows and spoke to believers and their families while investigating QAnon. His book, Trust the Plan, makes the case that there are more conspiracy theories to come.
Actress Jennifer Jason Leigh. She stars in the new film "Washington Square" which is based on the Henry James novella. In it she plays Catherine Sloper, a shy and unattractive woman who risks estrangement from her father who disapproves of a man she has fallen for. The character is one of a diverse many for Leigh, who has portrayed everything from a phone-sex girl in Robert Altman's "Short Cuts" to a psychotic roommate in "Single White Female" to poet Dorothy Parker in "Mrs. Parker and the Vicious Circle."
