Book critic Maureen Corrigan list some of her best bets for the holidays, including Eudora: A Writer's Life by Ann Waldron, The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver, The Mysterious Case of Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys by Carole Kismaric and Marvin Heiferman and Holes by Louis Sachar.
Forensic psychiatrist Dr. Park Dietz has served as an expert witness for the prosecution in the murder trials of John Hinkley, Joel Rifkin, Jeffrey Dahmer and others. In each case he presented evidence against the defense of insanity, saying that these men knew that they were committing terrible crimes. Dietz also has a consulting firm, Threat Assessment, which focuses on workplace violence. He is a consultant to the HBO special "Murder 9 to 5," which examines murder at work.
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.
Writer-producer David E. Kelley and actor Nicole Kidman have joined forces again to adapt another Liane Moriarty novel for the screen. Their Hulu miniseries is unorthodox and impeccably cast.
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.
How do you talk people out of truly desperate situations? Gary Noesner, who spent 30 years as a hostage negotiator for the FBI, details some of his most noteworthy cases and explains the techniques he used to defuse tense, potentially life-threatening encounters.
Television Critic David Bianculli previews two new shows on ABC that debut this Tuesday night (September 12). "Chicken Soup" is a sitcom about a middle-aged Jewish man and Catholic woman who fall in love, in spite of their differences and in spite of his meddlesome mother. "Chicken Soup" stars comic Jackie Mason and actress Lynne Redgrave. "Life Goes On" is a drama about how a family deals with a child with Down Syndrome. Patti Lupone stars as the mother, Bill Smitrovich as the father.
Film director Rob Sitch. He and his creative team at Working Dog, got their start in morning radio, then switched to TV. They made their first feature film The Castle in 1997. Their newest film The Dish is based on the true story of how three Australian scientists made possible the worldwide broadcast of Neil Armstrongs first steps on the moon. The film stars Sam Neill and Patrick Warburton ("Puddy" on Seinfeld).
Actress and comedienne Lily Tomlin. For years she's been doing her impressions of such characters as Ernestine, the nasal telephone operator on "Laugh-In." Now she's doing a whole cast of characters in the revival of her one-woman show, "The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe."
.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.
Classical music critic Lloyd Schwartz reviews a new CD on Angel/EMI of collected Piano Trios by the celebrated 1920's chamber players Alfred Cortot, Jasques Thibaud, and Pablo Casals.
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.
Blues singer Rufus Thomas has died at the age of 84. Wel play back several songs and an interview from the 1997 Chicago Blues Festival. Thomas was best known for novelty dance tunes like Walking the Dog and Do the Funky Chicken. In 1953 Thomas recorded Bear Cat, the answer to Big Mama Thornton Hound Dog. It became Sun Recordsfirst hit. In the sixties, Thomas became one of the founding performers for Stax Records.
Film director Peter Medak. Medak's new movie, "Let Him Have it," is the true-life story of two London teenagers who shot a policeman in 1952. What makes the case controversial is that the boy who actually pulled the trigger was a minor, and therefore couldn't get the death penalty. The other boy was put to death, even though there's evidence that he was trying to surrender.
British-born economist Hazel Henderson sees an economy based on renewable energy and environmentally-sound industry as the best path forward for the United States. She argues that tax cuts and subsidies associated with Reaganomics are hindering such efforts.
CNN correspondent Brian Stelter says President Trump's "cozy" relationship with Fox News is "like nothing we've seen in American history." In his new book, "Hoax: Donald Trump, Fox News, and the Dangerous Distortion of Truth," Stelter describes the president as a "shadow producer" to Fox News host Sean Hannity — who, in turn, acts as a "shadow chief of staff" for Trump.
