The legendary frontman plays all the characters in a new recording of Igor Stravinsky's The Soldier's Tale. Critic Lloyd Schwartz calls it a seriously enjoyable addition to the Stravinsky catalogue.
McPherson never thought he'd make a Christmas album. Then, he says, "I got a bug in my ear." He and his band perform live in studio from Socks, and McPherson talks about growing up on a cattle farm.
Imagine driving alone in your car, but instead of sitting behind the wheel, you're dozing in the backseat as a computer navigates on your behalf. It sounds wild, but former New York City Traffic Commissioner Sam Schwartz says that scenario isn't so far off the mark.
Take Meg Wolitzer's novel (now also a film) called The Wife, about a brazen case of literary ghostwriting, and cross it with Patricia Highsmith's classic Ripley stories, about a suave psychopath, and you've got something of the crooked charisma of John Boyne's new novel, A Ladder to the Sky.
Twenty years later, the core surviving members of the original cast are back, and so is the show's proudly liberal spirit. If you're in tune with that, then Murphy Brown, once again, is for you.
Susan Lacy's terrific HBO documentary examines Fonda's juicy, controversial life in five parts. The first four are named for a man under whose influence Fonda lived; in the fifth, she stands alone.
Better Call Saul acts as both a sequel and a prequel to AMC's series about the crystal meth trade. Critic David Bianculli says the show remains "as delightful as ever" in its fourth season.
Bad things happen in Castle Rock, a new Hulu series based on King's fictional town. King spoke to Fresh Air in 1992, 2000 and 2013 about his career writing horror and his fear of losing his mind.
Michael Arceneaux's new book, I Can't Date Jesus, is a collection of essays about his early years. Beyoncé, he says, taught him a valuable lesson: "Just be yourself and be very good at what you do."
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.
Watson, who died in 2012, was a pioneering bluegrass, country and folk guitarist and singer who changed the way people thought about mountain music. Originally broadcast in 1988 and 1989.
Irabagon brings an infectious sense of fun to music-making, even when the playing is dead serious — as is the case on his "mildly subversive" new album.
Sundance TV's new six-part series centers on a family of high-billing divorce lawyers whose own private lives are as messy as the cases they're handling.
This is one weird-but-true story. It's a story that leads readers from 19th century scientific expeditions into the jungles of Malaysia to the "feather fever" of the turn of the last century, when women's hats were be-plumed with ostriches and egrets. And it's a story that focuses on the feather-dependent Victorian art of salmon fly-tying and its present-day practitioners, many of whom lurk online in something called "The Feather Underground."
Rock critic Ken Tucker shares some hits he's listening to, including BlocBoy JB and Drake's upbeat "Look Alive" and the moody sound of Post Malone's "Walk It Talk It."
Pius IX became head of the Catholic church in 1846 and instituted the doctrine of Papal infallibility. Pulitzer Prize-winning author David Kertzer says his exile led to the emergence of modern Italy.
Four years ago, Eels founder Mark Oliver Everett decided to take a break. After 25 years of making music, he says, "I got to the point where if you do any one thing too much in your life, it catches up to you and makes it clear that you need to do something else."
Book critic Maureen Corrigan reviews two new books involving mysteries: one a biography of crime writer Agatha Christie; the other about The Golden State Killer.
A new 2-CD set features a decades-old recording of Mingus and his quintet at Switzerland's Montreux Jazz Festival. Citic Kevin Whitehead says the album showcases one of Mingus' most explosive bands.