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Jonathan D. Spence Discusses the "Search for Modern China."

Historian Jonathan D. Spence. His new book is "The Search for Modern China" (published by W.W. Norton & Company). Spence is a professor of History at Yale University. He's written eight other acclaimed works on China including "The Gate of Heavenly Peace," which was named one of the best nonfiction books of the year by the New York Times Book Review and, "The Question of Hu." In his new book Spence writes about four centuries of Chinese history, beginning with the waning days of the Ming dynasty and ending with last year's events on Tiananmen Square.

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Other segments from the episode on April 25, 1990

Fresh Air with Terry Gross, April 25, 1990: Interview with Jonathan D. Spence; Commentary on Dexter Gordon; Interview with Vikram Seth; Review of Hettie Jones's and Molly Haskell's memoirs "How I…
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06:20

Remembering Dexter Gordon.

Jazz tenor saxophonist Dexter Gordon was one of the creators of bop and one of the most influential players of the 1940s and 1950s. Gordon received a Best Actor Academy Award nomination for his role in the 1986 film Round Midnight. He died this morning of kidney failure. Jazz critic Kevin Whitehead joins the show to remember Gordon.

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11:40

Poet Vikram Seth.

Poet VIikram Seth (VICK-ram SATE) He was born in India and has lived in England, China and the U.S. He's just completed his first novel -- a novel written in verse, "The Golden Gate" (published by Knopf). David Rieff of "Vanity Fair" says of the book, "At once a bittersweet love story, a wickedly funny novel of manners and an unsentimental meditation on mortality and the nuclear abyss."

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08:20

'Caught by the Tides' turns discarded documentary scraps into a remarkable drama

Our film critic Justin Chang says the documentary drama hybrid "Caught By The Tides" is one of the best and most unusual new movies he's seen this year. It's the latest from the acclaimed Chinese filmmaker Jia Zhangke, and it draws from footage that he began shooting in 2001 to tell a story of two lovers who separate and reunite over roughly two decades.

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52:30

How the duo behind 'The Invite' wrote a sex comedy (that's not really about sex)

Screenwriters RASHIDA JONES and WILL MCCORMACK. They're the writing team behind the new film The Invite, directed by Olivia Wilde and starring Seth Rogen, Penélope Cruz, and Edward Norton. They've been creative partners for more than two decades, first as co-writers of Celeste and Jesse Forever. JONES is an actor, writer, producer, and director. She won a Grammy for co-directing the documentary Quincy, about her father, Quincy Jones, and recently earned an Emmy nomination for her performance in Black Mirror. MCCORMACK is an Academy Award-winning writer, director, and actor.

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Remembering music theater historian Robert Kimball

(1.) ROBERT KIMBALL, the musical historian who rediscovered and rescued music and manuscripts by George Gershwin, Cole Porter, and others – and who co-wrote important books about George and Ira Gershwin, Cole Porter, and Eubie Blake – died last week, at the age of 86. He was the artistic advisor to the Cole Porter and Ira Gershwin estates.

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