Search the Fresh Air Archive

Close Search

Political Satirist Al Franken Strikes Out on His Own with New Book.

Political satirist Al Franken. He was one of the original writers for Saturday Night Live. He's won four Emmys for his writing on the show. His most popular character is Stuart Smalley, the new age cable TV host. He left the show last season. His new book "Rush Limbaugh is a Big Fat Idiot and Other Observations" (Delacorte Press) is his look at American politics and the Republican revolution. The Kirkus Reviews writes, "he attacks with a wonderful lack of civility. . .and he does it with two murderous weapons: satire and facts. . ."

20:32
Queue

Guest

Host

Related Topics

Other segments from the episode on January 18, 1996

Fresh Air with Terry Gross, January 18, 1996: Interview with James Fallows; Interview with Al Franken; Review of the album "Notfadeaway: Remembering Buddy Holly."
Queue
20:57

James Fallows Discusses the Current State of Journalism.

Washington Editor of "The Atlantic Monthly," and NPR commentator James Fallows. He won a National Book award for his 1981 book "National Defense" about the post Vietnam War era national defense establishment. Fallows new book examines what has gone wrong with the media, how it has failed to meet its public responsibilities, and what can be done about it. His new book is "Breaking the News: How the Media Undermine American Democracy," (Pantheon).

Interview

Transcript

See Full

Transcript currently not available.

Transcripts are created on a rush deadline, and accuracy and availability may vary. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Please be aware that the authoritative record of Fresh Air interviews and reviews are the audio recordings of each segment.

Expand

You May Also like

Queue
32:38

Comedian and Satirist Al Franken

In December he was part of a USO tour performing for troops in Iraq, Afghanistan, Uzbekistan and Kuwait. The tour lasted eight days, and he returned Christmas Day. He'll talk about the tour and do some of his routine from it. Franken's books include Lies and the Lying Liars who Tell Them: A Fair and Balanced Look at the Right and Rush Limbaugh is a Big Fat Idiot. Franken is an alumnus of Saturday Night Live, where his most memorable character was the simpering self-help sap Stuart Smalley.

Interview
Queue
40:52

Comedian and Political Commentator Al Franken

Enter MeFranken's new book is Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them: A Fair and Balanced Look at the Right. Franken recently made headlines when the Fox News Channel tried to sue him over the phrase "fair and balanced," which Fox claimed as its own. Fox lost, and Franken got lots of publicity for the book, which is now a bestseller. Al Franken is an alumnus of Saturday Night Live, where his most memorable character was the simpering self-help sap Stuart Smalley.

Interview

Did you know you can create a shareable playlist?

Learn How
Advertisement

Recently on Fresh Air Available to Play on NPR

52:30

Daughter of Warhol star looks back on a bohemian childhood in the Chelsea Hotel

Alexandra Auder's mother, Viva, was one of Andy Warhol's muses. Growing up in Warhol's orbit meant Auder's childhood was an unusual one. For several years, Viva, Auder and Auder's younger half-sister, Gaby Hoffmann, lived in the Chelsea Hotel in Manhattan. It was was famous for having been home to Leonard Cohen, Dylan Thomas, Virgil Thomson, and Bob Dylan, among others.

Queue

Related segments from the Fresh Air Archive:

43:04

This fake 'Jury Duty' really put James Marsden's improv chops on trial

In the series Jury Duty, a solar contractor named Ronald Gladden has agreed to participate in what he believes is a documentary about the experience of being a juror--but what Ronald doesn't know is that the whole thing is fake.

Queue

Related segments from the Fresh Air Archive:

08:26

This Romanian film about immigration and vanishing jobs hits close to home

R.M.N. is based on an actual 2020 event in Ditrău, Romania, where 1,800 villagers voted to expel three Sri Lankans who worked at their local bakery.

Queue

Related segments from the Fresh Air Archive:

See All Recent Segments

There are more than 22,000 Fresh Air segments.

Let us help you find exactly what you want to hear.
Just play me something
Your Queue

Would you like to make a playlist based on your queue?

Generate & Share View/Edit Your Queue