Segments by Date

(1.) Actor, writer, and producer RIZ AHMED. He’s nominated for an Emmy for his starring role in the Prime Video series “Bait” in which he plays a British Pakistani actor auditioning to be the next James Bond. AHMED is also a writer and creator of the series.

Jazz critic MARTIN JOHNSON reviews the new album by Cecil McLorin Salvant, “With Every Breath I Take.”

We remember DOLLY PARTON, singer, songwriter, actress, entrepreneur and philanthropist. PARTON died yesterday in Nashville, Tennessee. She was 80 years old. Dolly Parton made her debut at the Grand Ole Opry in 1959 when she was just 13. Since then, she wrote thousands of songs, including "Coat of Many Colors," "Jolene" and "I Will Always Love You," which was later a hit for Whitney Houston. PARTON was one of the few performers who was successful enough to start her own theme park.

Veteran national security correspondent JOBY WARRICK, whose new book profiles a terrorist of the 1970’s and 80’s who became so famous for his brazen attacks and playboy lifestyle that once, when he was releasing hostages from a hijacked airplane, several asked him for his autograph. His new book is The Jackal: The Rise and Fall of Carlos, the World’s First Super Terrorist. Warrick, whose last book Black Flags: The Rise of ISIS earned a Pulitzer Prize, believes there are lessons to learn from the life and crimes of his new subject, a notorious figure from the early days of modern terrorism.

Book critic MAUREEN CORRIGAN has some suggestions for late summer reading: The Intrigue By Silvía Moreno-Garcia; The Blue Flame By George Pelecanos; and Under the Falls By Richard Russo.

John Powers reviews the Paramount+ Series Diarra from Detroit

(1.) LISA KUDROW. She's up for two Emmys for the final season of The Comeback, for lead actress in a comedy and for writing, the HBO series she co-created and stars in as Valerie Cherish, an actress who keeps trying to get her career back. It's her third acting nomination for the role, across three seasons and twenty-one years. Kudrow won an Emmy in 1998 for playing Phoebe on Friends. (INTERVIEW BY TONYA MOSLEY) (THIS INTERVIEW CONTINUES INTO THE SECOND HALF OF THE SHOW).

Adventure writer PETER HELLER, who wrote The Dog Stars, a story about two men who become unlikely compatriots when a pandemic wipes out much of the country's population. It’s been adapted into a new film starring Jacob Elordi and Josh Brolin. His other novels include The Whale Warriors, Hell or High Water, The River, Celine, The Painter, and his latest, The Orchard. (INTERVIEW BY DAVE DAVIES). (THIS INTERVIEW IS A REBROADCAST. IT ORIGINALLY AIRED ON AUGUST 13, 2012.)

Film critic JUSTIN CHANG reviews the new film Dreams in Nightmares.

We remember the influential rock critic DAVE MARSH who died a week ago. He was 76. MARSH dropped out of Wayne State University in Detroit to help launch the rock magazine Creem before winding up at Rolling Stone. He became an early champion of Bruce Springsteen, and went on to write three biographies of Springsteen. The first book, Born to Run published in 1979 became a best seller. MARSH also wrote books about The Who, Elvis, Michael Jackson, and Sly and the Family Stone. In his book The Heart of Rock and Soul, he rated what he considered the thousand and one greatest singles ever made.

Film critic JUSTIN CHANG reviews Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma.

YAHYA ABDUL-MATEEN II. He's nominated for an Emmy for playing Simon Williams in "Wonder Man," a Marvel comedy about a struggling actor hiding real superpowers.

(1.) STACIE PETTYJOHN is a senior fellow and director of the Defense Program at the Center for a New American Security. She'll talk about the military challenges the United States faces, five and a half months into the war with Iran. There’s been considerable reporting in the American media about the depletion of U.S. weapons stockpiles and the continuing threat Iran can pose to American bases and allies in the Persian Gulf region. (INTERVIEW BY DAVE DAVIES0 (THIS INTERVIEW CONTINUES THRU THE SECOND HALF OF THE SHOW)

(1.) Actor and writer JASON SEGEL. He’s nominated for an Emmy for his starring role in the comedy drama series Shrinking, as a psychotherapist who’s been having his own mental health crisis because his wife died a year earlier. The first 3 seasons are streaming on Apple TV. Segel got his first memorable role in the popular series, Freaks and Geeks (1999-2000). After the show was canceled, Segel wrote and starred in the film Forgetting Sarah Marshall. He wrote and was the human star of the movie musical The Muppets.

Enter Me

Book critic MAUREEN CORRIGAN reviews Etna the new novel by Paul Yoon, the narration was inspired by his dog Oscar.

DANIEL LIEBERMAN, author of the new book Fed Up: What Evolution Reveals about Food, Diet, Health and Eating Well. He’s a professor of biological Sciences at Harvard. And he's the founding chair of Harvard's Department of Human Evolutionary Biology. As part of his research, he tried a series of diets to see how his body reacted, including the Atkins diet and lesser known diets like the Blue Zone diet. (THIS INTERVIEW CONTINUES INTO THE SECOND HALF OF THE SHOW).

Bennett, who died in 2023, was known for a string of hits, including "I Left My Heart in San Francisco." Kevin Whitehead offers an appreciation and remembers some of Bennett's lesser-known songs.

In the new comedy "I Want Your Sex," Olivia Wilde plays an LA-based artist who initiates a dominant-submissive relationship with her younger employee, played by Cooper Hoffman. It's the first new feature in 12 years from the queer cinema pioneer Gregg Araki, and it's opening in theaters today after premiering to much acclaim in January at the Sundance Film Festival. Our film critic, Justin Chang, has this review.

Best-known for his band The Frames and his part in the 2007 film Once, Hansard got his start as a street busker in Dublin. He died July 29 in a motorcycle crash. Originally broadcast in 2008.