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"Tales from the Assembly Line."

Writer Ben Hamper. His funny first-person account of working in GM's auto factory is "Rivethead: Tales from the Assembly Line." Hamper is a third generation auto worker in Flint, Michigan. He first started writing when he submitted articles to the alternative newspaper, "The Flint Voice." The editor then was Michael Moore, who made the documentary "Roger and Me." From a Village Voice review, "The material is Beat and blunt...dense with sensations close to the metal floor...Ben Hamper is a modern worker writer, proletarian journalist and one of the best writers I know about." ("Rivethead," is published by Warner Books). (Interview by Marty Moss-Coane)

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Other segments from the episode on August 9, 1991

Fresh Air with Terry Gross, August 9, 1991: Interview with Ben Hamper; Interview with Stryker McGuire; Review of the films "Pure Luck" and "Delirious."
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15:29

Journalist Stryker McGuire Travels To Central and South America.

Journalist Stryker McGuire. He covered the Nicaraguan revolution for Newsweek where he is Chief of Correspondents. After the war, he came back to New York but discovered that he hadn't settled in his own mind what he experienced in Nicaragua. He began a 20,000 mile driving trip from North America to South America to try and understand what had happened and to get a different look at Latin America. His book, "Streets with No Names," is an account of that trip. (published by Atlantic Monthly Press.) (Interview by Marty Moss-Coane)

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05:19

What Happened to the SCTV Alum?

Film critic Stephen Schiff reviews two new comedies starring two stars from "SCTV," and wonders why they haven't been more successful. They are Martin Short who's starring with Danny Glover in, "Pure Luck," and John Candy whose new film is "Delirious."

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42:20

This Book Introduces You To The People Doing Your 'Dirty Work'

For his new book, Dirty Work, Eyal Press interviewed people working punishingly difficult jobs — slaughterhouse employees, correctional officers, oil rig workers, military drone operators. He writes that these workers often do jobs that many of us believe we benefit from — in the form of lower prices, safer streets or cheaper energy — but don't really want to think about.

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22:22

Poet Philip Levine On "What Work Is."

Poet Philip Levine. Levine's considered one of this country's preeminent poet, but before he turned to poetry he put in years working factory jobs. The images of those early days continue to influence his writings. Levine's latest collection of poems is called "What Work Is." (It's published by Knopf).

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Lone star ticks are covering much of the U.S. Here's what you need to know

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The Perfect Moment' makes the case that culture wars have 'completely eaten America'

ISAAC BUTLER is the author of The Perfect Moment: God, Sex, Art, and the Birth of America's Culture Wars. It focuses on the religious right attacks on certain books, art and film of the 70’s, 80’s and 90’s. His previous books The World Only Spins Forward - about the play Angels in America. And The Method, about the history of the acting technique known as the method. We recorded the interview last Thursday. (THIS INTERVIEW CONTINUES INTO THE SECOND HALF OF THE SHOW).

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