Kazuo Ishiguro's latest recalls the plays and novels of Samuel Beckett. It's a masterful blend of fantasy, Arthurian romance, myth, legend and postmodern absurdity — and it's unforgettable.
Jazz trumpet and flugelhorn player Eddie Henderson was in his 30s when he debuted on record with Herbie Hancock. Before that he'd become a medical doctor, who went on to specialize in psychiatry, because it left his nights free to play the horn. With Henderson's new album, Collective Portrait, Fresh Air jazz Critic Kevin Whitehead says that decision is still paying off for him.
Nora Jane Struthers is a singer-songwriter who grew up in New Jersey and was teaching high-school English in Brooklyn before moving to Nashville to attempt a full-time career in music. With her band The Party Line, she's just released a new album called Wake. Fresh Air rock critic Ken Tucker has a review.
Gordon co-founded Sonic Youth with Thurston Moore. When their marriage broke up in 2011, so did the band. Gordon talks about rebuilding her life, writing her memoir and her new band Body/Head.
Tina Fey co-created the quirky comedy The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt for Netflix; John Ridley made the emotionally raw drama American Crime for ABC. TV critic David Bianculli says they're both good.
The Web series centers on a pot dealer who bikes around Brooklyn delivering to clients. Katja Blichfeld and Ben Sinclair say they drew on their experiences and friends' generosity to make the show.
Mead hooks the listener, eager to show us the bleak side of what seemed like a bright scenario. That's the way he operates during much of Free State Serenade.
A lot of parents start worrying about paying for college education soon after their child is born. After that, there's the stressful process of applying to colleges, and then, for those lucky enough to get admitted into a good college, there's college debt.
A new book looks at how the military and Hollywood directors teamed up during the war. The films they made helped show Americans what was at stake, and served as evidence during the Nuremberg Trials.
Keepnews co-founded two of the most important independent record labels of the 1950s and '60s. The Grammy-winning producer passed away Sunday. He spoke to Terry Gross in 1988.
T. Geronimo Johnson's latest follows four Berkeley students who take an American history class that leads to disaster. It's an ambitious book about race that wants to say something big about America.
Offutt's late father went from running a small insurance agency to writing more than 400 books, mostly pornography. The writer tells Fresh Air his dad believed he would be "extremely famous" for it.
In the film about a toxic Hollywood, John Cusack plays a self-help guru whose clients include Julianne Moore. It's full of anxious shoptalk and name dropping, druggy kids and druggier grown-ups.
Hesburgh died Thursday. He was 97. He was an author, theologian and activist who took on the Vatican over issues of academic freedom. Hesburgh spoke with Terry Gross in 1990.
"Nature knows how to let animals live a very long time," says Bill Gifford, whose latest book is Spring Chicken, a look at the history of anti-aging schemes and current ways people try to live longer.
The new CBS show about two very mismatched investigative partners plays like a comedy. The characters are complicated and surprising, and the dialogue is crisp and quick. It's "a lot of fun to watch."
The ultimate smart-home vision is a home that basically runs itself, from coffee makers to washing machines. But we're not there yet: The real world is a hard place for little computers to operate in.
In the band's latest album Mono, Malo demonstrates how he likes to make music that confounds the usual expectations of what a country hit-maker can do.
Marcus Stern has spent the past year investigating the practice in collaboration with the Nation Institute's Investigative Fund. Recent accidents show cars aren't built to carry so much oil, he says.
