A PBS documentary about the 1964 movement to get blacks to vote in Mississippi airs Tuesday. Freedom Summer director Stanley Nelson and organizer Charles Cobb discuss the dangers the students faced.
Two veteran directors adapted the Broadway shows to film. And while many such translations are too stage-bound, critic David Edelstein says Clint Eastwood and Roman Polanski got the balance right.
Jazz pianist, bandleader and composer Horace Silver died Wednesday at age 85. Fresh Air critic Kevin Whitehead says that Silver had been off the scene awhile, but his influence is as strong as ever. Hear an appreciation.
The comedian who was a correspondent on The Daily Show for 7 1/2 years now pokes fun on Last Week Tonight. Oliver talks about tasing his leg, temping for a thief and remaining an outsider.
Fresh Air tech contributor Alexis Madrigal explains how a tiny computer attaches to a pill you ingest to record how your body responds. It sounds crazy, he says, but it was approved by the FDA.
Two fine albums by drummer Ronald Shannon Jackson and the Decoding Society, Man Dance and its sequel Barbeque Dog, are now available again as downloads, after being out of print for ages. Fresh Air critic Kevin Whitehead says they're prime examples of the 1980s' so-called "free-funk" movement.
Geoff Dyer spent two weeks aboard the U.S.S. George H.W. Bush for his book Another Great Day at Sea. He talks with Fresh Air about his book, and the carrier's latest position for possible air strikes.
Parquet Courts is a Brooklyn by way of Texas band that has just released its new third record, Sunbathing Animal. The quartet has drawn comparisons to New York rock and punk acts as various as the Velvet Underground, the New York Dolls, and Sonic Youth, but rock critic Ken Tucker says this album proves Parquet Courts is an original.
In Joshua Ferris' third novel, To Rise Again at a Decent Hour, the protagonist is a dentist wrestling with his atheism. Ferris says his character, like all dentists, is "chronically misunderstood."
The finale of the Fargo TV series airs Tuesday. The characters are different, like a deputy sheriff played by Allison Tolman. But writer Noah Hawley says the Coen brothers told him he "nailed it."
The late-night talk show, imported by BBC America, has been around for years. TV critic David Bianculli says it's never been better — it's like eavesdropping on an all-star cocktail party.
The indie film depicts a standup comic who decides to have an abortion after a one-night stand. David Edelstein lauds director Gillian Robespierre's courage.
Clinton's new memoir, Hard Choices, outlines her four years as secretary of state under President Obama. She talks about her vote for the Iraq War, women's rights and political "gamers."
Dave and Phil Alvin have made their first full album together in nearly 30 years, a tribute to one of their early influences. "His persona was so big to me," Phil Alvin tells Fresh Air's Terry Gross.
The 68-year-old film director hitchhiked from Baltimore to San Francisco for his book Carsick. He says hitchhiking is "the worst beauty regimen ever" and admits he always kept his luggage with him.
The Rise and Fall of Great Powers — the latest from Imperfectionists author Tom Rachman — follows the travels of a young bookstore proprietor. It's a "strange" book that requires a bit of patience.
Mike Myers' documentary Supermensch chronicles the work of Shep Gordon, who has "jump-started" the careers of superstar musicians and chefs. Now, it's Gordon's turn for a taste of celebrity.
The adaptation of John Green's bestselling young adult novel The Fault in Our Stars — about two teens with cancer — is among the year's most anticipated films, but David Edelstein wasn't impressed.
Netflix's women-in-prison series, based on a memoir by Piper Kerman, returns Friday. Fresh Air listens back to interviews with Kerman and series creator Jenji Kohan.
