The terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, linger in our thoughts, but not so much in our speech. Linguist Geoff Nunberg says "it's striking that 9/11 and its aftereffects have left almost no traces in the language of everyday life."
Firefighter Ken Haskell was off duty on Sept. 11, 2001, when his two brothers, also firefighters, died in the World Trade Center. Haskell's story of searching the rubble for his brothers' bodies is included in A Decade of Hope: Stories of Grief and Endurance from 9/11 Families and Friends.
Washington Post national security reporter Dana Priest's book Top Secret America looks at the top-secret intelligence and counterterrorism network created after Sept. 11. "No one knows how much money it costs, how many people it employs, [or] how many programs exist within it," she says.
The Chicago-based Deep Blue Organ Trio combines a Hammond organ with a guitar and drums. The group's fourth album Wonderful! pays tribute to the Stevie Wonder songbook. Critic Kevin Whitehead says more jazz musicians should cover Wonder, because his tunes are "jazz waiting to happen."
Vera Farmiga makes her directorial debut with Higher Ground, which centers on a woman who joins and then flees a fundamentalist religious order. Film critic David Edelstein says the movie is "complicated and unresolved in the best possible way."
Leiber, the lyricist behind "Jailhouse Rock," "Yakety Yak" and "Stand By Me," died Monday. He was 78. Fresh Air remembers the songwriter with excerpts from a 1991 interview with Leiber and his songwriting partner Mike Stoller.
In 1983, critic John Powers panned the Pacino film, saying it was trashy and shallow. But he recently watched the film again, and says that in retrospect, he can see how the film burned its way into the national psyche.
What if the rapture actually occurred? That's the plot of Tom Perrotta's new novel Te Leftovers, which examines the aftermath of an unexplained rapture like even in which millions of people around the globe inexplicably disappear into thin air.
Al Green wrote "Take Me to the River," but it was his labelmate Syl Johnson who first made it famous. Rock historian Ed Ward traces Johnson's early career, which started in Chicago blues clubs in the 1950s.
Doe is probably still best known as co-founder of the punk-rock band X more than 30 years ago. Rock critic Ken Tucker says Doe's new solo album Keeper is less conflicted and more contemplative than his earlier works.
A new Christian movement that seeks to take dominion over politics, business and culture in preparation for the end times and Jesus' return is becoming more of a presence in American politics. Rachel Tabachnick, who researches the religious right, explains its beliefs and influences.
The New York trio Battles and the Chicago-based experimental rock band Cheer-Accident come from very different directions. But critic Milo Miles says that both groups have recently put out their most appealing records, without losing their cerebral side.
The A&P changed the way Americans do their grocery shopping, but it did so at a cost -- thousands of mom-and-pop corner stores closed as the chain grew. Economic historian Marc Levinson chronicles the rise and fall of the grocery giant in The Great A&P and the Struggle for Small Business in America.
Waters founded her Berkeley restaurant, Chez Panisse, long before "organic" or "locally grown" entered the vernacular. In 40 Years at Chez Panisse, Waters looks back on the sustainable for movement and the momentum it has built in recent years.
Raoul Ruiz's 4 1/2 hour Portuguese/French melodrama -- a puppet theater of the upper class -- won't be everybody's cup of tea. But critic David Edelstein says the film's haunting mix of distance and intimacy makes the hours fly by.
Brad Ausmus has been called one of the best catchers in baseball. He spent 18 seasons in the big leagues, playing for teams like the Dodgers and the Padres. He details what it's like to couch behind home plate, deal with umps and make pitching calls.
Stone is known to millions from the records he made with Sly and the Family Stone. But his early days, and the recordings he produced for his own Stone Flower label, add another dimension to the career of this enigmatic character, rock historian Ed Ward said.
Bridges won an Oscar in 2009 for his performance as a broken-down country singer in the film Crazy Heart, for which her performed his own vocals. He also sings as himself on a new self-titled album.
When Standard & Poor's recently lowered the U.S. government debt rating for the first time in history, it set off a firestorm of criticism, from the Obama administration to Wall Street. The downgrade raised questions about the influence of S&P and other agencies, which also faced blame in the financial crisis of 2007-'08.
