TV historian David Bianculli worries that the death of analog television isn't politically neutral: It threatens to leave the neediest viewers in the Dark Ages.
The San Francisco, Chicago and Boston symphony orchestras have all released new live albums recently; classical music critic Lloyd Schwartz had a listen, and he has a review.
In Descent into Chaos, Ahmed Rashid examines the United States' failures in Central Asia, where, the author says, Washington has helped create an unstable Pakistan, a reinvigorated Taliban and a entrepreneurial al' Qaeda that is profiting off the opium trade.
In 2008, Dr. Maria Siemionow and a team of doctors made history when they performed the first near-total face transplant in the United States. Siemionow writes about the procedure in the memoir Face to Face.
For the golden anniversary of the original cast album of Gypsy, Sony is reissuing the classic recording, which features Ethel Merman. Music critic Lloyd Schwartz sees how well it holds up.
It's the era of Twilight, and pop culture is swarming with the undead. Terry Gross talks to Academy Award-winning actress Anna Paquin, star of HBO's vampire series True Blood.
Gretchen Morgenson, financial reporter and business columnist for The New York Times, talks about efforts in Congress to regulate credit default swaps, which helped crash the banking system.
Actor Ed Helms, co-star of the new film The Hangover, studied improvisation with The Upright Citizens Brigade and got his start in comedy with numerous sketch comedy groups. He currently plays Andy Bernard, the salesman who loves a cappella, on the NBC comedy series The Office.
Author Larry Tye discusses Satchel Paige, a negro league pitcher who helped integrate baseball by touring the country and playing exhibition games with white players.
American mezzo-soprano Joyce DiDonato released a dazzling CD of Handel arias — Furore, a collection of set-pieces from operas and oratorios in which Handel's characters experience flights of passion.
Georgetown law professor Adam Levitin joins Fresh Air to discuss the Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility and Disclosure Act, which President Obama recently signed into law.
Seventy-two-year-old actor David Carradine was found dead in his hotel room in Bangkok. He was best known for his role in Kill Bill: Vol 1, Kill Bill: Vol. 2 and the Kung Fu TV series.
In Chandler Burr's You or Someone Like You, the wife of a powerful Hollywood executive unexpectedly finds herself at the helm of a popular book group. Critic Maureen Corrigan calls it a "smart novel" that offers "a very tough reflection on the idea of 'group-ness' itself"
Linguist Geoff Nunberg has made a living out of parsing phrases. His new book, The Years of Talking Dangerously, analyzes the buzzwords, stock phrases and metaphors that were made popular during the Bush administration's tenure.
Actress Cloris Leachman, best known as nosy neighbor Phyllis on The Mary Tyler Moore Show, has penned her autobiography, Cloris, with husband George Englund. Leachman recently competed on Dancing with the Stars, and appears in the new film Inglorious Basterds.
After 16 years as the host of the Late Night show, Conan O'Brien moves his act an hour earlier. TV critic David Bianculli reviews O'Brien's premiere as host of The Tonight Show.
New York Times reporter Dexter Filkins has been covering clashes pitting Taliban militants against the Afghan and Pakistani governments; he joins Fresh Air to talk about recent developments in the region.
From FDR's "New Deal" and LBJ's "Great Society" to Barack Obama's effort to create a "New Foundation", politicians (and their speech writers) have long used words to brand their ideas. Geoff Nunberg reflects on the politics of political phrasing.
The Godfather of Punk has released a new album called Preliminaires, featuring standards like "Autumn Leaves" and "How Insensitive," as well as an original song inspired by Louis Armstrong.
