Author J.G. Ballard died April 19 from cancer. The science fiction writer produced more than 20 novels and short story collections, including Empire of the Sun and Love & Napalm: U.S.A. Fresh Air remembers Ballard with an archival interview.
Drugs prescribed for attention deficit disorder, narcolepsy, epilepsy and other conditions are being used by people who don't need them, in an effort to enhance brain function. Journalist Margaret Talbot discusses the trend.
The singer and songwriter's new double album, High Wide and Handsome: The Charlie Poole Project, is a tribute to the old-time country banjo player who died in 1931.
Critic David Edelstein says the new newspapers-and-politicos thriller is stuck in the 1970s — but don't expect All the President's Men. This is one Beltway time bomb that never explodes.
Kirstin Downey's biography of FDR's Labor Secretary Frances Perkins paints an inspiring and substantive portrait of the woman who ushered in the 40-hour work week.
From Broadway to Sesame Street, Kristen Chenoweth has tackled a wide range of roles, genres and media. Now, she tells her own story in her autobiography, A Little Bit Wicked.
Economist Simon Johnson discusses the next phase of the financial bailout. In the May issue of The Atlantic Monthly, Johnson insists that the U.S. government will have to get rid of its "financial oligarchy" to regain economic stability.
Journalist Michelle Goldberg discusses the politics, ideology and history of reproductive rights around the world in her new book The Means of Reproduction.
Jack Wrangler, an icon of gay adult films, died April 7. He appeared in more than 30 gay adult films and 20 straight adult films in the 1970s and 1980s. Fresh Air remembers him with an interview from 1985.
In his new book As They See 'Em, the journalist provides an insider's perspective on the dedicated umpires who face angry fans, disgruntled coaches and poor pay for the game they love.
On the new album Trombone Tribe, trombonist Roswell Rudd plays with a number of groups including his own sextet. Music critic Kevin Whitehead has a review.
In Let the Right One In, Eli and Oskar are both lonely 12-year-olds — but one of them happens to be a vampire. Critic-at-large John Powers calls the Swedish film "the best vampire movie in the last 75 years."
Hailed as "the best baseball movie ever," Sugar follows one young man's journey from a village in the Dominican Republic to a minor league baseball team in Iowa. Filmmakers Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck talk about creating the film.
Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, the president of Liberia, is the first democratically elected woman leader in Africa. Since taking office in 2006, Johnson Sirleaf has fought to reconstruct the state and rescue Liberia's failing economy.
Psychologist Richard Weissbourd contends that parents who are obsessed with their children's happiness are ignoring other important values — like goodness, empathy, appreciation and caring — that are necessary to a well-rounded personality.
Screenwriter Mike White and his father, gay rights activist Mel White, recently danced, ran and bobsledded around the globe as part of The Amazing Race. The duo talks about their relationship and reality-TV adventures.
British comic Russell Brand is known for his outlandish appearance, sharp wit and no-holds-barred language. He's put his over-the-top comedy on the page with his new memoir My Booky Wook: A Memoir of Sex, Drugs, and Stand-up.
Pop legend Prince has a new triple-album release called Lotusflow3r. It features two solo albums by Prince and a debut album by Bria Valente, co-written and co-produced by Prince. Rock critic Ken Tucker has a review.
