The Canada-based Rybczynski sought to build a shed, but ended up designing a house for himself. He details the design and construction of his home in a new book, The Most Beautiful House in the World.
Lopate embraced the essay form only after writing novels and short stories. The writer explores diverse, sometimes provocative topics in his personal writing like sexuality and suicide.
Rock critic Ken Tucker says the group's first collaboration with country artists, Will the Circle Be Unbroken, breathed new life into their music. The second volume of that effort is less focused, with a strange and haphazard assortment of collaborators.
The Dutch stage and screen actor is often cast as a Russian character, including in the new movie Scandal. In the Netherlands, he often worked with director Paul Verhoeven. In the U.S., he's best known for his role as a womanizer in Crossing Delancey.
Critic Owne Gleiberman reviews Steven Spielberg's Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. He says the film is a retread of the first movie in the franchise, but is invigorated by the addition of Sean Connery as Indy's father.
Classical music critic Lloyd Schwartz reviews a CD of Olaf Bar's performances of selections from Mozart's operatic oeuvre. Schwartz says Bar's lower range is limited, causing him to growl and bark. It's an affect that might work for a full production, but is distracting in a recital setting.
Gordimer returns to Fresh Air to discuss her new collection of essays called The Essential Gesture, about her role as a white woman in South Africa fighting against Apartheid.
The former Steve Miller Band guitarist took a break from the music industry, but is back with a new album called Other Roads. He joins Fresh Air to talk about his early albums and the evolution of his music over the decades.
Lasseter began his career as a traditional animator; now he works for the production studio Pixar, founded by Steve Jobs. He joins Fresh Air to talk about the mechanics of computer animation, and how he tries to get audiences to look past the novelty of his approach and focus on the story.
John Le Carre's new spy novel is set against the backdrop of the Soviet Union's recent reforms. Book critic John Leonard calls it a "great gray lump" -- The Russia House strains for greatness with big ideas about selfhood, but falls flat with its long sentences and pretensions of literary sophistication.
Rock historian Ed Ward says that the 1970s were a wasteland for rock music. But two notable, experimental bands emerged from the era. The Residents' music was bizarre and hollow sounding, while Pere Ubu sought to bring an experimental edge to rock and roll.
La Russa joins Fresh Air to talk about how he leads his team through success and failure. His managerial style boils down to just a few rules: show up on time and do your best.
Television critic David Bianculli reviews the series finale of the glossy crime show. He says the ending was as contrived as the past few seasons -- big on action, short on character development.
Jazz critic Kevin Whitehead says many other critics don't know what to make of the jazz pianist's percussive, atonal playing. Cecil Taylor doesn't improvise using standard jazz changes or harmonies, yet he says his biggest influence is the blues. Whitehead reviews a reissue of Taylor's album Indent, and explains what to listen for.
Jillette, along with his silent partner Teller, created his magic act partly in opposition to the comedy and theater performances he disliked. His duo's edgy, sometimes violent, performances have won Emmy Awards and spawned companion books and videos. Jillette takes pride in maintaining an aggressive persona while treating his audience with respect.
The crime writer says he's more focused on characters than the gritty, violent plots that drive his novels. Yet Elmore garners praise for those tightly woven and realistic plots; Leonard is careful to consult experts about bomb making, guns, and explosions.
Critic Ken Tucker, a big fan of rap music, missed the theatrical release of Run D.M.C.'s film. He had high hopes it might capture the spirit of black action movies of the 1970s; but after watching the home video release, Tucker says the movie failed to live up to its promise.
Rock critic Ken Tucker says the pop star rails against commercialism -- despite the fact that his success depends on it. But it's the music on Big Daddy -- moreso than the lyrics -- that best coveys Mellencamp's anti-pop message.
Sendak illustrated a version of a recently-discovered Grimm story, about a girl named Mili who loses her mother during a war. Sendak, best known for his book Where the Wild Things Are, often incorporates difficult subjects like death and divorce into his children's books.
