Cronenberg's films explore the tumultuous and often frightening relationship between the mind and the body. His newest movie, called Dead Ringers, is about twin gynecologists who fall in love with the same woman.
Joan Micklin Silver's film, set in New York City, is about a single woman in the publishing industry who recruits a matchmaker to find love. Film critic Stephen Schiff says it reminds him of the TV show Moonstruck, but without the motivational message.
Last year, Ken Tucker reviewed albums by Randy Travis and Dwight Yoakum, whom he thought had the power to shake up the country music establishment. Now they are the establishment, both with new albums. Tucker says Travis gives listeners a postmodern take on traditional country; Yoakum has fashioned himself the genre's Raymond Chandler, with songs that are brooding and sometimes offensive.
The soul icon still sings with the 1960s vocal group. Williams remembers the producers who wrote and recorded the Temptations' hit songs, and how they were able to capture soul and emotion on tape. He has a new memoir, simply called Temptations.
Writer Bharati Mukherjee moved from India to the United States to study at the University of Iowa. Her stories and novels examine the nuances of immigrant life, and how people must negotiate two, often contradictory value systems.
Host Terry Gross continues her series of interviewers with Fresh Air contributors. Today she talks with John Leonard, whose criticism appears widely. As a college student he considered a life of political activism before deciding that writing was were his strengths lay. A recovering alcoholic, Leonard describes how, even while he bottomed out, he still delivered copy to his editors.
Investigative journalist Mark Hertsgaard examines the relationship between the press and the Reagan administration in his new book, On Bended Knee. Hertsgaard says that Reagan's press team was masterful at manipulating the news media by limiting access to the president, choreographing photo opportunities and television appearances, and disseminating controlled, daily messages to reporters.
The Nonesuch label has released new recordings of early sacred songs by Ensemble Alcatraz, who perform on period instruments. Classical music critic Lloyd Schwartz says that, since the music on "Visions and Miracles" draws on so many cultural traditions, it's a source of constant discovery.
Language commentator Geoff Nunberg wonders why it's so hard for writers to craft realistic, natural-sounding dialogue when we are surrounded by speech in our daily lives. He says it may take a special kind of attentiveness to hear -- and remember -- how people really talk.
Carol Leifer wrote for Saturday Night Live and later started performing her own material on stage. A recent divorcee, she's surprised by how bleak the dating scene is. She joins Fresh Air to talk about her personal and working life.
Rufus Thomas was a Memphis-based disc jockey who helped promote black music throughout the south. He also became a recording artist and producer who wrote dozens of dance hits. Rock historian Ed Ward has this profile.
Yeager broke the sound barrier flying the X-1 jet plane. The accomplishment not only helped revolutionize aviation; it put him in the public eye. He later appeared on the cover of Time Magazine and television commercials. His newly-published second memoir is called Press On!.
Book critic John Leonard reviews the novelist's new book, about historical figures who live in contemporary times. Leonard says what could have been a thoughtful meditation on the role of art in society instead turns into a narrative mess.
Sidney Bechet broke new ground as a soloist early in jazz's history, paving the way for nearly every saxophonist who came after him -- from Charlie Parker to Steve Lacey. RCA has just reissued a collection of his recordings. Jazz critic Kevin Whitehead has this review.
Journalist Bill Moyers is joining the ranks of television talk show hosts with his new PBS show. Eschewing the spectacle of programs helmed by Geraldo, Morton and Sally, Moyers conducts thoughtful interviews with public intellectuals. Television critic David Bianculli says Moyers really listens to his guests, giving their conversations more depth than what you'd find on network TV.
Darlene Love sang with the 1960s girl group The Blossoms, and recorded hits with producer Phil Spector. Their professional relationship was rocky; Love later severed ties with him. Her first solo album, Paint Another Picture, has just been released.
Hyman performs and talks about the music of Erroll Garner. Hyman is a composer and arranger. He's worked on several Woody Allen films. He wrote the music for "Purple Rose of Cairo," and was music supervisor for "Radio Days."
In the 60s, Goodwin was a speechwriter for Presidents Kennedy and Johnson, and later worked for presidential candidates Eugene McCarthy and Robert Kennedy. He's written a book that looks back at that period. It's titled Remembering America.
Love was the phantom lead singer on some of Phil Spector's biggest girl group hits, like "He's a Rebel," "(Today I Met) The Boy I'm Gonna Marry" and "Da Doo Run Run." She was in the Broadway productions of "Leader of the Pack" and "Carrie." Her first solo album has just been released. It's titled "Paint Another Picture." This is the first of a two-part interview.
