English Satire

The writer is best known for his semi-autobiographical novels about an Englishman from a posh but monstrous family. St. Aubyn's new book marks a departure.

This week, we're listening back to some favorite Fresh Air interviews from the past decade. In 2011, Terry Gross spoke to the creators of South Park about their Broadway hit.

Comedy writer Steve Hely details the journey of a young writer's effort to create the greatest best seller of all time in his new novel How I Became a Famous Novelist.

Self-proclaimed "broadcasting legend" Stephen Colbert talks about his upcoming Christmas special on Comedy Central. According to Colbert, it will include goats dressed as reindeer and his own original Christmas songs.

Comedian and actress Sarah Silverman's concert film Jesus is Magic is about to come out on DVD. It's the screen version of her one-woman off-Broadway stage show, with scenes performed before a live audience interwoven with musical numbers and backstage shots. Silverman's act tends to walk the line between irreverent and possibly offensive, with jokes about Sept. 11, AIDS and the Holocaust. This interview originally aired Nov. 9, 2005.

Scottish writer William Boyd. His latest novel, The New Confessions, follows the political and cinematic adventures of a monomaniacal filmmaker. Boyd's earlier novels include Stars and Bars and An Ice Cream War.

Critic-at-Large Laurie Stone discusses the comedy of Harry Shearer, best known for his two years on the cast of "Saturday Night Live" and for his role as the heavy metalist Derrick Small in the movie "This is Spinal Tap," the concert film spoof.