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27:44

A Poet Cleans Up and Moves On

Poet Jim Carroll is best known for his book The Basketball Diaries. He joins Fresh Air's Terry Gross to talk about his history of heroin addiction, writing, and sobriety.

Interview
28:11

American Poet Robert Bly

Bly's work has dealt with nature, the Vietnam War, and gender differences. He considers the impact living simply in Minnesota has had on his writing.

Interview
09:45

How the Dying Know What's at Stake

Novelist and memoirist Susan Cheever never thought she'd follow in her father John Cheever's footsteps as a writer. Drawing on the memories of his final days, her newest book, Doctors and Women, deals with cancer patients and their families.

Interview
09:20

Changing Women's Roles in Detective Fiction

Sarah Paretsky's novels feature women detectives who are every bit as tough as their hard-boiled male counterparts. Her work subverts classic tropes of vulnerable virgins and femme fatales. Her newest book is called Bitter Medicine.

Interview
03:53

A Classic Film for Kids and Adults

After watching the re-release of Disney's classic Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, critic Stephen Schiff says the movie is a powerful story about a girl's sexual awakening--only without the sex. He recommends it for it for viewers of all ages.

03:44

Nostalgic Yearnings for Bygone Times

Guest critic David Marc looks at the growing popularity of 1950s TV sitcoms. He thinks the trend reveals a troubling desire for an idealized suburban culture where whiteness and paternal authority ruled.

Commentary
27:17

The Anxieties of Getting Older

Fifty-one-year-old author Avery Corman has a new book called 50. He joins Fresh Air guest host Liane Hansen to talk about the different ways men and women view aging. Corman first rose to prominence with his novel Kramer Versus Kramer.

Interview
27:52

A Doctor Reflects on Her Training

Dr. Perri Klass writes extensively for magazines and newspapers, and has published a collection of short stories. Her new memoir, A Not Entirely Benign Procedure, details her experiences as a med student at Harvard.

Interview
09:21

A Pop Singer Returns, Older and Wiser

Singer Dion, from Dion and the Belmonts, is making a comeback singing Christian songs. He joins Fresh Air's Terry Gross to talk about his early career, growing older, and getting sober.

Interview
27:32

The History of LSD

Writer Jay Stevens has a new book about the creation of LSD in the 1940s, research into its therapeutic and weaponized potential in the 1950s, and its role in the 1960s counterculture--fueled in part by the influence of people like Timothy Leary, Ken Kesey and Aldous Huxley.

Interview
06:57

Esquerita: Litte Richard's Inspiration.

Rock historian Ed Ward will profile the career of Esquerita, a gay, black piano player whose flamboyant style (and hairdoo) was an inspiration to Little Richard.

Commentary
10:01

Evolution of a Blonde Bombshell.

Mamie Van Doren, one of Hollywood's blond bombshells in the fifties and sixties. She starred in the cult classics "Untamed Youth," "High School Confidential," and "Born Reckless." She's written a kiss-and-tell memoir called Playing the Field.

Interview
03:15

Women and Sex in Recent Movies.

Critic-at-Large Laurie Stone looks at the new sexism as typified in the female leads in the films "Fatal Attraction," "The Big Easy" and "Baby Boom," three of the most successful fall films.

Commentary

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