New York (State)--New York
Fran Lebowitz is your NYC tour guide in 'Pretend It's a City'
In the series, Lebowitz talks with Martin Scorsese about getting kicked out of high school, driving a cab in New York City in the 1970s and not having a cell phone. Originally broadcast January 2021.
Fran Lebowitz's 'Pretend It's A City' Is The NYC Trip You Can't Take Right Now
Iconoclastic humorist Fran Lebowitz used to be known as a writer. Back in the late 1970s and '80s, she released two popular collections of essays featuring her cutting observations and opinions about life. But that part of her career was cut short by a decades-long case of writer's block — now she's known for talking. The Netflix series Pretend It's a City features Lebowitz in conversation with Martin Scorsese — who directed both the new series and the 2010 HBO documentary about Lebowitz, Public Speaking.
'Fresh Air' Remembers Veteran Journalist Pete Hamill
Hamill, who died Aug. 5, was a columnist and editor at the New York Post and the New York Daily News, covering wars, crime and the people of NYC's boroughs. Originally broadcast in '94, '08 and '11.
Catherine Russell: The 'Fresh Air' In-Studio Concert
The standards singer sang tracks from her solo album, Strictly Romancin', during this 2012 interview and performance. Russell's latest album is called Alone Together.
'I Was Singing For My Life': Amy Rigby On Mixing Music And Motherhood
Amy Rigby was a sheltered Catholic teen from the Pittsburgh suburbs when she moved to New York City to attend Parsons School of Design and fell in love with the '70s punk scene.
'Fresh Air' Favorites: Patti Smith
This week, we're listening back to some favorite Fresh Air interviews from the past decade. The punk icon reflected on her career and her 22-year friendship with artist Robert Mapplethorpe in 2010.
'Sara Berman's Closet' Traces 1 Woman's Life, From Shtetl To Greenwich Village
Berman was 60 when she moved to New York with just one suitcase to start a new life. Berman's daughter, Maira Kalman, and grandson, Alex Kalman, tell her story in a new book and museum show.
'Moneyland' Reveals How Oligarchs, Kleptocrats And Crooks Stash Fortunes
Journalist Oliver Bullough runs kleptocracy tours in London, in which he points out mansions bought by corrupt foreign leaders and oligarchs. Moneyland describes their secretive transnational world.
Remembering Master Magician And Sleight-Of-Hand Artist Ricky Jay
Jay, who died Sunday, was an avid scholar of con games and could make cards disappear and reappear in ways that seemed impossible. He spoke to Fresh Air in 1987, 1998 and 2002.
Maggie Gyllenhaal Takes On The Power Imbalance Of Sex Work In 'The Deuce'
Set in New York City in the 1970s, The Deuce centers on the intersection of sex work, pornography, organized crime, the police, politicians and feminists. Gyllenhaal didn't have a problem with the role, but she did have strong feelings about how the power dynamics of sex should be portrayed.