New York

Patrick Markee spent two decades walking through New York City's tunnels, armories and intake centers. His book asks: what if homelessness isn't a personal failing, but the result of policy choices?

The 1970s band the New York Dolls was hugely influential, despite making only two studio albums. Today we remember Johansen, aka Buster Poindexter, who died Feb. 28. Originally broadcast in 2004.

CBS presents the latest drama series from Michelle and Robert King, creators of "The Good Wife" and its spinoff series "The Good Fight." Their newest weekly series, episodes of which will stream the next day on Paramount+, is yet another extension of the franchise. It's called "Elsbeth," and it stars Carrie Preston in the role she played in both those other series - eccentric but effective attorney Elsbeth Tascioni. But this time, Elsbeth has a new job, and she's in a new city. Our TV critic, David Bianculli, has this review.

In a new podcast series from WNYC and the History Channel, journalists Kai Wright and Lizzy Ratner take us to New York in the mid-'80s, when the HIV virus first took root - so new, it didn't even have a name.

Trumpeter Jon-Erik Kellso and guitarist Matt Munisteri, founding members of the NY band The EarRegulars, play tunes from their new album, Live at the Ear Inn.

Joining us today to talk about the life and legacy of the Notorious B.I.G. is journalist Justin Tinsley. He's the author of the book "It Was All A Dream: Biggie And The World That Made Him." In the book, Tinsley explores Biggie's life in the context of not only rap, but the wider cultural and political forces that shaped him, including immigration, Reagan-era politics, the war on drugs and mass incarceration.

Linda Simpson performed in and chronicled the drag scene in the '80s and '90s, taking some 5,000 photos of performers. She calls Tennessee's anti-drag legislation "ridiculous."

Michael Cecchi-Azzolina talks about what it's like to be a Maitre D' at the fanciest restaurants in New York City. He has worked in the business for three decades telling wealthy diners, celebrities and even the mafia whether or not they can have the table by the window. His memoir is called Your Table is Ready.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

New Yorker cartoonist Roz Chast is a city person. She grew up in an apartment building in Brooklyn, N.Y., and though she moved to the suburbs as an adult when she was pregnant with her second child, she never stopped loving the grit and excitement of New York City.

A new drama series on Netflix chronicles the rise of early hip-hop music in the late '70s. Rock critic Ken Tucker says the show's soundtrack is dense, complex and delightful.

A conversation with novelist Jay McInerney about finding fame as a young man, writing, New York City, and his new novel Bright, Precious Days about marriage, fidelity and middle age.

Stephanie Danler drew on her own experiences to write her novel about a young woman working at an upscale restaurant in New York. "It's so physically punishing," she says of her work as a server.

In Hanya Yanagihara's deeply moving novel, college friends rise, lose their bearings, fall in love, squabble and wrestle with life's tragedies in New York City.