Pop Culture

Humorist Al Gingold expounds on the purchase of a sofa, a key milepost in the coming of age in America.

Humorist Alice Kahn looks at the 28-year relationship between Barbie and Ken, America's best-known dolls.

Humorist Alice Kahn reflects on the difficulty of returning to your childhood home.

Writer Geoffrey O'Brien. His new book, Dream Time: Chapters from the Sixties, is an exploration of the phenomena of the 60s, from strobe lights and miniskirts to Be-Ins and Transcendental Meditation. O'Brien attempts to capture the cultural, social and political ferment of the era, as opposed to an objective, historical accounting. O'Brien is also the author of Hard Boiled America," a survey of paperback crime fiction.

Journalist Irvin Muchnick. His recent reporting has focused on recent developments in professional wrestling.

Folklorist Jan Harold Brunvand recently came back from New Zealand, where he learned some of the local urban legends. Several of them echoed familiar tales in the United States.

Folklorist Jan Harold Brunvand discusses the urban legend of a dead rabbit, which someone finds, cleans, and replaces in its cage.

Fresh Air broadcasts a portion of Dmae Roberts's upcoming radio documentary, Waiting for the Great Leap Forward, produced for the Soundprint program. The feature includes interviews with teenagers about their attitudes toward school, relationships, drugs, and sex.

Historian Lawrence Levine's new book examines the split between high and low culture. He argues that one should look at cultural horizontally -- rather than vertically -- in order to see how different kinds of art and media interact with each other, and are consumed by different social groups.

Garrison Keillor retired from the public radio show A Prairie Home Companion in 1987. He says he was overwhelmed by the celebrity, and wanted to focus on writing fiction. Keillor moved with his wife from his native St. Paul to New York City. His recent novel is called Leaving Home; a forthcoming collection of short stories is titled We Are Still Married.

Critic-at-large Laurie Stone says that recent advertisements, TV shows, and theater betray a cultural shift toward a new traditionalism that debases feminism and expects women to return to conventionally feminine roles.

Ted Schultz edited a new book called The Fringes of Reason, which compiles conflicting opinions of supernatural, New Age, and cosmological world views. Schultz is now studying entomology, which he says is related to his curiosity about what is and isn't real.

Marcus is fascinated by the disruptive and enduring power of the Sex Pistols. His new book, Lipstick Traces, connects the rise of punk with Dadaism and other nihilistic art movements.

Anderson was a street performer and con artist before he was cast in the first season of Cheers. That part eventually led to his role in the show Night Court. Anderson has a new book called Games You Can't Lose: A Guide for Suckers.

Joe Frank produces the long-running program Work in Progress, which features improvised monologues and dramatic conversations about his fears and insecurities. Recently, Frank has been drawing inspiration from in-depth interview with his friends.

Commentator Maureen Corrigan explains why she hates summer festivals, be they music, ethnic, food, or whatever.

Writer and critic Patricia McLaughlin looks at the wave of "Batmania" now at full force throughout the country.

Writer Pico Iyer. His book Video Night in Kathmandu explores the subtle and often humorous Westernization of the Far East. Iyer, who reported for Time Magazine for four years, found the West's influence in mohawk haircuts in Bali, six Filipino girls doing a perfect rendition of a Madonna hit, Japan's baseball mania and a Chinese cafeteria that served dishes like "Yes, Sir, Cheese My Baby," and "Ike and Tuna Tuner." Video Night in Kathmandu has just been published in paperback. (Interview by Sedge Thomson)

Commentator Maureen Corrigan reviews "Time Passages: Collective Memory and American Popular Culture" by George Lipsitz. The book examines how our collective memory has been shaped by popular culture since World War 2.

Commentator Leslie Savan has some thoughts on Nissan's "Infiniti" and Toyota's "Lexus" car ads.