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Fresh Air Weekend: Benedict Cumberbatch, 'American Sniper' Review And 'Teenage Brain'
Saturday, January 31, 2015
Cumberbatch portrays the eccentric mathematician Alan Turing in The Imitation Game; John Powers reviews American Sniper; neuroscientist Frances Jensen discusses why teens should protect their brains.
When Islamists Impose Their Will In 'Timbuktu,' One Family Resists
Friday, January 30, 2015
The movie, one of five Academy Award nominees for best foreign language film this year, is about radical Islamists occupying the city in Mali. Remarkably, it's often on the verge of being a comedy.
Fresh Air Remembers Long-Time New York TV And Radio Personality Joe Franklin
Friday, January 30, 2015
Franklin was a talk-show host for more than 40 years. Guests ranged from Elvis Presley, Woody Allen and Barbra Streisand. He died Jan. 24 at 88 years old. In 1988, Franklin talked with Terry Gross.
Are We Having Fun Yet? New Book Explores The Paradox Of Parenting
Friday, January 30, 2015
Kids can be magical and maddening. The title of Jennifer Senior's book — All Joy and No Fun — contrasts the strains of day-to-day parenting with the transcendent experience of raising a child.
In 'Outline,' A Series Of Conversations Are Autobiographies In Miniature
Thursday, January 29, 2015
Rachel Cusk's novel centers on a writer and mother recovering from divorce who teaches a summer course in Athens, Greece. The narrator has 10 conversations filled with holes, lies and self-deceptions.
Editor Picks Religions For The First Norton Anthology of World Religions
Thursday, January 29, 2015
The anthology includes ancient and contemporary interpretations of Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism and Daoism. Editor Jack Miles discusses primary texts, extremism and death.
Full Of Complexity And Ambivalence, 'American Sniper' Shows The Cost Of War
Wednesday, January 28, 2015
The film about a Navy SEAL whose service in Iraq made him a mythic figure has become a cultural lightning rod. But the squabbles are too simple for a low-key movie striking in its lack of stridency.
Why Teens Are Impulsive, Addiction-Prone And Should Protect Their Brains
Wednesday, January 28, 2015
New research shows that teenagers' brains aren't fully insulated, so the signals travel slowly when they need to make decisions. Neuroscientist Frances Jensen, who wrote The Teenage Brain, explains.
At The BBC, The Beatles Shocked An Institution
Tuesday, January 27, 2015
Between 1962 and 1965, The Beatles were featured on 53 BBC radio programs. For The Beatles: The BBC Archives, Kevin Howlett had to search for many of these recordings, and they weren't easy to find.
'Ghettoside' Explores Why Murders Are Invisible In Los Angeles
Monday, January 26, 2015
In her new book, journalist Jill Leovy studies the epidemic of unsolved murders in African-American neighborhoods and the relationships between police and victims' relatives, witnesses and suspects.