The comic actor, who played Jack on TV's Will and Grace, makes his Broadway debut in a revival of Neil Simon's musical Promises, Promises. He has also portrayed comedian Jerry Lewis in the made-for-TV movie Martin and Lewis and Jack Nicholson's valet in The Bucket List.
Robert Hass, the former poet laureate of the United States, explores one of Walt Whitman's most iconic poems, Song of Myself — and shares his opinion about why the poem still resonates 155 years after it was written.
Nakasian left Wall Street to pursue her dream of becoming a professional jazz singer. The alto, who has recorded seven albums, including tributes to June Christy and Billie Holiday, describes her path from investment banking to touring internationally with Jon Hendricks and Company.
On April 4, 1968, Martin Luther King Jr. was killed on the balcony of the Lorraine Hotel in Memphis, Tenn. For the next two months, the man who shot him, James Earl Ray, was able to evade the FBI during a massive worldwide manhunt. Writer Hampton Sides traces the movements of both King and Ray in his new book, Hellhound on His Trail.
E-books are rapidly gaining market share, and publishing companies are going through changes that parallel the music business. New Yorker writer Ken Auletta explains how the transition from paper to screen is changing the way we choose, buy and read books — and what the changes mean for publishers and authors.
The son of a career diplomat, the actor explains how being a theater geek helped him acclimate to new schools every few years — and details how he channeled his father while playing White House Counsel Oliver Babish on Aaron Sorkin's drama The West Wing. Platt currently stars in Nicole Holofcener's film Please Give.
Dedicated and curious music fans are regularly finding new chapters in rock history from around the globe. Critic Milo Miles reviews one recent collection, a series of anthologies focusing on the lively story of vintage pop in Panama.
Wilbert Rideau went to prison in 1961 at the age of 19 for killing a woman during a bungled bank robbery. Prison changed him. He became the editor of the award-winning prison magazine The Angolite and was released with time served in 2005. His new memoir, In the Place of Justice, describes his 44 years behind bars.
Bette Gordon's drama stars Jamey Sheridan as a broken man trying to make amends for a terrible crime he helped commit 33 years ago. Critic David Edelstein says Sheridan — along with co-stars Steve Buscemi and Aidan Quinn — are beyond praise in this dark and moving revenge story.
No One Knows about Persian Cats, which won the Special Jury Prize at last year's Cannes Film Festival, has now opened in theaters across the U.S. Critic John Powers says that Bahman Ghobadi's film — about outlaw musicians in Iran — is a reminder of the liberating potential of rock.
Dede Allen — who worked on The Hustler and Bonnie and Clyde — died this week. In 1967, Allen became the first film editor — male or female — to receive sole credit on a movie for her work. Her rapid cutting style changed the way movies were seen and heard in the theater. Today, Fresh Air remembers Allen with interview highlights from 2000.
Portions of this interview originally aired Nov. 21, 2000
A 2009 law gives the FDA the authority to regulate tobacco products for the first time. New York Times reporter Duff Wilson, who covers the tobacco industry, explains what the ruling means -- and what impact it could have on the industry.
Comedian Sarah Silverman is known for delivering closely observed social commentary in a disarming, politically incorrect style. She tells stories about her childhood and her career in a new memoir, The Bedwetter: Stories of Courage, Redemption and Pee.
Merle Haggard's new album is called I Am What I Am, a phrase that recalls the pugnaciousness of the cartoon character Popeye. But rock critic Ken Tucker says that Haggard's new album is neither combative or passively nostalgic — it's a collection of new songs, all of them written by Haggard, that prove how thoughtful the 73-year-old country star remains.
The New York Times calls Stephen Sondheim the "greatest and perhaps best-known artist in American musical theater." Sondheim composed the music and lyrics for, among others, Sweeney Todd, Into the Woods and Company. He joins Fresh Air to discuss his career in musical theater.
New York Times foreign correspondent Dexter Filkins has just returned from Afghanistan. He discusses what he's seen since the recent troop surge and explains the challenges the U.S. faces in trying to drive the Taliban out of the country.
Richard Clarke, the former anti-terrorism czar, has now turned his attention to a new national security threat: cyberwar. In a new book, Clarke details what a full-scale cyberattack could look like, how the United States is particularly vulnerable, and what measures can be taken to ensure our networks remain safe.
Exit Through the Gift Shop is the sardonic title of a new art-world documentary about street artists whose renegade work has ended up selling for lot and lots of money. The credited director is the renowned English street artist "Banksy," whose true identity is a matter of much conjecture. Critic David Edelstein says that even if doubts about its authenticity linger, it's a wonderful, often hilarious film.
Ideas that writer Jeff Goodell used to regard as bad science fiction — like launching particles into the stratosphere to reflect sunlight — are now being taken seriously because of global warming concerns. Goodell examines the science behind tinkering with the Earth's climate in his new book, How to Cool the Planet.
Soprano saxophone can be an unforgiving instrument. It's hard to play in tune, and many players get a pinched or nasal tone like it has a bad cold. Its biggest proponents — Steve Lacy, Lol Coxhill — do influence Sam Newsome, but he stakes out his own turf with eerie-sounding, hoarse and hollow split-tones.
