archive
Television
Tracy Morgan: '30 Rock' Let Him Be Himself
January 25, 2013 As the series prepares for its finale, the comedian talks about how Tina Fey created the character of Tracy Jordan specifically for Morgan and how she allowed him "to fly over the cuckoo nest once a week."
Television
Tina Fey: Sarah Palin And 'Saturday Night' Satire
January 25, 2013 Fey's impersonation of Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin helped draw record audiences to Saturday Night Live in the fall of 2008. The former head writer for SNL opens up about politics, satire and her Emmy Award-winning sitcom, 30 Rock, which will have its series finale on January 31.
Author Interviews
'Going Clear': A New Book Delves Into Scientology
January 24, 2013 Lawrence Wright's Going Clear: Scientology, Hollywood and the Prison of Belief looks at the world of the controversial church and the life of its founder, L. Ron Hubbard, who died in 1986.
Television
Jimmy Kimmel: Making Late Night A Family Affair
January 23, 2013 This month, the late-night talk-show host sets up camp in the 11:35 p.m. slot, which puts him head-to-head with Jay Leno and Kimmel's idol, David Letterman. Kimmel has put a personal mark on his show by bringing in his family to help him make it happen.
Around the Nation
'We Have No Choice': A Story Of The Texas Sonogram Law
January 22, 2013 Journalist Carolyn Jones wrote about her experience with the law for The Texas Observer after having an abortion last year. The state requires that a woman seeking an abortion receive a sonogram at least 24 hours before the procedure.
Around the Nation
Involved For Life: Pregnancy Centers In Texas
January 22, 2013 Carolyn Cline, the executive director and CEO of Involved for Life (IFL), a ministry partner of First Baptist Dallas, helps run a pregnancy center that discourages women from getting abortions and offers help during unplanned pregnancies.
Television
Kevin Bacon, Seeking A TV 'Following'
January 21, 2013 The actor stars in a new Fox series about a former FBI agent asked to help apprehend a serial killer he once put behind bars. The series is well done, but the violence in it is alarming — especially for network television.
Author Interviews
'Double V': The Fight For Civil Rights In The U.S. Military
January 21, 2013 In his new book, The Double V, Rawn James Jr. argues that to understand race in America one must understand the history of African-Americans in the military. While the turning point came between the world wars, the struggle began with the American Revolution.
Fresh Air Weekend
Fresh Air Weekend: Ben Affleck And Dustin Hoffman
January 19, 2013 Fresh off the Golden Globes, where Ben Affleck won for best director and Argo won for best motion picture/drama, Affleck talks about his approach to the film. Dustin Hoffman makes his directorial debut with a film about four aging opera singers who stage a concert at their retirement home.
Movies
'Mama': A Good Old-Fashioned Horror Movie
January 18, 2013 In an age of werewolves, hormonal vampires and endless sequels, horror movies have lost some edge. But Mama, starring Jessica Chastain, is an entertaining step in the right — which is to say backward — direction.
Author Interviews
The Inquisition: A Model For Modern Interrogators
January 18, 2013 The Inquisition revolutionized record-keeping and surveillance techniques that are still used today, says Cullen Murphy. His book God's Jury draws parallels between some of the interrogation techniques used in previous centuries with the ones used today.
Book Reviews
How A 'Madwoman' Upended A Literary Boys Club
January 17, 2013 The National Book Critics Circle has announced that two feminist literary scholars, Sandra Gilbert and Susan Gubar, will receive a lifetime achievement award. Critic Maureen Corrigan says their groundbreaking 1979 book, The Madwoman in the Attic, changed the way we read.
Around the Nation
'Grayest Generation': Older Parenthood In The U.S.
January 17, 2013 In an article for The New Republic, Judith Shulevitz writes that as people have increasingly waited until their 30s to become parents, there has been a rise in developmental and neurocognitive disorders. Moreover, she says that the age of both parents affects the health of the child.
Movie Interviews
'Quartet': Dustin Hoffman, Behind The Camera
January 16, 2013 The veteran actor makes his directorial debut with a film about four aging opera singers who stage a concert at their retirement home. Starring Maggie Smith and Tom Courtenay, the film explores friendship, memory and the time that remains.
Movie Interviews
Affleck On 'Argo' And The 1979 Hostage Crisis
January 15, 2013 Fresh off Sunday's Golden Globe Awards, where he won for best director and his film won for best motion picture/drama, the actor and director talks about his approach to the story of six diplomats who managed to escape a hostile Iran — and the CIA operative who helped them do so.
