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September 26, 2012 The freewheeling saxophonist and his small group from the 1970s came together for a live concert in 2007 — their first together in more than two decades. Now, a recording has been posthumously released on CD, and critic Kevin Whitehead says it's like they never went away.

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September 26, 2012 In his first novel, J.R. Moehringer writes from the point of view of Willie Sutton, whom he calls the "greatest American robber." Moehringer says writing historical fiction helped him deal with the anger he felt toward banks after the global financial crisis in 2008.

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September 25, 2012 The actress played Kelly Kapoor on The Office, a role she also wrote and produced. Now she runs a new Fox comedy, The Mindy Project, in which she stars as an obstetrician whose personal life is a mess. Kaling tells Fresh Air that her late mother inspired her character's career.

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September 25, 2012 The Analog Players Society provides some of the best evidence since the rise of Vampire Weekend that formerly exotic international music — particularly African rhythms and accents — has become an everyday part of modern popular tunes.

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September 25, 2012 Charles Rowan Beye has been married three times — to two women and a man. Now, over age 80, he looks back on his life and asks, "What was that all about?" Critic Maureen Corrigan says Beye's memoir, subtitled "A Gay Man's Odyssey," is a complex, poignant addition to the sexual canon.

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September 24, 2012 Journalist Robert Draper's article for The Atlantic traces how the redistricting process has been manipulated for electoral gain. It has created increasingly solid Republican or Democratic congressional districts, which has led to more representatives who are unwilling to compromise, Draper tells Fresh Air.

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September 24, 2012 Ken Tucker says that Charmer is a song cycle about getting rid of a cynical frame of mind; about distancing yourself from people who are dragging you down.

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September 22, 2012 Andrew Rannells says he didn't want to "dumb down" his role in the new TV series The New Normal with "over-the-top, gay flash and sass." Critic Ken Tucker says that some of Tempest's songs are as precisely crafted as any Bob Dylan has written.

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September 21, 2012 In her book This Republic of Suffering: Death and the American Civil War, historian Drew Gilpin Faust writes that Civil War deaths — both their number and their manner — transformed America. She is featured in PBS's American Experience called Death and the Civil War, which premiered Sept. 18.

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September 21, 2012 Writer-director Stephen Chbosky brings his 1999 young adult novel The Perks of Being a Wallflower to the screen. Critic David Edelstein says the result may be better than the book — a project that communicates the trials of high school in a way that is both painful and elating.

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September 21, 2012 Guaraldi had range, as well as an instrumental hit right when jazz was vanishing from AM radio.

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September 20, 2012 In his new book, The Fine Print: How Big Companies Use "Plain English" to Rob You Blind, author David Cay Johnston examines the fees that companies have added over the years that have made bills incrementally larger. He tells Fresh Air that companies are misusing language to "confuse people."

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September 20, 2012 The Scottish actress plays Margaret Thompson, a young Irish widow who marries a corrupt politician on HBO's Boardwalk Empire. Macdonald, who got her start in Trainspotting, tells Fresh Air that she enjoys playing a "strong character" for a change.

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September 19, 2012 In his new book, Doug Saunders says there are those who believe immigration and high birth rates will make Muslims a majority in Europe in coming decades — and their hostility to Western values makes them a threat. Saunders tells Fresh Air that such fears are based on inaccurate assertions of fact.

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