Reverbiage: Stories from NPR tagged 'emfresh'

'All You Need': Pop-Music History Comes to DVD

Mon, 05 Jan 2009 11:50:00 EST

All You Need Is Love, Tony Palmer's 17-part history of popular music, distilled more than 1,000 hours of footage into just under 15 hours of indelible TV. Now it's been released as a 5-DVD set. Fresh Air's rock historian has a review.

David Bianculli's Top 10 TV Shows Of 2008

Tue, 23 Dec 2008 16:55:00 EST

The year in television started with a bust — or to be more precise, a writer's strike — but Fresh Air's TV critic says there were plenty of TiVo-worthy programs in 2008. Prominent among them: AMC's Mad Men.

David Edelstein's Top 10 Movies of 2008

Tue, 23 Dec 2008 11:19:00 EST

The top movies of 2008 — and the larger cultural trends reflected in those films. Fresh Air movie critic David Edelstein talks with Terry Gross about his Ten Best List for 2008.

An Undercooked But Enjoyable 'Twilight'

Fri, 21 Nov 2008 11:56:00 EST

A vampire love story set in high school has Fresh Air's critic feeling like he's 17 again. David Edelstein says "the biochemistry angle" could make Twilight the occasion for mass public swoon-a-thons.

Studs Terkel: 'Hard Times' And Other Histories

Fri, 07 Nov 2008 17:34:00 EST

Legendary Chicago broadcaster Studs Terkel dedicated his life to capturing the stories of ordinary Americans. He died Oct. 31 at the age of 96; Fresh Air remembers him with a 1985 interview.

Motown Year By Year: Hip-O Select Surveys '66

Mon, 03 Nov 2008 11:37:00 EST

In Volume 6 of its Complete Motown Singles series, the Hip-O Select label surveys the Motown magicians making noise in 1966: the Isley Brothers, the Supremes, Gladys Knight & The Pips, and others. Fresh Air's rock historian has a review.

Colin Meloy: '10-Dollar Words' For A Cause

Fri, 31 Oct 2008 10:41:00 EDT

The hyper-literate indie quartet The Decemberists has been touring college campuses to help get out the vote next week. Lead singer Colin Meloy spoke to Fresh Air in 2007.

Silverman Shocks Her Way To A Third Season

Fri, 10 Oct 2008 10:04:00 EDT

Sarah Silverman's Comedy Central show — quirky, snarky, often wildly inappropriate — strikes some audiences as clueless and tasteless. To fans, including Fresh Air host Terry Gross, it's really funny satire.

'Infinite Jest' Author David Foster Wallace

Mon, 15 Sep 2008 10:51:00 EDT

The novelist and essayist was found dead in his home Sept. 12, reportedly a suicide. Fresh Air remembers him with an interview first aired in 1997, the year he won the MacArthur Foundation's "genius" grant.

New Compilation Features Fifty Years Of Gospel

Thu, 11 Sep 2008 11:20:00 EDT

Fresh Air music critic Milo Miles reviews Classic African American Gospel, a Smithsonian Folkways "Classic" that spans over a half century of recordings. Featuring Reverend Gary Davis, Sonny Terry and others, the compilation illustrates a truly American musical tradition.

Meeting Vibraphone Jazz 'Head On'

Tue, 09 Sep 2008 11:37:00 EDT

Fresh Air's jazz critic takes a fresh look at the reissue of the album Head On (Blue Note/EMI), a 1971 session led and recorded by Bobby Hutcherson.

Lesbian Activist, Pioneering Journalist Del Martin

Fri, 29 Aug 2008 12:02:00 EDT

The co-founder of the first national lesbian-rights organization in the United States — and the country's first national lesbian magazine — died Aug. 27 at age 87. We remember her with a Fresh Air interview from 1992.

'The Wackness': A Bildungsroman, With Bong Hits

Fri, 11 Jul 2008 11:47:00 EDT

Fresh Air's film critic reviews Jonathan Levine's film — a comedy, starring Ben Kingsley and Josh Peck, about a drug dealer, his shrink and the difficulty they both have growing up.

'Generation Kill' Takes TV To The War Zone

Fri, 11 Jul 2008 11:10:00 EDT

Fresh Air's TV critic has a look at the new HBO miniseries, created by The Wire's David Simon and Ed Burns. Generation Kill focuses on a unit of Marines during the first 40 days of the Iraq war.

Remembering Science Fiction Writer Thomas Disch

Wed, 09 Jul 2008 10:56:00 EDT

Author of new-wave sci-fi — and the much-loved children's story The Brave Little Toaster — took his life last week. Fresh Air remembers the novelist, poet and critic.

Elizabeth Warren On The Rising Cost Of Credit Debt

Wed, 02 Jul 2008 10:54:00 EDT

Harvard Law professor returns to Fresh Air to talk about how credit-card debt is becoming more costly due to increased fees and interest rates. Warren is a bankruptcy expert and an outspoken critic of abusive lending practices.

America's Greatest Genre Films: Part 2

Thu, 26 Jun 2008 17:10:00 EDT

The American Film Institute has issued a list of the Top 10 American films within 10 favorite genres. Fresh Air continues a series exploring those film greats, featuring interviews with notables represented on the list.

At 'Hopkins,' a String of Real-Life ER Dramas

Thu, 26 Jun 2008 11:02:00 EDT

Hopkins, which premieres tonight, is the sequel to a 2000 ABC documentary series that told intimate, very real stories about medical staff and patients at Baltimore's Johns Hopkins University. Fresh Air's TV critic has a review.

The Stars of America's Greatest Genre Films

Fri, 20 Jun 2008 08:58:00 EDT

The American Film Institute named the ten best American movies in ten different genres. Today's Fresh Air presents interviews with Eva Marie Saint, Robert Towne Faye Dunaway, Kirk Douglas, Tony Curtis and Peter O'Toole — all of whom have work on the list.

Of Primal Forces, Places and People

Fri, 13 Jun 2008 00:00:00 EDT

Fresh Air's film critic reviews three epically intimate new films — an Antarctica documentary from Werner Herzog, a Guy Maddin meditation on home and self, and the heartfelt biography Chris & Don.

At Cannes, a Broad Menu, Plus Critical Indigestion

Tue, 27 May 2008 11:04:00 EDT

Fresh Air critic-at-large John Powers spent some time at the Cannes Film Festival this month, and today he reports back on what he saw. He says this year's movies weren't half bad — but for Americans, at least, the festival had a gloomy, fatalistic vibe.

Indiana Jones Returns on Hunt for Crystal Skulls

Fri, 23 May 2008 10:42:00 EDT

Fresh Air's film critic says the set-up is smart — but the setups are wittier than the payoffs, and oh, what lackluster tasks await the aging adventurer and his spawn.

HBO's 'Recount,' Recapping the 2000 Election

Fri, 23 May 2008 10:30:00 EDT

Fresh Air's TV critic reviews HBO's Recount, about the uncertain and still-controversial aftermath of the U.S. presidential election. The movie stars Kevin Spacey, Laura Dern and Tom Wilkinson.

The Pentagon on Sept. 11: One Survivor's Account

Thu, 22 May 2008 09:10:00 EDT

Now a military expert for Human Rights Watch, Marc Garlasco was a Pentagon analyst for seven years — and he was there when terrorists attacked on Sept. 11, 2001. He tells Fresh Air about his experiences that morning.

A British TV Invasion

Tue, 20 May 2008 10:39:00 EDT

Fresh Air TV critic David Bianculli reviews DVD collections of British TV shows, including a few series that have never before been televised in the U.S. Highlights include Fortysomething, a six-part comedy series starring Hugh Laurie, and Helen Mirren at the BBC.