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Mos Def's Career, Still Arcing Upward

Rapper and actor Mos Def is co-starring in the new film 16 Blocks. Recently he played a cop in the indie film The Woodsman, also starring Kevin Bacon. Mos Def's most recent rap album is The New Danger. Def has appeared in the films Bamboozled, Monster's Ball, and Brown Sugar.

21:21
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Other segments from the episode on March 3, 2006

Fresh Air with Terry Gross, March 3, 2006: Interview with Mos Def; Review of Sam Rivers' "Violet violets;" Obituary for Octavio Butler; Review of foreign language films nominated for Oscars.
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05:50

Rivers Trio Makes 'Violets' New Again

The jazz trio headed by Sam Rivers has a new CD out, Violet Violets (Stunt label). Rivers' horn work is complemented by bassist Ben Street and Danish drummer Kresten Osgood.

Review
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15:25

Octavia Butler, Speculative and Strong

Science fiction writer Octavia Butler died Feb. 28 at the age of 58. The cause of death has not been determined. Because she was black and female, Butler was considered atypical of science fiction. But she was also among the genre's most talented writers.

Obituary
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04:23

Handicapping the Foreign Oscars Field

Film critic David Edelstein reviews the films that are up for an Academy award under the Best Foreign Language Film category. They are: Paradise Now, Sophie Scholl: The Final Days, Don't Tell, Joyeux Noel and Tsotsi.

Review

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34:06

Rapper and Actor Mos Def

The multi-talented Mos Def plays a police officer in the new indie film The Woodsman, also starring Kevin Bacon and Kyra Sedgwick, about a pedophile who moves into a suburban neighborhood. He also has a new rap album, The New Danger. Mos Def has appeared in the films Bamboozled, Monster's Ball, and Brown Sugar. He made his Broadway debut with the play Topdog/Underdog, and has also won an Obie Award. Mos Def will be in the upcoming films A Confederacy of Dunces and A Hitchhiker s Guide to the Galaxy.

Interview
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32:55

'Sex, Lies And Stardom': Exploitation In Howard Hughes' Hollywood

Billionaire filmmaker Howard Hughes has long been regarded as one of Hollywood's most eccentric and prolific playboys. A few years back, writer and film critic Karina Longworth stumbled onto an online message board, listing women Hughes had had sexual relationships with — just a list of names, no other information.

"In each of these names there's a whole life and a whole story," says Longworth, who hosts the film podcast You Must Remember This.

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52:30

Daughter of Warhol star looks back on a bohemian childhood in the Chelsea Hotel

Alexandra Auder's mother, Viva, was one of Andy Warhol's muses. Growing up in Warhol's orbit meant Auder's childhood was an unusual one. For several years, Viva, Auder and Auder's younger half-sister, Gaby Hoffmann, lived in the Chelsea Hotel in Manhattan. It was was famous for having been home to Leonard Cohen, Dylan Thomas, Virgil Thomson, and Bob Dylan, among others.

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This fake 'Jury Duty' really put James Marsden's improv chops on trial

In the series Jury Duty, a solar contractor named Ronald Gladden has agreed to participate in what he believes is a documentary about the experience of being a juror--but what Ronald doesn't know is that the whole thing is fake.

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