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Writer Walter Kirn on His Abortion-Themed Novel

Kirn was raised a Mormon on a Minnesota farm, and has been an editor for "Vanity Fair" and "Spy" magazines. His first collection of stories, "My Hard Bargain," was published two years ago. His most recent book, "She Needed Me," is about religion and redemption.

22:37
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Other segments from the episode on September 30, 1992

Fresh Air with Terry Gross, September 30, 1992: Interview with Walter Kirn; Interview with Iva Pekarkova; Review of the album "Tippecanoe and Tyler Too!"; Review of the song "Read My Lips."
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11:02

Novelist and Former Cabbie Iva Pekarkova

Pekarkova emigrated from Czechoslovakia in 1985. She has worked in New York as a cab driver for four years. Her novel "Truck Stop Rainbows: A Road Novel," was published this year. lt deals with a rebellious young woman in communist Czechoslovakia who hitchhikes around the country, trying to raise money to buy a wheelchair for her invalid friend.

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06:00

Political Songs from Elections Past

Classical music critic Lloyd Schwartz reviews the new CD, Tippecanoe & Tyler Too! It features political ballads and campaign songs from earlier in America's history.

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43:53

Writer Walter Kirn, on a 'Mission to America'

Editor and writer Walter Kirn's latest novel, Mission to America, is about a fictional quasi-religious group, the Aboriginal Fulfilled Apostles, seeking new converts to help them survive. The topic is one Kirn has experience with: When he was 12, Kirn's family became Mormons.

Interview
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13:04

Editor and Writer Walter Kirn

Editor and writer Walter Kirn lives in Montana, a place where many people are thinking of moving to - now that the United States is under threat of more terrorist attacks. Kirn was recently on Fresh Air to discuss his new novel Up in the Air (Doubleday) about 35 year-old Ryan Bingham, a well-traveled business man who has a goal of accumulating one million miles in his frequent flyer account. Kirn is the literary editor for GQ and a contributing editor to Time and Vanity Fair.

Interview

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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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43:04

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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08:26

This Romanian film about immigration and vanishing jobs hits close to home

R.M.N. is based on an actual 2020 event in Ditrău, Romania, where 1,800 villagers voted to expel three Sri Lankans who worked at their local bakery.

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