Three shows, all with ties to Britain, premiere Jan. 9. TV critic David Bianculli says all three -- a period drama on PBS and two comedic adaptations on Showtime -- are clever, well-acted and pleasures to watch.
Mark Wahlberg and David O. Russell talk about creating a movie based on the real-life boxer Micky Ward, who won a welterweight championship in 2000 after several years away from the boxing ring.
Guitarist and composer Marc Ribot's latest album, Silent Movies, pays tribute to film scores. The creation of the album, he says, allowed him to express his more lyrical side.
Since 2006, more than 60,000 of the weapons used in Mexican crimes have been traced back to the United States. Washington Post investigative reporter James Grimaldi explains how a team of reporters uncovered the names of the top 12 U.S. dealers of guns traced to Mexico.
A new book by journalists Douglas Frantz and Catherine Collins alleges that the CIA was so obsessed with getting information from nuclear trafficker A.Q. Khan's network, it waited too long to shut it down — and stood by while Khan and his associates spread dangerous nuclear technology around the globe.
Air was a flagship of the 1970s avant-garde, but saxophonist Henry Threadgill, bassist Fred Hopkins and drummer Steve McCall first came together to play Scott Joplin's piano music. That and more are documented on a massive eight-CD box set of Threadgill's music.
Virtually unknown in America until his Oscar-nominated role in the 1993 film In The Name of the Father, the British actor died Jan. 2 after a long battle with cancer. Fresh Air remembers him with highlights from a 1997 interview.
Composer Allen Shawn's twin sister, Mary, was diagnosed with autism and sent to an institution when they were 8 years old. He writes about his relationship with Mary — and his feelings of survivor's guilt — in a new memoir, Twin.
The constant stream of information we get through mobile and hand-held devices is changing the way we think. Matt Richtel, a technology writer for The New York Times, explains how the use of digital technology is altering our brains -- and how retreating into nature may reverse the effects.
Walt Disney's Fantasia, the first feature-length film to offer visual images of classical music, has just been re-released in a new box set. Music critic Lloyd Schwartz says the film is a delightful introduction to classical music -- but doesn't always convey it convincingly on screen.
Fresh Air's David Edelstein couldn't limit himself to 10 movies for his Top 10 list -- he put 12 titles on this year's crop -- and explains why he parted ways with colleagues when it came time to hand out the annual New York Film Critics Circle Awards.
Fresh Air's pop music critic, Ken Tucker, picks the best music of 2010, including albums by Tracey Thorn, Kanye West and Arcade Fire. He also pays tribute to Kate McGarrigle, the Canadian singer who died of cancer last January.
Joel and Ethan Coen's new take on the novel that inspired the 1969 film classic True Grit takes the story back out of John Wayne territory, setting it in a more brutal frontier and rendering it darker, colder, and more grotesque.
Fresh Air's TV critic rounds up the hottest and the hottest of the year that was. Worth watching? A BBC America import about a choir director teaching people to sing. Jersey Shore? Makes Bianculli want to shower.
Hendrix spent years recording with whomever he could before being discovered and whisked off to London. A new Legacy box set, West Coast Seattle Boy, showcases Jimi Hendrix as sideman to a number of musicians. Rock historian Ed Ward takes a look at it today.
Even recycling your old TVs and computers doesn't mean you're doing the right thing -- trashing certain items may mean major heath and environmental problems. Jim Puckett of the Basal Action Network talks about the best ways to ensure your electronics are being recycled correctly.
Filmmaker Sofia Coppola's latest movie, Somewhere, is about an aimless Hollywood actor, played by Stephen Dorff, who re-examanes his superficial life after a visit from his 11-year-old daughter. Coppola discusses the film -- and her relationship with her own father, Francis Ford Coppola.
In Sofia Coppola's new film, the actor plays an aimless, lonely young movie star who is forced to re-examine his life when his 11-year-old daughter unexpectedly moves in. Dora explains how the role required a delicate balance between acting and real life.
Actress Melissa Leo won the Best Supporting Actress Award this week from the New York Film Critics' Circle for her performance in the new film "The Fighter," which opens wide tomorrow. That performance also received a Golden Globe nomination this week.
More and more state and local governments have approved casino gambling in order to generate new jobs and tax revenue. But does it work? Economist Richard McGowan outlines why states are turning to gambling to solve their fiscal crises -- and now upping the ante even more.
