Music Interviews 'Passing Strange' a Real Rock Musical February 28, 2008 • He calls himself a rock 'n' roll "lifer." With his band The Negro Problem, he's toured around the world, putting out albums of what he calls "Afro-Baroque cabaret" music. And now the musician known as Stew has written himself into a Broadway musical. 'Passing Strange' a Real Rock Musical Listen Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/87767899/87775200" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript
'Passing Strange' a Real Rock Musical Listen Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/87767899/87775200" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript
The 80th Annual Academy Awards How to Revamp the Oscars: A Genius Plan February 26, 2008 • This year's Academy Awards got the worst ratings in ceremony history. Madeleine Brand talks to comedy duo Frangela, former Seinfeld writer Peter Mehlman and others about how they'd fix the show. Prince, gambling and bare midriffs are part of the plan. How to Revamp the Oscars: A Genius Plan Listen Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/26916288/27376288" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript
How to Revamp the Oscars: A Genius Plan Listen Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/26916288/27376288" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript
Phylicia Rashad Takes Message of 'Raisin' to TV February 25, 2008 • Lorraine Hansberry's 1959 groundbreaking play, A Raisin in the Sun, focused on a black family's struggle to hold onto their dreams. A made-for-television version of the production airs Monday night on ABC. Tony Award-winning actress Phylicia Rashad stars in the film and explains its message. Phylicia Rashad Takes Message of 'Raisin' to TV Listen Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/19335285/19335268" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript
Phylicia Rashad Takes Message of 'Raisin' to TV Listen Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/19335285/19335268" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript
The 80th Annual Academy Awards 'No Country for Old Men' Wins Four Oscars February 25, 2008 • On a night when the acting awards had a distinctly international flavor, a quintessentially American story of violence — No Country for Old Men — made the deepest impression on Oscar voters at the 80th annual Academy Awards, getting the nod for Best Picture. Hear Mandalit Del Barco on Morning Edition Listen Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/19325798/19334401" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
Hear Mandalit Del Barco on Morning Edition Listen Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/19325798/19334401" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
Culture Hair Wars: Redefining the Updo February 20, 2008 • Pythons, fighting fish, sports team logos — nothing is off-limits at "Hair Wars," a circus-like hair extravaganza. Founded in Detroit about 20 years ago, the event has expanded across the U.S., challenging the boundaries of what can be done with a person's hair. Hair Wars: Redefining the Updo Listen Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/19199199/19200839" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript
Hair Wars: Redefining the Updo Listen Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/19199199/19200839" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript
Culture Play Delves Inside Mind of 'Goon Show' Writer February 16, 2008 • The new play Ying Tong: A Walk with the Goons chronicles the mental struggles of Spike Milligan, the comic genius behind The Goon Show, a 1950s BBC radio comedy. He suffered a nervous breakdown during the run of the groundbreaking show. Play Delves Inside Mind of 'Goon Show' Writer Listen Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/19094324/19115792" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript
Play Delves Inside Mind of 'Goon Show' Writer Listen Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/19094324/19115792" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript
Business Musicians Bring E-Cards to Life February 16, 2008 • A new outlet for musicians seems to be opening up in the "e-card" business. Cleveland-based American Greetings now has two studio musicians cranking out songs for e-cards and paper cards with sound chips. The company is also auditioning classical pianists. Musicians Bring E-Cards to Life Listen Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/19115857/19115878" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript
Musicians Bring E-Cards to Life Listen Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/19115857/19115878" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript
The Long View Norman Lear, from TV to Activism February 14, 2008 • Norman Lear went from producing hit TV shows like All in the Family to political activism, including efforts to get young people to vote. The 85-year-old Lear says both involve a lifelong passion. Norman Lear, from TV to Activism Listen Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/18963562/18974643" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript
Norman Lear, from TV to Activism Listen Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/18963562/18974643" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript
Culture Joan Rivers: Outrageous and Outspoken as Ever February 13, 2008 • For comedienne Joan Rivers, almost everything is fair game: race, sex, death and, of course, her life. That's the subject on her new autobiographical play, Joan Rivers: A Work in Progress by a Life in Progress. Joan Rivers: Outrageous and Outspoken as Ever Listen Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/18948067/18958521" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript
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Mark McKinney's Outrageous Comic Fortune Fresh Air February 12, 2008 • Canadian actor and comedian Mark McKinney joins Terry Gross to discuss his career, including Slings and Arrows, the critically acclaimed miniseries about a Shakespearean theater troupe. It's out now in a DVD box. Mark McKinney's Outrageous Comic Fortune Listen Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/18909833/18910699" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
Mark McKinney's Outrageous Comic Fortune Listen Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/18909833/18910699" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
Media Striking Writers to Vote on Contract February 11, 2008 • TV writers may be back on the job as early as Wednesday following a move by the Writers Guild to end a three-month-old walkout that's crippled the entertainment industry. The Writers Guild and Hollywood studios reach a tentative accord after a lengthy writers' strike on Morning Edition Listen Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/18875527/18873219" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
The Writers Guild and Hollywood studios reach a tentative accord after a lengthy writers' strike on Morning Edition Listen Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/18875527/18873219" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
Culture Play Celebrates Untold Stories of Black Inventors February 10, 2008 • A new Washington, D.C., play tells the stories of the black inventors and entrepreneurs who created many everyday items still in use today, including hair products and the potato chip. Play Celebrates Untold Stories of Black Inventors Listen Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/18755318/18857681" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript
Play Celebrates Untold Stories of Black Inventors Listen Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/18755318/18857681" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript
DVD Reviews Ernst Lubitsch's Comedic, Elegant Early Operettas Fresh Air February 6, 2008 • The introduction of sound to movies left audiences hungry for "talkies" and paved the way for the early operettas of German-born Jewish film director Ernst Lubitsch. Classical music critic Lloyd Schwartz reviews a new DVD collection of Lubitsch's early works. Ernst Lubitsch's Comedic, Elegant Early Operettas Listen Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/18743227/18747671" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
Ernst Lubitsch's Comedic, Elegant Early Operettas Listen Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/18743227/18747671" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
Casting Beyond Color Lines February 5, 2008 • A new Broadway production of Tennessee Williams' play Cat on a Hot Tin Roof will feature an all African-American cast. Ayanna Thompson, editor of Colorblind Shakespeare, and Mia Katigbak, artistic director of the National Asian American Theater Company, discuss the history of non-traditional casting decisions. Listen to this 'Talk of the Nation' topic Listen Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/18706620/18706605" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript
Listen to this 'Talk of the Nation' topic Listen Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/18706620/18706605" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript
Diversions American Couple Flies High at French Circus Event February 5, 2008 • At a four-day festival in Paris, the world's up-and-coming circus acts are on display. None of those selected for the elite festival are older than 25. This year, two trapeze artists from Seattle were among the competitors. American Couple Flies High at French Circus Event Listen Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/18689687/18689638" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript
American Couple Flies High at French Circus Event Listen Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/18689687/18689638" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript