Showing results by publisher "WHYY-FM" in Arts & Entertainment

Comedy writer Robert Smigel on this edition of Fresh Air. Robert Smigel is a writer and creator of animated comic episodes - known as "TV Funhouse" for Saturday Night Live, including episodes of "X-Presidents" and "The Ambiguously Gay Duo." Smigel wrote for SNL from 1985-1993, and he was the original head writer and producer of Late Night with Conan O'Brien. He also is the creator and voice of Triumph the Insult Comic Dog.

Actresses Catherine Keener and Helen Mirren on this edition of Fresh Air. Catherine Keener is currently starring in the new film Friends with Money. This is her third collaboration with independent film director Nicole Holofcener. Keener was nominated this year for an Academy award for her role in Capote. She also recently co-starred in the film 40 Year Old Virgin. She was also nominated for an Academy Award for her role in Being John Malkovich.

Filmmaker Mira Nair and singer Mary Weiss, on this edition of Fresh Air. Mira Nair has just adapted Jhumpa Lahiri's 2003 novel The Namesake to the big screen.

Investigative journalists Seymour Hersch and Lowell Bergman on this edition of Fresh Air. Hersch is a regular contributor to The New Yorker magazine. His article "The Redirection: Is the Administration's New Policy Benefiting Our Enemies in the War on Terror?" is in the current edition (March 5) of the magazine. It's about the administration's efforts to undermine Iran and its shift in priorities to do so.

Director Stephen Frears, writer Ken Foster, and film critic David Edelstein, on this edition of Fresh Air. Stephen Frears' film The Queen has been nominated for six Academy Awards including Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Actress.

German writer and director Florian Henckel Von Donnersmarck, on this edition of Fresh Air. Von Donnersmarck's film The Lives of Others has been nominated for an Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film.

Directors Valerie Faris and Jonathan Dayton, writer Michael Arndt and writer Jon Mooallem, on this edition of Fresh Air. Valerie Faris and Jonathan Dayton's film Little Miss Sunshine is up for four Academy Awards.

Staff writer at The New Yorker, Michael Specter, on this edition of Fresh Air. In this week's issue of The New Yorker, Specter writes about the murders of 13 journalists in Russia since Vladimir Putin took office in 1999.

Journalist Mark Harris and Actress Maggie Gyllenhaal, on this edition of Fresh Air.

Congressmen Tom Cole and Rahm Emanuel, on this edition of Fresh Air. Congressman Tom Cole of Oklahoma's Fourth District was recently sworn in as Chair of the National Republican Congressional Committee.

Author Timothy Egan and journalist Stephen Kiernan on this edition of Fresh Air. Timothy Egan talks about his book The Worst Hard Time: The Untold Story of Those Who Survived the Great American Dust Bowl, which has won this year's National Book Award.

Journalist Nicholas Blanford and jazz singer Anita O'Day on this edition of Fresh Air. Blanford is Beirut correspondent for the Christian Science Monitor and is the author of the book Killing Mr. Lebanon about the assassination in 2005 of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. Then, we remember jazz singer Anita O'Day. She died last week of a heart attack at the age of 87. She was known for her distinctive legato style.

Contributing editor at New York Magazine Ariel Levy and musicians Phillip Johnston and Joel Forrester on this edition of Fresh Air. Ariel Levy writes about sexuality, culture, and gender politics for New York Magazine. Her new book is Female Chauvinist Pigs: Women and the Rise of Raunch Culture.

Comedian Harry Shearer and Lebanese TV anchor May Chidiac, on this edition of Fresh Air. Harry Shearer has a new book called Not Enough Indians. It's a comic novel about Native Americans and gambling. Shearer also has a role in the new film For Your Consideration, directed by Christopher Guest. Shearer is also a voice actor on The Simpsons; he plays voices of Mr. Burns, Waylon Smithers, Ned Flanders, Principal Skinner, and many more characters.

Because Audible was not granted rights for today's show, we present this classic show featuring former President Jimmy Carter and Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction Stuart Bowen. Carter's book is called Our Endangered Values: America's Moral Crisis. Carter argues that the increasing entwinement between church and state in this country is eroding our civil liberties and personal privacy. Jimmy Carter was 39th President of the United States.

British journalist Stephen Grey and rock critic Ken Tucker, on this edition of Fresh Air. Stephen Grey writes about security issues and Iraq. His work appears in the Sunday Times of London, the New York Times, the Guardian, and the Atlantic Monthly. He says that dozens of terror suspects are still being held in secret prisons and interrogated by the CIA despite President Bush's declaration that the CIA is no longer doing so.

Producer, composer, and arranger Thom Bell on this edition of Fresh Air. He was one of the principal architects of the Sound of Philadelphia. Bell was born in Jamaica and moved to Philadelphia at age five. He planned to become a classical conductor, but in his early 20s, he was signed by Cameo Records to create a Philadelphia version of Motown. His first hits were with the Delfonics: "La La La Means I Love You" and "Didn't I Blow Your Mind".

Journalist Wayne Slater and actress Diane Lane on this edition of Fresh Air. Slater has written extensively about the influence of Karl Rove on President Bush. His new book is The Architect: Karl Rove and The Master Plan for Absolute Power (co-written with James Moore, published by Crown Publishers). Moore and Slater are also authors of Bush's Brain: How Karl Rove Made George W. Bush Presidential.

Country music singer and songwriter Willie Nelson on this edition of Fresh Air. He's written a new book, The Tao of Willie: A Guide to the Happiness in Your Heart (written with Turk Pipkin). Nelson has been performing for over 50 years. He's recorded 250 albums and appeared in 25 films. He's also the author of a number of books, including the best sellers Willie and The Facts of Life and Other Dirty Jokes.

Pakistani journalist Ahmed Rashid on this edition of Fresh Air. Rashid files for English language papers including: The International Herald Tribune, The Wall Street Journal, and The Daily Telegraph. He is the author of the book, Taliban, which was published in 2000, and became a best seller after 9/11. Before most Americans knew who the Taliban were, Rashid wrote a book about them.