Fresh Air

Topics from the Most Recent Show

• Remembering Alex Chilton: An Underground 'Big Star'
  Chilton, who died Wednesday from a heart attack, was the lead singer of the '60s teenage band the Box Tops and the '70s power pop group Big Star. He joined <em>Fresh Air</em> for two interviews, first in 1991 and again in 2000. Today, we remember the cult musician.
• 'Life' (And Other Good Things) Premiering On TV
  The AMC series <em>Breaking Bad </em> and the new Discovery Channel nature series <em>Life</em> premiere on Sunday night &mdash; and Showtimes' <em>Nurse Jackie</em> and <em>The United States of Tara</em> are back Monday. TV Critic David Bianculli reviews all four &mdash; and tells you which ones are worth watching.
• Actor Bryan Cranston, 'Breaking' With Type
  Best known as the dad on Fox TV's <em>Malcolm in the Middle</em>, Cranston talks with Terry Gross about his latest role &mdash; a meth-cooking high-school chemistry teacher in AMC's <em>Breaking Bad.</em>
• Selling Girl Power, With A Man Counting The Cash
  A story of the sultry all-girl '70s rock band fronted by Joan Jett and Cherie Currie, <em>The Runaways</em> is an exhilarating story of female self-expression that's also a cautionary tale of female exploitation. Kristen Stewart co-stars as Jett, but critic David Edelstein says it's Dakota Fanning as Currie who gives the film its electricity.
• Profit And 'Peril' In The Secret Nuclear Trade
  Until his arrest in 2004, nuclear scientist A.Q. Khan &mdash; the father of Pakistan's atomic bomb &mdash; ran a vast smuggling network that sent nuclear materiel to Iran and Libya. In his book <em>Peddling Peril: How the Secret Nuclear Trade Arms America's Enemies,</em> weapons expert David Albright explains how Khan's network continues to threaten global security.
• Alex Chilton: Remembering A 'Star'-Crossed Singer
  Musician Alex Chilton died yesterday. He was the lead singer of the Memphis band Big Star. To remember the underground legend, Ed Ward reviews <em>Keep an Eye on the Sky,</em> a four-disc collection of recordings, demos and outtakes.
• Karl Rove 'In The Fight' Again With New Memoir
  The book by the conservative strategist is called <em>Courage and Consequence: My Life as a Conservative in the Fight.</em> Rove tells <em>Fresh Air</em> the decision to go to war in Iraq in 2003 was not based on wrong information from the Bush administration, but was based on wrong information from the intelligence community.
• How A Few Made Millions Betting Against The Market
  Michael Lewis' new book <em>The Big Short</em> chronicles the 2008 financial collapse through the investors who realized what was happening to the U.S. economy while it was happening &mdash; and then made a fortune by betting against the markets.
• A 'Justified' Outing For A Loose-Cannon Lawman
  Starting tonight on the FX cable network, <em>Deadwood</em> star Timothy Olyphant is back playing another man with a badge &mdash; this time in <em>Justified,</em> a modern-day Western based on stories by Elmore Leonard. TV critic David Bianculli reviews the new series for <em>Fresh Air.</em>
• How High Court Could Change If Stevens Retires
  Speculation is growing that Justice John Paul Stevens, the Supreme Court's longest-serving member, will step down in June. <em>New Yorker</em> legal correspondent Jeffrey Toobin discusses who is likely to replace Stevens &mdash; and offers his take on how the court will rule on the future of gun control laws.
• Hilary Hahn: Violin And Voices Entwined In Bach
  Bach's cantatas contain some of his greatest music, but their individual sections are seldom performed out of context, least of all by celebrities. Classical music critic Lloyd Schwartz says Hilary Hahn's new CD, <em>Bach: Violin & Voice</em>, provides a welcome exception to this rule.
• Jesus And The Hidden Contradictions Of The Gospels
  The New Testament contains multiple versions of the life and teachings of Jesus. Bart Ehrman, the author of <em>Jesus, Interrupted,</em>, says they are at odds with each other on important points regarding the life, death and divinity of Jesus.
• 'Green Zone': Bourne In Baghdad, Looking For WMDs
  <em>Bourne Identity</em> director Paul Greengrass and leading man Matt Damon have re-teamed for <em>Green Zone,</em> a fictionalized account of the U.S. search for weapons of mass destruction in the first year of the Iraq occupation. Film critic David Edelstein reviews the political thriller.
• Amy Ryan: From 'The Office' To The 'Green Zone'
  The Oscar-nominated actress stars in the new Paul Greengrass thriller <em>Green Zone</em> as a journalist investigating the presence of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. She has also played a port authority police officer in the HBO series <em>The Wire</em> and Michael Scott's girlfriend on <em>The Office.</em>
• Hanks, Spielberg Strike Out For 'The Pacific'
  After producing <em>Band of Brothers</em> in 2001, Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg return to World War II with <em>The Pacific,</em> a 10-part historical miniseries beginning Sunday night on HBO. TV Critic David Bianculli reviews the series, which examines the Pacific theater of operations.