Ken Tucker says that Charmer is a song cycle about getting rid of a cynical frame of mind; about distancing yourself from people who are dragging you down.
Journalist Robert Draper's article for The Atlantic traces how the redistricting process has been manipulated for electoral gain. It has created increasingly solid Republican or Democratic congressional districts, which has led to more representatives who are unwilling to compromise, Draper tells Fresh Air.
Writer-director Stephen Chbosky brings his 1999 young adult novel The Perks of Being a Wallflower to the screen. Critic David Edelstein says the result may be better than the book -- a project that communicates the trials of high school in a way that is both painful and elating.
In his new book, The Fine Print: How Big Companies Use "Plain English" to Rob You Blind, author David Cay Johnston examines the fees that companies have added over the years that have made bills incrementally larger. He tells Fresh Air that companies are misusing language to "confuse people."
The Scottish actress plays Margaret Thompson, a young Irish widow who marries a corrupt politician on HBO's Boardwalk Empire. MacDonald, who got her start in Trainspotting, tells Fresh Air that she enjoys playing a "strong character" for a change.
Susanna Moore tells the sage of an ambitious girl, a family's artistic fortune and a world at war. Young heroine Beatrice Palmer is whisked off to Berlin where she is put to work packing up priceless artwork in a wealthy family's mansion.
In his new book, Doug Saunders says there are those who believe immigration and high birth rates will make Muslims a majority in Europe in coming decades -- and their hostility to Western values makes them a threat. Saunders tells Fresh Air that such fears are based on inaccurate assertions of fact.
The jazz trio returns to covering classic rock, folk and pop tunes on its latest album, Where Do You Start. Fresh Air critic Kevin Whitehead reviews the band's take on Elvis Costello, Nick Drake, Sonny Rollins and more.
The Guardian's Gahaith Abdul-Ahad calls the Syrian battle fluid and complicated. "There is chaos, there is no military planning, there is no organization," he tells Fresh Air. He reported for the PBS Frontline documentary The Battle for Syria, which airs Tuesday.
Jeffrey Toobin's new book, The Oath, explores how President Obama and Chief Justice John Roberts are at odds over constitutional law. Toobin tells Fresh Air that while Obama likes precedent when it comes to the Supreme Court, Roberts "wants to move the court in a dramatically new direction."
Many comparisons have been made between Paul Thomas Anderson's film The Master and the history of Scientology. But, as David Edelstein explains, the challenge of balancing the search for surrogate family with American individualism dominates the film. (Recommended)
Critic David Bianculli says of all the new programs premiering this fall, there isn't on you have to add to your weekly viewing lists. The best new show, he says, is Emily Owens, M.D., which is just like Ally McBeal if she were a doctor instead of a lawyer -- but it's graded on a curve.
Writer Michael Lewis was given unusual access to the president for six months for an article for Vanity Fair. Lets tells Fresh Air that he found a "weird disjuncture between his powers and his powerlessness."
Marco Roth grew up on New York's Upper West Side in the 1980s, where a liberal Jewish culture infused with European tastes was breathing its last gasps. In his memoir, Roth describes how he learned -- years after his father died from AIDS -- that his father was probably gay.
Comic W. Kamau Bell's show, produced by Chris Rock, mixes standup, sketches and interviews. Bell tells Fresh Air about the origins of his political humor and why it's important for him to have a multiracial audience.
A center for scientists to study what helps dogs succeed in search-and-rescue operations opens Tuesday at the University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Cynthia Otto, who created the center, and Annemarie DeAngelo, the center's training director, tells Fresh Air why they depend on their canine companions.
Critic Ken Tucker says that some songs on Tempest should less like concentrated efforts than outpourings of rambling thoughts; others are as precisely crafted as any Bob Dylan has written.
Memphis has been a music town since anyone can remember, and it's had places to record that music since there have been records. Some of its studies -- Sun, Stax and Hi -- are well-known, but American Studios produced its share of hits, and yet remains obscure.
