In 'A Real Pain,' Jesse Eisenberg asks: What is the purpose of 'tragedy tourism'?
Eisenberg's film follows two cousins on a Jewish heritage tour of Poland, which includes a stop at the Majdanek death camp. The story draws on his own family history — and his struggle with OCD.
Country Singer Kelsey Waldon Reaches Back To An Earlier Era In 'I've Got A Way'
Waldon puts a distinctive spin on classic country with her new album. Critic Ken Tucker calls her singing, which avoids excessive emotion or embellishment, "the musical version of hard-boiled prose."
'NeuroTribes' Examines The History — And Myths — Of The Autism Spectrum
Steve Silberman talks about how Nazi extermination plans and a discredited scientific paper about childhood vaccines shaped our current understanding of autism. Originally broadcast Sept. 2, 2015.
Jonathan Safran Foer's 'Here I Am' Is Both Dazzling And Draining
A failing marriage and a catastrophic earthquake take center stage in Safran Foer's new novel. Critic Maureen Corrigan calls Here I Am a profound work about the claims of history, identity and family.
'Musical Monsters' Revisits A 1980 Concert By Cornet Player Don Cherry
Cherry joined with four internationally known jazz improvisers for a playful session at a Swiss festival in 1980. Critic Kevin Whitehead says the music they made still sounds fresh 36 years later.
'Sad And Absurd': The U.S.S.R.'s Disastrous Effort To Create A Jewish Homeland
Russian-American journalist Masha Gessen discusses the Soviet effort, in 1929, to create an autonomous Jewish state in the country's far eastern region. Gessen is the author of Where The Jews Aren't.
Soul Singer Sharon Jones: 'The Cancer Is Here, But I Want To Perform'
In 2013, the The Dap-Kings' lead singer took a hiatus from the band due to a cancer diagnosis. The documentary Miss Sharon Jones! follows her musical comeback. Originally broadcast July 28, 2016.