
Fresh Air
Weekdays at 7:00pm
Opening the window on contemporary arts and issues with guests from worlds as diverse as literature and economics.

'The Shrouds' introduces a new stage of grief: Watching your loved one decompose
David Cronenberg's thriller centers on an unusual technology that allows people to watch their loved ones decompose in real time. The Shrouds is both deeply morbid and disarmingly funny.
Mantel Takes Up Betrayal, Beheadings In 'Bodies'
Hilary Mantel is the first woman to win the Man Booker Prize twice, first for her 2009 novel, Wolf Hall, and also for its 2012 sequel, Bring Up the Bodies. She discusses the books with Terry Gross.
The PBS Version Of 'Wolf Hall' Unfolds Like A Real-Life House Of Cards
by John Powers
The show, based on Hilary Mantel's acclaimed novel, stars Mark Rylance as Thomas Cromwell, Henry VIII's chief minister. Critic John Powers says it's darkly lit, finely acted and thoroughly compelling.
'New Yorker' Cartoonist And TV Producer Writes 'Honest Portrait' Of His Parents
Bruce Eric Kaplan's illustrated memoir I Was A Child describes his life in Maplewood, N.J., in the '60s and '70s. He says it's a way of keeping his parents alive, "not just for me, but for the world."
Rare Latin Grooves Excavated In Anthology
by Milo Miles
The mostly instrumental cuts draw on salsa, funk, soul and rock from vintage and new performers.
New Frank Sinatra Documentary Charts His Professional Ups And Downs
by David Bianculli
Alex Gibney intersperses recently unearthed concert footage from 1971 with vintage and newly recorded interviews to make Sinatra: All or Nothing At All. It's illuminating and by no means a puff piece.
Alabama Judge Says Raising Money To Be Elected Is 'Tawdry'
Mixing judges with campaign contributions can lead to conflicts of interest. Fresh Air talks to retired Judge Sue Bell Cobb and the Center for American Progress' Billy Corriher.
No Hits, No Problem: Captain Beefheart's Major Label Run
by Ed Ward
In 1970, Warner Bros. Records had an unusual philosophy: they'd sign artists and, instead of wanting a hit single immediately, they'd develop them over several albums. Hence, Captain Beefheart.