'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.
Brandi Carlile's Surging Voice Grounds 'The Firewatcher's Daughter'
Carlile has been releasing albums for the past 10 years, and Fresh Air rock critic Ken Tucker says her new one, called The Firewatcher's Daughter, is her best yet.
Horror Film Fans Beware: 'It Follows' Isn't The Fun Kind Of Scare
The film is about a teenage girl who sleeps with a boy and is suddenly under a curse. Critic David Edelstein says he didn't enjoy feeling "sick with dread," but the ending is unexpectedly moving.
Drummer Hal Blaine Talks About Making Music Over The Years
Blaine is featured in the new documentary The Wrecking Crew about a group of anonymous intensely successful musicians who recorded together. Terry Gross spoke with him in 2001.
They're Not Only '60s Songwriting Superstars, But They're Also Married
Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil, who wrote "We Gotta Get Out of this Place," have been a team for more than 50 years. Terry Gross spoke with them in 2000, when they were depicted in the musical Beautiful.
How We Deal With Loss In Different Ways In Two Beautifully Written Memoirs
In Abigail Thomas' What Comes Next and How to Like It, the aging process robs the 70-something of beauty and energy. In H Is for Hawk, Helen Macdonald trains a goshawk after her father dies.
Inspired By Monks, A Writer Embraces His Life Of Solitude
Fenton Johnson says that while alone, people can "find the richest possible ways of being in the world." He's lived alone for more than 20 years. His Harper's article describes his pursuit.
Bio Credits Manson's Terrible Rise To Right Place And Time
California parolee Charles Manson arrived in San Francisco in 1967, when the city was full of young seeking a guru. In Manson, Jeff Guinn says it was the perfect spot for him to enact his cult vision.