Fresh Air

Weekdays at 7:00pm

Opening the window on contemporary arts and issues with guests from worlds as diverse as literature and economics.

These 2 funny books give readers a reason to smile in tough times

1:35pm April 21, 2025

Dorothy Parker's posthumously published collection is Poems; Camilla Barnes' debut novel is The Usual Desire to Kill. Both affirm: sharp humor can be grounded in pain.

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James Franco (from left), Jonah Hill, Craig Robinson, Seth Rogen, Jay Baruchel and Danny McBride all play versions of themselves in the post-apocalyptic comedy This Is the End, written by Rogen and his writing partner Evan Goldberg.

Seth Rogen, Evan Goldberg: Friends Till 'The End'

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Alex Borstein (left) and Niecy Nash star as nurses in the HBO comedy series Getting On, which was modeled after the hit BBC series of the same name.

Arts

'Getting On' With It: A New HBO Show Doesn't Tiptoe Around Death

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Decades ago, the SAT test was seen as a measure of raw ability, not as something students ought to cram for. Now, test prep is a huge industry. Linguist Geoff Nunberg wonders what exactly students learn when they're flipping through vocabulary flashcards.

Sorry Assiduous (adj.) SAT-Takers, Linguist In Dudgeon (n.) Over Vocab Flashcards

by Geoff Nunberg

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Bryan Cranston (left) stars as chemistry teacher turned meth dealer Walter White, and Aaron Paul plays former student and drug-dealing co-conspirator Jesse Pinkman in AMC's Breaking Bad.

Arts

Great New DVD Box Sets: Blasts From The Past And 'Breaking Bad'

by David Bianculli

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Joel (left) and Ethan Coen wrote and directed Fargo, The Big Lebowski, O Brother Where Art Thou?, No Country for Old Men, A Serious Man and True Grit. Their latest film is Inside Llewyn Davis.

Fresh Air Weekend: The Coen Brothers And 'Anchorman 2'

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Fresh Air Remembers Country Music Artist Ray Price

When Price was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1996, he was described as a living link from Hank Williams to the country music of today. He died Monday at the age of 87. We'll listen back to a 1999 interview he did with Terry Gross.

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