'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.
A Marine veteran says the contradictions of war can make you feel insane
Elliot Ackerman served five tours in Iraq and Afghanistan, during which time, he says, he witnessed the best and worst that human beings are capable of. Originally broadcast Nov. 11, 2021.
Journalist reflects on the ideological, religious and ethnic conflicts within Israel
New York Times journalist Isabel Kershner says before war broke out between Israel and Hamas, it sometimes looked as if Israel was headed toward a civil war. Her new book is The Land of Hope and Fear.
Rob Reiner celebrates his friend Albert Brooks in a delightful documentary
Reiner and Brooks have been friends since high school — and their intimacy shows in Albert Brooks: Defending My Life. The only flaw of this terrific documentary is that it's not twice as long.
Remembering power pop singer/songwriter Dwight Twilley
Over the course of a career that began in the 1970s, the Oklahoma native, who died Oct. 18, specialized in rock 'n' roll sincerity, and dramatizing the pain of love rejected.
Intimate and piercingly sad, 'Priscilla' is Sofia Coppola's strongest movie in years
Adapted from Priscilla Presley's 1985 memoir, the film shows us the cracks in Elvis' Prince Charming veneer — the way he lavishes Priscilla with attention and then suddenly withholds it.
'Fresh Air' remembers 'Friends' star Matthew Perry
Perry, who died in Oct. 28, played the sarcastic but lovable Chandler Bing on Friends. He spoke to Terry Gross in 2007. Plus, we listen back to our 2003 interview with Lisa Kudrow, who played Phoebe.
'Everybody got it wrong': How did Israel fail to detect Hamas' planned invasion?
New York Times reporter Mark Mazzetti says prior to Oct. 7, Israel's leadership was focused on an attack by Iran and its proxies --not Hamas. "They were ... myopic about what the true threat was."