Fresh Air Weekend: Elton John, 'Masters Of Sex' And 'Merchants Of Meth'

Fresh Air Weekend highlights some of the best interviews and reviews from past weeks, and new program elements specially paced for weekends. Our weekend show emphasizes interviews with writers, filmmakers, actors and musicians, and often includes excerpts from live in-studio concerts. This week:

A More Reflective Leap On Elton John's 'Diving Board': The pop star has a flair for the extravagant, to say the least, but his new album is stripped down. He tells Fresh Air's Terry Gross about the "Elton John excess," his fear of sex as a young man, and how Liberace's example encouraged John to make the piano a star instrument.

'Masters Of Sex' Get Unmasterful Treatment On Showtime: The series follows the stories of science pioneers William Masters and Virginia Johnson, who helped bring sexuality into the light. Critic John Powers says it clearly aspires to be "the Mad Men of sex" -- but falls short in both its eye for detail and its retrograde portrayals of sex.

Big Pharma And Meth Cooks Agree: Keep Cold Meds Over The Counter: In 2006, Oregon successfully made pseudoephedrine, a key ingredient of meth, a prescription drug. Since then, Mother Jones' Jonah Engle reports, 24 states have tried to follow suit — and 23 have failed. Engle attributes those failures to pharmaceutical companies' massive lobbying efforts.

You can listen to the original interviews here:

• A More Reflective Leap On Elton John's 'Diving Board'
• 'Masters Of Sex' Get Unmasterful Treatment On Showtime
• Big Pharma And Meth Cooks Agree: Keep Cold Meds Over The Counter

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