Fresh Air Weekend: Mormon 'Elders', Johnny Cash And Jherek Bischoff

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:

Former Mormon Missionary Describes The Experience Of 'Elders': As a Mormon missionary, Ryan McIlvain spent two years ringing strangers' doorbells, even as he experienced doubts about his own faith. He left the church in his mid-20s. McIlvain's debut novel, Elders, tells the story of two young Mormons carrying out their missions.

Jherek Bischoff Crafts A Symphonic Sound On 'Composed': The musician, songwriter, composer and producer has made a name for himself by playing with the likes of Amanda Palmer. For his latest album, however, he found himself departing from a rock sound as he began writing his own orchestral arrangements.

Johnny Cash's Columbia Catalog Out Now — As A 63-Disc Box Set: Cash spent half a century in the limelight as a country singer turned American icon. Between 1958, when he first recorded for Columbia, until 1986, when it didn't renew his contract, he recorded more than 50 singles and 60 albums for the label.

You can listen to the original interviews here:

• Former Mormon Missionary Describes The Experience Of 'Elders'

• Jherek Bischoff Crafts A Symphonic Sound On 'Composed'

• Johnny Cash's Columbia Catalog Out Now — As A 63-Disc Box Set

Copyright 2015 NPR. To see more, visit http://www.npr.org/.