Fresh Air Weekend: Ray Liotta; Showtime's 'Billions'; Author Elizabeth Strout

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:

Ray Liotta On 'Goodfellas,' Acting And His Return To TV: "When I first started," Liotta says, "television was kind of like the wasteland. ... Now [it's] very respected." He plays a corrupt NYC police lieutenant on the new NBC series Shades of Blue.

Showtime's Financial Drama 'Billions' Doubles Down On Melodrama And Machismo: Critic John Powers says viewers shouldn't expect to learn about the inner working of Wall Street from the glossy new series Billions. Instead, the show offers clipping action and punchy dialogue.

'My Ears Are Open': Novelist Elizabeth Strout Finds Inspiration In Everyday Life: The Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Olive Kitteridge says she was a "bad lawyer" before turning her energies to writing. Her latest novel, My Name is Lucy Barton, is about an aspiring writer.

You can listen to the original interviews here:

Ray Liotta On 'Goodfellas,' Acting And His Return To TV

Showtime Doubles Down On Melodrama And Machismo With The Financial Drama 'Billions'

'My Ears Are Open': Novelist Elizabeth Strout Finds Inspiration In Everyday Life

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