Arts & Life

The Simpsons family in the Itchy and Scratchy Land episode in 1994.

Arts

Prepare For 'The Simpsons' Marathon With Interviews From The 'Fresh Air' Archives

2:10pm August 21, 2014

Starting Thursday, FXX will air all 552 episodes of The Simpsons in the longest single-series marathon in TV history. Fresh Air listens backs to interviews with the show's creator, writers and actors.

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Books
Arts

'F' Is For Fraudster In A Family Novel For Our Modern Times

9:30am August 21, 2014

by Ellah Allfrey

Daniel Kehlmann's F, about three brothers abandoned by their father, examines the detail of lives lived without integrity. It is brilliantly translated from the German by Carol Brown Janeway.

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Doctored: The Disillusionment of an American Physician cover.

Cardiologist Speaks From The Heart About America's Medical System

7:47pm August 19, 2014

In his new memoir, Doctored, Sandeep Jauhar describes a growing discontent among doctors and how it's affecting patients. He says rushed doctors are often practicing "defensive medicine."

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Arts

Sailing Through Space With 'Guardians Of The Galaxy'? Hilarious

10:57am August 19, 2014

by David Edelstein

The newest Marvel comic adaptation features five motley warriors, including a raccoon and a tree, against an armada of space villains. The big-budget effects-laden movie is light and funny.

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Sugar or artificial sweetener falling off of a spoon.

Books
Arts

'Sweetness #9' Satirizes Food Wars And Artificial America

3:40pm August 18, 2014

The novel is about a flavor chemist who tests a sweetener on lab rats and monkeys and finds side effects the company covers up. Author Stephan Eirik Clark says he was inspired by Fast Food Nation.

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Books
Arts

In Cunningham's Latest, Powerful Language Makes Up For Weak Plot

10:58am August 18, 2014

Michael Cunningham's newest novel is named after a fairy tale. But this is no Disney fantasy. Instead The Snow Queen is a story of death, drugs and aging (not always gracefully).

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Arts

Thoughts Of Fall Butt Into Lazy Day Of Summer

8:11am August 18, 2014

For our look at summer poetry, we turn to Charlotte Boulay, a Philadelphia-based poet, with "The End of Summer." She offers a poem that, on its surface, is about an idyllic activity: taking a nap.

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Thrity Umrigar has authored six novels and is a professor of English at Case Western Reserve University.

Books
Arts

An Unlikely Psychologist-Patient Friendship Unfolds In 'The Story Hour'

8:28am August 16, 2014

by NPR Staff

Thrity Umrigar's new novel is about two women with "a mystical connection." Lakshmi is stuck in a loveless marriage. Dr. Maggie Bose decides Lakshmi doesn't need a shrink — she needs an escape.

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Lauren Bacall says she never set out to have a look. "It was just a way to keep my head steady," she insists.

Arts

In Acting And In Life, Lauren Bacall 'Loved The Idea Of Adventure'

3:02pm August 15, 2014

Lauren Bacall died Tuesday in New York at the age of 89. In 1994, she talked with Fresh Air about her early career, working with Marilyn Monroe and her intense love affair with Humphrey Bogart.

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Comedian and actor Robin Williams performs at the CBS Upfront presentation in New York City on May 15, 2013.

Arts

Robin Williams: In Looking For Laughs, 'You Have To Be Deeply Honest'

11:31am August 15, 2014

The comedian and actor died Monday at age 63. In 2006, Williams spoke with Fresh Air's Terry Gross about improvising, his training and how people expected him to act crazy.

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