Vince Giordano: The Fresh Air Interview
Giordano has been obsessed with 1920s jazz since he first heard it on his grandparents' Victrola. His band the Nighthawks performs the music heard on the HBO series Boardwalk Empire.
Arts & Life
At Guantanamo, 'Sketching' Defendants, Witnesses And KSM's Nose
Janet Hamlin was the only courtroom sketch artist allowed at the Guantanamo Bay military tribunals in 2006. Her work has been collected in a new book, Sketching Guantanamo — and she tells NPR's Renee Montagne that getting Khalid Sheikh Mohammed's nose right ended up being a challenge.
Teddy Roosevelt's 'Bully Pulpit' Isn't The Platform It Once Was
Roosevelt described the power of the presidency to shape public opinion as "the bully pulpit." That's also the title of a new book from presidential historian Doris Kearns Goodwin, in which she explains the unique relationships Roosevelt forged with reporters.
From Sulking To Sanctions, A Street-Level View Of Life In Iran
Journalist Hooman Majd's new book, The Ministry of Guidance Invites You to Not Stay, was inspired by the year he and his young American family spent in Tehran, where Majd was born. He tells Fresh Air about the country's long-standing tradition of sulking, and what sets Tehran apart from most other Islamic metropolises.
With Fading Memory, Terry Pratchett Revisits 'Carpet People'
At the age of 59, the British science-fiction writer was diagnosed with a form of Alzheimer's. Now he's publishing an edited version of a book he first wrote when he was 17. He can't read because of his disease, but Pratchett continues writing — with the help of dictation software.
This 'Time,' Supernatural Love Story Falls Flat
About Time, written and directed by Richard Curtis (Love Actually), follows a young man looking for love — with a little help from time-travel. NPR's Bob Mondello says that in this instance, time travel and romantic comedy don't necessarily blend well together.
Matthew McConaughey, Fiercely Committed To This 'Club'
Dallas Buyers Club tells the true story of Ron Woodroof (Matthew McConaughey), a Texas man whose '80s AIDS diagnosis drives him to fight for access to the drugs he believes can save him. Jennifer Garner and Jared Leto also star. (Recommended)
The Story Behind The Stunts: Remembering Hollywood's Hal Needham
Throughout his career, Needham did the kind of stunts that would either end with a spectacular shot ... or an ambulance. On Oct. 25, Needham died of cancer at age 82. We listen back to a 2011 interview, in which he tells the stories behind some of his most daring stunts.
Dickensian Ambition And Emotion Make 'Goldfinch' Worth The Wait
Donna Tartt is a writer who takes her time — she's published just one novel per decade since her debut in 1992. But critic Maureen Corrigan says she'd gladly wait another 10 years for a book as extraordinary as Tartt's latest work, The Goldfinch, an "exuberantly plotted triumph."
Jared Leto Was 'Seduced' By Role Of Rayon In 'Buyers Club'
In Dallas Buyers Club, Leto plays Rayon, a transgender woman who is living with HIV and a drug habit. Rayon becomes an unlikely friend to Ron Woodroof (Matthew McConaughey), a rodeo cowboy who starts smuggling HIV drugs from Mexico in the 1980s after he's diagnosed as HIV-positive and given just a few weeks to live.