Remembering Pere Ubu's David Thomas, a frontman who preserved chaos
Thomas' April 23 death at age 71 brings to a close one of the most significant avant-garde experiments ever conducted within the confines of pop music. Rock critic Ken Tucker reflects on his legacy.
Amy Adams Gives An Unforgettable Performance In HBO's 'Sharp Objects'
A new miniseries adapted from Gillian Flynn's novel stars Adams as a newspaper reporter who returns to her small hometown to investigate the disappearance of one girl and the murder of another.
Supreme Court Reporter: 'The Politics Of The First Amendment Have Completely Flipped'
New York Times journalist Adam Liptak says the court's conservative justices have increasingly based their decisions on the foundation of free speech — including a case that dealt a blow to unions.
New Songs That Will Make You Want To Crank The Volume
Rock critic Ken Tucker listens to new songs by My Morning Jacket's Jim James, the Danish band Iceage and George Clinton and Parliament. As each song shows, "there's an art to summoning up chaos."
'Fresh Air' Celebrates July 4 With The Late Flat-Picking Guitar Player Doc Watson
Watson, who died in 2012, was a pioneering bluegrass, country and folk guitarist and singer who changed the way people thought about mountain music. Originally broadcast in 1988 and 1989.
Former Ambassador To Russia Looks Ahead To Trump's Summit With Putin
Michael McFaul, who sat in on meetings between Putin and Obama, warns that the Russian president "doesn't meet just for the sake of a meeting; he seeks to advance Russian interests."
Boots Riley Mines His Experiences As A Telemarketer In 'Sorry To Bother You'
The social satire takes aim at corporations that underpay and exploit workers. This is Riley's first film — he has a long career as a rapper — and his band, The Coup, plays on the film's soundtrack.
'Lost Album' Offers A Fresh Look At Peak Coltrane
A new album revives the lost tracks of a studio session Coltrane recorded with his quartet in 1963. Critic Kevin Whitehead says Both Directions At Once: The Lost Album is solid — but not revelatory.
'Leave No Trace' Follows A Father And Daughter Off The Grid
Director Debra Granik's new film is based on a true story about a veteran suffering from PTSD who lives secretly in a municipal forest with his teenage daughter.
Remembering Former Poet Laureate Donald Hall
Hall, who died on Saturday, wrote about farm work and his wife, poet Jane Kenyon, in the 1993 memoir Life Work. He and Kenyon spoke to Fresh Air in 1996, and Hall was interviewed again in '02 and '12.
Beyoncé And Jay-Z Present A Unified Front On 'Everything Is Love'
The Carters, who married in 2008, celebrate their union with a heavily autobiographical new album. Critic Ken Tucker is impressed by the record's easy shifts between hip-hop and R&B.