Music To Keep You On The Edge Of Your Seat
Conductor John Mauceri's latest album is filled with renditions of the most-chilling music from Alfred Hitchcock's films. He talks with NPR's Scott Simon.
Arts
Novelist Nuruddin Farah: Facing A Blank Page Is 'Bravest Thing' A Writer Does
Farah's latest is called Hiding in Plain Sight. It's the story of Bella, a Somali photographer living in Rome who gets drawn into the lives of her niece and nephew after her half-brother is killed.
New Shakespeare Movie Puts Hamlet In Kashmir
Shakespeare's Hamlet has been turned into a Bollywood film, but this time, the story is set in Indian-controlled Kashmir. NPR's Scott Simon talks to screenwriter Basharat Peer.
'Beautiful You' Makes Sex And Death Boring
Chuck Palahniuk aims for piquant social satire in his new novel, but reviewer (and longtime fan) Jason Sheehan finds his fandom severely dented by lazy characterizations and lack of actual satire.
'Heap House' Is A Treasure Of A Trash Tale
Edward Carey's illustrated young adult novel about the keepers of mystical trash heaps (yes, you read that right) in an alternate Victorian London combines thrills with intelligence and compassion.
Alienating Leading Men: The Force Behind 'Listen Up Philip' And 'Majeure'
NPR film critic Bob Mondello reviews Listen Up Philip and Force Majeure — two movies, he says, with compelling lead men who are impossible to empathize with.
40 Years Later, Diane Von Furstenberg's Wrap Dress Still Wears Well
In her memoir, The Woman I Wanted to Be, Diane von Furstenberg says she owes her success to her mother, a strong, strict Holocaust survivor who called Diane her "torch of freedom."
For The Midterm Elections, A Book On 'What It Takes' To Win
The midterm elections are less than two weeks away. Writer Michael Schaub recommends a book that explores what it's like to run for office and live through all the dramatic ups and downs.
Meet The Artist: Patrick Willard
WFDD Radio Camer For Grown Ups participant Robert Rocco talks with Patrick Willard, a successful fitness trainer, whose life comes full circle in his new life chapter in writing music for films.
'Citizenfour': A Paranoid Conspiracy Documentary About Edward Snowden
Laura Poitras' new film isn't artfully shaped like her other documentaries. But she captures scenes as history is being made — and it will make you look both ways when you're on the street.