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Playwright Neil Simon Explains Why He 'Just Always Wanted To Write'

1:24pm August 28, 2018

by Terry Gross

Simon, who died Sunday, spoke to Fresh Air in 1996 about finding balance between his desire for leisure time and his need to write: "They were at odds," he says. "I'm my own odd couple."

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'Ohio' Is A Wild, Angry, Devastating Debut

12:10pm August 28, 2018

by Michael Schaub

Stephen Markley's novel follows four friends, each with their own baggage, who return to their home town on the same night, but for different reasons — leading to an explosive moment of violence.

Princess Margaret watches her older sister Princess Elizabeth make her first broadcast on Oct. 12, 1940 in London.

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'Ninety-Nine Glimpses Of Princess Margaret': A Woman Who Watched The Throne

12:10pm August 28, 2018

by Melissa Block

Craig Brown's new biography of Queen Elizabeth's glamorous and scandalous younger sister documents "a life which sort of went off the rails," he says.

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Raising Kids In An 'Age Of Fear' Results In Impossible Choices For Parents

6:07pm August 27, 2018

by Mary Louise Kelly

"There's now the expectation that to be a good parent in this country you have to have your eyes on your children every second," says author Kim Brooks — and that's stressful for adults and kids.

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The sun rises over a Tangier boat channel lined with crab shanties, most of which are empty: By this time of day, the island's crabbers have been out in the bay for hours, pulling up their pots.

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'Chesapeake Requiem' Chronicles Life On An Endangered Island

1:15pm August 27, 2018

by Petra Mayer

Tangier Island, in the Chesapeake Bay, has been home to a small, self-reliant community of watermen for centuries — and now climate change is threatening to swamp the island and its way of life.

David Bowie performs in character as Ziggy Stardust, in a 1973 show in London.

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Arts

Ashes To Ashes, Funk To Funky: Questions For Jason Heller, Author Of 'Strange Stars'

10:00am August 26, 2018

by Petra Mayer

Critic and author Jason Heller's new book traces the considerable influence of David Bowie on the science-fiction inflected music of the 1970s, from "Space Oddity" to the glittery glory of Funkadelic.

Books

'Ninety-Nine Glimpses Of Princess Margaret': The One Who Wouldn't Be Queen

8:46am August 26, 2018

Princess Margaret, the sister of Queen Elizabeth II, shocked some and charmed others. NPR's Melissa Block speaks with author Craig Brown about his new book, Ninety-Nine Glimpses of Princess Margaret.

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Arts

In 'Red, White, Blue,' High Peaks And Low Blows

10:00am August 25, 2018

by Bethanne Patrick

Lea Carpenter's new novel combines literary sensibility with genre readability, for a dark spy thriller about a young woman finding out all kinds of strange truths about her father's past in the CIA.

Jamie Bernstein with playwright Lillian Hellman at Martha's Vineyard. Hellman collaborated with Bernstein on his musical Candide.

Life With Leonard Bernstein

9:08am August 25, 2018

by Tom Huizenga

To mark the centennial of her father's birth, Jamie Bernstein talks frankly about her new memoir, tracking her life as the daughter of the legendary composer.

Singer Robert Pollard of Guided By Voices performs during the Coachella Valley Music And Arts Festival at the Empire Polo Club on April 14, 2017, in Indio, California.

'Closer You Are' Explores How Robert Pollard Changed The Course Of Indie Rock

8:53am August 25, 2018

by Michael Schaub

Matthew Cutter's entertaining new biography of "Uncle Bob" tells the story of the all-American-boy-turned-alternative-rock-god and the influence he and his band Guided by Voices had on modern rock.