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On Demand

Topic: Arts & Ideas

Arts & Ideas

Country Driving

The Leonard Lopate Show

February 09, 2010

Peter Hessler, longtime Beijing correspondent for The New Yorker, talks about his seven-year road trip around China, tracking how the automobile and improved roads were transforming the country. In Country Driving, he describes his trips to the Tibetan plateau, to the small farming village Sancha, and to Lishui, a small southeastern city--all places being changed by new roads, growing traffic, and a more mobile society.

Event: Peter Hessler will be speaking
Tuesday, February 9, at at 6:30 pm
Asia Society
725 Park Avenue, at 71st Street


Beneath the Lion’s Gaze

The Leonard Lopate Show

February 09, 2010

Pushcart Prize nominee Maaza Mengiste discusses her debut novel, Beneath the Lion’s Gaze. It tells the story of a father and two sons living in Addis Abbas in 1974, and of a family unraveling in the wake of Ethiopia’s revolution.

Event: Maaza Mengiste will be speaking
February 12, at 5:00 pm
NYU Creative Writing Program Lillian Vernon Creative Writers House
58 West 10th Street


Midnight House

The Leonard Lopate Show

February 09, 2010

Bestselling author Alex Berenson, one of the world's best new thriller writers, talks about his latest novel, The Midnight House, about his return character CIA agent John Wells, who must find out who is killing CIA agents involved in interrogating terrorists at a secret base in Poland.

Event: Alex Berenson will be reading and signing books
Monday, February 22, at 7:00 pm
Borders
461 Park Avenue at 57th Street


The Secret World of Corporate Espionage

The Leonard Lopate Show

February 09, 2010

Eamon Javers discusses the rise of corporate spying, which has stretched into almost every industry in almost every corner of the globe. In Broker, Trader, Lawyer, Spy: The Secret World of Corporate Espionage, he delves into the checkered history of corporate spying, looks at the methods—from setting up fake websites, trailing people, sorting through household and corporate trash, satellite surveillance, and hacking e-mail and secure computer networks.


Superbowl Rewind

The Brian Lehrer Show

February 08, 2010

Superbowl ads are always provocative. Mary Elizabeth Williams, culture critic for The Takeaway and Salon.com, offers her perspective on the ads during yesterday's Superbowl.

Dodge Charger Ad

Focus on the Family's Controversial Ad

ManCrunch.com's Rejected Ad


Sara Fishko

From the Archives: John Levy, Jazz Master (Originally aired Friday, January 13, 2006)

The Fishko Files

February 05, 2010

Four years ago, John Levy was named an NEA “Jazz Master.” The now 97 year-old musician-turned-manager is profiled in this archival edition of The Fishko Files.


Flying Cheap

The Leonard Lopate Show

February 08, 2010

Frontline correspondent Miles O’Brien talks about the crash of Continental Flight 3407 outside Buffalo last February. While it was identified as a Continental flight, it was actually operated by Colgan Air, a regional carrier. Miles O'Brien investigates major airlines' outsourcing to regional carriers to cut costs in the Frontline documentary “Flying Cheap.” It airs Tuesday, February 9, at 9:00 pm on PBS.


Chasing Miracles

The Leonard Lopate Show

February 08, 2010

When John Crowley and his wife Aileen learned that their two youngest children had a rare genetic disorder called Pompe disease, he left his corporate job to help co-found a start-up biotech company focused exclusively on developing a treatment for the disease. His book Chasing Miracles: The Crowley Family Journey of Love, Strength, Hope, and Joy tells the family’s story, which inspired the new film “Extraordinary Measures.”


Only Everything

The Leonard Lopate Show

February 08, 2010

Saxophonist David Sanborn discusses his new CD, “Only Everything.” He’ll be performing at The Blue Note February 9 through February 14. More information and tickets here.


Eye on Iraq

The Leonard Lopate Show

February 08, 2010

Thomas E. Ricks, senior fellow, Center for a New American Security, contributing editor for Foreign Policy magazine, special military correspondent for the Washington Post, and author of Fiasco and The Gamble, gives us an update on Iraq, looking at how stable the country is, what to expect from the upcoming elections, and the plans for military withdrawal.


Thomas E. Ricks

Fight or Flight

The Leonard Lopate Show

February 08, 2010

Pulitzer Prize-winning military correspondent Thomas E. Ricks gives us an update on what's happening in Iraq. Then, saxophonist David Sanborn discusses his new album, “Only Everything.” The new Harrison Ford film “Extraordinary Measures” was inspired by a true story, and we’ll talk to John Crowley about his experience trying to save his two young children afflicted with a rare genetic disorder. And, the last six fatal plane crashes in the U.S. were on regional carriers--we’ll talk with the correspondent from the new Frontline documentary “Flying Cheap.”


Oscar’s Machinations

The Leonard Lopate Show

February 05, 2010

It's Oscar season again, and we're taking a look behind the scenes, at the campaigns behind the Academy Awards. Here to give us some perspective are three men in the know: Mark Harris, who wrote the cover story for New York magazine, called, “The Red Carpet Campaign,” which will be on newsstands Monday, and he's the author of Pictures at a Revolution. Richard Brody is a staff writer for The New Yorker and the author of Everything is Cinema. And Daniel Eagan is the author of America’s Film Legacy.


Oscar’s Machinations

The Leonard Lopate Show

February 05, 2010

Each year, before the Oscar nominations are announced, a campaign that matches the intensity of the presidential race gets underway. We’ll talk to Mark Harris, whose article "The Red Carpet Campaign" appears in next week's New York magazine. We’ll also be joined by New Yorker staff writer Richard Brody and by Daniel Eagan, author of America's Film Legacy.


Robert Frank

Inspired by Robert Frank

Selected Shorts

February 07, 2010

“You thought everybody in America had a car and a gun; your uncles and aunts and cousins thought so too. Right after you won the American visa lottery, they told you: In a month, you will have a big car. Soon, a big house. But don’t buy a gun like those Americans.”—Chimamanda Ngoti Adichie, “The Thing Around Your Neck.”
Robert Frank’s legendary photographs inspired this selection of tales reflecting the many faces of America.


Settling

The Brian Lehrer Show

February 05, 2010

Author Lori Gottlieb says women should marry Mr. Good Enough in her new book, Marry Him: The Case for Settling for Mr. Good Enough. She says "settling" makes sense now more than ever -- and talks about why her book has caused such an uproar.


Lorraine Gordon of the Village Vanguard Celebrates the Jazz Haven's 75 Years

February 04, 2010

"I got mixed up with my husband, that's how I got mixed up with the Vanguard." That's Lorraine Gordon, owner of the The Village Vanguard jazz club. Later this month, the legendary spot will celebr....


Christine Lahti

The Leonard Lopate Show

February 05, 2010

Actress Christine Lahti discusses stepping into a role in Yasmina Reza’s play “God of Carnage,” about two couples who meet to discuss a schoolyard incident between their sons. What starts out amiably turns sour, offering a commentary on modern-day marriage and parenting. “God of Carnage” is playing at the Bernard Jacobs Theatre, 242 W. 45th Street.


El Turista

The Leonard Lopate Show

February 05, 2010

Josh Rouse talks about what it¹s like to be a Nebraskan living in Spain, and how a pre-Castro Cuban cabaret legend influenced his new sound on his latest album, "El Turista."

Event: Josh Rouse will be performing
Friday, February 5, at 7:00 pm
Le Poisson Rouge
158 Bleecker Street
Tickets: $25
More information and tickets at here.


Workin’ It with RuPaul

The Leonard Lopate Show

February 05, 2010

RuPaul gives helpful and provocative tips on fashion, beauty, style, and confidence for girls and boys, straight and gay—and everyone in between! Workin’ It! RuPaul’s Guide to Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Style provides insights into makeup, clothing choices, and the illusion of drag. The book picks up where the new season of "RuPaul’s Drag Race" leaves off, and is part style guide part confidence manifesto.

Event: RuPaul will be signing books
Friday, February 5, at 7:00 pm
Borders Time Warner Center
10 Columbus Circle


BPA

Plastic and Fantastic

The Leonard Lopate Show

February 05, 2010

We’ll start off today’s show with our latest Please Explain, which is all about bisphenol-A, the controversial and potentially dangerous plastic additive. Then, RuPaul offers us some fashion tips. And Josh Rouse tells us how a Cuban cabaret legend inspired his latest album, which he wrote in Spain. We'll also get an update on the troubles at Toyota. Plus, we'll take a look at the campaigning behind the Oscars nominations.


Wingdale Community Singers

Studio 360

February 05, 2010

The indie band features David Grubbs, Hannah Marcus, and Rick Moody, author of The Ice Storm, Purple America, and other novels. They join Kurt in the studio to play a few tunes and talk about their music. (Originally aired July 9, 2005)


What Salinger Taught Me

Studio 360

February 05, 2010

When a young writer gets a day job with J.D. Salinger's agent, she becomes a better novelist. Joanna Smith Rakoff describes her time as the reluctant conduit between the writer and his fans.


Courage in Creole

Studio 360

February 05, 2010

Brooklyn-based band Djarara plays the traditional Haitian street music known as rara, which features metal horns, bamboo trumpets, and drums. Every one of the 15 band members lost someone in the recent earthquake. They're continuing the music, and even rehearsing a new song to commemorate the tragedy. "Rara is life," says one of the musicians. Produced by WNYC's Janaya Williams.


Marlon James

Studio 360

February 05, 2010

Marlon James's novel The Book of Night Women is set on a Jamaican sugar plantation at the turn of the 19th century. It's about a rebellion led by a group of slaves. It is also the coming-of-age story of Lilith, the enslaved daughter of the plantation's overseer, and her conflicted feelings about violence as retribution. James talks about his use of dialect in the novel and why dialect is still controversial among Jamaican writers. (Originally aired March 6, 2009)


Courtesy of New Orleans Museum of Art

I'll See Your Lorrain and Raise You a Turner

Studio 360

February 05, 2010

The directors of the New Orleans and the Indianapolis art museums have a lot more riding on this weekend's Super Bowl than a couple of bucks in the office pool. After an arts blogger posed a challenge, they've each put up a treasured painting from their collections. The director of the losing city's museum will have to lend his masterpiece to the winner.