FRESH AIR
Based on an Upton Sinclair novel, Paul Thomas Anderson‘s new film There Will Be Blood stars Daniel Day-Lewis
as an oil prospector in the earliest days of the industry. Anderson’s other films are the Oscar-nominated Boogie Nights and Magnolia, and Punch Drunk Love, starring Adam Sandler. PLUS, Fresh Air‘s book critic looks back at a busy year and selects the books that linger in memory as the calendar page turns. Her favorite fiction included Richard Russo’s Bridge of Sighs, Min Jin Lee’s Free Food for Millionaires, and Last Night at the Lobster, by Stewart O’Nan. Nonfiction picks: The Mistress’ Daughter, by A.M. Homes, Thomas Hardy, by Clare Tomalin and Ralph Ellison: A Biography, by Arnold Rampersad. PLUS, Fresh Air‘s rock critic runs down the best pop music of 2007, which he likes to call The Year in Rehabilitation.
RADIO TIMES
Hour 1
The latest on the 2008 Presidential election. We’ll talk with DICK POLMAN, the national political writer for The Philadelphia Inquirer. He has been tracking the latest events on his political blog The American Debate available at Philly.com. Also we’ll check in with Time Magazine’s Nation editor AMY SULLIVAN about Time’s latest poll on the Presidential election. Listen to this show via Real Audio | mp3
Hour 2
(Rebroadcast tonight at 11)
We talk about the Mitchell Report on steroid use in baseball with veteran sportswriters FRANK FITZPATRICK and BOB FORD. Both have written frequently over the years about doping in sports. Listen to this show via Real Audio | mp3
THE WORLD CAFE
Cass McCombs is an ingenious and unorthodox singer-songwriter with influences ranging from The Velvet Underground to Morrissey. His style blends folk and art-pop and McCombs is often distinguished by his crooning and described as an indie heartthrob. Though born in Concord, Calif., he set off to the east coast at 23 and began performing at open mics around New York City and Baltimore. McCombs’ travels throughout the states inspired many of his vivid and often whimsical lyrics. Though some are enigmatic and complicated, they encourage the audience to not only listen to the music, but also analyze it. His quirky lyrics combine with surrealist music to create eccentric, tender work.
CASS MCCOMBS: I Went To The Hospital