FRESH AIR
From a martial-artist mother in Quentin Tarantino’s Kill Bill to dewy-eyed ingenue in Stephen Frears’ Dangerous Liaisons to a mobster’s employee in John McNaughton’s Mad Dog and Glory, Uma Thurman has played all kinds of characters. She joins Fresh Air to talk about her background (she’s the daughter of noted Buddhist scholar Robert Thurman), about her varied career and about her role in the new independent film The Life Before Her Eyes. The film, directed by Vadim Perelman and based on the book by Laura Kasischke, is the story of a troubled woman, Diana, who years before came face to face with death during a high-school shooting. The story flashes backward and forward, interweaving
Diana’s untroubled life as a pretty, popular teenager (played by Evan Rachel Wood) and as a married woman and mother (played by Thurman) haunted by her past.Thurman’s other films include Pulp Fiction, The Producers and Sweet and Lowdown. Fresh Air‘s jazz critic reviews Boogie Woogie and Blues Piano, a new box set featuring remastered recordings from music greats such as Chicago’s Jimmy Yancy, Meade Lux Lewis and Pete Johnson.It also collects solos, duos, pianists accompanying singers, and small blues-and-boogie bands led by Lionel Hampton, Benny Carter, Harry James and Red Allen. The tracks were originally recorded for the Columbia and Victor labels between 1935 to 1941. Listen Now
RADIO TIMES
Hour 1
Are Barack Obama’s comments over bitter working class Americans indicative of a larger problem for democrats? Have the democrats become a party of elites who are out of touch? We’ll discuss this with DAVID PAUL KUHN a Senior Political Writer with Politico.com who is also author of The Neglected Voter: White Men and the Democratic Dilemma and with DICK POLMAN the
National Political columnist for The Philadelphia Inquirer, and he writes the blog The American Debate at Philly.com. Listen to this show via Real Audio | mp3
Hour 2
FAA safety inspections that forced the cancellation of thousands of flights over the past few weeks along with skyrocketing fuel prices, bankruptcies and mergers have caused havoc among the nation’s airlines. We talk about the health and safety of America’s airlines with DEL QUENTIN WILBER who covers aviation for The Washington Post and aviation industry consultant RICH GOLASZEWSKI. Listen to this show via Real Audio | mp3
THE WORLD CAFE
Langhorne Slim mixes folk, blues, and rock in a way that only lunatic rocker Hasil Adkins could understand. The 
Brooklyn-via-Pennsylvania songwriter conjures images of many other neo-folk singers, but there’s soul, fire, and warmth in his recordings. His self-titled sophomore disc isn’t as raw as When the Sun’s Gone Down, but the disc — Langhorne Slim’s first for a big label — still brings out the power and charisma of his live performances. Listen Now
LANGHORNE SLIM: In The Midnight