FRESH AIR
The team behind Step Brothers has an enviable life. Director Adam McKay and actors Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly get to hang out together, make jokes and get paid for it. The three first worked together on the film Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby, and they enjoyed collaborating on the film so much that they thought another film was in order. Leaving behind the world of car-racing, Step Brothers centers around two grown men who never managed to leave their respective parents’ houses. Drama ensues when their single parents marry and the two adults become stepbrothers.
Ferrell is an Emmy-nominated comedian who has starred in such films as Old School, Anchorman and Stranger Than Fiction. He also had an extended run on the television sketch-comedy show Saturday Night Live, where he first met McKay. Reilly has had success in both comedic and dramatic roles. He was nominated for an Oscar for his work in the musical Chicago, and his acting resume also includes films like Gangs of New York, Magnolia and The Aviator. Most recently, he starred in the comedy Walk Hard. McKay got his start as an improv actor before joining the writing team of Saturday Night Live. He produced sketches for the show from 1995 to 2001, spending three years as head writer. His directing credits also include The Landlord and the aforementioned Anchorman.
THIS AMERICAN LIFE
360: You Can Choose Your Family
On a summer day in 1951, two baby girls were born in a hospital in small-town Wisconsin. The infants were accidentally switched, and went home with the wrong families. One of the mothers realized the mistake but chose to keep quiet. Until the day, more than 40 years later, when she decided to tell both daughters what happened. How the truth changed two families’ lives—and how it didn’t.
RADIO TIMES
Hour 1
(Rebroadcast tonight at 11)
With scrap metal prices soaring, thieves are going after any metal they can find – manhole covers, grates, highway guardrails, and public statues. This hour, a look at the scrap metal industry and the rise in scrap metal crime with American Metal Market scrap editor MICHAEL MANLEY, Upper Darby Police Superintendent MICHAEL CHITWOOD and Morris Iron & Steel Co. Vice-President RON GRELLER. Listen to this show via Real Audio | mp3
Hour 2
To win the right to host the Olympics, the government of China agreed to loosen restrictions on the media. But there remain real concerns about freedom of the press for Chinese journalists as well as foreign journalists who will be covering the Beijing Olympics. We’re joined by BOB DIETZ from the Committee to Protect Journalists about media censorship in China and how journalists might be treated during the Olympics. Listen to this show via Real Audio | mp3
THE WORLD CAFE
Friday July 25, 2008
Fleet Foxes
Host David Dye and producer Steve Lillywhite welcome Fleet Foxes for a special World Cafe Lillywhite Session. On their self-titled debut album, Fleet Foxes craft mysterious folk-flavored songs which they describe as “baroque harmonic pop jams.” These young musicians’ mature songwriting combines enigmatic lyrics with haunting soundscapes that’s been drawing fans and critical praise since their South by Southwest appearance in March.