FRESH AIR
Writer-director Robert Siegel wrote the screenplay for the acclaimed 2008 film The Wrestler; Patton Oswalt, the stand-up comic and actor, starred in CBS’s The King of Queens and provided the voice for Remy, the main character in Pixar’s food romance Ratatouille. Now the two have collaborated on a new film — a drama, not a comedy — called Big Fan, about an obsessive 35-year-old New York Giants fan. Oswalt’s character, Paul, works as a parking-garage attendant, lives with his mom, and finds an outlet for his passion — and a minor kind of celebrity — as a frequent caller into a sports-radio show. One day, when Paul spots one of his favorite players on the street, he decides to introduce himself, but the encounter goes very wrong — and in the aftermath, Paul finds his life turned inside out. Siegel, who’s the former editor-in-chief of satirical newspaper The Onion, makes his directorial debut with the film. Oswalt, who’s appeared in more than 20 films, has a new Comedy Central special called My Weakness Is Strong. They join Terry Gross for a conversation about their favorite directors, their own very different levels of sports-geekery and what it’s like shooting a scene in what they delicately refer to as “a gentlemen’s club.”
RADIO TIMES
Hour One
Cheap chicken, cheap kicks and cheap shrimp. Snagging a great deal is a universal thrill, but what does it cost and who really pays for the discount? Our guest, ELLEN RUPPEL SHELL reports that discounts don’t compensate for the escalating costs of necessary living: housing, education and health care. Her new book is called, “Cheap: The High Cost of Discount Culture.”
Hour Two
The American Psychological Association recently adopted a resolution stating mental health professionals should avoid telling gay clients they can change their sexual orientation through therapy or other treatments. Our guests include DR. JUDITH GLASSGOLD, clinical psychologist and a member of the faculty at Graduate School of Applied and Professional Psychology, Rutgers, New Brunswick and DR. WARREN THROCKMORTON, Associate Professor of Psychology at Grove City College.
THE WORLD CAFE
Since 1996, Camera Obscura has been playing infectious, poetic indie-pop to ever-wider acclaim. The Scottish group released a couple of well-received 1998 singles that led to its first EP and then an album, Biggest Bluest Hi Fi. Its second disc, 2003’s Underachievers Please Try Harder, was supported by the band’s first international tour. After coming home, Camera Obscura rearranged its lineup and began writing more luminescent chamber-pop. A series of bright EPs and singles, plus a third album, has kept the band in the public eye; its music is often compared to that of Belle & Sebastian and The Smiths. Camera Obscura’s fourth studio release, out this spring, is relatively sunny for an album titled My Maudlin Career. The record combines orchestral pop with an honest, lively air.
Camera Obscura – French Navy