FRESH AIR The Dark Knight lived up to its hype. The latest installment in the Batman film series set records with its opening weekend, taking in an estimated $155 million at the box office. Spider-Man 3 previously held the record, taking in $151 million last year. Director and screenwriter Christopher Nolan and actor Christian Bale are two of the driving forces behind the blockbuster’s success. The Dark Knight is the third collaboration for the pair, who previously worked together on Batman Begins and the dueling-illusionists thriller The Prestige. Nolan first made a name for himself with the Oscar-nominated low-budget hit […]
DUBIOUS ACHIEVEMENT: Plastic Fantastic MILFs
According to the website of Michael Salzhauer, a board certified plastic surgeon, My Beautiful Mommy, a children’s book designed to teach youngsters why mommy came home from the doctor with bruises on her nose and tummy, is “a must-have for any mother with young children considering plastic surgery.” Newsweek did a story prior to the book’s release, featuring a 29-year-old mother, Gabriela Acosta, whose weight ballooned from 115 pounds to 196 after birthing her now nine-year-old son, Junior Acosta. Even after Gabriela lost the weight, she was left with “stretched, saggy skin.” Plastic surgery crossed her mind, but she was […]
NPR FOR THE DEAF: We Hear It Even When You Can’t
FRESH AIR The war on terrorism has had devastating social and political costs, and it is the United States government — not foreign enemies — that has caused much of the damage, says investigative journalist Jane Mayer. Mayer’s new book is The Dark Side: The Inside Story of How the War on Terror Turned Into a War on American Ideals. In it, The New Yorker writer contends that the policy implemented after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks promoted an agenda that sought to increase presidential power. Further, many of the Bush administration’s strategy decisions violated the Constitution and impeded the […]
NPR 4 THE DOPE: This Is Your Public Radio On Drugs
RADIO TIMES Hour 1 A conversation about politics and the Olympics with speed skating gold medallist JOEY CHEEK, co-founder of Team Darfur, a coalition of athletes trying to raise awareness about the Darfur crisis. Also, 45-year-old Olympic swimming hopeful W. HODDING CARTER talks about chasing his dream and his new book, Off the Deep End. Listen to this show via Real Audio | mp3 Hour 2 Alex Gibney’s new film Gonzo: The Life and Work of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson opened this weekend. He was the winner of the 2008 Academy Award for best documentary for Taxi to the Dark […]
VIVA LA NPR: A Public Radio Revolution Since 2006
FRESH AIR Before the Cuban Revolution, Havana was a playground for American gangsters, mafiosi and the debauched tourists who frequented their casinos. T.J. English’s new book Havana Nocturne provides a vision of the darker side of the city, focusing on gangland imperialism and the dirty dealings that happened in jazz clubs. In addition to Havana Nocturne, English has written a number of other true-crime works. His book Paddy Whacked concerns the Irish mob, and Born to Kill focuses on Vietnamese organized crime. English has also written episodes for the television dramas Homicide: Life on the Streets and NYPD Blue. He […]
HOT DOC: The Final Chapter Of Molly’s Bookstore
Dear Faithful Friends and Customers, After eight years of slugging it out in the Italian Market, Molly’s Bookstore is closing its doors. A general shift in the bookselling industry and personal circumstances has simply made it inevitable. I can truly say that I spent my lifetime in the book business and can say, with some qualification, that I am a third generation bookseller. (My grandmother sold “girlie” magazines in the 60s and 70s.) The nature of the business has changed so much in the past few years. The reliance on Amazon to supplement sales made it much more of a […]
TONITE: Military Industrial Complexion
RADIO TIMES: JEREMY SCAHILL has been a critic of Blackwater Worldwide, a private security contractor that has participated in military operations in Iraq and New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina. Scahill continues to write about Blackwater and the company’s plans for further operations. His most recent article is “Blackwater’s Private Spies” published in the June 23rd edition of The Nation. LISTEN USA TODAY: Today, at 38, [Erik] Prince, chief of Blackwater USA, has a real army or at least the makings of one, with weapons, aircraft, armored vehicles and a thousand or more battle-hardened security personnel…Prince landed an internship in the […]
NPR FOR THE DEAF: We Hear It Even When You Can’t
WHYY, the leading public broadcasting station in the greater Philadelphia region, presents It’s Our City, a new multi-platform civic engagement project produced by the station’s award-winning News & Information Service. The project will officially launch at 8:00 p.m. on Friday, June 20 with a LIVE 60-minute TV special with Philadelphia mayor Michael Nutter and host Dave Davies, senior writer for the Philadelphia Daily News. Showcasing WHYY’s broadcast capabilities, this interview will be simulcast on WHYY TV12, WHYY’s primary digital channel 12.1 (Comcast Channel 240, FiOS Channel 812), on WHYY 91FM, and the It’s Our City Web site (www.whyy.org/city), which will also launch […]
NPR 4 THE DEF: Giving Public Radio Edge Since 2006
FRESH AIR Comedian Mike Myers has created a slew of memorable characters through his career: Dr. Evil, Austin Powers, Shrek, and Wayne’s World‘s Wayne Campbell all serve as cultural reference points. Now, Myers wants to add another indelible character to that list: The Guru Pitka. In his new comedy The Love Guru, Myers plays a spiritual guide charged with reuniting a hockey star with his estranged wife so that he can lead his team to winning the Stanley Cup. But The Love Guru may be too outrageous for some. Some Hindu groups fear that the movie promotes offensive stereotypes. Some […]
THIS JUST IN: Bloomsday Started Six Minutes Ago!
WHEN: TODAY, Monday, June 16th from Noon – 7 p.m. WHERE: Rosenbach Museum & Library, 2008-2010 Delancey Place, Philadelphia WHAT: The Rosenbach Museum & Library celebrates its 16th annual Bloomsday today. The Rosenbach, home of James Joyce‘s original manuscript for Ulysses, holds this Philadelphia tradition every year on June 16th, drawing hundreds of friends, neighbors, Joyce enthusiasts, book-lovers, and curious passersby to Delancey Place. Bloomsday is free and open to the public and features readings on the steps of the museum from some of the city’s most interesting business, creative, and media personalities, along with a special exhibition of Joyce […]
NPR 4 THE DEF: Women We Love
FRESH AIR In her new film, Savage Grace, the actress Julianne Moore plays the wife of the heir to the Bakelite plastics fortune, a middle-class woman who’s married up, but who craves more than the comforts money can buy. As her emotional neediness gets entangled with her son’s, boundaries of all kinds get broken — and a tragedy looms. The movie, based on the true story of a scandalous high-society murder, is playing now in limited release; Rolling Stone critic Peter Travers says “Moore delivers a tour de force … [she’s] savagely moving in her haunting delineation of Barbara’s journey […]
NPR 4 THE DEF: Thank You For Smoking
FRESH AIR Whether he’s lancing boils, getting crabs from thrift store pants or sitting in a hospital waiting room dressed only in his underwear, one thing is clear: David Sedaris is not shy about sharing those embarrassing, cringe-worthy incidents that members of the general population tend to save for diaries or therapists. In his sixth collection of essays, When You Are Engulfed in Flames, Sedaris continues to bare his body and soul, detailing the aforementioned boils and crabs, as well as an uncomfortable incident in which he accidentally spits a lozenge into the lap of his seatmate on an airplane. […]
NPR FOR THE DEAF: We Hear It Even When You Can’t
RADIO TIMES Hour 1 Today marks 40 years since the death of Robert F. Kennedy. He was assassinated shortly after midnight on June 5th and died on June 6. His campaign for the presidency in 1968 was considered by many as inspiring and contemporary observers have noted parallels to the candidacy of Barak Obama. Guest host Dave Davies talks about the Robert F. Kennedy’s campaign for the presidency with author THURSTON CLARKE and Penn professor TOM SUGRUE. Listen to this show via Real Audio | mp3 Hour 2 Tune in for a rebroadcast of Dave’s interview about Leni Riefenstahl, the Controversial […]