FRESH AIR WITH TERRY GROSS Thirteen journalists have been murdered since Russian President Vladimir Putin took office. The Kremlin is widely believed to be behind some of those and other recent murders. On the next Fresh Air we talk with MICHAEL SPECTOR about his recent New Yorker article, “Kremlin, Inc.” Why are Vladimir Putin?s opponents dying? PLUS MOLLY IVINS remembered. Liberal political columnist Molly Ivins died yesterday at the age of 62. In her long career, she wrote for newspapers such as The Texas Observer and The New York Times, and her columns were widely syndicated. These interviews originally aired […]
NPR FOR THE DEAF: We Hear It Even When You Can’t
FRESH AIR ON WHYY Stuart Bowen, Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction, has just issued his quarterly report investigating waste, fraud and security problems in the reconstruction efforts. PLUS, Former FBI Agent Eric O’Neill and Director/Screenwriter Billy Ray have collaborated on the new film Breach. It is based on the true story about FBI operative Robert Hanssen who was found guilty of treason and the FBI agent (O’Neill) who was assigned to Hanssen to draw him out of deep cover. RADIO TIMES Is America prepared to compete in the future global marketplace? A new study says a radical overhaul of […]
WRECKLESS ERIC: Whole Wide World LIVE 1977
TO: REDACTED FROM: Wreckless Eric Subject: Beretta 76 Date: Jan 26, 2007 8:32 AM What is it about Philly? First the Jukebox Zeroes, now you lot. Everything sounds great. I particularly like Pretty Baby where you actually sound just like Blondie without sounding at all like them, if that makes sense. I meant that as a compliment by the way. Eric
SMELLS LIKE JOURNALISM: Inky Puts Boots On The Ground In King Of Prussia, Gets The Backstory Of Penn Professor & Wife’s Deadly Domestic Nightmare
By Kathy Boccella Inquirer Staff Writer In recent years, Ellen slipped deeper into her problems and away from her friends. By early 2004, she rarely left the house or returned phone calls. In March of that year, she still hadn’t taken down her Christmas tree. The house was so cluttered it was hard to get past the front door. “Things were bad,” Pedlow said. Her friend sought counseling, Pedlow said, but she claimed that antidepressants aggravated her chronic colitis. Five months ago, Ellen finally consulted a lawyer and rented a place in King of Prussia for $1,550 a month. She […]
THIS JUST IN: Philebrity Still A Bag Of Dicks
With friends like this, who needs enemas? From the Department of Faint Praise comes this typically backhanded compliment from our old dear friend, Joey Sweeney. We took the liberty of fucking with it in the pursuit of humor. Ah, feels like old times: Phawker Produces First (Sort Of) Readable Post, Nabs Interview With Jose Swilton CITIZEN MOM REPORTS: The scariest guy on the Internet plops down next to me on a banquette. He’s sporting a head of pink hair, a dark T-shirt-and-jacket combo, skinny jeans and moon boots ? an ensemble that probably nobody else could pull off. He looks […]
EXCLUSIVE: Inky Re-Hires Laid-Off Sports Columnist
Phawker has learned that Inquirer sports columnist David Aldridge, one of the people axed from the paper’s roster in two rounds of layoffs earlier this month, is now BACK on the job. He will resume his columnist duties for the next Villanova game. Aldridge, who is African American, was NOT one of the signers of a letter sent to the Inquirer ownership from the National Association of Black Journalists pointing out that a disproportionate percentage of the employees laid off were minorities. Owner Brian Tierney responded through spokesman Jay Devine that the company’s hands were tied by the seniority provision […]
NPR FOR THE DEAF: We Hear It Even When You Can’t
FRESH AIR ON WHYY Polish writer Ryszard Kapuscinski died on January 23, 2007, at the age of 74. As a foreign correspondent, Kapuscinski covered coups and revolutions in the developing world for forty years. Many of his articles appeared in a series of books that made him famous: The Soccer War, Another Day of Life, and Shah of Shahs. This interview originally aired in 1988. PLUS, Actor Forest Whitaker has been nominated for an Academy Award for his portrayal of Ugandan dictator Idi Amin in the film The Last King of Scotland. Whitaker played jazz musician Charlie Parker in Bird, […]
EDGY: From The Makers Of HUSTLE & FLOW Comes This Twisted And Torrid Slice Of Southern Gothic Pulp
BLACK SNAKE MOAN: Starring Samuel L. Jackson and his chain, Christina Ricci and her panties, and Justin Timberlake and his big fuckin’ gun.
BREAKING: Philebrity Smells FEAR OF A BLACK PLANET In Bob Brady YouTube, We Do Too
Watch it for a few minutes, and you begin to feel something weird; set to DJ Kool’s “Let Me Clear My Throat,” the clip ruminates on a clip of Chaka Fattah speaking on the House floor, before moving to stock footage of young black men dancing in the street, then Mayor Street, then, absurdly, Mumia Abu-Jamal and stills from pro-Mumia rallies. Suddenly, Bob Brady’s face appears on the screen. The montage continues, until just about the end, where a legend bears: “THIS MAY, DO THE RIGHT THING,” followed by a shot of a “Fattah For Mayor” placard with “Fattah” x’ed […]
Cover Wars: Whose Artfag Kung-Fu Is Stronger?
Someone important once said: Writing about comedy is like square-dancing about acupuncture. Or they should have. And now, for all intents and purposes, it has been said. And not a moment too soon, because PW rock’s its first, and possibly last, annual Humor Issue this week and boy are my arms tired! Props for the 411 on local laugh shacks and the aspiring showbiz Sheckys that fill them with hot air, laughing gas and two-drink-minimum guffaws. Which reminds us, did you ever hear the one about the lollipop and the jump rope? Skip it, it sucks. [insert rimshot here] Yeah, […]