Search results for

Doctor Sax and the Great World Snakeis an audio drama that recounts the sinister figures that populate the mind of an adolescent boy. Jack Kerouac wrote the original screenplay, based on vampires and witches he conjured up during his own childhood. NPR's Bob Edwards talks to Kerouac's nephew Jim Sampas, who discovered the manuscript and produced a new version on CD.

Storyteller David Greenberger gathers the words of the elderly and sets them to music. At a Chattanooga, Tenn., senior center, Greenberger recorded "Hollywood" -- real name Albert Enzel -- pondering the insanity of killing. This story and others are on a CD, Mayor of the Tennessee River by David Greenberger and the Shaking Ray Levis on PelPel records.

The HBO documentary Born Rich offers an insider’s view of the world of the heirs to America’s great family fortunes. Jamie Johnson, the film's 23-year-old director -- and a Johnson & Johnson heir -- filmed his family and friends discussing the experience of possessing more money than most people make in a lifetime. NPR's Robert Siegel talks with Johnson.

The Barnes collection is perhaps the most famous private art collection in the world, worth more than $6 billion. The art is now on the verge of leaving its longtime home in the suburbs for a location in downtown Philadelphia. Critics call the plan a corporate takeover and a play for tourism dollars. And a group of students is asking a judge to let them argue their case in court. Hear Joel Rose, of member station WHYY.

The Harder They Come, the Jamaican movie starring Jimmy Cliff, was a cult hit when it was released 30 years ago. But along with Bob Marley, the film and its soundtrack helped introduce reggae music to America and the rest of the world. On Morning Edition, Ashley Kahn reports on the film's continuing influence.

Paul Farmer is a physician and an anthropologist, and according to at least one of his former patients in Haiti, he's a god. Farmer specializes in infectious disease; he's made it his mission to transform health care on a global scale, by focusing on the world's poorest and sickest communities. Writer Tracy Kidder profiles Farmer in his new book, Mountains Beyond Mountains. Read an excerpt.

Host Bob Edwards talks with country singer Mickey Gilley, owner of the original Houston dancehall "Gilley's," about a new nightclub bearing his name in Dallas. "Gilley's" became famous in the 1980's by the John Travolta movie Urban Cowboy.

Terry Reid's album River was first released in 1973, netting critical acclaim but little commercial success. David Greenberger has a review of a reissue of the album.

Marking the start of the World Series -- and a heartbreaking week for fans of the Boston Red Sox -- NPR's Steve Inskeep reads selected baseball prose.

Actor Denzel Washington and director Carl Franklin have re-teamed for the noirish comedy Out of Time, featuring Washington as a police chief in trouble. NPR's Bob Mondello offers a review.

Paycheck, in theaters Dec. 25, is the seventh sci-fi movie based on the bizarre, reality-twisting books and stories by Philip K. Dick. The troubled author died in 1982, before seeing Hollywood turn his work into films such as Blade Runner, Total Recall and Minority Report. Pat Dowell reports.

Ten years ago, the way we see the universe changed. A December, 1993, repair mission by U.S. space shuttle astronauts gave badly-needed "eyeglasses" to the Hubble Space Telescope. Since then, the instrument has taken thousands of breathtaking images that have been beamed back to Earth.

High rent and a drop in post-Sept. 11 tourism prompt the Museum of the American Piano in lower Manhattan to shut its doors. But the museum's founder still hopes to raise funds for a new home for his collection of rare pianos. NPR's Margot Adler reports.

In Boston -- the birthplace of the American Freemasonry society -- some ceremonial objects are considered so sacred, they're kept locked away. As part of the Hidden Treasures Radio Project, Harriet Baskas goes inside the Grand Lodge's vaults for a look at objects with ties to such illustrious Freemasons as George Washington and Paul Revere.

Musicians in Boston are irate over a plan to ban amplification of instruments in the city's subway system. Transit officials says the plan is a necessary security measure. Sean Cole reports.

The new film Monster, starring Charlize Theron, tells the story of serial killer Aileen Wuornos. NPR's Bob Mondello has a review.

Thursday's announcement of Golden Globe nominations officially kicks off the Hollywood award season. The nominations, considered a good predictor of how the Oscar race will shape up, suggest the field for the coveted Best Picture Award has narrowed dramatically. Hear NPR's Kim Masters.

Actor Les Tremayne dies at the age of 90. Tremayne was one of the best-known actors on radio in the 1930s and '40s. He starred in The First Nighter, The Thin Man and The Falcon. NPR's Bob Edwards remembers Tremayne.

Alan Dugan's poem, "Love Song: I and Thou", remains a beautiful mystery for commentator Peter Sagal. Sagal remembers his favorite poet, who died recently.

A couple prepares to send their daughter off on her first day of kindergarten in a new piece of short fiction, "The First Day," read here by the author, Silas House. House's latest novel is titled A Parchment of Leaves.

Preservationists are battling to save historic theater buildings -- and their classic movie fare. Many sites have been bought by huge cinema chains seeking to prevent competition. One fight is taking place in Bloomington, Ind. Will Murphy of member station WFIU reports.

The novel Adama relates a teenager's impressions of Saudi Arabia in the 1960s and 70s as he transforms from home boy to questioning intellectual. Author Turki al-Hamad's book, first published in 1998, has been banned in several Middle Eastern countries; it is al-Hamad's first work to be translated into English. Alan Cheuse has a review.

As much as 40% of Europe's natural gas supply comes from Russia, a reliance that puts U.S. allies like Germany in a jam when it comes to sanctions in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Filmmaker Carma Hinton is an American who grew up in China. Her new documentary on the Cultural Revolution, Morning Sun, includes footage of victims and perpetrators of that period, when Communist youth, inspired and encouraged by Mao Zedong, rebelled against their parents and teachers, and workers rebelled against their bosses. NPR's Steve Inskeep speaks with Hinton.

Going forward, parents will be notified a week before these lessons and can pull their student out of discussions on certain subjects — or the whole lesson