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Prolific diarist Robert Shields died on Oct. 15 at his home in Dayton, Wash., at 89. His journal is estimated to contain more than 37 million words.

Fresh Air's TV critic looks at three lavish DVD box sets: David Lynch's deliciously eccentric Twin Peaks, the legendary '90s comedy Seinfeld, and the cult-classic teen drama My So-Called Life.

More than two dozen shows on Broadway went dark Saturday, as stagehands — who have been engaged in a bitter contract dispute with producers — went on strike. No new negotiations have been scheduled.

Larry Wilmore, The Daily Show's "Senior Black Correspondent," is a writer, television producer, and stand-up comic. He worked on In Living Color and The Fresh Prince of Bel Air and was a consulting producer on NBC's The Office. This interview originally aired June 5, 2007.

Artist & Activist Rhodessa Jones talks about The Medea Project: Theater for Incarcerated Women. The Project has earned attention and praise for helping to lift imprisoned women's lives and voices. The actress, teacher and a playwright discusses her portrayals of women as they persevere through major life changes have won acclaim.

A study finds that in 2002, only 52 percent of America's young adults read a book voluntarily.

Actor John C. Reilly and director Jake Kasdan talk about their new film, Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story. Kasdan woke up in the middle of the night with the concept and even the title for the spoof of music biopics. This interview was initially broadcast on Dec. 3, 2007.

When Hollywood makes action adventures, provocative comedies and fantasy films, it almost always targets teenage boys. This week, with the openings of Juno and The Golden Compass, their sisters will also have someone to root for.

Andrea Seabrook offers a montage of some of the work of this year's 30th Annual Kennedy Center honorees, who receive their awards Sunday in Washington. They include Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys, singer Diana Ross, pianist Leon Fleisher, comedian Steve Martin and film director Martin Scorsese.

Rehearsals are under way for a version of Shakespeare's Macbeth that will use magic tricks, fright and humor on stage. Co-directors Teller (of Penn & Teller ) and Aaron Posner talk to Robert Siegel about the production.

The Solomon R. Guggenheim museum in New York is trying to decide whether to adopt an outer coat of off-gray, or one of very pale yellow. The debate over the color differences is subtle, but the debate over the two colors is very robust.

In his latest film, Dan in Real Life, the actor stars as a single father who falls for a woman who turns out to be his brother's girlfriend. Carell, who starred in The 40 Year Old Virgin and Little Miss Sunshine, is a former correspondent for Comedy Central's The Daily Show.

A man hopped over a security barrier in the British Museum this week and tied surgical masks on the faces of two of China's ancient terra-cotta warriors. The man was protesting against China's pollution problems.

With perhaps only months to live, professor Randy Pausch, 46, gave one last lecture — on fulfilling your childhood dreams. The video has become an online hit.

Artist Chuck Close is the subject of a new book and a portrait in dance. He has been called "the most methodical artist that has ever lived in America" and the "reigning portraitist of the Information Age."

Dr. Naif Al-Mutawa is creator of The 99, an Islamic-themed superhero comic about 99 teenagers. Each of the youngsters has their own blessed stone providing him or her with a super-power. Al-Mutawa talks about the comics, based on one of the 99 traits of Allah.

Last week, Lisa Moore, a character in the "Funky Winkerbean" comic strip, lost her eight-year fight with breast cancer. The story line has garnered mixed reactions — some readers applaud the strip's approach to weighty topics; others argue that comics should simply be funny.

Stephen Colbert, host of Comedy Central's The Colbert Report talks about his book I Am America (And So Can You!). Colbert targets race, religion, sports and the American family as well as more mundane topics like breakfast cereal and the Hollywood blacklist.

From headlines worth an honorable mention, the birth of a buzzword, news of Dear Abby backing the right to same-sex marriage, and the story of a six-year-old who tried to drive to Applebee's.

Research shows that sleep deprivation makes people emotionally volatile and temperamental — a fact that hasn't escaped the notice of some reality TV producers, who deny contestants sleep in an effort to kick up televised drama.

Hard-boiled is the phrase most often used to describe Raymond Chandler's quintessential private eye, Philip Marlowe. The truth is: It isn't Marlowe who is hard-boiled, it's the world he lives in. For "In Character," our series exploring famous American fictional characters, NPR's Mike Shuster examines the PI who was created in the 1930s and has gone through several incarnations in radio, film and television.

Director Marina Zenovich delved into the director's psyche while making the film Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired. She looks back at his legal troubles and his unusual "blueprint."

Why are historic places threatened, why do preservationists think they are worth saving and how can we do it? A look at the 11 most endangered historic sites in America, including Manhattan's Lower East Side.

Myanmar's ousted leader, once an icon of freedom, faces the prospect of another prolonged detention. But her handling of atrocities against the Rohingya has left her reputation abroad in tatters.

Douglas has used his celebrity status for years to call attention to nuclear disarmament and the global weapons trade. The two-time Academy Award winner is talking with lawmakers on behalf of the Ploughshares Fund, an organization that works to halt nuclear proliferation.