The strategy of going to the Supreme Court to challenge Proposition 8 was controversial within the gay-rights movement. Now, Jo Becker's new book is proving to be controversial as well.
Donald Palumbo is the Metropolitan Opera's chorus master. He tells Fresh Air about "stagger breathing," the ways singers protect their voices and his own lack of formal training.
A reissue of four of the detective writer's 1950s novels excavates the dark depths of California's suburban decay. Maureen Corrigan praises Macdonald's "psychological depth" and "penetrating vision."
"Your heart is pounding; your adrenaline is shooting out of your ears," Steve Osborne says. "And you got one second to get it right." He retired from the force in 2003. His memoir is called The Job.
"It's not profound regret," Morrison tells Fresh Air. "It's just a wiping up of tiny little messes that you didn't recognize as mess when they were going on." Her latest book is God Help the Child.
In 2001, Michael Finkel was fired for making up a story. Then he learns that a suspected murderer is posing as him, so he gets to know him. The best word for the drama is "dumb," says David Edelstein.
The producer says there was a moment when his co-writers thought, "Maybe this song wasn't meant to be." He also describes working with Amy Winehouse and Bruno Mars.
The video-sharing website is now 10 years old. YouTube estimates that each day 432,000 hours of video gets posted on the service: a stunning record of our current civilization.
After six seasons on the FX network, Justified ended Tuesday. "What a triumph," says critic David Bianculli who adds that he loved the finale's "touches of grace" and "emphasis on character and tone."
Kevin Spacey strangles a dog in the pilot, which creator Beau Willimon says producers balked at because they'd lose viewers. But "why not provide that litmus test right at the beginning?" he says.
Bryan Burrough's new book describes the Weather Underground and other militant groups' tactics to protest the government. He interviews former radicals who had never gone on the record before.
In the '90s, Kutler helped uncover secrets of the Nixon administration: He and an advocacy group sued the National Archives for about 200 hours of White House tapes. Kutler died Tuesday; he was 80.
Juliette Binoche plays an aging movie star who's about to appear in a play opposite an infamous young Hollywood actress. It's a hall of mirrors that sounds convoluted in the telling, but plays easily.
"You have a group of people trying to accomplish a mission that's greater than themselves," the actor says. "It's not about one person." Driver stars in the new film comedy While We're Young.
Brooke Borel's new book describes their history and how they hide, bite and reproduce. Borel, who has combated them herself, says an infestation "does mess with your mind a little bit."
