Les Blank is a much admired documentary film-maker. His subjects have included Polka music, gap-toothed women, and bluesman Lightning Hopkins.
Intelligent. Optimistic. Curious.
Audio
Maria Suarez tells the story of the five years she spent as a slave and the twenty three years she spent in prison for a murder she didn't commit. Today, Maria is active with a group called "Free the Slaves."
Jonathan Harris created the website wefeelfine.org. He tells Steve Paulson how it works, and we hear a montage of postings from the site.
Nick Flynn is the author of a memoir of his complex relationship with his father, who showed up as a client at the homeless shelter where Nick was working.
Julia Alvarez talks about her novel for young adults, and how it mirrors her own experience reconciling a native Dominican background with the culture of her adopted home: a small town in rural Vermont.
Americans spend billions of dollars a year on over-the-counter pain relievers. In fact, all over the world, easing pain is big business. And Aspirin’s one of the top sellers. Why? Charles Mann, author of “The Aspirin Wars”, tells Steve Paulson what happened when a German company called Bayer came to America:
Rick Miller wrote a one man show that he now performs worldwide. It’s called “MacHomer” and is a fusion of “MacBeth” and “The Simpsons” with Miller doing all the voices.
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