May 05, 2006

Violence

Kurt Andersen and Chuck Palahniuk explore the appeal of violence in entertainment.

Fight Club

Much of the hand-wringing about violence these days has to do with TV, movies, and video games. But Chuck Palahniuk tells Kurt that books can sometimes be the best medium for vicarious head bashing. Palahniuk reads a bit from his new book Haunted. And he breaks the first rule of Fight Club, which is to never talk about Fight Club.

soundboard

Foley Artist

In movies, the sounds of punching and smashing are created by someone sitting in a room with a microphone and a bunch of props - just like in the days of radio drama. Foley artist Sue Zizza explains how to make a fight sound really good, or sickening. Produced by Jocelyn Gonzales

man slipping on a banana

Why Are You Laughing?

When Curly gouges Larry in the eye, we laugh—or at least some of us do. Richard Paul has been writing and performing comedy for 25 years, and he applied himself to one of the great mysteries of the universe: are The Three Stooges funny?

martians

My Speech To The Martians

We asked humorist Jack Handey—the creator of Saturday Night Live's "Deep Thoughts"—why people are so driven to violence. He thinks it's because we're human.

Special Guest

Chuck Palahniuk

chuck palahniuk

Chuck Palahniuk is the author of the ultraviolent novel Fight Club, which became a hit 1999 movie, and many other books including Diary, Choke, and Stranger Than Fiction, a book of stories. He is known to throw severed hands—fake ones—at people during his readings. His most recent book is Haunted.

elvis costello

Elvis Costello

Elvis Costello has kept his fans on their toes by zig-zagging musically over the last twenty-five years. For his latest recording, My Flame Burns Blue, Costello teams up with a Dutch big band called Metropole Orkest. They play new songs and reinterpret old hits like "Watching the Detectives" and "Almost Blue." Kurt Andersen talks with Elvis Costello about why his aim is always true.

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