September 22, 2006
In 1997, The English Patient won a slew of Academy Awards and turned director Anthony Minghella into a household name. Minghella went on to make The Talented Mr. Ripley and Cold Mountain, but this month he makes his American debut as an opera director, with his production of Madame Butterfly at the Metropolitan Opera. Minghella tells Kurt Andersen why British theater critics wanted to "stab [him] with a needle."
Two years ago, Michel Gondry wowed Hollywood with his heartbreaking film Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, starring Jim Carrey and Kate Winslet. His new feature, The Science of Sleep, features Mexican heartthrob Gael Garcia Bernal as a man who follows his dreams a little too closely. Jonathan Mitchell talks to the French filmmaker about his inspirations -- and why fame and fortune haven't made his search for a girlfriend any easier.
Janna Levin spends her days chasing down the mysteries of the universe, like chaos theory and black holes. And to take a break from the awesome responsibility of mapping the universe, she makes stuff up -- not as a scientist, but as a novelist. Her first novel is called A Madman Dreams of Turing Machines -- and it combines the tricky worlds of mathematical theory and historical fiction. Kurt Andersen asks Levin about what novels can do that science can't.
Firearms expert Gary James explains why a pistol designed a century ago is still being issued to some forces in Iraq, and why it remains popular with law enforcement. Produced by Dennis Nishi
This week the great R+B singer Solomon Burke releases a new record called "Nashville" -- a collection of tunes that he recorded in the country music capital. Kurt Andersen asks Burke about why he wanted to take a break from deeply moving soul music to sing a duet with Dolly Parton.
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Design Within Reach. Studio 360's American Icons series is supported in part by the
National Endowment for the Humanities. Our series on creativity and science is supported in part by the
Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. Our series on Underground Heroes is supported in part by the New York State Music Fund, established by the New York State Attorney General at Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors. 
