September 29, 2006
In George Saunders' collection of short stories, In Persuasion Nation, babies wear a device to simulate witty banter. Teenagers can be hardwired to receive ads through a socket in the backs of their necks. Kurt Andersen talks with the writer about why he describes horrific things with so much humor.
Buy In Persuasion Nation 
In an era when many artists have embraced abstract conceptual work, Sikander, who was born in Pakistan, embraces good old-fashioned painting. Her main point of inspiration is classical miniature painting – all the rage in the courts of Central Asia some seven hundred years ago. Sikander’s taken this ancient craft to a new, deeply personal level. Produced by Sarah Lilley.
Saxophonist and composer John Zorn may have just won a $500,000 MacArthur fellowship, but he started out as a rebel in the 1970s and transformed New York's downtown music scene. Since then, he's led a hardcore band, a jazz quartet and a chamber ensemble, and he founded a record label to promote hundreds of underappreciated musicians. Kurt Andersen talks with WNYC’s John Schaefer about Zorn and why he's MacArthur-worthy.
Critics have said that Osvaldo Golijov may be the first significant classical music composer to define the sound of the 21st century. It's part of the reason why he was named a MacArthur fellow in 2003. Jeff Lunden spoke with Golijov about his love for the early-Baroque music of Monteverdi, as part of a series curated by WNYC’s Sara Fishko on living musicians and their relationship to the past.
Buy Monteverdi's "Vespro Della Beata Verine" 
As part of their therapy, a group of sex offenders on probation in northern New York State have watched The Woodsman, a 2004 movie starring Kevin Bacon as a serial predator. What does Hollywood’s version of crime and redemption look like to a real-life offender? Produced by Gregory Warner
Buy the Woodsman
In 2003, Singer-songwriter Alejandro Escovedo collapsed after a show in Arizona. He was rushed to the hospital, where he nearly died from complications of Hepatitis C. Escovedo told producer Michael May about the gift that got him singing again.
Studio 360 is a co-production of
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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. 
