July 31, 2009
With "American Splendor" and "Sideways," Paul Giamatti perfected the role of the cranky, frustrated failure. In his new film "Cold Souls" he stars as an actor named Paul Giamatti who gets his soul removed to find relief from his oppressive emotions. He tells Kurt that acting is kind of like borrowing another person's soul: "A lot of the time I get degraded, desiccated souls."
A junior high bonding moment over tortured Morrissey music led to the formation of the San Antonio band Girl in a Coma. Now the band - Jenn Alva and sisters Phanie and Nina Diaz - is getting attention from rock gods like Joan Jett. Their new album Trio B.C. pays tribute to the sisters' grandfather, who introduced them to the Tejano music he played in the 1950s. Produced by Leital Molad.
The new novel God Says No is about a gay African-American evangelical Christian who struggles to reconcile his identity with his beliefs. The author, James Hannaham, tells Kurt why he wanted make comedy out of a weighty subject: "My friend and I invented a term for what I was trying to do with this book: 'horrorlarious,' something that is right on the line between being completely horrendous and very funny."
What's the secret to great hair? Architecture. Vidal Sassoon helped define the mod look during London's swinging sixties. The world-famous hairdresser says that the Bauhaus style, more than anything else, inspired his geometric cuts. Produced by Sarah Lilley.
Air Force One, the Presidential 747, is designed to be a White House in the sky. But it wasn't always so deluxe. Historian Gene Eisman explains how Air Force One evolved from a bare-metal military jet into its current hi-tech luxury incarnation. Produced by Mark Anderson.
Lots of writers - Jack London, James Michener, and John McPhee - have fallen in love with the former Gold Rush boom town of Eagle, Alaska. This summer the Yukon River flooded, devastating Eagle. Eagle-smitten poet Ted Genoways traveled there to see the damage. Produced by Jesse Dukes.
Produced in cooperation with Mother Jones Magazine, with travel support from The Nation Institute.
Merce Cunningham, the legendary choreographer and performer, passed away on July 26th. In a 2002 interview, Cunningham describes what happened when he tried choreographing on a PC. Produced by Kerrie Hillman.
(Originally broadcast March 23, 2002)
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