COVER STORY
Rivalry
Kurt Andersen and writer Paul Theroux look at artistic rivalries and how competition works its way through our culture.

From Renaissance Italy to Benin
Rivals have been around as long as people have envied each other's success. Sara Fisko found some places where rivalry is productive -- and where it isn't.
Go to a page on Rona Goffen's book "Renaissance Rivals"

Hip Hop's Battles
Part of the fun of Eminem's movie 8 Mile was watching him and another rapper battle it out, improvising insults for the approval of the crowd. Hip hop has always depended on rappers being paired off like this. Three writers who watch hip hop tell us how it works -- William Eric Perkins in Philadelphia, Trisha Rose in Santa Cruz and Adam Mansbach in Berkeley California. Produced by Jonathan Mitchell.
Go to the website of Adam Mansbach
Go to a page on William Eric Perkins' book
Go to the website of Tricia Rose

Hong Kong Cinema
The best heroes and villains are often reflections of each other. Think of Sherlock Holmes versus Professor Moriarty or even Luke versus Darth in Star Wars. There's something of each in the other. This theme has been playing out for years in the martial arts and gangster films of China and Hong Kong. Besides helping American movies make action exciting again, Hong Kong cinema has brought competition and Eastern philosophy together. Produced by Jocelyn Gonzales.
Read Ric Meyers's columns
Go to a page on Jeff Yang's book with Jackie Chan

Secrets of the Tsil Café
Rivalry can also be for affection, for love. The writer Thomas Fox Averill explores how that kind of rivalry can develop inside a marriage in his novel "Secrets of the Tsil Café". Produced by Trey Kay.
Go to Thomas Fox Averill's website

SPECIAL GUEST
Paul Theroux
Paul Theroux has written fiction and nonfiction for more than 35 years. His books on Patagonia, Oceania, and Hong Kong have made him the most acclaimed travel writer of our time. Dark Star Safari, published in March, chronicles a rail journey the entire length of Africa. He lives in Cape Cod and Hawaii, where he sells his own brand of honey.
Go to a page on Paul Theroux and "Dark Star Safari"

Audio Help
To listen to audio from this site, you will need RealPlayer.
Go to instructions for downloading

Commentary
Biography! The Musical
Read the full text

Now Playing
The Art of War. As the operations in Iraq shift to peacekeeping, reflecting on the war is a tricky business. Art may seem like a strange mission for the Defense department, but in fact the US military sends trained artists into to combat to document the experience and feeling of conflict. Studio 360's Michele Siegel talked to two combat artists about how they create the art of war.
View the slide show
Go to an article about the book "The Art of War" by Avery Chenoweth
Go to a website devoted to WWII Combat Art

Download this show from