Search results for

Matt Groening, the creator of The Simpsons, talks with TV critic David Bianculli about the series. TV's longest-running animated series broadcasts its 300th episode Feb. 16, 2003. The Simpsons were first featured during episodes of The Tracey Ullman Show, then earned their own prime-time series in 1990. This interview first aired April 22, 1998.

Crime writer Mickey Spillane died Monday at age 88. Spillane was most famous for his sex- and violence-drenched Mike Hammer detective novels. His titles include Kiss Me Deadly and I the Jury. While critics rarely praised Spillane, his books were bestsellers. This interview originally aired on Nov. 22, 1989.

Author Saul Bellow died April 5 at the age of 89. His short stories and novels garnered him three National Book Awards, a Pulitzer Prize, a Presidential Award and a Nobel Prize. His books include The Adventures of Augie March, Henderson the Rain King, Herzog and Humbolt's Gift. (Originally aired Oct. 4, 1989.)

It's been thirty years since the Heartbreakers debuted with their album Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers. Petty's most recent album, and his first solo album in 12 years, is Highway Companion. It has been four years since he's released an album with the Heartbreakers. This interview originally aired on Jul. 27, 2006.

Fresh Air's book critic reviews Away, an extraordinary novel of immigration and epic adventure from Amy Bloom, the author of Come to Me and A Blind Man Can See How Much I Love You.

We kick off our series on country music in time for the Labor Day holiday with Martie Maguire, Emily Robison and Natalie Maines. They are considered the biggest-selling female band in history, but found themselves boycotted in 2003 when Maines made an off-the-cuff remark about President Bush on the eve of the U.S. invasion of Iraq. In June, they released their first CD in three years, Taking the Long Way. (Original air date: June 6, 2006)

Cultural historian Christopher Frayling is the author of Once Upon A Time in Italy: The Westerns of Sergio Leone. The book chronicles the history of the spaghetti western. Ennio Morricone, who composed music for the Sergio Leone films, will be awarded an honorary Oscar at this year's Academy Awards. This interview originally aired on Aug. 1, 2005.

Fresh Air's book critic reviews Circling My Mother, the new memoir by novelist Mary Gordon; the book chronicles Anne Gordon's battles with polio, alcoholism, and eventually with senile dementia, and details the author's acceptance of both "the burdens and blessings of caring for her mother in old age."

Fresh Air music critic Milo Miles reviews Classic African American Gospel, a Smithsonian Folkways "Classic" that spans over a half century of recordings. Featuring Reverend Gary Davis, Sonny Terry and others, the compilation illustrates a truly American musical tradition.

In the city of Rafah, war-weary Palestinians shopped at an open-air market to find whatever they could.