To Your Health: Time For New Resolutions

When the New Year’s parties end, a lot of us are left with some tough promises to keep. This year, I’ll lose weight. Smoking? History! And, of course, I’ll start working out, too. Really, I mean it this time. So with the day for fresh starts looming, we resolved to ask Americans about their New [...]

Resisting Hitler’s Rise ‘In the Garden of Beasts’

When University of Chicago professor William Dodd assumed the post of U.S. ambassador to Germany in 1933, he hoped for an undemanding position that would allow him spare time to write a book. At the time, few in the United States or Europe considered then-Chancellor Adolf Hitler a serious threat, and few expected him to [...]

South Park Creators Talk ‘Book Of Mormon’

This week on Fresh Air, we’re marking the year’s end by revisiting some of the most memorable conversations we’ve had in 2011. This interview was originally broadcast on May 19, 2011. Take the creators of South Park and the composer of Avenue Q. Add solid musical storytelling, Mormons, Uganda, AIDS, a chorus line and a [...]

First 79 Of The 100+ Sears And Kmart Stores Being Closed Are Identified

There are 79 stores in 25 states on the first list of Sears and Kmart locations being closed in the coming year, Sears Holdings has announced. The 79 locations are posted here. Some details: – 11 of the stores are in Florida, the most of any state. – The second-most stores (6) are in Georgia, [...]

Savage Beauty: The Top 3 Poems Of 2011

Three of my favorite poems from collections appearing in 2011 — Space, in Chains; Money Shot; and Bringing the Shovel Down — challenge the reader’s relationship with the every day by casting recognizable features of the world in an eerie new light. [Copyright 2011 National Public Radio]

Romney, Paul Are 1 And 2 In Another Iowa Poll, Santorum Rising

With just one holiday weekend between now and Tuesday’s Republican presidential caucuses in Iowa, there’s another poll signalling that it could be a close battle at the top between former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas). And also once again, former Sen. Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania is on the rise and showing [...]

‘Outrage’ Over Verizon’s Plan For $2 Payment Fee

There’s been an “uproar on the Web,” as The New York Times says this morning, over the plan by Verizon Wireless to charge $2 for some methods of paying your bill. Indeed, a simple Twitter search of “Verizon” turns up words such as “backlash,” “OUTRAGEOUS,” and “Cancel your contract!” And there’s the inevitable online petition. [...]

A Complex ‘Separation’ In Iran

The Iranian drama A Separation has popped up on more than a few critics’ lists of the best films of 2011, despite little exposure in the U.S. thus far. It will open in limited release December 30, and as Howie Movshovitz of Colorado Public Radio reports on Friday’s Morning Edition, it serves as both a [...]

Bridesmaids No More: TV’s Women Get All The Laughs

Is there anybody on TV more adorable than Zooey Deschanel on Fox’s new hit sitcom New Girl? She’s playing a woman who moved in with three guys after a bad romance. We’ve seen Deschanel play this character countless times over the last 10 years: quirky, bohemian, earnest and a little dorky. Fox even used the [...]

Stephen Colbert: A ‘Company’ Man On Broadway

This week on Fresh Air, we’re marking the year’s end by revisiting some of the most memorable conversations we’ve had in 2011. This interview was originally broadcast on June 14, 2011. Stephen Colbert has run for president. He’s testified before Congress, created a political action committee and assisted the U.S. Olympic speedskating team in the [...]