Carrie Rickey is the film critic for "The Philadelphia Inquirer." She talks to Steve Paulson about how Marshall McLuhan's ideas influenced David Cronenberg's 1983 sci-fi/horror film, as chronicled in her essay, "Videodrome; Make Mine Cronenberg."
Intelligent. Optimistic. Curious.
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Ernie Cline talks to Anne Strainchamps about his novel, "Ready Player One," which revolves around a massively multi-player online game and '80s pop culture.
Entomologist Deborah Gordon tells Steve Paulson that ant colonies run with no one in charge. She’s spent years figuring out how they do it.
Cheryl Gilkes talks with Steve Paulson about the importance of the female soloist in the tradition of gospel music.
Doug here. I thought there was good back-and-forth between Chuck and myself in this conversation. I like how the interview went “meta” at the end, with Chuck speculating that if I’m right about his book being hailed as the “Moby Dick" of non-fiction in 300 years time. This interview belongs in a time capsule. At the very least, a “Best of” show. I also really enjoyed the fact that we heard the musical stylings of John Philip Sousa, Chuck Berry, KISS and Veruca Salt. Of course, if Chuck’s book taught me anything (and it actually taught me many things), I could be wrong.
Novelist Gary Shteyngart recommends one of his favorite reads: "Jernigan" by David Gates.
Cynthia True is the author of “American Scream: The Bill Hicks Story.” She tells Jim Fleming that Hicks was an important social satirist, remarkable for his bravery and honesty. He battled TV executives over his belief that audiences could handle provocative ideas.
Don Lattin says the whole strange trip started when Leary swallowed some magic mushrooms in Mexico in 1960.
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