February 23, 2012
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How Companies Are 'Defining Your Worth' Online
()Advertisers collect information with every digital move people make. They then target ads based on that information. Communications scholar Joseph Turow worries that advertisers will use such data to discriminate against people and put them into "reputation silos."
Recent Interviews
The Fresh Air Interview
Catherine Russell: The Fresh Air In-Studio Concert
February 21, 2012 The standards singer's new solo album, Strictly Romancin', explores the ups and downs of love. Russell sings several tracks from the record during this interview and performance.
Author Interviews
'New Yorker' Cartoonist Imagines Washington At 7
February 20, 2012 Through his many New Yorker covers, Barry Blitt has become one of the pre-eminent satirical cartoonists of America's recent presidents. Now Blitt has trained his eye and pen upon our first president in a new children's book, George Washington's Birthday.
Music Interviews
Bret McKenzie: A Very Manly Muppet [Extended Cut]
February 20, 2012 McKenzie, half of the New Zealand musical comedy duo Flight of the Conchords, wrote five songs in the recent Muppets movie. "Man or Muppet" is nominated for Best Original Song at this year's Academy Awards. [extended cut]
Remembrances
Fresh Air Remembers War Reporter Anthony Shadid
February 17, 2012 New York Times war correspondent Anthony Shadid, a frequent guest on Fresh Air, died Thursday after apparently suffering a fatal asthma attack in Syria, where he was reporting on the political uprising. Fresh Air remembers Shadid with excerpts from his December 2011 appearance on the show.
Movie Interviews
Michelle Williams: The Fresh Air Interview
February 17, 2012 Michelle Williams plays settler Emily Tetherow in Kelly Reichardt's frontier drama Meek's Cutoff. Williams joins Fresh Air's Terry Gross for a discussion about the film, her career and her role in Blue Valentine.
Recent Reviews And Commentaries
Movie Reviews
After 'Putin's Kiss,' A Young Girl's Change Of Heart
February 22, 2012 An absorbing new documentary by Danish director Lise Birk Pedersen charts four years in the life of Masha Drokova, who became famous as the girl who publicly kissed Vladimir Putin. Critic John Powers says it "offers a fresh glimpse into how Putin's Russia actually works."
Movie Reviews
A Veteran's 'Return' To The Front Lines Of Home
February 17, 2012 In Liza Johnson's drama, Return, Linda Cardellini plays a vet who returns from her time overseas with no way to make sense of where she was and what it meant. Critic David Edelstein says the film's lack of a traditional story arc makes it seem even more real.
Book Reviews
More Than Melancholy: 'In-Flight' Stories Soar
February 15, 2012 Helen Simpson once said that when it comes to short stories, "Something's got to happen, but not too much." Her latest short story collection, In-Flight Entertainment, may seem bleak and mundane — with subjects like mortality, infidelity and climate change — but it's also bursting with British wit.
Movie Reviews
'Safe House,' 'Haywire': Watch Them Back To Back
February 10, 2012 The flashy Denzel Washington thriller Safe House will probably gross in a few hours what Steven Soderbergh's Haywire has made in several weeks. But if you like action films, you should watch these two together, says critic David Edelstein.
Book Reviews
Scrappy 'Girlchild' Forms A Girl Scout Troop Of One
February 9, 2012 Tupelo Hassman's debut novel stars Rory, a resilient, if ragged, life force raised in a Reno trailer park who adopts a tattered copy of The Girl Scout Handbook as her Bible. Rory endures sexual abuse, the death of loved ones, and everyday invisibility — all without playing for our sympathy.
