Search the Fresh Air Archive

Close Search

America's Fascination with Murder.

Amherst College professor Austin Sarat, a Ph.D. in political science with a law degree from Yale University, is teaching a course on Murder which is the most popular in the school's history--with one fifth of the entire student body enrolled. It breaks the record of a course on Human Sexuality offered in the 70's. The syllabus includes selections from literature, film, and television like "Crime and Punishment," and "Macbeth," as well as "Pulp Fiction," and "Psycho." (Interview by Marty Moss-Coane)

21:32
Queue

Guest

Host

Related Topics

Other segments from the episode on March 14, 1996

Fresh Air with Terry Gross, March 14, 1996: Interview with Austin Sarat; Interview with James Park Morton; Commentary on the chess match between Garry Kasparov and a computer program.
Queue
22:02

The Very Rev. James Parks Morton Reflects on His Time at the Cathedral of Saint John the Divine.

The Very Rev. James Parks Morton, Dean of the Cathedral of St. John the Divine has announced his intentions to resign on Jan. 1, 1997. He will be leaving after 25 years of leadership at the world's largest Gothic cathedral to head a new organization, the Interfaith Center of New York. During his tenure as Dean of the nation's largest church he has created a congregation of 1,000, built 20,000 apartments for the poor, and established a living community of faith having much of the same energy and intellectual stimulation possessed by medieval cathedrals.

Interview
Queue
04:22

Human vs. Computer.

Steven Levy recounts the dramatic battle between world chess champion Garry Kasparov and the cutting edge chess program "Deep Blue."

Commentary

Transcript

Transcript currently not available.

Transcripts are created on a rush deadline, and accuracy and availability may vary. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Please be aware that the authoritative record of Fresh Air interviews and reviews are the audio recordings of each segment.

You May Also like

Queue
05:16

The U. S. and Murder.

Maureen Corrigan reviews Wendy Lesser's book, "Pictures at an Execution," looking at why we are fascinated with murder.

Review
Queue
03:49

Television Mini-series Captures Essence of Crime.

Television Critic David Bianculli previews "Echoes in the Darkness," an upcoming CBS miniseries about the murder of schoolteacher Susan Reinert and her two children in the Philadelphia suburb of Upper Merion. The principal of the school, Jay Smith, and a fellow teacher, William Bradford, were later convicted of the murder.

Review

Did you know you can create a shareable playlist?

Learn How
Advertisement

There are more than 22,000 Fresh Air segments.

Let us help you find exactly what you want to hear.
Just play me something
Your Queue

Would you like to make a playlist based on your queue?

Generate & Share View/Edit Your Queue