Search the Fresh Air Archive

Close Search

Christopher Hitchens on the Ideology of Objectivity

The British journalist reports on Washington politics for The Nation, Spectator, and Harper's. He's frustrated by the tendency of news outlets to avoid reporting facts about political figures that may seem partisan or outwardly critical. A collection of his columns, titled Prepared for the Worst, has just been published.

09:34
Queue

Guest

Host

Related Topics

Other segments from the episode on November 29, 1988

Fresh Air with Terry Gross, November 29, 1988: Interview with Adam Smith; Commentary on Ricky Nelson; Interview with Christopher Hitchens; Review of Alex Shumatoff's book "African Madness."
Queue
27:52

Financial writer Adam Smith on the "Roaring 80s"

Smith is host of a popular PBS television program and author of the best-sellers The Money Game, Supermoney and Paper Money. His new book, titled The Roaring 80s, looks at the previous decade, which he says has been characterized by easy debt, easy spending and an amiable hands-off attitude by Washington. Smith says a camparison with another era of high living - the roaring 20s - is unavoidable.

Interview
Queue
06:28

Ricky Nelson: Rock's First TV Icon

Rock historian Ed Ward profiles the career of the late musician, who, as a teenager, first plucked America's heartstrings on the TV show "The Adventure of Ozzie and Harriet."

Commentary
Queue
03:32

The New Reality of Travel Writing

Book critic John Leonard reviews African Madness, a new collection of travel essays by Alex Shumatoff, a New Yorker staff writer who seeks to capture the changing face of sub-Saharan African.

Review

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
51:37

NYT Reporter Defends Publishing WikiLeaks Cables

Speaking Tuesday on Fox news, Sen. Joe Lieberman suggested that The New York Times' should be investigated for publishing leaked diplomatic cables. The New York Times' chief Washington correspondent, David Sanger, responds -- and explains what the documents reveal about foreign diplomacy.

Interview

Did you know you can create a shareable playlist?

Learn How
Advertisement

Recently on Fresh Air Available to Play on NPR

52:30

Daughter of Warhol star looks back on a bohemian childhood in the Chelsea Hotel

Alexandra Auder's mother, Viva, was one of Andy Warhol's muses. Growing up in Warhol's orbit meant Auder's childhood was an unusual one. For several years, Viva, Auder and Auder's younger half-sister, Gaby Hoffmann, lived in the Chelsea Hotel in Manhattan. It was was famous for having been home to Leonard Cohen, Dylan Thomas, Virgil Thomson, and Bob Dylan, among others.

Queue

Related segments from the Fresh Air Archive:

43:04

This fake 'Jury Duty' really put James Marsden's improv chops on trial

In the series Jury Duty, a solar contractor named Ronald Gladden has agreed to participate in what he believes is a documentary about the experience of being a juror--but what Ronald doesn't know is that the whole thing is fake.

Queue

Related segments from the Fresh Air Archive:

08:26

This Romanian film about immigration and vanishing jobs hits close to home

R.M.N. is based on an actual 2020 event in Ditrău, Romania, where 1,800 villagers voted to expel three Sri Lankans who worked at their local bakery.

Queue

Related segments from the Fresh Air Archive:

See All Recent Segments

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