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Exploring Personal Obsessions Through Radio Drama

Joe Frank produces the long-running program Work in Progress, which features improvised monologues and dramatic conversations about his fears and insecurities. Recently, Frank has been drawing inspiration from in-depth interview with his friends.

27:36
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Other segments from the episode on May 31, 1989

Fresh Air with Terry Gross, May 31, 1989: Interview with Joe Frank; Review of a recording of Bedrich Smetana's music; Interview with Phillip Johnston and Joel Forrester; Review of the home video…
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09:12

A Big Sound from the Microscopic Septet

Joel Forrester and Phillip Johnston founded the NYC-based jazz combo. The group had trouble finding an audience early on, in part because of their unique blending of styles. Forrester and Johnston join Fresh Air to talk about their influences, and the logistics of keeping such a large group together.

Interview
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03:55

The Golden Age of Television Comes to Home Video

Critic Ken Tucker reviews a three-tape release of The Milton Berle Show, a classic variety program known for featuring prominent jazz musicians, among others. Tucker says that some of the humor doesn't hold up, but it's easy to see why Berle was successful.

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20:01

Public Radio Pioneer Joe Frank

He was honored last week with the Lifetime Achievement Award at the Third Coast Festival for "his signature contributions to the field of radio." He started in radio at WBAI, Pacifica's New York station, in 1977, and soon became co-host of NPR's "All Things Considered." He's produced several series for KCRW and NPR, including "Somewhere Out There" and "The Other Side." He's also worked in live theatre, and much of his radio work has been adapted for stage and screen.

Interview
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27:25

A Former Radio Host Finds Personal Truths in Fiction

Garrison Keillor retired from the public radio show A Prairie Home Companion in 1987. He says he was overwhelmed by the celebrity, and wanted to focus on writing fiction. Keillor moved with his wife from his native St. Paul to New York City. His recent novel is called Leaving Home; a forthcoming collection of short stories is titled We Are Still Married.

Interview

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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.

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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.

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