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Philip Roth's "Patrimony"

Book critic John Leonard reviews the new family memoir by the prolific novelist. He says it features many of the same themes found in Roth's fiction, like an obsession with memory, and one usually absent: love.

03:55
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Other segments from the episode on January 8, 1991

Fresh Air with Terry Gross, January 8, 1991: Interview with Carl Sagan; Review of the album "Frank Martin Dirige Frank Martin"; Interview with Christopher Durang; Review of Philip Roth's book …
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24:15

Carl Sagan on Preventing Nuclear Winter

The famed astronomer and writer is co-author of the new book, "A Path Where No Man Thought." It's about the theory that even a small nuclear war would lead to a nuclear winter that would devastate the earth.

Interview
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06:05

Discovering a Composer Both Experimental and Austere

Classical music critic Lloyd Schwartz reviews some commemorative recordings of the late Swiss composer and conductor Frank Martin, who isn't well known in the U.S. His music was often moody and unsettling, and religious in nature.

Review
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12:29

Playwright Christopher Durang on New York Theater

Durang is best-known for his controversial play, "Sister Mary Ignatius Explains It All For You." A new collection of six of his plays has just come out called "Christopher Durang Explains It All For You." He joins Fresh Air to talk about some of his successes and failures, and his frustrations with New York theater.

Interview

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22:14

Author Philip Roth

Roth is best known for his books "Goodbye, Columbus" and "Portnoy's Complaint." Since the publication of his first book, Roth has been controversial for his treatment of Jewish themes. Some readers think his satirical take is anti-Semitic. His novel "Portnoy's Complaint," a sexual autobiography of a young lawyer, was labeled obscene by some because of its descriptions of masturbation and sexual conquest.

Interview
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50:30

For Zoe Kazan, 'Plot Against America' Is 'Scarily Prescient' And Personal

Actor Zoe Kazan describes her new HBO series, The Plot Against America, as "scarily prescient." The show, which is adapted from Philip Roth's 2004 novel, is set in the U.S. between 1940 and 1942, and imagines a world in which aviator Charles Lindbergh has defeated Franklin D. Roosevelt in the race for the presidency, moving the country toward fascism.

Interview
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05:59

A Measured Look At Roth As The Writer Turns 80.

The celebration of Philip Roth's career reaches its peak in a new documentary — Philip Roth Unmasked — that will screen on PBS next week as part of the American Masters series. There's no doubt that Roth is a master, and not just an American one, but the film tiptoes around the novelist's dark ferocity.

Review

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