Pop Culture

Commentator Patricia McLaughlin remembers how the tail end of summer left her listless; but, as a busy grown-up, she longs for such uninterrupted stretches of time to relax.

Critic Maureen Corrigan muses on the complications of buying a wedding dress, and other pre-wedding arrangements.

Linguist Geoffrey Nunberg explains Misapprehensions, a game for people who find Jeopardy too easy.

Critic Maureen Corrigan shares her thoughts on celebrity stars, thoughts generated by her recent trip from the East Coast halls of Academe to Hollywood.

Batman creator Bob Kane. In his new autobiography, "Batman & Me," Kane tells how he came up with the idea for the caped crusader, and what influence he had on the T-V series and last year's movie. Kane drew Batman from its inception in 1939 to the late 60s.

Critic Maureen Corrigan gives us her family's version of how to celebrate St. Patricks Day, and recommends the novel "Motherland" by Timothy O'Grady as perfect St. Patrick's Day reading.

Historian and author Hillel Schwartz. His latest book is "Century's End: A Cultural History of the Fin-de-Siècle From the 990's through the 1990's." (Published by Doubleday.) According to Schwartz, certain events happening now, as we approach the year 2000, are part of a pattern that repeats itself at the end of each century. Schwartz's earlier book about dieting, "Never Satisfied: A Cultural History of Diets, Fantasies, and Fat," has just come out in paperback. (Published by Anchor Books, Doubleday.)

Terry and film critic Stephen Schiff look back on the movies of the 80s, and how the decade changed film making. Stephen also gives his picks for the best films of the 1980s.

Terry talks with Fresh Air's rock critic, Ken Tucker, about rock in the 80s.

Language commentator Geoffrey Nunberg discusses choosing children's names.

Jazz critic Kevin Whitehead looks back on jazz in the 80s...the big figures, the big trends, the big albums, and he takes a guess as to what the 90s will bring.

Commentator Maureen Corrigan looks at the Nancy Drew mystery series. The venerable series of girls' books have been updated for the 90s.

Commentator Leslie Savan has some thoughts on Nissan's "Infiniti" and Toyota's "Lexus" car ads.

Commentator Maureen Corrigan reviews "Time Passages: Collective Memory and American Popular Culture" by George Lipsitz. The book examines how our collective memory has been shaped by popular culture since World War 2.

Writer Pico Iyer. His book Video Night in Kathmandu explores the subtle and often humorous Westernization of the Far East. Iyer, who reported for Time Magazine for four years, found the West's influence in mohawk haircuts in Bali, six Filipino girls doing a perfect rendition of a Madonna hit, Japan's baseball mania and a Chinese cafeteria that served dishes like "Yes, Sir, Cheese My Baby," and "Ike and Tuna Tuner." Video Night in Kathmandu has just been published in paperback. (Interview by Sedge Thomson)

Writer and critic Patricia McLaughlin looks at the wave of "Batmania" now at full force throughout the country.

Commentator Maureen Corrigan explains why she hates summer festivals, be they music, ethnic, food, or whatever.

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.

Anderson was a street performer and con artist before he was cast in the first season of Cheers. That part eventually led to his role in the show Night Court. Anderson has a new book called Games You Can't Lose: A Guide for Suckers.

Marcus is fascinated by the disruptive and enduring power of the Sex Pistols. His new book, Lipstick Traces, connects the rise of punk with Dadaism and other nihilistic art movements.