May 29, 2009

Harlan Ellison: A Kind of Twisted Fantasy

Don’t call him a science-fiction writer: Harlan Ellison considers himself the heir to Edgar Allan Poe, Franz Kafka, and Jorge Luis Borges. As a writer of "speculative fiction," he has turned out hundreds of short stories over the last 50 years. He has also worked on TV shows like the original "Star Trek," and "The Outer Limits." Kurt asks Ellison about his brash reputation and about the documentary about him, now out on DVD, called "Dreams With Sharp Teeth."

(Originally aired: May 30, 2008)

Bonus Track: Harlan Ellison uncut

Kurt's full interview with Harlan Ellison.

Thao Nguyen

At just 24, she put out one of 2008's best indie rock records, We Brave Bee Stings and All and she's touring the country now with her band. She grew up in Arlington, Virginia, where her mother owns a coin laundromat and dry cleaning business. We sent Jesse Dukes to meet up with Thao and her mother at the laundromat to find out how she grew into a rock star.

(Originally aired: February 22, 2008)

Bonus Track: "Swimming Pools"

"Swimming Pools" from Thao Nguyen's album We Brave Bee Stings and All.

On the Beach

Wall-sized color seascapes of water, sky, sand, and bathers make up Richard Misrach's photographs called On the Beach. An exhibit opens next week at the High Museum of Art in Atlanta. Misrach might be the prototypical California artist -- surfer, Berkeley alumnus, VW bus owner -- but Studio 360's Sarah Lilley discovered that Misrach's "On the Beach" photos are more complicated than they look.

(Originally aired: May 23, 2008)

Miranda July

Miranda July became an indie darling with the 2005 film "Me and You and Everyone We Know." She's also a performance artist, sculptor, and writer. She reads the story "This Person" from her award-winning collection No One Belongs Here More Than You. Produced by Studio 360’s Pejk Malinovski.

(Originally aired: July 13, 2007)

Fallingwater

In the late 1930s, Edgar Kaufman asked starchitect Frank Lloyd Wright to design a home near a waterfall in Pennsylvania -- and an architectural icon was born. This summer, the Guggenheim Museum in New York is presenting a retrospective of Wright's work. As part of our American Icons series, Studio 360's Peter Crimmins finds out why Fallingwater was named the best building of the 20th century.

(Originally aired: August 25, 2006)

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