Discussion and Documentaries

Driveway Moment

Did you know that NPR is not a radio station? NPR is a radio production company and a multi-platform network, but we are first and foremost a local/national partnership that includes hundreds of member stations nationwide. Stations are your connection to NPR on the radio, and also offer great Web sites.

Visit the NPR Station Spotlight to find out what remarkable stories other NPR Member stations are producing or to let NPR know why KJZZ is your Favorite Station.

This American Life

Click on the heading above for the full article

This American Life airs Saturday afternoons at 2:00 pm on KJZZ.

Fresh Air

John Doe: A Punk Rocker Goes A Little Country
Doe, of the L.A. punk band X, joined Canadian band The Sadies to perform songs from the album Country Club, covering classics from Merle Haggard to Tammy Wynette. He discusses several of his favorite tracks in a May 2009 interview with Fresh Air host Terry Gross.
Charlie Louvin: A Louvin Brother Carries On
The Louvin Brothers, Ira and Charlie, are considered one of the all-time great country-music duos. After Ira was killed in a 1965 car crash, his younger brother Charlie kept singing, eventually releasing nearly 20 albums over the course of four decades. In 1996, he spoke to Fresh Air host Terry Gross.
Ricky Skaggs: A Bluegrass Musician Returns To Roots
Skaggs started performing as a child and was considered a musical prodigy. After a string of country hits in the 1980s, he returned to bluegrass, performing folk renditions of his own country hits. In 2003, Skaggs spoke to Fresh Air host Terry Gross about growing up in the music industry and playing with Bill Monroe and Earl Scruggs.
Willie Nelson: The Songwriter Reflects On His Hits
Before he became a leader of the outlaw country movement, Nelson worked for decades as a songwriter, pumping out hit after hit for other performers in Nashville. In 1996, he joined Terry Gross for a conversation about his most famous songs, including "Crazy," "The Family Bible" and "Night Life."
Waylon Jennings: An Outlaw Opens Up Musically
In 1996, country star Waylon Jennings, who helped found the "outlaw country" movement, joined Terry Gross for a discussion of his music, his work with Willie Nelson and Buddy Holly, and his time spent working in Nashville in the 1970s.
'The American': An Abstract, Angst-Filled Art Thriller
Anton Corbijn's paranoid thriller stars George Clooney as an anonymous international assassin constantly on the run. Critic David Edelstein says the spare movie "cast a spell" over the audience -- as they entered the mind of a man with no past or future.
George Jones: A Wild Reputation, A Big Texas Sound
The country musician nicknamed "The Possum" is known for his wild lifestyle as much as he's known for his No. 1 hits. In 1996, he joined Terry Gross for a conversation about his autobiography, I Lived to Tell It All.
Bobby Braddock: Spelling Success With Country Songs
The songwriter's hits include George Jones' "He Stopped Loving Her Today," Tanya Tucker's "I Believe the South Is Going to Rise Again," Tammy Wynette's "D-I-V-O-R-C-E" and Toby Keith's "I Want to Talk About Me." In 2007, he joined Terry Gross for a conversation about his inspirations and his muses in the music world.
Merle Haggard Reflects On His Outlaw Country Past
The country singer and guitarist, who helped create the Bakersfield sound, spent the early years of his life in and out of prison. After his final release, he recorded several hits about prison life, including "Mama Tried" and "I'm a Lonesome Fugitive." In 1995, he spoke to Terry Gross about his incarceration and his lengthy music career.
Charlie Haden: A Bassist With A Country Pedigree
Bassist Charlie Haden is known as a great jazz musician, but his background is all country. Growing up, he performed alongside his siblings in the Haden Family Band on radio stations across the South and Midwest. He details what it was like to grow up musically -- and why he recently returned to his country roots -- in a 2008 interview on Fresh Air.
Patsy Cline: A Country Career Cut Short
One of American popular music's great enigmas, says critic Ed Ward, is what would have happened to Patsy Cline's career if it had lasted longer. She was poised to revolutionize the role of the solo female singer, as well as Nashville's place in the music business, when she was killed in a plane crash. Decca has just released her complete recordings on an album called Sweet Dreams.
Jimmie Dale Gilmore: A Honky-Tonk Sound From Texas
The alternative country singer from West Texas pays tribute to his late father on an album of honky-tonk country classics, Come on Back. He describes his introduction to country music -- and seeing Johnny Cash perform for the first time -- in a 2005 interview with Terry Gross.
Andre Agassi 'Opens' Up About Life, Tennis
Widely considered one of the greatest tennis players of all time, Andre Agassi admitted in his autobiography that he hates tennis, "with a dark and secret passion." Always has. He spoke to Terry Gross last November about what he calls the "contradictions" at the core of his life.
Mesrine: A Ruthless Crook, A 'Killer' Film
The French outlaw Jacques Mesrine, who terrorized France and killed 39 people, is the subject of the thrilling Mesrine: Killer Instinct, which stars Vincent Cassell as Mesrine and Gerard Depardieu as a Parisian crime boss. Critic John Powers applauds Cassell's acting, saying it "ranks with the best of DeNiro or Pacino or, more recently, Daniel Day-Lewis."
The Brothers Koch: Rich, Political And Playing To Win
Chances are you've never heard of Charles and David Koch. The brothers, worth billions, are major industrialists and generous philanthropists. But in Washington, as Jane Mayer writes in the Aug. 30 New Yorker, they're "best known as part of a family that has repeatedly funded stealth attacks on the federal government, and on the Obama administration in particular."

Fresh Air with Terry Gross can be heard weekdays on KJZZ at 2 pm.

Studio 360

Click on the image or heading above for the full article

Check out Studio 360, Saturday at 3:00 pm on KJZZ.

BBC Arts in Action

Click on the image or heading above for the full article.

Arts & Culture

Discussion and Documentaries