This week's chattering class topic: Utopias. Specifically, a bunch of utopian communities that sprouted up in America in the 19th century. And our guest is Chris Jennings. His new book is called, "Paradise Now: The Story of American Utopianism," and it focuses on five of the hundreds of utopian experiments of that era. The author tells us about God-fearing communists and a few Utopian leaders, one of which believed that eventually the oceans would taste like lemonade (seriously).
Teyonah Parris made her breakthrough playing the first black employee of Sterling Cooper on the hit TV show "Mad Men." And her latest starring role is in Spike Lee's acclaimed film "Chi-Raq." The actor chats about studying women like Michelle Obama to embody Lysistrata, her desire to see more complex representations of African-Americans in cinema, and about not talking about her hair.
The Mash-Up Americans co-host Rebecca Lehrer tells us about Airly, a new service that offers unlimited travel to major cities in exchange for AU$2,500 a month (that's $1,711.23 in the U.S). Maybe New Yorkers should consider living on planes?
"The Life-Changing Magic of Not Giving an F*CK," author advises our listeners on partying while dieting, and on ignoring your emails… with no apologies.
Best-selling author Janice Y.K. Lee was born to Korean immigrants in Hong Kong. In her new novel, "The Expatriates," she paints a rich portrait of expat life in the city. The book follows the lives of three different American women in a small expat community in Hong Kong, including a Korean-American recent Columbia graduate, a wealthy housewife who struggled to conceive a child, and a mother of three who questions her identity after a shattering loss. Janice shares an excerpt from the prologue with us.
Jehnny Beth and Ayşe Hassan are two of the four members that make up the London-based band Savages. Their debut album of ferocious post-punk was shortlisted for the UK's prestigious Mercury Prize. Their follow-up, called, "Adore Life," comes out this week. They provide a playlist for the next time your dinner party turns into a real-life game of Clue.
The Sea & Cake – The Argument Aphex Twin – Girl/Boy Song Tipsy – Liquordelic Johnny Cash – Folsom Prison Blues Kanye West – Can’t Tell Me Nothing Guy, Teddy Riley – Groove Me Justin Timberlake – Like I love You Pusha T – Untouchable Monday Night Football Theme Jurgen Kneiper – Urstromtal (The Glacial Valley) […]
Catch up with a few of our insightful interviews featuring winner's from this year's ceremony.
We look back at the many artists who cited the rock legend as an influence on our show.
This week back in 1968, one of the greatest albums ever was recorded before a pretty unusual audience.