Fresh Air on NCPR

Feb 9, 2012 — Tupelo Hassman's debut novel stars Rory, a resilient, if ragged, life force raised in a Reno trailer park who adopts a tattered copy of The Girl Scout Handbook as her Bible. Rory endures sexual abuse, the death of loved ones, and everyday invisibility — all without playing for our sympathy.

Feb 9, 2012 — The protests that led to the Egyptian revolution last year were organized in part by Wael Ghonim, who used an anonymous Facebook page to coordinate the demonstrations. In his new book, Ghonim explains how social media helped transform his country.

Feb 8, 2012 — Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Katherine Boo spent more than three years in Mumbai's Annawadi slum. In her new book, Behind the Beautiful Forevers, she profiles people living in extreme poverty — right in the shadow of luxury hotels.

Feb 8, 2012 — The 83-year-old former poet laureate reflects on how life has changed as he's grown older. "My body causes me trouble when I cross the room, but when I am sitting down writing, I am in my heaven — my old heaven," he says.

Feb 8, 2012 — Prophet has described his new album, Temple Beautiful, as a "love letter to San Francisco." Rock critic Ken Tucker says you don't have to be a Bay Area native to enjoy Prophet's melodies.

Feb 8, 2012 — Both The David Susskind Show and The Sid Caesar Show featured large, unwieldy guest rosters and entertaining, timely jokes. A vintage episode of Susskind's show and a reunion of Caesar's writers are now available on DVD. TV critic David Bianculli says both offerings are laugh-out-loud funny.

Feb 7, 2012 — Yoga can be extremely beneficial, but it also can be quite dangerous. Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist William Broad examines the pleasures and pitfalls of the practice in his latest book, The Science of Yoga.

Feb 7, 2012 — Like a comedian, the drummer knows something about offhand dexterity and split-second timing.

Feb 6, 2012 — Meryl Streep won a Golden Globe for her performance as Margaret Thatcher in The Iron Lady. She talks about preparing for that role, her other films and how her perceptions of herself have changed over the years.

Feb 2, 2012 — The comedian and digital director of The Onion talks about his new book How To Be Black. Also, Stew takes us inside his latest album Making It and Ken Tucker reviews a new album by Leonard Cohen.