Joseph Gordon-Levitt's televised experiment in crowdsourcing creative work, "HITRECORD ON TV," has just released a DVD of its first season.
Chattering Class
Punk Legend Viv Albertine of The Slits on Rules and Rock
The punk movement of the 1970s was all about rebelling against the establishment - but it wasn't quick to embrace changing roles for women. Viv Albertine was among a group of feminist pioneers in the scene who paved the way for Riot Grrl and everything after.
Sound Man Glyn Johns on Recording an Era
Glyn Johns was the engineer and producer of some of the most popular rock songs ever recorded, including classics from artists like The Rolling Stones, The Eagles, Led Zeppelin, and Neil Young. He has a new book about that experience, "Sound Man."
Ruben Östlund Leaves Audiences with Questions
In Swedish filmmaker Ruben Ostlund's fourth feature film, he depicts a family unable to trust each other after the father flees a disaster, raising questions about the roles we all play in society and relationships.
Barbara Kruger Talks Past, Present, and Futura
Barbara Kruger is one of the most influential contemporary artists of the last forty years, and her bold, text-laden work is among the world's most recognizable. She tells Rico about her own influences, and cops to preferring laughs to smiles.
A Life Lived with Common and Uncommon Scents
Mandy Aftel is a perfumer and explorer of smells across the world. Her new book is called "Fragrant: The Secret Life of Scent" about the journey of following her nose.
Quincy Jones on His Musical Mentor, Clark Terry
Jazz great Clark Terry is the subject of a new documentary about his life, and the relationship between a music teacher and thier protege. We discuss his legacy with the film's director, Alan Hicks, and one of his famed former students, Quincy Jones.
How Tennessee Williams Brought Poetry to Broadway
From early struggles to revolutionary success, to a hazy decline due to bad timing and self-destructive choices, Tennessee Williams' life reads a bit like those of his characters. Critic and author John Lahr captures that story in an authoritative new biography of one of the 20th century's most significant playwright... including his first significant flop.
More About Bill Cosby with Mark Whitaker
An additional segment from Rico's interview with Mark Whitaker about his new biography of comedian Bill Cosby
The Complicated Comedy Career of Bill Cosby
Journalist Mark Whitaker formed an emotional connection to the comedy of Bill Cosby from a young age. Decades later, the result is "Cosby: His Life and Times," Whitaker's new biography of the influential comedian.