Arts & Culture 2004 Archive | PBS NewsHour

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ARTS & CULTURE


	2004 DECEMBER Dec. 31, 2004 Remembering the Life and Music of Artie Shaw The nation remembers clarinetist and Big Band leader Artie Shaw who died yesterday at age 94.

	Dec. 30, 2004 Jazz Master: Shirley Horn The National Endowment of the Arts recently named Shirley Horn "jazz master." Jeffrey Brown pays tribute to Shirley Horn who made it big singing with jazz great Miles Davis.

	Dec. 28, 2004 Remembering the Life of Author and Social Activist, Susan Sontag The NewsHour remembers author Susan Sontag with excerpts of her 2001 conversation with correspondent Elizabeth Farnsworth.

	Dec. 27, 2004 Vietnam Still Essayist Ann Taylor Fleming looks at a museum exhibition about California during the Vietnam War era.

	Dec. 23, 2004 Roger Rosenblatt Ponders a Bertrand Russell Essay Essayist Roger Rosenblatt ponders the meaning of a Bertrand Russell essay in this holiday season.

	Dec. 21, 2004 A Roger Rosenblatt Essay on the Legacy of the Founders of New York Essayist Roger Rosenblatt looks at the legacy of the founders of New York.

	Dec. 20, 2004 Authors of Biblical Thrillers Discuss Series Arts correspondent Jeffrey Brown talks with Tim LaHaye and Jerry Jenkins, authors of the "Left Behind" series of Biblical thrillers.

	Dec. 15, 2004 Message of Aztecs Endures Essayist Richard Rodriguez looks at the enduring message of the Aztec Indians.

	Dec. 14, 2004 Fighting Poverty with Violins A report on how a Jesuit priest is fighting generational poverty with violins in the remote Himalayan foothills of India.

	Dec. 13, 2004 Young at Heart: Judy Blume Arts correspondent Jeffrey Brown talks with author Judy Blume about her career writing for young people.

	Dec. 10, 2004 Shiny Apple Correspondent Spencer Michels looks at how Apple's iPods have rejuvenated Apple Computer.

	Dec. 2, 2004 A History of the New York City Subway Essayist Roger Rosenblatt looks at the history of the New York City subway, which turns 100 this year.



	NOVEMBER Nov. 29, 2004 The Art of the New Jeffrey Brown looks at the redesigned Museum of Modern Art in New York.

	Nov. 26, 2004 Health Community Divided Over Prescription Drugs for Children Essayist Anne Taylor Fleming looks at the precarious connection between children and prescription drugs.

	Nov. 19, 2004 American Hyphen Clarence Page of the Chicago Tribune asks, "What is an African-American?"

	Nov. 12, 2004 Essayist Roger Rosenblatt on Life Magazine Stills Essayist Roger Rosenblatt looks at some photographs from Life magazine.

	Nov. 10, 2004 The Plot Against America Author Philip Roth To Continue Pushing Envelope Jeffrey Brown sits down with "The Plot Against America" author Philip Roth in the second part of a two-part interview



	OCTOBER Oct. 29, 2004 Political Cartoons Reflect Tense Election Atmosphere Stephen Hess, professor of media and public affairs at George Washington University, looks at the presidential campaign as seen by political cartoonists.

	Oct. 27, 2004 Philip Roth Discusses Latest Novel The Plot Against America Jeffrey Brown talks with author Philip Roth about his latest novel, "The Plot Against America," in part one of a two-part interview.

	Oct. 21, 2004 Ted Kooser A conversation with America's newest poet laureate, Ted Kooser.

	Oct. 11, 2004 Remembering Christopher Reeve "Superman" actor Christopher Reeve, who became paralyzed after a horse-riding accident nine years ago, died Sunday from heart failure. Jeffrey Brown takes a look at the actor-turned-advocate for spinal cord and stem cell research.



	SEPTEMBER Sept. 27, 2004 Acting White Essayist Clarence Page talks about the ramifications of using the term "acting white" and about taking personal responsibility.

	Sept. 21, 2004 Native Treasures The Smithsonian's National Museum of the American Indian opened on the National Mall in Washington Tuesday as the first federal museum in the United States dedicated exclusively to Native American people and cultures. Arts correspondent Jeffrey Brown takes a look at the new museum.

	Sept. 14, 2004 Living with Hurricanes As the Southeast prepares for a hurricane for the third time in fewer than five weeks, essayist Roger Rosenblatt considers the trials of living with this weather.

	Sept. 10, 2004 Senegalese Singer Youssou N'Dour Speaks About His Music and His Message Senegalese singer and songwriter Youssou N'Dour tries to create a more positive image of Islamic culture in Africa with his music. Jeffrey Brown speaks with N'Dour about his music and his message.

	Sept. 6, 2004 Richard Rodriquez Talks About His Surgery Essayist Richard Rodriguez talks about having surgery and becoming part of another America.



	AUGUST Aug. 26, 2004 Divine Profits The Christian-related entertainment culture is growing in popularity and growing the profits it creates. Jeffrey Brown looks at the increasing cultural phenomenon.

	Aug. 24, 2004 A Look at Whether Americans Are Reading Enough Jeffrey Brown examines whether Americans are reading enough in a conversation with Dana Gioia, head of the National Endowment for the Arts.

	Aug. 23, 2004 Essay: Who Dunnit? Essayist Roger Rosenblatt suggests that Americans like to loose themselves in detective novels because it romanticizes these characters' quest for justice.

	Aug. 13, 2004 Julia Child Dies at the Age of 91 Julia Child, the American cooking icon who demystified French cuisine, died at her home in Santa Barbara, California, at the age of 91. A friend and former colleague discusses her legacy.

	Aug. 6, 2004 Essay: Stages of LIfe Essayist Roger Rosenblatt considers how people live in the present and the past at the same time.

	Aug. 4, 2004 Phillip Brookman Talks About Work of Deceased Photographer, Henri Cartier French photographer Henri Cartier-Bresson died at the age of 95. Ray Suarez discusses the work of Cartier-Bresson with Phillip Brookman, curator of photography at the Corcoran Gallery in Washington.



	JULY July 15, 2004 Tough Talk: Bill Cosby Comedian Bill Cosby created controversy recently with pointed public criticism of parenting practices in certain African-American communities. Ray Suarez discusses Cosby's controversial comments with Dr. Alvin Poussaint, a psychiatrist at Harvard Medical School, and Ta-Nehisi Coates, a writer for the Village Voice.

	July 12, 2004 Essay: Hating Clarence Page argues the mere act of judgment is regarded as hatred in modern-day street lingo. Page then asks, if anyone who offers a critique of another now can be called full-blown hater, is there any language left to identify the true bigots?

	July 7, 2004 A Conversation with Former President Bill Clinton Jim Lehrer speaks with former President Bill Clinton about the 2004 presidential campaign, Bush foreign policy, the Monica Lewinsky scandal and his new memoir, "My Life."

	July 6, 2004 Essay: Secular Nation Essayist Richard Rodriguez argues that some American politicians and religious leaders have successfully shortened the separation between the political assembly and the pulpit and allowed America to see itself as the Judeo-Christian nation against which Osama bin Laden said he is fighting a religious war.

	July 5, 2004 War and Words: Winston Churchill Correspondent Jeffrey Brown explores the words of Winston Churchill at a new Library of Congress exhibition.

	July 2, 2004 In Memoriam: Marlon Brando Legendary actor Marlon Brando died Thursday in Los Angeles at age 80. Arts correspondent Jeffrey Brown discusses Brando's career and lasting impact with Time magazine film critic Richard Schickel, who wrote a biography about Brando.



	JUNE June 30, 2004 Musical Mission: Esa-Pekka Salonen Esa-Pekka Salonen, the young conductor of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, is trying to inject classical music with a fresh and exciting edge. Jeffrey Brown profiles the innovative music man and his efforts in Los Angeles.

	June 29, 2004 Essay: Overexposed Essayist Roger Rosenblatt reflects on the release of photographs of inmate abuse at the Abu Ghraib prison in Baghdad and says that seeing is not always the only element in believing.

	June 25, 2004 Reel Politics: 'Fahrenheit 9/11' The Michael Moore film "Fahrenheit 9/11" opened today to heated debate about its tactics and tone. Arts Correspondent Jeffrey Brown discusses the feverish reception to the politically charged film with movie critics Kenneth Turan of the Los Angeles Times and Jonathan Foreman of the New York Post.

	June 23, 2004 Conversation: A Traveler's Guide Jim Carrier presents a guided tour of the civil rights movement in his book, "A Traveler's Guide to the Civil Rights Movement." Carrier recounts earlier moments in black history in which the civil rights movement began. Terence Smith speaks with Jim Carrier.

	June 21, 2004 Rembrandt's Journey Paul Solman of WGBH-Boston reports on a major Rembrandt exhibition.

	June 18, 2004 Essay: A Time for Heroes As Father's Day approaches, essayist Anne Taylor Fleming says modern male heroes are not only the ones who fulfill the traditional stereotype of muscled masculinity.

	June 14, 2004 Family Portraits Former President Bill Clinton and Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton returned to the White House for the official unveiling of their portrait, which will hang in the presidential residence. Kwame Holman profiles Simmie Knox, a former sharecropper and the first African American to paint a presidential portrait for the White House.

	June 10, 2004 In Memoriam: Ray Charles Ray Charles, whose hits include "What'd I Say," "Georgia on My Mind" and "I Can't Stop Loving You," died Thursday of acute liver disease. Ray Suarez remembers Charles, who won over ten Grammy Awards during his musical career.

	June 10, 2004 Frozen in Time Terence Smith visits the Bettmann Archive, one of the world's most renowned private collections of historical photographic and graphic images, and explores the arduous process of preserving delicate historic images.



	MAY May 31, 2004 Moment of Silence Essayist Anne Taylor Fleming reflects on celebrating Memorial Day in a time of war.

	May 24, 2004 Child's Play Jeffrey Brown looks behind the curtains of the Children's Theatre Company of Minneapolis, the first theater company for young people to receive a Regional Theater Tony Award.

	May 24, 2004 The Presumed Alliance with Author Nicholas Vaca The author of "The Presumed Alliance: The Unspoken Conflict Between Latinos and Blacks and What It Means for America," examines the economic, social and political realities that create tension between these two groups.

	May 21, 2004 Essay: After All These Years Essayist Anne Taylor Fleming reflects on how she and other women of the baby-boomer generation are learning from their parents about how to approach a less lonesome model for facing age in their senior years.

	May 18, 2004 In Memoriam: Tony Randall Emmy Award-winning actor Tony Randall, best known for his comic role as half of television's "The Old Couple" in the early 1970s, died last night at age 84.

	May 14, 2004 Essay: Spalding Gray Alone on Stage Essayist Roger Rosenblatt remembers monologist Spalding Gray, who pioneered the one-man act, but who -- even while exposing himself to others -- remained alone on stage.

	May 13, 2004 Mayan High Life Jeffrey Brown takes a look at "Courtly Art of the Ancient Maya," an exhibit at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., that reveals a world both refined and raucous.

	May 11, 2004 Essay: With All Deliberate Speed Essayist Clarence Page reflects on the 50th anniversary of the Supreme Court's Brown v. Board of Education decision on desegregation, but he insists modern-day African-Americans have only as much integration as they can afford.

	May 5, 2004 'The Dew Breaker' Novelist Edwidge Danticat wrote "The Dew Breaker" about the intersection between Haiti's past and Haitian Americans' present-day experience. Jeffrey Brown speaks with Danticat about her tale of a torturer who now lives in New York among some of his victims.

	May 3, 2004 Mind Over Matter Essayist Roger Rosenblatt explains that the disabled are often viewed as the "other," but in the modern era of war and terrorism, one's life can be easily transformed to become one of them.



	APRIL April 27, 2004 Essay: Connecting the Dots Essayist Clarence Page of the Chicago Tribune looks for some dots to connect.

	April 22, 2004 Essay: Military Families Guest essayist Frank Schaeffer, whose latest book is "Faith of Our Sons: A Father's Wartime Diary" offers some thoughts about those who send troops to war.

	April 19, 2004 Essay: Matters of Fact Essayist Roger Rosenblatt considers truth and movie-making.

	April 12, 2004 'The Big Year' Bird watching, perceived by many as a gentle hobby, is actually a competitive sport for some who seek to see as many different species of birds in a single year as possible. Margaret Warner speaks with Mark Obmascik about the obsession at the center of his recent book, "The Big Year: A Tale of Man, Nature and Fowl Obsession."

	April 12, 2004 Black Market Movies Hollywood is preparing a new offensive against pirates, but not the ones on the big screen. Jeffrey Kaye reports on recent film-industry initiatives to stamp out counterfeit copies of the major studio motion pictures.

	April 6, 2004 Celebrating Writers Essayist Roger Rosenblatt celebrates the spring, when the Pulitzer Prizes and Poets & Writers magazine praise the craft of writers. Rosenblatt says this recognition comes as a welcome relief in a world where "the people, practices and institutions that conspire against the writing life are so plentiful."

	April 1, 2004 'The Working Poor' Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist David Shipler observed some impoverished working Americans and their families for years to research his new book, "The Working Poor." Ray Suarez speaks with Shipler about his book and the interlocking problems that challenge the climb out of poverty.



	MARCH March 30, 2004 'The Tale of Despereaux' Kate DiCamillo's novel "The Tale of Despereaux" won the 2004 Newberry Medal, an award given for children's literature. Jeffrey Brown speaks with DiCamillo about her award-winning novel.

	March 29, 2004 In Memoriam: Peter Ustinov Actor and author Peter Ustinov, who appeared in 90 films during his 60-year career, died of heart failure yesterday in Geneva. The NewsHour remembers Ustinov with a clip of his performance as a Mexican general in the 1970 comedy "Viva Max," which was based on a novel by Jim Lehrer.

	March 26, 2004 Essay: Having It All Essayist Roger Rosenblatt explains that nothing succeeds like excess when it comes to satisfying the appetites of television viewers for reality programs like Donald Trump's "The Apprentice."

	March 11, 2004 Essay: Imagine That NewsHour essayist Roger Rosenblatt wonders what to make of Mars.

	March 10, 2004 Essay: Hard to Change Essayist Roger Mudd proposes a new constitutional amendment.

	March 8, 2004 Essay: American Family NewsHour essayist Richard Rodriguez offers some thoughts about gay marriage.

	March 1, 2004 In Memoriam: Daniel Boorstin Historian, author and frequent NewsHour guest Daniel Boorstin died last weekend in Washington, D.C. The NewsHour remembers Boorstin with a look at the interview he gave Jim Lehrer in 1987, when he retired as librarian of Congress.



	FEBRUARY Feb. 26, 2004 Hollywood Forever As Americans prepare for the Oscars on Sunday, essayist Richard Rodriguez shares his thoughts about life, death, memory and Hollywood.

	Feb. 25, 2004 The Passion Mel Gibson's controversial new film, "The Passion of the Christ," about the final hours in the life of Jesus Christ is prompting mixed reviews and strong debate among religious communities.

	Feb. 18, 2004 'Breathing Space' Ray Suarez speaks with Heidi Neumark about her book, "Breathing Space: A Spiritual Journey in the South Bronx." Neumark is the pastor of the Transfiguration Lutheran Church in the South Bronx, where the congregation is a mixture of Hispanics and African Americans in one of the poorest communities in the city.

	Feb. 16, 2004 Mordicai Gerstein Jeffrey Brown speaks with longtime writer and illustrator of children's books, Mordicai Gerstein, who won the 2004 Caldecott Medal for "The Man Who Walked Between the Towers," a book about the French aerialist Philippe Petit, who strode a tightrope between the World Trade Center towers in 1974.

	Feb. 10, 2004 New Battleground Essayist Anne Taylor Fleming considers the grocery workers strike in Southern California.

	Feb. 9, 2004 Fab Four + 40 Essayist Clarence Page of the Chicago Tribune looks back at the English invasion of the Beatles, 40 years after the Fab Four came to America.

	Feb. 4, 2004 The Rose Man of Sing Sing James McGrath Morris chronicles the life and times of early 20th century newspaper editor Charles Chapin, a founding father of the 24-hour news cycle, in his new book, "The Rose Man of Sing Sing." Terence Smith speaks with Morris about Chapin's successes and failures, and his influence on early and modern journalism.



	JANUARY Jan. 30, 2004 Dawn's Early Light Essayist Richard Rodriguez reflects on how the influx of Mexican and Central American workers is changing the way Americans think of themselves.

	Jan. 27, 2004 In Memoriam: Jack Paar Jack Paar, the man who essentially began late-night talk on television, died. The NewsHour airs a clip from his days of hosting NBC's "Tonight Show."

	Jan. 23, 2004 Jazz Master Nancy Wilson Jazz Vocalist Nancy Wilson talks about her career, her inspirations and the music industry today.

	Jan. 23, 2004 Political Theater Essayist Roger Mudd looks at how the presidential State of the Union address has evolved from the modest written document that it was in the 19th century to the spectacle of political showmanship that it has become for presidents in the age of mass media.

	Jan. 15, 2004 The Price of Loyalty The descriptions of the Bush White House in "The Price of Loyalty," a new book about Paul O'Neill's rocky tenure as Treasury secretary, have been contested by many loyal to the president. Ray Suarez speaks with the author, journalist Ron Suskind, about his book and then gets additional perspective from Mitch Daniels.

	Jan. 13, 2004 Season of Friends The successful TV sitcom "Friends" is coming to an end this season, but essayist Roger Rosenblatt looks at how the human theme of friendship is only becoming stronger.

	Jan. 12, 2004 How Do They Live With Themselves Essayist Roger Rosenblatt looks at a new documentary, "Fog of War."

	Jan. 8, 2004 'A Small Nation of People' W.E.B. DuBois sought to show the world how African Americans lived, worked and prayed in his "Exhibit of American Negroes" at the 1900 World's Fair in Paris. Gwen Ifill speaks with Deborah Willis, who recently wrote "A Small Nation of People" about that exhibit and how DuBois created a new consciousness for African Americans.

	Jan. 7, 2004 Becoming Falstaff Jeffrey Brown speaks with actor Kevin Kline about the challenges of portraying Sir John Falstaff in the new production of Shakespeare's Henry IV at New York's Lincoln Center Beaumont Theatre.

	Jan. 7, 2004 Pages of History Essayist Anne Taylor Fleming visits a traveling history exhibit.