Special Programming

Wayne Coyne's Human Head-Shaped Tumor

KCRW — Sat, 24 Nov 2012 17:00:00 -0800

An hour-long radio drama, in one part. Featuring the Flaming Lips, Bill Callahan and Okkervil River. (Nov 24 and 25, 5-6pm)

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The Power and Politics of New Energy Frontiers

KCRW — Sun, 04 Nov 2012 11:00:00 -0800

Alex Chadwick takes us to the next frontier of energy development, introducing us to people and ideas that may help the next president propel us to energy independence.

The Power of One Election and America's Energy Future

KCRW — Sun, 28 Oct 2012 11:00:00 -0700

Veteran journalist Alex Chadwick goes inside the energy policies of the presidential nominees and examines how November's election might shape America’s energy future.

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KCRW — Fri, 24 Aug 2012 19:00:00 -0700

Go for It: Life Lessons from Girl Boxers

KCRW — Sun, 05 Aug 2012 11:00:00 -0700

If you box, you're a risk-taker. If you're a girl boxer, you're also a rule-breaker. If you're a girl boxer whose aim is to be the first to win an Olympic gold medal...

The Hunt for Oil: Risks and Rewards

KCRW — Sun, 22 Apr 2012 11:00:00 -0700

An Earth Day special that coincides with the two-year anniversary of the April 20 Deepwater Horizon oil spill, the worst in US History. Hosted by Alex Chadwick.

Particles: Nuclear Power after Fukushima

KCRW — Sun, 11 Mar 2012 11:00:00 -0700

Alex Chadwick examines the future of nuclear power, one year after the disaster at the Fukushima Daiichi plant in Japan.

The Hidden World of Girls

KCRW — Sun, 18 Dec 2011 11:00:00 -0800

Stories of coming of age, rituals and rites of passage, and secret identities of women who crossed a line, broke a trail, changed a tide.

The Hidden World of Girls

KCRW — Sun, 11 Dec 2011 11:00:00 -0800

Stories of coming of age, rituals and rites of passage, and secret identities of women who crossed a line, broke a trail, changed a tide.

Remembering Harvey Pekar: American Splendor

KCRW — Fri, 16 Jul 2010 19:30:00 -0700

On December 6, 1991, KCRW broadcast an original radio production of Harvey Pekar's American Splendor. To honor Pekar's memory, KCRW will reprise the radio production on Friday, July 16 from 7:30-8 pm, on air and KCRW.com Live stream only. (It will not be available on demand or via podcast.)

Selected Shorts: Tales that Surprise

KCRW — Fri, 01 Jan 2010 19:00:00 -0800

The heroine of Amy Hempel's road trip tale, "Jesus is Waiting," seems to be driving away from something, driving towards something, or just plain driving, on America's Interstate highways and turnpikes. The reader is Mary Stuart Masterson (Fried Green Tomatoes and Law and Order: SUV). Shaun Tan's provocative short story, "No Other Country," read by Campbell Scott, gives us a glimpse of a world within a world. The 2009 winner of Stella Kupferberg Memorial Short Story Writing Contest, "Swimmers" was written by Yale University student Daniela Maristany. Her prize-winning entry, an affecting moment in the life of an extended family, is read by Mary Stuart Masterson. Finally, a haunting and utterly surprising work by master Irish story writer, Edna O'Brien. In "Number 10," a husband and wife dream-travel to a very special address, and find out things about one another that they are unable to express directly. The reader is the incomparable Marian Seldes. (Airs 7-8pm; pre-empts Left Right & Center and Says You!)

Selected Shorts: French Fiction

KCRW — Thu, 31 Dec 2009 19:00:00 -0800

Guy de Maupassant's "A Parisian Affair," which depicts the adventures of a bored provincial housewife seeking the Paris of her fantasies, is read by actor Rene Auberjonois. An excerpt from Kiffe Kiffe Tomorrow takes us to the public housing projects of the Paris suburb of Pantin, as seen by Faïza Guène, a child of Algerian immigrants. The excerpt is read by actress Sonia Manzano. To close, a rare 1878 piece about the phantom transmission of a musical secret across the generations, "The Secret of the Old Music," by French aristocrat Auguste Villiers de l'Isle Adam, is read by Philippe de Montebello. (Airs 7-8pm; pre-empts Which Way, LA?)

Selected Shorts: Please Don't Explain

KCRW — Wed, 30 Dec 2009 19:00:00 -0800

Four stories in which elaborate explanations make things worse: In Dorothy Parker's "Just a Little One," read by Broadway actress, Dana Ivey, a friendly drink turns into a hilarious nightmare of recrimination. Robert Sean Leonard (House) reads Jonathan Lethem's wacky and unexpected tale of marriage, "The Spray." Parker Posey reads Miranda July's bittersweet story, "The Swim Team," about a lonely woman who creates an unusual swimming class for seniors. To close, Tim Blake Nelson reads "Jesus Shaves," David Sedaris' characteristically hyperbolic description of his French class. (Airs 7-8pm; pre-empts Which Way, LA?)

Selected Shorts: Pressing Engagements

KCRW — Tue, 29 Dec 2009 19:00:00 -0800

The two stories that embrace the past and imagine the future. Lisa Halliday’s “Stump Louie,” imagines a musical prodigy who takes a local radio station to new heights. The story is read by Selected Shorts host Isaiah Sheffer. Steven Millhauser’s “The Dome” is an architectural fantasy that imagines a time, in the not too distant future, when America will be entirely enclosed in a sphere, and how human life will alter as a result. It's read by Alec Baldwin. (Airs 7-8pm; pre-empts Which Way, LA?)

Too Smart for the Room: The Lord Buckley Story

KCRW — Tue, 29 Dec 2009 14:30:00 -0800

Lord Buckley was a hipster comedian in the 1950's who influenced many of America's comedic giants. His "hip semantic" renditions of literary classics delighted audiences, but Buckley caught flack for performing them in an African-American dialect. This half-hour documentary, produced for KCRW, includes rare archival recordings of Buckley performing, and interviews with Jonathan Winters and Larry Storch, plus sound of a Buckley appearance on Groucho Marx's quiz show. (Airs from 2:30-3pm and pre-empts Politics of Culture)