NPR News

Critic David Edelstein reviews a film that may sound a lot like a campus-bound version of Glee, but has more to it than that label might suggest.

His debut novel — The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao — won a Pulitzer Prize. He was recently named as one of the 2012 recipients of a MacArthur Fellowship. (Rebroadcast from December 2007)

The Vanity Fair columnist wrote about his early career at the Village Voice in Lucking Out: My Life Getting Down and Semi-Dirty In the Seventies. (Rebroadcast from November 2011.)

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MELISSA BLOCK, HOST:

You're listening to ALL THINGS CONSIDERED from NPR News.

There's a battle under way in Arizona to stop the demolition of a home designed by Frank Lloyd Wright. The legendary architect lived his later years outside of Phoenix. And in 1952, he designed the Spiraling House for his son.

Now, the architectural community is trying to save it as Peter O'Dowd reports from member station KJZZ.

Gas prices spiked overnight Thursday by as much as 20 cents per gallon in parts of California, causing some stations to close and shocking many customers.

According to The Associated Press, the average price of regular gas across the state was nearly $4.49 a gallon. In other parts of the country, gas prices have fallen. South Carolina has the lowest average gas prices in the continental U.S. at $3.49 a gallon.

Paul Katz bought two tickets — one for himself and one for his cello — on a flight from Calgary to Los Angeles. But the captain told him his cello had to fly as checked baggage. After an agonizing flight, Katz cried when the captain returned his cello, unharmed. Originally broadcast August 27, 2012.

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NEAL CONAN, HOST:

This is TALK OF THE NATION. I'm Neal Conan in Washington. The Book of Genesis tells the story of creation, of the sea, the sky, the birds and animals and, finally, Adam. Chapter 2, Verse 7 reads: The Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living soul. Eve was formed out of Adam's rib.

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NEAL CONAN, HOST:

This is TALK OF THE NATION. I'm Neal Conan in Washington.