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Blogs & Podcasts

Find early literacy tips and children's books on the Children's Blog. Discover your next great read on the Books Movies Music Blog. Dig into Nashville history with the Community History Blog. Listen to stories, history, and culture on NPL Podcasts. Please see this Note for Readers.

Podcast
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During this episode of Legends of Film, we talk to the Academy Award winning production designer, Dean Tavoularis. Mr. Tavoularis discusses his career working on such Francis Ford Coppola films as The Godfather Trilogy, The Conversation, Apocalypse Now, and The Outsiders.

Podcast
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During this episode we talk to Film Editor Bud Smith.  Mr. Smith’s editing credits include The Exorcist, Flashdance, and Sorcerer.   Smith discusses the making of Sorcerer, why the original version of The Exorcist is much better than the extended directors cut, and how to edit an X-rated movie to make it an R-rated movie. 

Podcast
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Bill interviews Editor, Director and Producer of the CSI TV series, Alec Smight.  Mr. Smight is the son of the late Jack Smight, who directed No Way to Treat a Lady.  Alec talks about his father’s directing career as well as his own work on CSI.

Podcast
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During this episode of Legends of Film we talk to Jerry Schatzberg, Director of Scarecrow, The Panic in Needle Park, and Sweet Revenge. Mr. Schatzberg discusses casting Morgan Freeman in his breakthrough role, the importance of improvisation, and problems that occur when your lead actor is also your screenwriter.

Podcast
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During this episode we talk to retired New York City Police Officer Randy Jurgensen, who acted as technical advisor on the film set of Report to the Commissioner. Jurgensen explains his role as technical advisor, talks about his acting role as the shooter of Sonny Corleone in The Godfather, and recalls his work on the movie The French Connection (including the case that inspired the film).

In honor of the beginning of the next series of Sherlock on Masterpiece Mystery, I went to the periodicals stacks to dig up some original stories by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, and came across something that interested me even more. 

This is hands-down the best historical fiction that I have read this past year. I cannot say enough about this book, it is so good. The story is compelling and poignant and the atmospheric setting immediately transports the reader to another place and time.

We lost one of our most vibrant and uncompromising voices with the death of poet, playwright, and cultural critic Amiri Baraka. Born LeRoi Jones, Baraka had the distinction of dropping out of three universities and being discharged from the Air Force for communist sympathies before starting his literary career.