Fresh Air Weekend: Eric Schlosser, Spoon's New Album And 'The Knick' Creators

Published August 16, 2014 at 8:03 AM CDT

The Titan II intercontinental-range missile, pictured in 1965, sits ready for launch on its 150-feet-deep underground launchpad. "The one warhead on a Titan II had three times the explosive force of all the bombs used by all the armies in the second world war combined — including both atomic bombs," says investigative reporter Eric Schlosser.

Fresh Air Weekend highlights some of the best interviews and reviews from past weeks, and new program elements specially paced for weekends. Our weekend show emphasizes interviews with writers, filmmakers, actors, and musicians, and often includes excerpts from live in-studio concerts. This week:

Nuclear 'Command And Control': A History Of False Alarms And Near Catastrophes:Eric Schlosser, author of Fast Food Nation, spent six years researching America's nuclear weapons. In Command and Control, he details explosions, false attack alerts and accidentally dropped bombs.

Spoon Wants Your Soul: Spoon has just released its first new album since 2010's Transference. Fresh Air critic says that " They Want My Soul is another fine Spoon album in a career that has now come to display a remarkable consistency."

How 'The Knick' Creators Capture Turn-Of-The-Century Operating Scenes:The drama is set in a New York hospital in 1900, when surgeons were developing new techniques. Series creators Jack Amiel and Michael Begler and medical historian Stanley Burns talk about the show.

You can listen to the original interviews here:

Nuclear 'Command And Control': A History Of False Alarms And Near Catastrophes

Spoon Wants Your Soul

How 'The Knick' Creators Capture Turn-Of-The-Century Operating Scenes