Fishko Files

Tomorrow, May 1st, marks the 90th anniversary of the opening of the Empire State Building. As WNYC's Sara Fishko tells us, the building's rise to its 102-story height is only one of the ways it towered over all the rest. More, in this episode of Fishko Files.

In honor of this weekend's Oscars: WNYC's Sara Fishko with this Fishko Files from the archive, filled with the award-winning voices of some of the great women of Hollywood's Golden Age. (Produced in 2013)

In honor of April, National Poetry Month, WNYC's Sara Fishko asks the question: what's the connection between poets' speaking voices, and the poems they create? (Produced in 2012)

The celebrated children's tale with music, Peter and the Wolf - as WNYC's Sara Fishko tells us - was first heard in Moscow in the spring of 1936, an ominous time in the Soviet Union. Everywhere it went after that, it thrilled a listenership of kids. More, in this episode of Fishko Files.

The tradition of siblings singing together is as old as song. WNYC’s Sara Fishko looks at brothers, sisters, and sibling harmony in this edition of Fishko Files. (Produced in 2001)

A hundred years ago, as WNYC’s Sara Fishko tells us, a popular song appeared at a time similar to our own - when people desperately wanted to 'move on' from crisis. In this episode of Fishko Files, the unsentimental resolve of the song "There’ll Be Some Changes Made."

Michael Rabin, who lived from 1936 to 1972, was a midcentury, classical music phenomenon - a genuine violin prodigy, concertizing as a teenager and, later, stumbling in his career and his life. In this archival Fishko Files, WNYC's Sara Fishko talks to Itzhak Perlman to sort out Rabin's tragic story and his phenomenal playing. (Produced in 1999)

James M. Cain's novel The Postman Always Rings Twice (1934) was adapted for the movies seven times. The most celebrated version was released 75 years ago, when Cain was on a roll - with three film adaptations made from his books in quick succession in the mid 1940s. WNYC's Sara Fishko and guests investigate the appeal of Cain's film noir-friendly style. (Produced in 2011)

The composer Frédéric Chopin, whose first published music appeared about two hundred years ago in the 1820s, eventually wrote hundreds of piano pieces, many of them memorable and popular. The musical influences that struck him along the way are considered by WNYC's Sara Fishko and guests in this edition of Fishko Files. (Produced in 2017)

On Valentine's Day 1962, in the simpler days of television, all three networks aired a now-celebrated tour of the White House led by First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy. A stunning number of Americans tuned in and took notice, as WNYC's Sara Fishko tells us in this archival Fishko Files. (Produced in 2012)

Composer Alex North was best known for his sharp and observant film scores, including the iconic music for "A Streetcar Named Desire" - but his music always spoke for itself. 30 years after his death, WNYC's Sara Fishko looks at one of Hollywood's most modest citizens. (Produced in 2012) 

Our interviewee and North's good friend, composer and teacher George Burt, died in 2015.

It's 45 years since the film Network had its premiere. It seemed pretty far out in its time - but now seems remarkably prescient, thanks to the writing by Paddy Chayefsky, the subject of this archival Fishko Files. (Produced in 2006)

In this last gasp of 2020, we face a New Year's without parties - unless you count the ones in this Fishko Files episode, composed of party scenes from movies over the last many decades. (Produced in 2016)

The actress, director, and film business pioneer Ida Lupino's 1950 film "Outrage" has been added to the Library of Congress's National Film Registry. To celebrate, we bring you this Fishko Files meditation on her life and work. (Produced in 2010)