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Fresh Air Weekend: 'Wheelmen,' 'Jezebel' And '12 Years A Slave'

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:

'Wheelmen' Exposes Doping Culture And The Armstrong 'Conspiracy': Wall Street Journal reporters Reed Albergotti and Vanessa O'Connell say that champion cyclist Lance Armstrong was at the center of "the greatest sports conspiracy ever." Their book chronicles everything from group blood transfusions on the team bus to extensive efforts to silence and intimidate those who might expose the abuse.

If You're Looking To Read 'Lady Things,' Choose Jezebel Over Jones: Bridget Jones hasn't aged well. At 51, she's the "geriatric mum" of two small children, and finds herself yearning to plunge back into dating. Critic Maureen Corrigan says if you're looking for jolly feminist cultural commentary, you'd be better off reading a witty "encyclopedia of lady things" from the creators of the website Jezebel.

'12 Years A Slave' Was A Film That 'No One Was Making': Director Steve McQueen tells Fresh Air's Terry Gross that he wanted to help fill a "huge hole in the canon of cinema." And actor Chiwetel Ejiofor, whose parents are from Nigeria, says he grew up feeling "a sense of unity amongst African people and people of African heritage."

You can listen to the original interviews here:

  • 'Wheelmen' Exposes Doping Culture And The Armstrong 'Conspiracy'
  • If You're Looking To Read 'Lady Things,' Choose Jezebel Over Jones
  • '12 Years A Slave' Was A Film That 'No One Was Making'
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