Showing results by publisher "Random House Audio" in Arts & Entertainment

Today, women are ascendant in stand-up comedy, even preeminent. They make headlines, fill arenas, spawn blockbuster movies. But before Amy Schumer slayed, Tiffany Haddish killed, and Ali Wong drew roars, the very idea of a female comedian seemed, to most of America, like a punch line. And it took a special sort of woman—indeed, a parade of them—to break and remake the mold. In on the Joke is the story of a group of unforgettable women who knocked down the doors of stand-up comedy so other women could get a shot

In this exclusive audio publishing event, Billy Collins, former U.S. Poet Laureate, shares an evening of his poetry in a benefit reading for WNYC, New York Public Radio. Often compared to Robert Frost, his poetry has been embraced by people of all ages and backgrounds, and his readings are most often standing room only.

Keyboard Conversations® with Jeffrey Siegel combine the virtuosity and poetry of a world-class pianist with entertaining commentary to create a magical concert experience. His lively, engaging insights and captivating performances make listening an enthralling experience for all music lovers.

Keyboard Conversations® with Jeffrey Siegel combine the virtuosity and poetry of a world-class pianist with entertaining commentary to create a magical concert experience. His lively, engaging insights and captivating performances make listening an enthralling experience for all music lovers.

The issue of immigration stirs intense emotions today, as it has throughout much of American history. But what gets lost in the debates about policy are the stories of immigrants themselves, the people who are drawn to America by its promise of economic opportunity and political and religious freedom - and who strengthen our nation in countless ways. Out of Many, One brings together 43 full-color portraits of men and women who have immigrated to the United States, alongside stirring stories of the unique ways all of them are pursuing the American dream.

The Sikh religion was founded by Guru Nanak (1469-1539), who drew upon the teachings of Muslim, Sufis, and Hindu Bhaktas. In its purest form Sikhism is about unity, simplicity, equality, and surrender (to God) and the verses of the Sikh Gurus - most of them included in the Granth Sahib - articulate this beautifully. This elegant edition contains a selection of verses from the Guru Granth Sahib and other sacred texts like Guru Tegh Bahadur’s Vairagmayi Bani and the Dasam Granth of Guru Gobind Singh.

Henry Threadgill has had a singular life in music. At 79, the saxophonist, flautist, and celebrated composer is one of three jazz artists (along with Ornette Coleman and Wynton Marsalis) to have won a Pulitzer Prize. In Easily Slip into Another World, Threadgill recalls his childhood and upbringing in Chicago, his family life and education, and his brilliant career in music.

Garrett Hongo’s passion for audio dates back to the Empire 398 turntable his father paired with a Dynakit tube amplifier in their modest tract home in Los Angeles in the early 1960s. But his adult quest begins in the CD-changer era, as he seeks out speakers and amps both powerful and refined enough to honor the top notes of the greatest opera sopranos. In recounting this search, he describes a journey of identity where meaning, fulfillment, and even liberation were often most available to him through music and its astonishingly varied delivery systems.

Here is Jon Krakauer's portrait of the iconoclastic architect Christopher Alexander, whose revolutionary human-centered approach has shaken the foundations of modern architecture. Krakauer delves into Alexander's life and career, from his theories on a timeless "pattern language" that could be used to create buildings and towns that were simultaneously more livable and more beautiful, to his belief that architecture is correctly viewed as a powerful social instrument; from his on-site drafting techniques to his design process that, like a cocoon, shapes a building from the inside out.

The definitive biography of movie executive and philanthropist Sherry Lansing traces her groundbreaking journey to become the first female head of a major motion picture studio, shares behind-the-scenes tales from movie sets and Hollywood boardrooms, and explains what inspired her to walk away from it all to start the Sherry Lansing Foundation.

Improv instructor and writer Jorjeana Marie presents the first book to harness the creative power of improvisation exercises to help both aspiring and seasoned authors defeat writer's block and generate new ideas. Introducing the rules and techniques of improvisation as they apply to fiction writing, improv instructor and writer Jorjeana Marie addresses each major element of storytelling by applying writer's-block-busting games and inner-critic-quieting exercises to get the creative ideas flowing.

Mani Ratnam’s Nayakan is among Time’s "100 Best Movies Ever", and his Roja launched A.R. Rahman. For the first time ever, Mani Ratnam opens up here, to Baradwaj Rangan, in a series of freewheeling conversations - candid, witty, pensive, and sometimes combative - and looks back at these and 19 other masterly films. With Rangan’s personal and impassioned introduction setting the Tamil and national context of the films, Conversations is a treat for serious lovers of cinema as well as the casual moviegoer looking for a peek behind the process.

Superman, Batman, Spider-Man, Iron Man, Wonder Woman, the Avengers, the X-Men, Watchmen, and more: the companion volume to the PBS documentary series of the same name that tells the story of the superhero in American popular culture.

The world of comedy and comedians of the last five decades. By the man the New York Times calls "a comic institution himself", the only comedian (26 years in stand-up) to have made Elie Wiesel laugh, as well as having appeared on The Tonight Show (140 times, second only to Bob Hope, but who's counting). From the director of TV comedy series Mad About You, Seinfeld, Friends, Weeds, and Curb Your Enthusiasm.

A few years ago Clare Sullivan woke up from her unfulfilling corporate job, and picked up a pencil and piece of paper to sketch out what her future might look like instead. After graduating from Parsons with a degree in design she realized that she loved luxury interior design but wanted to create more affordable options open to all. Having gained a large social media following after launching her TikTok account in 2021, Clare is perhaps best known for her "Budget Luxury" series, which shows her audience how to create beautiful spaces without spending a lot of money.

Al Jolson, born Asa Yoelson, immigrated from a shtetl in Lithuania to the United States in 1894 after his father secured a job as a rabbi in Washington, D.C. A poor, Yiddish-speaking newcomer navigating a racially segregated and antisemitic America, young Jolson dreamed of becoming a star, and he did. Through Jolson, Bernstein simultaneously breaks open the history and legacy of the cultural sensation The Jazz Singer. Not only was The Jazz Singer the first feature-length film with synchronized music and dialogue, but it was also taboo smashing in its content.

How a Florentine orphanage rescued thousands of children and revolutionized childhood education amid the splendor of Renaissance art.

Ich bin ein großer Freund der Unterscheidung zwischen Sie und Du. Wenn jemand auf der Straße ruft: »Äh Jürjen, wie jeht et dich?«, dann lasse ich das durchgehen, denn die Person hat dringendere Sprachprobleme. Aber wenn mir beim Radio so ein hipper Moderator sagt: »Hi Jürgen, ich bin der Stulle«, dann sage ich: »Negativ, Herr Stulle. Ich habe Socken, die älter sind als Sie, also warten Sie bitte ab, bis ich Ihnen das Du anbiete, vielleicht in ein paar Jahren, wenn Sie dann im Heim mein Pfleger sind.« Was tun gegen Nerv-Deutsch und Dauer-Geduze? Wie macht man eigentlich achtsam Schluss?

By the spring of 1954, Sid Caesar was the most influential, highly paid, and enigmatic comedian in America. Every week, twenty million people tuned their TVs to his NBC extravaganza, Your Show of Shows, and witnessed his versatility and virtuosity in sketches and film spoofs, pantomime and soliloquy. Onstage, Caesar could play any character and make it funny: a befuddled game-show contestant, a pretentious expert, a beleaguered husband (opposite his redoubtable co-star Imogene Coca), even a gumball machine and a bottle of seltzer.

A decade ago, millions of Egyptians took to the streets in a people-led revolution that captivated the world’s attention and sent ripples across the Middle East. But the so-called “Arab Spring” quickly faded, and a return to the status quo—of authoritarian rule—was cemented. What happened to the energy and desire for change? In Egypt, the answer lies in its youth, who comprise the bulk of the country’s fast-growing 106 million citizens.