Matthew Cavnar

How old-school special effects artists dismember their high-tech competition.

All over the country, amazing science is happening without institutional or government funding. We visit inventors working in garages, basements, even a Quonset hut on a farm. Rache...

At Tom Savini's Special Make-Up Effects School in Pennsylvania, it's not books the students are cracking open, but heads. A veteran of horror movies like "Friday the 13th," Savini teaches students how to make the disgusting riveting. Matthew Cavnar finds out ...

Screenwriters are busy trying to figure out how to tell the story of our current economic collapse as entertainment. The cinematic gold standard for financial movies is still Oliver Stone's "Wall Street," from 1987. Matthew Cavnar spoke to some writers struggling to craft a "Wall Street" for our ...

The current violence in Somalia is painfully familiar to K’naan, who grew up in Mogadishu in the 1980’s. He loved American hip-hop before he understood English. K’naan’s new record is called Troubador. Produced by Matthew Cavnar. (Originally aired: January 12, 2007)

Weigh in: Has a work ...

When UTN1 first formed in the late '90s, the Baghdad boys rebelled against conservative Muslim culture by embracing fun and frivolous Western pop. But they're no longer writing escapist fare; after fleeing to Lebanon, all they want to write about is Iraq. Produced by Matthew ...

All over the country, amazing science is happening without institutional or government funding. Matt Cavnar talked to inventors in garages, basements, a Quonset hut, even NASA’s Jet Propulsion Lab to see what home inventors are doing in the 21st century.

The screenwriter behind “Being John Malkovich” and “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind” makes his directorial debut. In his new film “Synecdoche, New York” the protagonist turns all of New York City into a theater production. To understand the city as a stage, Kurt ...

A man walks into a Goodwill store and walks out with an oracle that communicates the will of God. Not a bad find for 69 cents. The documentary “Urim & Thummim” tells the true story of Todd Walker, the finder of this purported relic, and his quixotic mission to share ...

Photographer Taryn Simon spent five years quietly gaining access to all sorts of secret hazardous places across the U.S., including a munitions test site, a nuclear waste storage facility, and a wildlife refuge. The images are collected An American Index of the Hidden and Unfamiliar. ...

All over the country, amazing science is happening without institutional or government funding. Matthew Cavnar talked to inventors in garages, basements, a Quonset hut, even NASA’s Jet Propulsion Lab to see what home inventors are doing in the 21st century.

 

At Tom Savini’s Special Make-Up Effects School in Pennsylvania, students learn how to make the disgusting riveting. Matthew Cavnar finds out how the tradition of hand-made special effects is staying current in the digital era.

The fighting and violence in Somalia today is painfully familiar to K'naan, a Canadian hip-hop artist who grew up in Mogadishu in the 1980's. K'naan says his path to music began after first hearing an album by the American rappers Eric B. and Rakim. Produced by

Autumn is a time for students to hit the books but at Tom Savini's Special Make-Up Effects School in Pennsylvania, it's not books the students are cracking, but heads.