David Bianculli

And, noting the meteoric rise of Pee Wee, from an improv bit at the Groundlings to the star of his own stage show, movie, and TV series, his view of the effects of stardom on his own carefully cultivated privacy...

All of that imploded in 1991 after an event reported by CBS anchor Dan Rather.

All of that imploded in 1991 after an event reported by CBS anchor Dan Rather.

All of that imploded in 1991 after an event reported by CBS anchor Dan Rather.

Paul Rubens addresses all of this frankly, taking great pains to explain his point of view. Yet that's not the most compelling or illuminating part of this documentary. The part that reveals the most, especially about Paul Rubens as an artist and a person, is his constant tug-of-war with the documentary's director, Matt Wolfe.

Paul Rubens addresses all of this frankly, taking great pains to explain his point of view. Yet that's not the most compelling or illuminating part of this documentary. The part that reveals the most, especially about Paul Rubens as an artist and a person, is his constant tug-of-war with the documentary's director, Matt Wolfe.

Paul Rubens addresses all of this frankly, taking great pains to explain his point of view. Yet that's not the most compelling or illuminating part of this documentary. The part that reveals the most, especially about Paul Rubens as an artist and a person, is his constant tug-of-war with the documentary's director, Matt Wolfe.

At times, Rubens is goofing around during the interviews and being coy. Other times, he tells Wolf he doesn't trust him and would rather get his message out himself without Wolf's editorial interference. Pee-wee as himself makes clear that Paul Rubens was a control freak of sorts. And at the end, Rubens finally gets in the last word, unfiltered. It's worth hearing.

At times, Rubens is goofing around during the interviews and being coy. Other times, he tells Wolf he doesn't trust him and would rather get his message out himself without Wolf's editorial interference. Pee-wee as himself makes clear that Paul Rubens was a control freak of sorts. And at the end, Rubens finally gets in the last word, unfiltered. It's worth hearing.

At times, Rubens is goofing around during the interviews and being coy. Other times, he tells Wolf he doesn't trust him and would rather get his message out himself without Wolf's editorial interference. Pee-wee as himself makes clear that Paul Rubens was a control freak of sorts. And at the end, Rubens finally gets in the last word, unfiltered. It's worth hearing.

And for this HBO documentary, it's just the right coda.

And for this HBO documentary, it's just the right coda.

And for this HBO documentary, it's just the right coda.

Hey everybody, it's Ian from How To Do Everything. On our show, we attempt to answer your how-to questions. We don't know how to do anything, so we call experts. Last season, both Tom Hanks and Martha Stewart stopped by to help. Our next season is launching in just a few months, so get us your questions now by emailing howto at npr.org or calling 1-800-424-2935.

Hey everybody, it's Ian from How To Do Everything. On our show, we attempt to answer your how-to questions. We don't know how to do anything, so we call experts. Last season, both Tom Hanks and Martha Stewart stopped by to help. Our next season is launching in just a few months, so get us your questions now by emailing howto at npr.org or calling 1-800-424-2935.

Hey everybody, it's Ian from How To Do Everything. On our show, we attempt to answer your how-to questions. We don't know how to do anything, so we call experts. Last season, both Tom Hanks and Martha Stewart stopped by to help. Our next season is launching in just a few months, so get us your questions now by emailing howto at npr.org or calling 1-800-424-2935.

This is Fresh Air. I'm David Bianculli. Do you ever walk into a room and forget why you're there? Or read a book or watch a movie and years later can't remember a thing about them? Charon Ranganath is a neurologist who studies memory. And what he's about to say might make you feel better about your memory. When Ranganath meets someone, the question he's most often asked is, why am I so forgetful?

This is Fresh Air. I'm David Bianculli. Do you ever walk into a room and forget why you're there? Or read a book or watch a movie and years later can't remember a thing about them? Charon Ranganath is a neurologist who studies memory. And what he's about to say might make you feel better about your memory. When Ranganath meets someone, the question he's most often asked is, why am I so forgetful?

This is Fresh Air. I'm David Bianculli. Do you ever walk into a room and forget why you're there? Or read a book or watch a movie and years later can't remember a thing about them? Charon Ranganath is a neurologist who studies memory. And what he's about to say might make you feel better about your memory. When Ranganath meets someone, the question he's most often asked is, why am I so forgetful?

He says we have the wrong expectations for what memory is for. The mechanisms of memory, he says, were not cobbled together to help us remember the name of that guy we met at that thing. Instead of asking, why do we forget, we should really be asking, why do we remember? And that's the question he's been researching for about 25 years with the help of brain imaging techniques.