David Bianculli

John Feinstein speaking to Dave Davies in 2011. More after a break. This is Fresh Air.

John Feinstein speaking to Dave Davies in 2011. The author, sports writer, and NPR commentator died last week. He was 69 years old. This is Fresh Air.

John Feinstein speaking to Dave Davies in 2011. The author, sports writer, and NPR commentator died last week. He was 69 years old. This is Fresh Air.

John Feinstein speaking to Dave Davies in 2011. The author, sports writer, and NPR commentator died last week. He was 69 years old. This is Fresh Air.

In The Alto Knights, a new biographical crime drama directed by Barry Levinson, Robert De Niro plays two leading roles. He stars as both Frank Costello and Vito Genovese, two Italian-American mob bosses who were longtime friends but became rivals in the 1950s. The movie opens in theaters this week, and our film critic Justin Chang has this review.

In The Alto Knights, a new biographical crime drama directed by Barry Levinson, Robert De Niro plays two leading roles. He stars as both Frank Costello and Vito Genovese, two Italian-American mob bosses who were longtime friends but became rivals in the 1950s. The movie opens in theaters this week, and our film critic Justin Chang has this review.

In The Alto Knights, a new biographical crime drama directed by Barry Levinson, Robert De Niro plays two leading roles. He stars as both Frank Costello and Vito Genovese, two Italian-American mob bosses who were longtime friends but became rivals in the 1950s. The movie opens in theaters this week, and our film critic Justin Chang has this review.

Justin Chang is a film critic for The New Yorker. He reviewed The Alto Nights, starring Robert De Niro. On Monday's show, legal scholar Elie Mestal joins us to talk about the ten laws he says are ruining America.

Justin Chang is a film critic for The New Yorker. He reviewed The Alto Nights, starring Robert De Niro. On Monday's show, legal scholar Elie Mestal joins us to talk about the ten laws he says are ruining America.

Justin Chang is a film critic for The New Yorker. He reviewed The Alto Nights, starring Robert De Niro. On Monday's show, legal scholar Elie Mestal joins us to talk about the ten laws he says are ruining America.

In his new book, Bad Law, he argues that our country's laws on immigration, abortion, and voting rights don't reflect the will of most Americans, and we'd be better off abolishing them and starting over. I hope you can join us. For Terry Gross and Tanya Mosley, I'm David Bianculli.

In his new book, Bad Law, he argues that our country's laws on immigration, abortion, and voting rights don't reflect the will of most Americans, and we'd be better off abolishing them and starting over. I hope you can join us. For Terry Gross and Tanya Mosley, I'm David Bianculli.

In his new book, Bad Law, he argues that our country's laws on immigration, abortion, and voting rights don't reflect the will of most Americans, and we'd be better off abolishing them and starting over. I hope you can join us. For Terry Gross and Tanya Mosley, I'm David Bianculli.

The normal way to tell a dramatic story on TV is to follow the characters and plots wherever they go in a straightforward fashion, focusing only on the most important parts. Sometimes, as on Law & Order, there are time stamps and music cues to move things along, but mostly the narratives move in a straight line in concise little scenes.

The normal way to tell a dramatic story on TV is to follow the characters and plots wherever they go in a straightforward fashion, focusing only on the most important parts. Sometimes, as on Law & Order, there are time stamps and music cues to move things along, but mostly the narratives move in a straight line in concise little scenes.

The normal way to tell a dramatic story on TV is to follow the characters and plots wherever they go in a straightforward fashion, focusing only on the most important parts. Sometimes, as on Law & Order, there are time stamps and music cues to move things along, but mostly the narratives move in a straight line in concise little scenes.

On occasion, a TV show can play with time as well as space, offering plenty of flashbacks and flash-forwards. Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul did that. And the most recent season of Fargo threw viewers for a loop by a mid-series change of setting title card that read 500 years ago.

On occasion, a TV show can play with time as well as space, offering plenty of flashbacks and flash-forwards. Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul did that. And the most recent season of Fargo threw viewers for a loop by a mid-series change of setting title card that read 500 years ago.

On occasion, a TV show can play with time as well as space, offering plenty of flashbacks and flash-forwards. Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul did that. And the most recent season of Fargo threw viewers for a loop by a mid-series change of setting title card that read 500 years ago.

But when it comes to TV telling a dramatic story by reflecting time in a different way, the biggest innovation until now came almost 25 years ago, when the Fox network premiered 24. Each season was a self-contained story spread across 24 episodes, telling of a single day in the life of government agent Jack Bauer.