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Musings with Alphonse Vinh
Alphonse Vinh's work as a reference librarian at NPR allows him to dive into an ever-expanding universe of published material and offer his colleagues an assortment of his freshest findings. Now npr.org gives the rest of the world a chance to enjoy Vinh's efforts. Send your thoughts to npr.org.
The Swedish Detectives
Police inspector Kurt Wallander is modern Sweden's most popular literary character. The nine Wallander mysteries that Henning Mankell penned have sold more than 20 million copies in 34 countries. In the latest Mankell novel, The Return of the Dancing Master, the author introduces a more youthful but equally alienated sleuth.
'Stalking The Divine'
Having taken her final vows as a nun, a woman who joins the order of Poor Clares will spend her life in one monastery, never leaving its grounds. When her family or friends from the world are permitted to visit her occasionally, she will talk with them from behind a grille. Writer Kristin Ohlson explorers these women's lives in Stalking The Divine.
The Science and Evolution of Love
Anthropologist Helen Fisher's new book is Why We Love: The Nature and Chemistry of Romantic Love. It's a look at how the brain changes when humans fall for each other. American retailers are also swooning: Consumers are expected to spend more than $12 billion on Valentine's Day this year.
Singles Trade in Book Clubs for Cooking Clubs
Six single women in New York found that home-cooked meals, shared together, were a great way to bond and save money. Their weekly get togethers became the basis for two cookbooks and a Web site. The women say cooking clubs are a great way to fight off the holiday blues.
Maura Moynihan: 'Yoga Hotel'
Author, actress, singer and fashion designer Maura Moynihan has a lifelong love of India, as her new book and CD illustrate. At 15 she moved to India when her father, the late Sen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan, was appointed the country's U.S. Ambassador. Hear samples from her CD.
Judy Collins: Sanity & Grace
In 1992, Judy Collins' life changed forever when her only son committed suicide. Since then, Collins has been a tireless crusader for suicide survivors. The journal she created in an attempt to make sense of his death became the basis for her new book Sanity & Grace: A Journey of Suicide, Survival, and Strength.
The Minstrel of Orange County
Singer-songwriter Kerry Getz has a loyal following on the West Coast, and good reviews from critics, but she's still searching for a wider audience. Her songs juxtapose a vibrant voice against dark and disturbing human experience. But she hangs on to hope with a musical philosophy that "every day's a little victory."
Farmers Markets
Americans are growing more serious about consuming food that is grown locally, organically and eaten in season. And a glance at the 2002 National Farmers Market Directory shows more than 3,000 farmers markets flourishing in the United States. The U.S. Department of Agriculture says that's a 79-percent increase since 1994.
Can Music Soothe a Troubled World?
In a time when much of the world is growing wary of American unilateralism, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee has added $57 million to the next federal budget to win new friends through overseas exchange programs.
Japanese Photography
On May 18, what may be the most impressive collection of Japanese photographs ever assembled began a summer stay at the Cleveland Museum of Art. The exhibit includes two hundred photographs by 110 photographers, spanning 150 years.
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