Arts & Life

In NYC, A Play Festival Spotlights Stories Of Disability

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 15:41:00 -0400

Now in its third year, the "... Our Parts" festival at Theater Breaking Through Barriers runs through June 28. Here and across the country, artists with disabilities are making drama (and comedy) in illuminating ways.

Change Is On The Horizon For London's Famous Skyline

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 17:38:00 -0400

The city of London boasts centuries of architectural history. But a building boom is threatening the city's traditionally low-rise aesthetic and the views of some of that history. Critics — including UNESCO — are very worried about London's changing skyline.

Reader Advisory: 'Shining Girls' Is Gruesome But Gripping

Thu, 13 Jun 2013 07:00:00 -0400

Lauren Beukes' new thriller The Shining Girls traces a time-traveling serial killer as he jumps through the decades, pursued by the only one of his victims to survive. Critic Alan Cheuse calls the book "a frightening journey in time and punishment."

Death Of A Puppy: An Exclusive Imaginary Excerpt From The 'Man Of Steel' Sequel

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 12:49:00 -0400

We've gotten our hands on an exclusive excerpt from the sequel to the Superman smash (by making it up ourselves).

Books Your Kid Might Give Up Video Games To Read

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 12:00:00 -0400

It's finally summer and for many kids that means swimming, video games and vacations. But a lot of parents hope their kids will to do some extra reading during the break. Host Michel Martin is joined by three moms in the literary world with summer book suggestions

Cécile McLorin Salvant: Making Old Songs New Again

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 13:42:00 -0400

The 23-year-old jazz phenom's debut album showcases her takes on vintage jazz and blues numbers by Bessie Smith, Fats Waller and others. You can trace some of her effects back to jazz greats like Sarah Vaughan, Betty Carter and Abbey Lincoln.

Book News: VICE Draws Ire By Staging Female Author Suicides

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 07:14:00 -0400

The anonymous book sculptor of Edinburgh strikes again; the childhood drawings of E.E. Cummings; Jonathan Franzen on literary sexism.

The Funny (Touching, Fascinating) Pages: 5 Comics For Summer

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 07:00:00 -0400

When's the last time you read a comic book? Here are five for summer, covering everything from tiny Finnish critters to Viennese punk rockers and musings on Anna Wintour. Writer Myla Goldberg says they represent a golden age in comic art.

Spy Reporter Works Her 'Sources' To Write A Thriller

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 03:08:00 -0400

Mary Louise Kelly used to cover national security for NPR, but lately she's turned her attention to fiction. Her new novel, Anonymous Sources, draws on Kelly's own reporting experiences, including things she couldn't say when she was a journalist.

Teens Find The Right Tools For Their Social-Media Jobs

Mon, 17 Jun 2013 17:04:00 -0400

There was a time — a time long, long ago — when MySpace dominated the teen social-media world. Not anymore. NPR's Sami Yenigun looks at how teenagers use various social platforms in today's increasingly segmented online universe.

Digital Scrapbook Collects Rock-Star Authors' Memories

Mon, 17 Jun 2013 14:41:00 -0400

If any story screams out for a multimedia e-book treatment, it's the tale of The Rock Bottom Remainders, a small band of best-selling authors — including Amy Tan, Dave Barry and Stephen King — who yowled out rock standards. Hard Listening is a digital scrapbook about their years as musicians.

A Deceptively Simple Tale Of Magic And Peril In 'Ocean'

Mon, 17 Jun 2013 14:00:00 -0400

Neil Gaiman's latest, The Ocean at the End of the Lane, is the story of an artist who returns to his childhood home and recalls a magical struggle he was involved in as a young boy. Reviewer Annalee Newitz says the book balances "frenetic action with wistful self-knowledge."

Sandwich Monday: The Wendy's T-Rex Burger (R.I.P.)

Mon, 17 Jun 2013 13:55:00 -0400

For this week's Sandwich Monday, we try "The T-Rex Burger," a nine-patty monster that, until this week, had been on the menu of a renegade Canadian Wendy's franchise.

Spoken Dish Asks Southerners: What Is Your Food Identity?

Mon, 17 Jun 2013 11:44:00 -0400

Food can reveal a lot about a person's history and values. A video history project is collecting the public's food memories — from grandma's cornbread to the favorite restaurants of civil rights giants — as a way to document the rituals of a changing South.

In Slight Defense Of Miss Utah USA, A Little Bit, With Reservations

Mon, 17 Jun 2013 11:36:00 -0400

What do you expect when you ask a terrible question in a ridiculous setting?