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Books News & Features
A Lost And Found 'Wonder': Pearl S. Buck's Final Novel
Before her death in 1973, Pearl S. Buck wrote one final novel. But The Eternal Wonder languished in a Texas storage unit for decades until its discovery last fall.
Author Interviews
Transcending Hardships By Saving Others In 'Constellation'
In his debut novel, A Constellation of Vital Phenomena, Anthony Marra takes readers to the war-torn republic of Chechnya. People disappear, informers betray and those with humanity endure great hardships.
Theater
Two Songs That Led Keith Carradine From Screen To Broadway
One of Keith Carradine's most famous roles in recent years was as Wild Bill Hickok on the HBO TV show Deadwood. But Carradine is also a musician, and it was a song that jump-started his career — and another that drew him to his latest Broadway role.
From Our Listeners
Three-Minute Fiction Readings: 'Geometry' And 'Snowflake'
NPR's Bob Mondello and Susan Stamberg read excerpts of two of the best submissions for Round 11 of our short story contest. They read Snowflake by Winona Wendth of Lancaster, Mass., and Geometry by Eugenie Montague of Los Angeles.
Movie Reviews
More Time Together, Though 'Midnight' Looms
Julie Delpy and Ethan Hawke return for the third in Richard Linklater's loosely peerless Before series, and they've never been more persuasive — nor has the storytelling. (Recommended)
The Salt
Meet London's Master Architects In Jell-0
London duo Sam Bompas and Harry Parr have made names for themselves with their wild, experimental food installations. From pineapple islands and banana vapors to re-creations of famous architectural monuments, their work playfully pushes the boundary of how we experience food.
Wait Wait...Don't Tell Me!
NFL Sideline Reporter Michele Tafoya Plays Not My Job
As one of the first female reporters to be allowed inside the NFL locker room, Tafoya has been a pioneer in her field. But there are still places out there where they believe in cooties, so Tafoya will answer three questions about men's-only clubs.
Theater
Equity At 100: More Than Just A Broadway Baby
The union of actors and stage managers, who banded together to improve working conditions in the early 1900s, marks its centennial this year. As Jeff Lunden reports, it's operating in an ever-shifting theatrical landscape.
Author Interviews
Gateway Arch 'Biography' Reveals Complex History Of An American Icon
The gleaming stainless steel arch in St. Louis is, officially, a monument to westward expansion. But in The Gateway Arch: A Biography, Tracy Campbell argues that the monument's meaning is more complicated. He tells NPR about the controversies, the clout and the costs behind the 630-foot structure.
The Two-Way
Gnomes Crash Distinguished Garden Show In England
The contentious little creatures were allowed in the Chelsea Flower Show for the first time in its 100-year history. Their presence has been hotly debated, but celebrity-decorated gnomes will be sold for a cause.
Author Interviews
Prepare For Takeoff With 'Cockpit Confidential'
In his new book, pilot and columnist Patrick Smith explains why you have to turn off your cellphone for takeoff and landing, and why your ideas about autopilot are probably all wrong. He wants people to "re-appreciate the act of air travel. It's not as horrible as everybody thinks it is."
Three-Minute Fiction
Three-Minute Fiction: Snowflake
She found the photograph early in the day, while she was cleaning for spring, pulling a winter's collection of domestic detritus out from under the bed. Ticket stubs, grimy grocery notes, coffee-stained lined paper, and dead pens. Their life: movies, food, and books.
Three-Minute Fiction
Three-Minute Fiction: Geometry
I found your journal in my car. A slim, Moleskin, six by ten centimeters, soft cover, blue, curving upwards at the edges like an incredibly shallow bowl, or a key dish. By the concavity in its form, the book seemed to be suggesting it was capable of carrying something. Something real.
The Salt
Gals Who Grill: What Will It Take For Women To Man The Q?
The grill "is the one and only male-dominated appliance in America," says a researcher who recently crunched the numbers. He found that men are more than twice as likely as women to be the primary grillers at home. One reason? Grilling can feel like a form of recreation.
