Accessibility links
Neda Ulaby Neda Ulaby reports on arts, entertainment, and cultural trends for NPR's Arts Desk.
Neda Ulaby - Square
Stories By

Neda Ulaby

Culture

Encore: 'Mama's boy' is a flex, not an insult, for a new generation of men

Mama's boy has been viewed as an emasculating insult. But numerous men are now publicly embracing their identities as proud mama's boys. (Story first aired on Weekend Edition Sunday on May 7, 2022.)

Encore: 'Mama's boy' is a flex, not an insult, for a new generation of men

Listen · 3:33
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1097820885/1097820886" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
2022 Pulitzer Prizes in arts and letters go to 'Fat Ham' and 'The Netenyahus'
New York Review Books

Culture

2022 Pulitzer Prizes in arts and letters go to 'Fat Ham' and 'The Netenyahus'

The 2022 Pulitzer Prizes in fiction, poetry, drama and other categories in arts and letters were announced in New York along with awards for journalism.

2022 Pulitzer Prizes in arts and letters go to 'Fat Ham' and 'The Netenyahus'

Listen · 2:57
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1097566167/1097673903" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
'Mama's boy' is a flex, not an insult, for a new generation of men
Vystekimages/Getty Images/Photononstop RF

Culture

'Mama's boy' is a flex, not an insult, for a new generation of men

For eons, the term "mama's boy" was widely viewed as an emasculating insult. But numerous men are challenging such inherent misogyny and publicly embracing their identities as proud "mama's boys."

'Mama's boy' is a flex, not an insult, for a new generation of men

Listen · 3:36
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1095039574/1095809096" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Food

The 'Gandalf of pizza' speaks to the spiritual side of comfort food

In his new book "Pizza Quest," Peter Reinhart describes his spiritual obsession with what he calls "the ultimate comfort food."

The 'Gandalf of pizza' speaks to the spiritual side of comfort food

Listen · 2:42
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1095750193/1095750194" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
The 'Gandalf of pizza' speaks to the spiritual side of comfort food

Peter Reinhart, master baker and James Beard-award winning author of the new book Pizza Quest: My Never-Ending Search For the Perfect Pizza. Peter Taylor/Andrews McMeel Publishing hide caption

toggle caption
Peter Taylor/Andrews McMeel Publishing

Food

The 'Gandalf of pizza' speaks to the spiritual side of comfort food

In his new book Pizza Quest, Peter Reinhart describes his spiritual obsession with what he calls "the ultimate comfort food."

The 'Gandalf of pizza' speaks to the spiritual side of comfort food

Listen · 2:45
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1093655674/1094680483" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
Actors Johnny Depp and Amber Heard are facing off in a defamation trial

Amber Heard listens during the trial of a $50 million defamation lawsuit against her by ex-husband Johnny Depp in Fairfax, Va. Brendan Smialowski/POOL/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

toggle caption
Brendan Smialowski/POOL/AFP via Getty Images

Culture

Actors Johnny Depp and Amber Heard are facing off in a defamation trial

Depp is suing Heard, his ex-wife, for $50 million, asserting that she defamed him in a published essay about her experiences with sexual assault. The case was filed in Fairfax, Va.

The Library of Congress is preserving these major historical recordings for posterity

Singer Alicia Keys performing at Madison Square Garden in New York City, a few months after the 9/11 attacks in 2001. George De Sota/Getty Images hide caption

toggle caption
George De Sota/Getty Images

Music News

The Library of Congress is preserving these major historical recordings for posterity

The Library of Congress adds 25 new recordings to a national registry every year to be preserved for posterity. The 2022 list includes an album by Alicia Keys and historical broadcasts from WNYC.

Museums turn to immersive tech to preserve the stories of aging Holocaust survivors

A young visitor experiences "A Promise Kept" at the Illinois Holocaust Museum. Scott Edwards/Illinois Holocaust Museum hide caption

toggle caption
Scott Edwards/Illinois Holocaust Museum

Culture

Museums turn to immersive tech to preserve the stories of aging Holocaust survivors

Artificial intelligence and virtual reality are among the cutting-edge tools employed by the USC Shoah Foundation and Illinois Holocaust Museum

Museums turn to immersive tech to preserve the stories of aging Holocaust survivors

Listen · 4:55
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1089652445/1093265035" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
Pink donut boxes are canvas for artist portraying kids of Cambodian-American refugees

Rapper Andrew Hean, whose family owned a donut shop in California, is pictured in a silkscreen print on a donut box by artist Phung Huynh. Self Help Graphics & Art hide caption

toggle caption
Self Help Graphics & Art

Art & Design

Pink donut boxes are canvas for artist portraying kids of Cambodian-American refugees

Artist Phung Huynh incorporates pink donut boxes into her portraits of young Cambodian-Americans who grew up in their family donut stores in Southern California.

Pink donut boxes are canvas for artist portraying kids of Cambodian-American refugees

Listen · 2:44
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1087168493/1088169787" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript