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Author John Nichols, who believed that writing was a radical act, dies at 83

John Nichols wrote more than 20 works of fiction and nonfiction, most centered around his adopted home of northern New Mexico. He was a photographer as well. Susan Crutchfield/University of New Mexico Press hide caption

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Susan Crutchfield/University of New Mexico Press

Obituaries

Author John Nichols, who believed that writing was a radical act, dies at 83

Nichols created more than 20 works of fiction and non-fiction, most centered around his adopted home of Northern New Mexico. He is best known for The Milagro Beanfield War and The Sterile Cuckoo.

Inquiring minds want to know: 'How Does Santa Go Down the Chimney?'
Illustrations Copyright © 2023 by Jon Klassen

Picture This

Inquiring minds want to know: 'How Does Santa Go Down the Chimney?'

"How does he do it?" Author Mac Barnett and illustrator Jon Klassen squeeze, squash and generally put Santa through the wringer while trying to answer an age-old Christmas mystery.

Inquiring minds want to know: 'How Does Santa Go Down the Chimney?'

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More than 100 Gaza heritage sites have been damaged or destroyed by Israeli attacks

Palestinians search the destroyed annex of the Church of Saint Porphyrius, damaged in a strike on Gaza City on Oct. 20. Dawood Nemer/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

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Dawood Nemer/AFP via Getty Images

Middle East crisis — explained

More than 100 Gaza heritage sites have been damaged or destroyed by Israeli attacks

The nonprofit group Heritage for Peace's preliminary findings show 104 historic religious buildings, museums and archaeological sites have been destroyed or damaged.

Kiss performs its final concert. But has the band truly reached the 'End of the Road'?

Kiss band members, from left, Tommy Thayer, Gene Simmons, Eric Singer and Paul Stanley participate in the ceremonial lighting of the Empire State Building on Thursday in New York. Charles Sykes/Invision/AP hide caption

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Charles Sykes/Invision/AP

Music

Kiss performs its final concert. But has the band truly reached the 'End of the Road'?

The 50-year-old heavy rock group performs the final concert of its "End of the Road" tour Saturday in New York. But it's said farewell before.

'Wait Wait' for December 2, 2023: With Not My Job guest Dakota Johnson
Tristan Fewings/Getty Images for Global Citizen

Wait Wait...Don't Tell Me!

'Wait Wait' for December 2, 2023: With Not My Job guest Dakota Johnson

Dakota Johnson is an actor, producer and activist, and her new documentary is The Disappearance of Shere Hite. She may be a Dakota, but what does she know about THE Dakotas?

'Wait Wait' for December 2, 2023: With Not My Job guest Dakota Johnson

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'The Challenge' is understanding why this 'Squid Game' game show was green-lit

Squid Game: The Challenge is a reality game show based on the sensational 2021 South Korean drama series. But this gruesome, creatively misbegotten concept should never have made it past the first meeting. Netflix hide caption

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Netflix

Review

Pop Culture Happy Hour

'The Challenge' is understanding why this 'Squid Game' game show was green-lit

Squid Game: The Challenge is a reality game show based on the sensational South Korean drama series. But this gruesome, creatively misbegotten concept should never have made it past the first meeting.

McCarthyism and queerness in 'Fellow Travelers'; plus, IBAM unplugged with Olivia Dean
Kurt Iswarienko/SHOWTIME; Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images

Review

It's Been a Minute

McCarthyism and queerness in 'Fellow Travelers'; plus, IBAM unplugged with Olivia Dean

This week, Brittany chats with New Yorker television critic Inkoo Kang about Showtime's historical romance, Fellow Travelers. The show follows the lives and love of two closeted men - Hawk and Tim. It starts in 1950s Washington DC, at the height of McCarthyism and the lavender scare and continues through the AIDS crisis in the 1980s. Brittany and Inkoo discuss how the politics of the time shape the characters and how survival isn't always pretty.

McCarthyism and queerness in 'Fellow Travelers'; plus, IBAM unplugged with Olivia Dean

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Appeals court upholds actor Jussie Smollett's convictions and jail sentence

Jussie Smollett arrives at the BET Awards on June 26, 2022, in Los Angeles. An appeals court on Friday upheld the disorderly conduct convictions of the actor, who was accused of staging a racist, homophobic attack against himself in 2019 and then lying about it to Chicago police. Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP hide caption

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Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP

National

Appeals court upholds actor Jussie Smollett's convictions and jail sentence

An appeals court upheld the disorderly conduct convictions of the "Empire" actor, who was accused of staging a racist, homophobic attack against himself in 2019 and lying about it to Chicago police.

Puppets, politicians and a queen's property: It's the weekly news quiz

From left: a possible answer, a black-and-white photo, someone who left wills in her furniture. David Livingston/Getty Images, Evening Standard/Hulton Archive/Getty Images, Noam Galai/Getty Images for Tribeca Film Festival hide caption

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David Livingston/Getty Images, Evening Standard/Hulton Archive/Getty Images, Noam Galai/Getty Images for Tribeca Film Festival

The NPR news quiz

Puppets, politicians and a queen's property: It's the weekly news quiz

Do you know your puppets from your politicians? What about the new word of the year and the world of rare crustaceans? Test your knowledge of this week's news.

'May December' shines a glaring light on a dark tabloid story

Natalie Portman and Julianne Moore in a scene from May December. Francois Duhamel/Netflix hide caption

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Francois Duhamel/Netflix

Review

Pop Culture Happy Hour

'May December' shines a glaring light on a dark tabloid story

In the campy film May December Julianne Moore stars as a tabloid fixture who was at the center of a scandal after she sexually abused a minor she later married. Charles Melton (Riverdale) plays her husband and Natalie Portman plays the famous actress who's preparing to play her in a movie decades later. It's directed by Todd Haynes (Carol) and is streaming on Netflix.

'May December' shines a glaring light on a dark tabloid story

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In 'The Boy and the Heron,' Miyazaki asks: How do we go on in the midst of grief?

Twelve-year-old Mahito journeys into an otherworldly realm in The Boy and the Heron. via Studio Ghibli hide caption

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via Studio Ghibli

Review

Movie Reviews

In 'The Boy and the Heron,' Miyazaki asks: How do we go on in the midst of grief?

Fresh Air

Hayao Miyazaki's beguiling new fantasy combines the excitement of a boy's grand adventure and the weight of an older man's reflection. The hypnotic story is a partial self-portrait by an anime master.

In 'The Boy and the Heron,' Miyazaki asks: How do we go on in the midst of grief?

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A theater critic and a hotel maid are on the case in 2 captivating mystery novels
Penguin Random House

Review

Book Reviews

A theater critic and a hotel maid are on the case in 2 captivating mystery novels

Fresh Air

A critic becomes an amateur detective in order to avoid becoming a murder suspect in Alexis Soloski's Here in the Dark. In The Mystery Guest, by Nita Prose, a hotel's maid has to clean up a real mess.

A theater critic and a hotel maid are on the case in 2 captivating mystery novels

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Shane MacGowan, irascible frontman of The Pogues, has died at age 65

Shane MacGowan live onstage in 1988, courtesy of the documentary film Crock of Gold: A Few Rounds With Shane MacGowan. Andrew Catlin/Magnolia Pictures hide caption

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Andrew Catlin/Magnolia Pictures

Obituaries

Shane MacGowan, irascible frontman of The Pogues, has died at age 65

Shane MacGowan was a famously hard-drinking but brilliant musician who shot to fame in the 1980s with the folk punk band The Pogues.

Shane MacGowan, irascible frontman of The Pogues, has died at age 65

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When stars are on stage, this designer makes it personal for each fan in the stadium

For Beyoncé's Renaissance tour Es Devlin designed a spherical portal — a 50-foot wide aperture — from which the star, her dancers and musicians could emerge and withdraw between songs. Es Devlin/Thames & Hudson hide caption

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Es Devlin/Thames & Hudson

When stars are on stage, this designer makes it personal for each fan in the stadium

Es Devlin says that stadiums are designed for competition and combat. So her job, whether she's designing for Beyoncé, Super Bowl Halftime, or The Olympics, is to achieve intimacy on a massive scale.

When stars are on stage, this designer makes it personal for each fan in the stadium

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Three songs for when your flight is delayed

When you're stuck at the airport, you need the right soundtrack. Alex Wong/Getty Images hide caption

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Alex Wong/Getty Images

Pop Culture Happy Hour

Three songs for when your flight is delayed

If you travel by plane with any regularity, you've been there: stuck in an airport because your flight is delayed. So we thought it best to give your most stressful travel moments a soundtrack. Today, we're recommending three songs for when your flight is delayed.

Three songs for when your flight is delayed

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A forgotten trove of rare video games could now be worth six figures

Among the trove of games was an original version of the cult hit Chrono Trigger. Screenshot from NPR hide caption

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Screenshot from NPR

Main Character of the Day

A forgotten trove of rare video games could now be worth six figures

When a video game store closed in 1998, hundreds of sealed Super Nintendo and Sega Genesis cartridges were stored and forgotten. Now, a collection of the top-graded items has been appraised.

A forgotten trove of rare video games could now be worth six figures

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Gary Oldman had 'free rein' in spy thriller 'Slow Horses' — now back for Season 3

In Apple TV+'s Slow Horses, Gary Oldman plays Jackson Lamb, the slovenly, brilliant spy who's in charge of a group of failed British spies. The series is based on Mick Herron's Slough House novels. Herron says Lamb might not have "a heart of gold" but he does have "a moral code." Apple TV+ hide caption

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Apple TV+

Gary Oldman had 'free rein' in spy thriller 'Slow Horses' — now back for Season 3

Oldman plays the slovenly leader of failed British spies in the Apple TV+ drama, based on Mick Herron's Slough House novels. Herron is more interested in the character's failures than his virtues.

Gary Oldman had 'free rein' in spy thriller 'Slow Horses' — now back for Season 3

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