NPR Arts & Culture

Summer Movies: The Sweet, The Light And The Loud Trailer: 'Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen' Trailer: 'Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince' Trailer: 'The Hurt Locker' Trailer: 'Whatever Works' Trailer: 'Julie An
The summer-movie slate looks like a typically airheaded one, from Land of the Lost to the naughty new spoof Bruno. But fear not: We found a few dramas — even some foreign weepies — to help tide you over.
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.
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.
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.
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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.
'Steal The Menu': A Chronicle Of A Career In Food Coverage
When Raymond Sokolov began writing about food, it was considered a specialty portfolio. Today, celebrity chefs abound in the U.S. and Britain, with cookbooks, TV shows and groupies. Host Scott Simon speaks with Sokolov about his new book, Steal the Menu: A Memoir of Forty Years in Food.
'Steal The Menu': A Chronicle Of A Career In Food Coverage
When Raymond Sokolov began writing about food, it was considered a specialty portfolio. Today, celebrity chefs abound in the U.S. and Britain, with cookbooks, TV shows and groupies. Host Scott Simon speaks with Sokolov about his new book, Steal the Menu: A Memoir of Forty Years in Food.
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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.
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.
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.
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.
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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.
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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.
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."
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.
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.
A Race Against Time To Find WWI's Last 'Doughboys'
In 2003, Richard Rubin set out to talk to every American veteran of World War I he could find. With help from the French, he tracked down dozens of centenarian vets and recorded their stories in a new book called The Last of the Doughboys.
Are Women Really Missing From Film Criticism?
Are women really being shut out of film criticism? One recent study claims that they're worse off in the online world than they were in print.
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The Great Charcoal Debate: Briquettes Or Lumps?
Does the kind of charcoal you use really make a difference when it comes to grilling up a tasty steak or other food on the grill? Yes — but deciding which one to use depends on what you're after. Both briquettes and lump charcoal — aka "natural" hardwood charcoal — have their advantages and disadvantages.
This Time, It's A Dull Ache Of A 'Hangover'
In dumping his formula, director Todd Phillips has thrown out just about everything else that made the surprise-hit first movie even a little likable.
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