Arts

"In many ways I appear very good at being social," says comic Hannah Gadsby. "But it's an incredibly exhausting process for me." She found her autism spectrum diagnosis in 2016 helped put her experience into perspective.

Arts

Autism Spectrum Diagnosis Helped Comic Hannah Gadsby 'Be Kinder' To Herself

1:44pm May 26, 2020

by Terry Gross

Growing up, the comic — known for her Nanette stand-up special — struggled to read social cues. She says her 2016 diagnosis "shifted the way that I understood myself." Her latest special is Douglas.

Cover detail of St. Christopher on Pluto, by Nancy McKinly

Books
Arts

'St. Christopher On Pluto' Follows The Adventures Of 2 Friends In An Old Buick

1:13pm May 26, 2020

by Maureen Corrigan

Nancy McKinley mixes screwball humor with social criticism in a collection of interlocking stories about two women who work at a mall in Northeastern Pennsylvania.

How Definitive Image Of Pandemic Could Help Explain Tragedy

8:13pm May 25, 2020

NPR's Ailsa Chang talks with Sarah Elizabeth Lewis, a professor of art history at Harvard University, about how the lack of images makes it harder to comprehend the vast lethality of the pandemic.

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Books
Arts

How Winston Churchill Pulled Britain Through The Early Years Of WWII

12:05pm May 25, 2020

by Dave Davies

In The Splendid And The Vile, author Erik Larson details the British prime minister's first year in office, during which England endured a Nazi bombing campaign. Originally broadcast March 30, 2020.

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Boris Deutch painted this 1941 Works Progress Administration mural in the Terminal Annex building in Los Angeles, Calif.

Arts

Art Of The New Deal: How Artists Helped Redefine America During The Depression

7:00am May 25, 2020

by Neda Ulaby

When the Roosevelt administration rolled out millions of dollars to fund artists, musicians, writers and actors, it wasn't just about job creation. It was to unite a nation in turmoil.

Books
Arts

André Leon Talley Writes About Wintour, Lagerfeld In 'Chiffon Trenches'

6:56am May 25, 2020

by Karen Grigsby Bates

Longtime Vogue editor André Leon Talley has a new memoir out called: The Chiffon Trenches. In it, he describes rifts with Vogue editor Anna Wintour and the late designer Karl Lagerfeld.

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Arts
Economy

Shetler Studios In New York City Closes Due To Economic Downturn

6:56am May 25, 2020

by Jeff Lunden

For 30 years, Shetler Studios provided affordable space in New York's theater district for rehearsals, readings, classes and auditions. The owners can't afford to continue because of the pandemic.

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Arts

Movie Review: 'On The Record' With Russell Simmons' Accusers

7:53am May 24, 2020

by Eric Deggans

A new documentary looks at allegations that the hip-hop mogul sexually assaulted several women, and places his case against the larger question of how black women are treated by the #MeToo movement.

The first batch of handwritten cards and letters, awaiting USPS pickup in the mailbox.

Arts

What I Learned From Writing Letters To Strangers Across America

7:00am May 24, 2020

by Elise Hu

Writing letters to strangers in almost all 50 states became an outlet to process anxieties about the pandemic. And a reminder of all the ways we are connected.

Books
Arts

Meredith Talusan On Her New Memoir, Life As A Child Star, Relationship With Parents

9:17am May 23, 2020

Author Meredith Talusan talks to NPR's Scott Simon about her new memoir, Fairest.