Arts

Books
Arts

This Book Teaches Kids The Concept Of 'Boonoonoonous' (It's A Good Thing)

8:03am December 15, 2019

by Samantha Balaban

Olive Senior, author of Boonoonoonous Hair, says the Jamaican word has fallen out of fashion, but it's time to bring it back. "If you're told you're boonoonoonous that's a great compliment," she says.

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Arts

Hair School For Dads

8:03am December 15, 2019

Mike Hewitt and Isa Celik talk about Yorkey Dads, a support group for fathers in York, England with a "hair school" that teaches dads how to do kid coiffs.

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Books
Arts

'Imagine Pleasant Nonsense' With 'Strange Planet' Creator Nathan Pyle

7:00am December 15, 2019

by Liz Metzger

Nathan Pyle has amassed an Instagram following for his gently pastel-hued comics about aliens who narrate their everyday lives in a hilariously stilted manner. Now, the comics are out in book form.

Sean Doolittle of the Washington Nationals delivers the pitch against the Houston Astros during the seventh inning in Game 5 of the 2019 World Series at Nationals Park on Oct. 27.

Sports
Arts

Not My Job: We Quiz Baseball Pitcher Sean Doolittle On Real-World Saves

1:27pm December 14, 2019

As a relief pitcher for the Washington Nationals Doolittle saves baseball games, but how much does he know about real-world saves? We'll find out.

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Marc Fields and his team films an interview at Jim Bollman's house in Arlington.

You Can Tour This Banjo Museum Without Getting Up From Your Couch

10:42am December 14, 2019

by Andrea Shea

For more than 15 years, filmmaker Marc Fields has been on a quest to capture and share the story of the banjo. The Banjo Project is an online museum that covers the instrument's history and culture.

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Books
Arts

Kids These Days ... Are Reading Nietzsche In The 'Burbs'

7:00am December 14, 2019

by Michael Schaub

It's easy to make fun of disgruntled teenagers, but in his funny new Nietzsche and the Burbs, author Lars Iyer depicts them accurately and with real sensitivity, never mocking or condescending.

Abby McEnany plays a version of herself in Work in Progress, a dark comedy series based on her own life.

Arts

In 'Work In Progress,' A Darkly Funny Coming-Of-Middle-Age

5:14pm December 13, 2019

by Ari Shapiro

Abby McEnany plays a version of herself — a mid-40s, queer, gender non-conforming woman — in a new Showtime comedy series. It's the first TV project for the Chicago improv stalwart.

Books
Arts

Class, Culture And Sexual Identity Take Center Stage In 'Girl, Woman, Other'

1:19pm December 13, 2019

by Maureen Corrigan

Bernardine Evaristo's nuanced and entertaining Booker Prize-winning novel is told from the point of view of 12 British women of color — all just a few degrees of separation apart from each other.

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Arts

Wanda Sykes Loves Stand-Up: That's Where 'I Can Be Free,' She Says

1:19pm December 13, 2019

by Terry Gross

Before Sykes became a comic, she worked at the NSA and had top security clearance. Now she takes on the president in her Emmy-nominated Netflix special Not Normal. Originally broadcast Aug. 1, 2019.

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Clockwise: Watchmen, Russian Doll, Los Espookys, The Crown, When They See Us and Documentary Now! made NPR critics' list of the best television of 2019.

Arts

NPR's Favorite TV Shows Of 2019

10:30am December 13, 2019

Series such as Fleabag, Watchmen and Succession highlight our pop culture critics' list of the 19 best television and serial streaming programs of 2019.