Arts

In A Climate Of Fear, A Comedian Remembers What Makes Her Brave

2:14pm October 24, 2017

by Zahra Noorbakhsh

A rise in anti-Muslim hate crimes made comedian Zahra Noorbakhsh uneasy about performing live. Then she remembered a childhood experience that helped her regain her footing.

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Climate Change Journalist Warns: 'Mother Nature Is Playing By Different Rules Now'

2:00pm October 24, 2017

Author Jeff Goodell says that American cities are under threat from extreme weather, rising sea levels and lax enforcement of environmental regulations. His new book is The Water Will Come.

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Books
Arts

In 'Vacationland,' John Hodgman Turns His Pen On Himself

7:00am October 24, 2017

by Jason Heller

Hodgman's past few books have been jokey compendiums of fake knowledge, but with Vacationland he's getting a little realer with an achingly funny chronicle of his metamorphosis into middle age.

A runner passes a ghostly sculpture on display between Bondi Beach and Tamarama Beach in Sydney.

This Halloween: What Does It Mean To Call Something 'Spooky'?

6:18am October 24, 2017

by Leah Donnella

Scared, fine. Frightened, sure. But spooked? This week, we dive into the racial history behind one of Halloween's most fraught descriptors.

The Long and Short of It: Peter (Tyler Alvarez) and Dylan (Jimmy Tatro) discuss subtle artistic differences in anatomical drawing.

Arts

'American Vandal': True Crime That's Fake, But No Less True

5:00am October 24, 2017

by Glen Weldon

The minor crime at the center of this Netflix series never happened, but it's less a mockumentary than a hilariously precise dissection of our cultural fascination with true crime narratives.

Books
Arts

In 'Vacationland,' John Hodgman Tells The Funny Story Of His Life

5:26pm October 23, 2017

NPR's Robert Siegel talks with John Hodgman about his new book Vacationland: True Stories from Painful Beaches. This time Hodgman isn't writing about nonsensical histories, but his life.

Chilean poet Pablo Neruda, seen in 1972 nearly one year before his death.

Books
Arts

Pablo Neruda Didn't Die Of Cancer, Experts Say. So What Killed The Poet?

4:27pm October 23, 2017

by Colin Dwyer

Official documents say the Nobel laureate died of prostate cancer in 1973. But 16 forensics experts have unanimously concluded that isn't true, stoking suspicions again that he was actually poisoned.

Demonstrators in Miami stand with tape reading, " I Can't Breathe," in 2014. The protest occurred after a grand jury in New York City declined to indict the police officers involved Eric Garner's death.

'I Can't Breathe' Examines Modern Policing And The Life And Death Of Eric Garner

2:41pm October 23, 2017

by Terry Gross

"The reality is that Eric Garner died at the hands of a police force and a criminal justice system that were designed entirely by white people, for the most part," says journalist Matt Taibbi.

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In 'The Last Ballad,' Wiley Cash Explores North Carolina Labor History

2:12pm October 23, 2017

by Eddie Garcia

North Carolina author Wiley Cash's new novel focuses on a significant moment in the state's labor history.

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Khizr Khan at the Democratic National Convention, July 28, 2016.

Khizr Khan Says His Faith In America Is Stronger Than Ever

12:28pm October 23, 2017

by Steve Inskeep

The Gold Star father who made headlines last year after he spoke at the Democratic National Convention has a new memoir, An American Family, about growing up in Pakistan and coming to America.

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