Arts

Jennifer Lopez plays singer Selena Quintanilla Perez in the 1997 film Selena.

20 Years Ago, Biopic Helped Give Pop Star Selena Life Beyond Her Tragic Death

11:50pm March 21, 2017

In the 1990s, Tejano music singer Selena Quintanilla Perez made a rare crossover to mainstream American audiences. The movie Selena debuted two years after her murder.

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Models pose at the end of the Marc Jacobs Runway Show at Park Avenue Armory on February 16, 2017 in New York City. In the past, Jacobs has been criticized for culturally insensitive runway shows. This year marked a change.

Arts

On Fashion Runways, Inclusion Is About More Than Color

5:20pm March 21, 2017

by Karen Grigsby Bates

It's a tricky thing, casting. Directors have a vision for their lines — but what if that vision doesn't include a more inclusive palette?

Arts

'Missing Richard Simmons' And The Nature Of Being Known

4:32pm March 21, 2017

by Linda Holmes

The podcast came to an anticlimactic end as a mystery, but it says a lot about the demands of being a public figure.

Nowruz, the Persian New Year, is a celebration of the start of spring marked through large parts of the Middle East and Central Asia. Above, a Nowruz haftseen table, laden with seven items meant to symbolize rebirth or renewal.

For Afghan Immigrants, Nowruz Celebrations Of Spring Are A Taste Of Home

2:01pm March 21, 2017

by Eileen Guo

Celebrating this ancient festival was banned under the Taliban. For refugees and immigrants in America, the holiday and the feasts that accompany it are an important cultural link to Afghanistan.

Pete Holmes stars as a devout Christian comic with an upbeat disposition in the HBO's Crashing.

Arts

Comic Pete Holmes Draws On His Early Career And 'Churchy' Roots In 'Crashing'

1:39pm March 21, 2017

Holmes, who grew up a devout Christian, says he saw himself as a "Good Boy" comic in the early stages of his career. "I was basically picturing [Jesus] in the back of the club."

Books
Arts

Hunger, Boredom And Disappointment Are A Literary Feast In 'Bleaker House'

10:00am March 21, 2017

by Heller McAlpin

Nell Stevens retreated to a remote corner of the Falkland Islands in an attempt to write a novel. She came away with something better: This oddly winning memoir of deprivation, rain and penguins.

Books
Arts

'Lucky You' Is A Perfect Balance Of Humor And Tragedy

7:00am March 21, 2017

by Michael Schaub

Erika Carter's intelligent, unpretentious debut follows an aimless group of friends in their 20s, whose lives spin out of control during a supposedly detoxifying trip to a remote house in the country.

Books
Arts

'Ghosts' In The Arctic: How The Long-Lost Franklin Expedition Was Found

5:04am March 21, 2017

by Steve Inskeep

In the 1840s, two British crews vanished while seeking a passage through the ice at the top of the world. Paul Watson became "obsessed with the mystery" and tells the story in his new book Ice Ghosts.

Robert Silvers, co-founder of The New York Review of Books, speaks at the 2006 National Book Awards. Silvers died Monday after a brief illness. He was 87.

Robert Silvers, Longtime Editor Of 'The New York Review Of Books,' Dies At 87

6:09pm March 20, 2017

by Glen Weldon

Silvers co-founded the journal with Barbara Epstein in 1963. It quickly became a leading forum where authors and critics grappled with cultural issues — and with each other.

Comedian Iliza Shlesinger's comedy is physical — she contorts, snorts and stalks the stage in her new special, Confirmed Kills.

Arts

In 'Confirmed Kills,' Iliza Shlesinger Cloaks Social Commentary In Comic Rants

4:39pm March 20, 2017

by Kelly McEvers

Comedian Iliza Shlesinger's standup is physical. She contorts and snorts and stalks the stage as she becomes the characters in jokes that explore what it's like to be a woman in today's society.

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