Arts

Joined At The Tragically Hip: Dianne (Olivia Thirlby) and Henry (Ben Feldman) in Between Us.

Arts

Betwixt And 'Between Us': Hipster Newlyweds Struggle To Stay Cool

5:00pm January 05, 2017

by Scott Tobias

A couple takes pride in rejecting the trappings of a conventional married life — but the form their rejection takes is so marked by cliché that the film fails to sustain interest.

Agony Ent: A grieving Conor (Lewis MacDougall) confronts his local monster (voiced by Liam Neeson).

Arts

In This Surprisingly Mature Kids' Movie, 'A Monster Calls' And A Boy Answers

5:00pm January 05, 2017

by Andrew Lapin

Screenwriter Patrick Ness adapts his YA novel about a monster who helps a boy deal with his mother's illness. The result is a film that confronts grief in a gratifyingly unsentimental way.

In 1972, NPR invited listeners to write ads for stuff money can't buy. We're doing it again this year. But first, to jog your thinking, here are a few examples of the more, well, unique ads back then, including one sung by a toddler about firetrucks.

Arts

Ads For Nicer Living: The Oddball Gems About What Brightens Our Lives

3:44pm January 05, 2017

by Colin Dwyer

In 1972, NPR invited listeners to write ads for stuff money can't buy. We're doing it again this year. But first, to jog your thinking, here are a few examples of the more, well, unique ads back then.

Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone are aspiring artists in the movie musical La La Land. The film has been nominated for seven Golden Globe awards.

Arts

'La La Land' Director Aimed To Make A Film Even Musical Skeptics Would Love

2:44pm January 05, 2017

"Movies are kind of limited by what you see in front of the camera," says director Damien Chazelle. "Musicals find this wonderful way around that."

Docents on the America InSight tours guide visitors through the Smithsonian American Art Museum.

Blind Art Lovers Make The Most Of Museum Visits With 'InSight' Tours

1:07pm January 05, 2017

by Susan Stamberg

"Sight isn't the only pathway to understand art," says Carol Wilson of the Smithsonian American Art Museum. There, specially trained docents lead tours using sound, description — and even touch.

Queue Listen Now

Arts

Titanic Documentary Suggests Engine Room Fire Led To Sinking

8:48am January 05, 2017

NPR's Audie Cornish speaks with Senan Molony about his documentary, which presents evidence that a fire in the engine room could have also led to the sinking of the ship and the loss of 1,500 lives.

Queue Listen Now

Arts

Getty Foundation Project Weaves U.S. Latino Art With Latin American Art

7:33am January 05, 2017

by Mandalit del Barco

The artistic ties between Los Angles and Latin America will be featured in more than 60 museums and arts centers throughout Southern California. It opens in September and spans history and geography.

Queue Listen Now

The Heart of What Was Lost by Tad Williams.

Books
Arts

Returning To A Beloved Series In 'The Heart Of What Was Lost'

7:00am January 05, 2017

by Jason Heller

It's been 23 years since Tad Williams wrapped up his epic Memory, Sorrow and Thorn series. Now, he returns to the land of Osten Ard in a brief gem of a story that sets up a fresh epic to follow.

The Millennium Tower has gained notoriety as "The Leaning Tower of San Francisco." Residents of the luxury condominium building and the city are suing the developer.

San Francisco's 'Leaning Tower' Has Residents Fuming

7:01pm January 04, 2017

by Stephanie Martin Taylor

A luxury high-rise in San Francisco is sinking. The Millennium Tower has sunk more than a foot since its completion in 2010. It's also tilting, which makes life difficult for residents on high floors.

Queue Listen Now

Roxane Gay is also the author of Bad Feminist, An Untamed State and Ayiti. She recently wrote World of Wakanda #1, a Black Panther prequel.

Books
Arts

Roxane Gay On Good Men, Bad Men And 'Difficult Women'

5:26pm January 04, 2017

by NPR Staff

Gay's new short story collection explores women's lives and issues of race, class and sex. But she says the book could easily have been called Difficult Men.

Queue Listen Now