Arts

Queen Elizabeth II is pictured beside a floral exhibit at the Chelsea Flower Show that features her own image.

London Flower Show Hopes You Will Get Into The Garden, Too

6:14pm May 23, 2016

by Dana Farrington

Handmade poppies and take-home tips are hallmarks of this year's Chelsea Flower Show. The Royal Horticultural Society wants to use the show to promote the benefits of digging in the dirt.

Candice Hoyes uses her surrounding for inspiration — and New York City has no shortage of interesting sights.

Candice Hoyes Sings Blackness, Womanhood And History On Her New Jazz Album

4:24pm May 23, 2016

by Leah Donnella

When Candice Hoyes sings, she's channeling a legacy of black women in jazz. Her debut album, On a Turquoise Cloud, celebrates the genre's storied roots.

Eventually, Big Thunder gives Little Thunder a name of his own: Lightning.

Books
Arts

Sherman Alexie On His New Kids' Book And The Angst Of Being A 'Jr.'

4:14pm May 23, 2016

by NPR Staff

Alexie says he always struggled with being named after his dad — so he decided to write a book about it. Thunder Boy Jr. is about a little boy who is eager to have his own name and be his own person.

Queue Listen Now

Saxophonist Maceo Parker Receives Award Honoring Folk Artists

4:06pm May 23, 2016

by Eddie Garcia

Celebrated North Carolina saxophonist Maceo Parker is receiving the North Carolina Heritage Award, which recognizes the state's premiere folk artists.

Queue Listen Now

Susan Silverman says her Jewish faith helps her deal with life's uncertainties.

Books
Arts

Susan Silverman On Anxiety, Adoption And Making A Family In An Uncertain World

2:11pm May 23, 2016

In Casting Lots, the rabbi and mother of five explains how Judaism helped her come to terms with her anxiety. She says she and her sister, comic Sarah Silverman, are "two sides of the same coin."

Queue Listen Now

Jazz Books: Conversations in Jazz and Music in the Air

From Duke To The Dead, Ralph J. Gleason Loved It All

9:24am May 23, 2016

by Felix Contreras

Two new volumes of work by the legendary music writer Ralph J. Gleason are out this spring. Though he grew up during the Jazz Age, Gleason loved acts like Janis Joplin and the Grateful Dead too.

Weiner is an inside look at the ups and downs of a fiery political figure.

Arts

'Weiner' Is An Intriguingly Nuanced Look At An Easy Punch Line

9:18am May 23, 2016

by Bob Mondello

Two years after he was caught texting crotch shots, former New York Congressman Anthony Weiner was back in the spotlight, running for mayor. A new documentary chronicles his scandal-plagued campaign.

Raymond Douglas speaks to NPR's Michel Martin about his book,On Being Raped.

On The Ever-Present Trauma Of Rape: 'You Are Not Alone. Don't Give Up'

5:07am May 23, 2016

by NPR Staff

More than 30 years after he says he was raped by a priest, Raymond Douglas wrote about his trauma. He hopes it will help more male victims to speak up and authorities to better address the issue.

Queue Listen Now

Teaching The Intangibles: How To Ingrain 'Grit' In Students

5:08pm May 22, 2016

Author Paul Tough's book, Helping Children Succeed, lays out what he calls the tools for helping children succeed, particularly through attributes like perseverance and grit.

Dan Vyleta's new book Smoke imagines a world where vice is made visible, in the form of curling black Smoke.

Books
Arts

'Smoke' Author Dan Vyleta Keeps It Messy

10:00am May 22, 2016

by Annalisa Quinn

Dan Vyleta's new novel imagines a world where inner faults and sins are made visible by black smoke curling from bodies. He says his big, sprawling narratives were inspired by the works of Dickens.