Arts

Nick Robinson as the troubled teen lead in Being Charlie.

Arts

Rob And Nick Reiner Say 'Being Charlie' Is 'Drawn From Our Lives'

8:24am April 30, 2016

by NPR Staff

Being Charlie is a new film about addiction in a Hollywood family. It's a story director Rob Reiner and his son, writer Nick Reiner, say they know well because of their own family's struggles.

Queue Listen Now

Don DeLillo has won the National Book Award, the PEN/Faulkner Award, and been nominated for several Pulitzer Prizes. His new book is Zero K.

Books
Arts

'Zero K' Freezes At The Edge Of Immortality

8:23am April 30, 2016

by NPR Staff

In Don DeLillo's new novel, a billionaire secretly funds an enterprise aimed at preserving people through cryogenics — a technology he hopes to use to rejoin his already-frozen wife.

Queue Listen Now

Books
Arts

'Imagine Me Gone' Paints Mental Illness Through Five Fictional Voices

7:58am April 30, 2016

NPR's Scott Simon asks Adam Haslett about his latest novel. Haslett says he "needed that imaginary space to investigate" his family history of mental illness.

Books
Arts

Stars Tell The Story Of This Fairy Tale-Inspired 'Queen'

7:00am April 30, 2016

by Amal El-Mohtar

Roshani Chokshi's smooth and assured debut draws on folk and fairy tales — Bluebeard, Persephone, Beauty and the Beast — for the story of a young girl whose ominous horoscope sends her on a journey.

"Manly health!" Whitman wrote in the New York Atlas. "Is there not a kind of charm -- a fascinating magic in the words?" The poet is seen here in an engraving that appeared in several editions of Leaves of Grass.

Books
Arts

Song Of My Self-Help: Follow Walt Whitman's 'Manly Health' Tips (Or Maybe Don't)

6:49am April 30, 2016

by NPR Staff

In 1858, the poet published a series of advice columns — titled "Manly Health and Training" — in which he recommends wearing a beard, taking a cold bath every morning and avoiding condiments.

Arts

'Never Crossing The Botox Rubicon': Amanda Peet Explores Aging In Hollywood

6:35pm April 29, 2016

NPR's Kelly McEvers speaks with actress Amanda Peet about her Lenny Letter essay, "Never Crossing The Botox Rubicon," and how to navigate aging in the image-obsessed entertainment industry.

Queue Listen Now

One of a multitude of uses for the magical multitasker: blue painter's tape.

Books
Arts

The Art Of MacGyvering For Sleep-Deprived Moms And Dads

6:30pm April 29, 2016

by NPR Staff

New parents need all the help they can get. Author and mom of two Asha Dornfest has compiled a book of 134 handy hacks for parents. That roll of blue painter's tape? A "magical multitasker," she says.

Queue Listen Now

West Wing Fans: 'C.J. Cregg' Returns To The White House Briefing Room

3:06pm April 29, 2016

by Jessica Taylor

Actress Allison Janney, who played the White House press secretary in the NBC drama, made a surprise appearance during the daily press briefing to talk about opioid addiction.

Arts

A White House Meeting Brings Together 2 Lost Souls In 'Elvis & Nixon'

1:31pm April 29, 2016

by David Edelstein

A new film imagines what happened when Elvis Presley met President Nixon on Dec. 21, 1970. Film critic David Edelstein says Elvis & Nixon "shows the crazy-making insulation of celebrity."

Queue Listen Now

Books
Arts

Pop Culture Happy Hour: 'Silicon Valley' And 'Bob's Burgers'

11:14am April 29, 2016

by Linda Holmes

This week, the roundtable discusses the HBO comedy Silicon Valley and Stephen Thompson sits down with Bob's Burgers creator Loren Bouchard.

Queue Listen Now