Arts

William F. Buckley (left) and Gore Vidal square off on Nov. 5, 1968.

Arts

Documentary Revisits The 'Dazzling' Polemics Of The Buckley-Vidal Debates

2:25pm August 18, 2015

by John Powers

Best of Enemies chronicles the 1968 debates between conservative editor William F. Buckley and liberal novelist Gore Vidal. Critic John Powers weighs in on the legacy of their verbal crossfire.

Queue Listen Now

Muslim Feminists Rewrite Boundaries On The Street And At Home

1:59pm August 18, 2015

by Lynn Neary

Mona Eltahawy says as a female in Saudi Arabia you have two options: "To lose your mind or become a feminist." Rafia Zakaria says it's crucial to reclaim the identity of the modern Muslim woman.

Queue Listen Now

A man browses the selection on Apple TV.

Arts

Television 2015: With 25 Ways To Watch TV, Does The House Always Win?

1:45pm August 18, 2015

by Linda Holmes

There are so many ways to watch TV now that people often feel liberated from old models. But even under some of the new systems for television, as at your better casinos, the house always wins.

Books
Arts

'Dark, Dark' Doings In A Slick Debut Thriller

11:21am August 18, 2015

by Jean Zimmerman

Ruth Ware's In A Dark, Dark Wood brings together a group of 20-something women in an isolated rural house for a bachelorette party — a perfect setting for buried secrets and terrible deeds.

Books
Arts

Social Satire, Spiked With Schadenfreude In 'Everybody Rise'

10:03am August 18, 2015

by Heller McAlpin

Stephanie Clifford's debut novel, about the desperate social strivings of a young woman in Manhattan, has its roots in the tragic, old-money fascinations of Edith Wharton's The House of Mirth.

Paul Durand-Ruel, shown above in his gallery in 1910, acquired some 5,000 impressionist works — long before others were buying them.

Arts

Durand-Ruel: The Art Dealer Who Liked Impressionists Before They Were Cool

9:33am August 18, 2015

by Susan Stamberg

Parisian art dealer Paul Durand-Ruel acquired some 5,000 impressionist works long before others were buying them. Claude Monet said he and his artist friends "would have died of hunger" without him.

Queue Listen Now

Omar Sharif in one of his signature roles, the revolutionary poet Doctor Zhivago in the film of the same name.

Remembering Omar Sharif, A Star In Two Skies

9:25am August 18, 2015

by Selena Simmons-Duffin

Legendary Egyptian actor Omar Sharif has died at the age of 83. He became a global star in the 1960s with films like Lawrence of Arabia and Doctor Zhivago — but his career started in Cairo.

Queue Listen Now

Books
Arts

In Life After Life, 'Incarnations' Spins A Sinuous Tale Of Soul Mates

6:11pm August 17, 2015

by NPR Staff

In Susan Barker's novel, a few strange letters bloom into a saga of two souls' reincarnations. Barker says her characters' many lives gave her an instrument to explore China — both past and present.

Queue Listen Now

Alison Bechdel is the author of the long-running syndicated comic strip Dykes to Watch Out For.

Books
Arts

Lesbian Cartoonist Alison Bechdel Countered Dad's Secrecy By Being Out And Open

5:18pm August 17, 2015

The musical and graphic novel Fun Home describe Bechdel's coming out, and her dad's closeted homosexuality. She says, "In many ways ... my professional career has been a reaction to my father's life."

Queue Listen Now

Take It From David Brooks: Career Success 'Doesn't Make You Happy'

4:38pm August 17, 2015

by NPR Staff

The New York Times columnist wrote The Road to Character after seeing the gratitude for life of people who tutor immigrants. He thought, "I've achieved career success ... but I haven't achieved that."

Queue Listen Now