Arts

Books
Arts

From Harpies To Heroines: How Shakespeare's Women Evolved

6:43pm April 12, 2015

by NPR Staff

In her new book Women of Will, Tina Packer traces Shakespeare's maturation — and, she argues, the corresponding transformation of his female characters from caricatures to fully-realized humans.

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Adventures In Vietnam — Street Food, Love And Taking Chances

11:01am April 12, 2015

by NPR Staff

Journalist Graham Holliday moved to Vietnam in the '90s and immersed himself in the culture through food. That meant getting "a little bit" poisoned, finding the best Bún chả — and meeting his wife.

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Arts

A Good-Old-Boy Thing: Remembering Actor James Best

11:01am April 12, 2015

Actor James Best died last week at age 88. He was best known for playing Sheriff Rosco P. Coltrane in the TV series "The Dukes of Hazzard." NPR's Rachel Martin spoke with him in 2013.

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Reverend Jeff Moore blesses a biker at the Buffalo Soldiers Motorcycle Club rally in San Jose, Calif.

Arts

On Steel Horses They Ride — To Honor 19th-Century Cavalries

11:01am April 12, 2015

by Leila Day

In the mid- and late 1800s, Buffalo Soldiers were all-black cavalries patrolling America's western frontier. Today, a motorcycle club that carries their name pays homage to the soldiers.

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Books
Arts

In 'Distant Marvels,' A Witness To Revolutions Tells Cuba's Story

11:01am April 12, 2015

by NPR Staff

Chantel Acevedo's latest novel opens in 1963 and focuses on octogenarian Maria Sirena, part of a Cuban generation that lived through both the war of independence from Spain and the Cuban Revolution.

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In American Odyssey, Anna Friel plays Sgt. Odelle Ballard, who is stationed in Mali. After her team is killed, she finds herself running for her life — which includes disguising herself as a man.

Arts

'American Odyssey': Three Ordinary People, One Thrill-Filled Plot

10:47pm April 11, 2015

by NPR Staff

The show is about a government conspiracy. But co-creator Peter Horton says beneath the action, human stories drive the show. "That's the little dirty secret," he says. "This is a character piece."

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Books
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A Dark, Funny — And Vietnamese — Look At The Vietnam War

9:04pm April 11, 2015

by NPR Staff

Viet Thanh Nguyen grew up in America with war movies like Apocalypse Now and Platoon, which offer accounts of the war focusing on Americans. His new novel, The Sympathizer, follows a Vietnamese spy.

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Mulgrew starred as Captain Kathryn Janeway, the first woman to command a Federation Starship, in Star Trek: Voyager.

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'Born With Teeth,' Actress Kate Mulgrew On A Life Lived With Abandon

7:22pm April 11, 2015

by NPR Staff

Mulgrew played Captain Janeway on Star Trek: Voyager and is a formidable kitchen manager on Orange Is the New Black. But her personal story is more dramatic than any she's ever played on screen.

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Super Troopers director and actor Jay Chandrasekhar (left), along with other castmates from the cult comedy film, solicit investment for a sequel in a screengrab from their IndieGogo campaign.

Arts

For Fans Of 'Super Troopers,' Meow They're Getting A Sequel

2:38pm April 11, 2015

by NPR Staff

Super Troopers is one of the silliest movies in the pantheon of cult comedies and the film's creators have raised more than $3.5 million for a sequel through crowdfunding.

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Books
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How Jim Grimsley Shed His 'Racist' Skin

12:33pm April 11, 2015

In 1966, Jim Grimsley's North Carolina school was integrated. NPR's Tamara Keith talks to Grimsley and one of his first black classmates, Donnie Meadows, about Grimsley's book, How I Shed My Skin.

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