Arts

Whalebone stays and pannier from France, 1740-1760. The hoops of the pannier fold up, making it easier for the wearer to climb into carriages.

Arts

Shake What Your Mama Didn't Give You: Shapewear Through The Ages

6:29am May 10, 2015

by Jacki Lyden

From corsets and codpieces to shapewear and Spanx, people have tried to change their silhouettes for centuries. From The Seams, Jacki Lyden takes us on a sartorial tour of shapewear.

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Arts

TV And Hollywood Pattern-Maker Sells A Three-Decades Cache

6:29am May 10, 2015

by Nina Gregory

Exciting and colorful Hollywood treasures turn up at the estate sale of a woman who made patterns for renowned costume designers Edith Head and Bob Mackie.

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A woolly mammoth skeleton gets auctioned off in Billingshurst, England.

If Science Could 'Clone A Mammoth,' Could It Save An Elephant?

8:21pm May 09, 2015

by NPR Staff

De-extinction technology could soon bring back lost species — or preserve endangered ones. In her new book, evolutionary biologist Beth Shapiro explores the scientific and ethical challenges.

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Steve Buscemi poses for photographers during the A Good Job: Stories Of THe FDNY New York premiere on Sept. 4, 2014 in New York City.

Arts

Not My Job: Actor Steve Buscemi Gets Quizzed On Government Jobs

10:48am May 09, 2015

Buscemi wasn't always a famous actor. He was once just a young man taking the civil service test. If things had gone differently, he could have had a career in any number of exciting government jobs.

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Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin in the Netflix series Grace and Frankie.

Arts

'Grace And Frankie' Looks At Life Unexpectedly Alone

9:48am May 09, 2015

by Linda Holmes

The new Netflix series Grace And Frankie casts Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin as two women whose husbands leave them — for each other.

The right to dine out alone in public during the day was an early victory in the women's rights movement. And as brunch took off in post-war America, for some, it became an exercise in women's lib.

Arts

Taking Mom Out For Brunch? It's A Feminist Tradition

7:33am May 09, 2015

by Tove Danovich

The right to dine out in public alone during the day was an early victory of the women's rights movement of the 1900s. And in post-war America, brunch became an exercise in women's lib for some.

Books
Arts

Just 'Between You & Me,' Here Are Some Handy Grammar Tips

6:22pm May 08, 2015

by NPR Staff

Mary Norris has been a copy editor at The New Yorker since 1978. She dispenses some of the collected grammatical wisdom of those decades in a new book, Between You & Me (and it is "me," not "I").

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Kermit the Frog speaks to Gonzo the Great in a scene from ABC's The Muppets.

Arts

ABC Brings Muppets Back To Prime Time As News Emerges About Fall Shows

6:21pm May 08, 2015

by Eric Deggans

TV networks officially reveal fall schedules next week, but word has already spread on some new shows and cancellations. NPR TV Critic Eric Deggans says early trends include more diversity, big names.

Artist Parviz Tanavoli with his sculpture Big Heech Lovers.

Father Of Modern Iranian Sculpture Gets First U.S. Show In Nearly 40 Years

6:16pm May 08, 2015

by Andrea Shea

Parviz Tanavoli's calligraphy-inspired figures helped revive sculpture as an art form in Iran. Now, Wellesley College's Davis Museum is giving American viewers a chance to see his work.

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During her lifetime, singer and dancer Carmen Miranda (shown here in a dressing room at the London Palladium in 1948) was a huge success in the United States, but rejected at home in Brazil as a sellout.

Of Fruit Hats And 'Happy Tropics,' A Renaissance For Carmen Miranda

6:12pm May 08, 2015

by Lourdes Garcia-Navarro

The Brazilian performer was a huge hit with American audiences who loved her outrageous costumes and beautiful voice. But she's been less appreciated in her homeland — until now.

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