Arts

Books
Arts

Fact And Fiction Blur In Frustratingly Opaque 'Swarm'

6:37am January 14, 2015

by Tasha Robinson

Fantasy master Michael Moorcock makes himself a character in his new novel The Whispering Swarm, but reviewer Tasha Robinson says the story doesn't fully satisfy either as biography or fantasy.

Benedict Cumberbatch plays British mathematician Alan Turing in The Imitation Game. "You're not asked to like the character," Cumberbatch says. "You're introduced to him, warts and all."

Arts

Benedict Cumberbatch: Code Breaker Alan Turing Was A Puzzle Himself

6:49pm January 13, 2015

by NPR Staff

Cumberbatch stars in The Imitation Game, as the British mathematician who helped break German codes. "It's a war thriller, it's a love story and a tragic testament to a genius wronged," he says.

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Perry Wallace, playing for Vanderbilt University, blocks the shot of 'Pistol' Pete Maravich, circa 1970.

Perry Wallace, Who Broke Basketball Barriers, Didn't Set Out To Be A Pioneer

6:49pm January 13, 2015

by NPR Staff

Strong Inside tells the story of the first black player in college basketball's Southeastern Conference. Wallace says the hard work of integration is "a gritty, dirty, ugly business."

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Books
Arts

Book Review: 'Sympathy For The Devil' By Michael Mewshaw

6:45pm January 13, 2015

by Alan Cheuse

Alan Cheuse reviews Sympathy for the Devil, Four Decades of Friendship with Gore Vidal by Michael Mewshaw.

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Arts

'La Dolce Vita' Star Dies At 83

5:20pm January 13, 2015

by Neda Ulaby

Swedish-born actress Anita Ekberg, who was best known for her role as Sylvia in the 1960 film La Dolce Vita, died in Italy on Sunday at the age of 83.

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Ephraim Benton, a former resident of Tompkins Houses in the Bedford-Stuyvesant section of Brooklyn, is now an actor. Benton started a community-based organization called Beyond Influencing Da Hood, which puts on health fairs, film festivals and various fr

An Exhibit Offers A Different Angle On Life In Public Housing

5:20pm January 13, 2015

by Pam Fessler

An exhibit in Brooklyn aims to upend stereotypes about public housing by profiling residents and their achievements. The curators know their subject well; they once lived in public housing themselves.

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Arts

The 20 Greatest Things About This Amazing 'The Boy Next Door' Trailer

4:43pm January 13, 2015

by Linda Holmes

How bonkers is the trailer for this Jennifer Lopez thriller? Watch and be amazed.

Arts

Not My Job: Former CIA Officer Robert Baer Gets Quizzed On Bears

3:58pm January 13, 2015

Baer has written a series of books about the decades he spent in the CIA. His memoir See No Evil was the basis for the George Clooney movie Syriana.

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On Man Seeking Woman, Jay Baruchel plays Josh, who is getting used to dating again after a breakup.

Arts

'Man Seeking Woman' Examines How It Feels To Be Single, Dating And Rejected

3:47pm January 13, 2015

by David Bianculli

The new comedy series on FXX is a cross between an early Woody Allen comedy and a very edgy late-night comedy sketch. It's part literal, part impressionistic — even surrealist — and very different.

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A drawing of two clinking martini glasses.

Arts

Small Batch: The Golden Globes

3:03pm January 13, 2015

by Linda Holmes

With an extra day to consider, we look at the Golden Globes and what, if anything, we learned.

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