Arts

Ellie Kemper, right, stars with Tituss Burgess in the Netflix series Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt.

Arts

TV In 2015: Late-Night Shuffles, Big Goodbyes And More

8:31am January 05, 2015

by Eric Deggans

The most important TV events coming in 2015 include new voices in late-night, big goodbyes, online platforms picking up old shows and, NPR TV critic Eric Deggans says, more of everything.

Queue Listen Now

Richard Estes, Jone's Diner, 1979, oil on canvas. (Private collection.) Click here for a closer look.

Arts

Painting Or Photograph? With Richard Estes, It's Hard To Tell

5:04pm January 04, 2015

by Susan Stamberg

The American artist starts by taking dozens of photos of the same thing. Then he paints it, staying as faithful to photos as he can. The Smithsonian American Art Museum has an exhibition of his work.

Queue Listen Now

Books
Arts

How Tinseltown Got Tipsy: A Boozy Taste Of Hollywood History

4:59pm January 04, 2015

by NPR Staff

Mark Bailey, who detailed old Hollywood's legendary love affair with liquor in his book Of All the Gin Joints, shares stories from a bygone era over cocktails at a legendary Hollywood bar.

Queue Listen Now

John Cleese got his first big break in London's West End and as a script writer and performer on The Frost Report.

Books
Arts

'Comedy Is Extraordinarily Difficult': John Cleese On Being Funny

4:48pm January 04, 2015

by NPR Staff

John Cleese of Monty Python fame has written a memoir, So, Anyway ... , which brings him from boyhood in a quiet British town called Weston to the footlights of London and screens all over the world.

Queue Listen Now

Chris Lohring founded Notch Brewing in 2010. The company's lineup includes a Czech pilsner, a Belgian saison and an India pale ale. All of the brews are session beers — meaning their alcohol by volume, or A.B.V., is less than 5 percent.

Arts

More Drinking, Less Buzz: Session Beers Gain Fans

3:13pm January 04, 2015

by Doug Tribou

Light beer doesn't have to mean less flavor. A growing trend is offering another option. Session beers emphasize craft-beer taste with alcohol as low as or lower than big-brand light beers.

Queue Listen Now

Books
Arts

In 'God Loves Haiti,' Clutching Memories When The Earth Moves

12:20pm January 04, 2015

In his debut novel, Haitian expat Dimitry Elias Legér uses the 2010 earthquake in Haiti as a backdrop to a love triangle. Leger tells NPR's Rachel Martin why he titled his new book God Loves Haiti.

Queue Listen Now

Arts

A Winter Puzzle To Brrring In The New Year

12:20pm January 04, 2015

by Will Shortz

Given a clue, each response is a two-word answer with the first word starting with B-R and the second word starting with R.

Queue Listen Now

James Brown performs onstage at the TAMI Show on December 29, 1964 at the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium in California.

James Brown On Film: An Admiring And Unflinching Look At 'Mr. Dynamite'

8:22pm January 03, 2015

by Eric Deggans

The new HBO documentary Mr. Dynamite: The Rise of James Brown traces the singer's career through the words of writers, musicians and former employees.

Queue Listen Now

Bransby moved to the Colorado Springs area in the 1940s. Explore his work >>

Arts

For 98-Year-Old Artist, Every Mural Must 'Be A New Adventure'

1:11pm January 03, 2015

by Chloe Veltman

Eric Bransby, who studied under Thomas Hart Benton, is one of the last living links to the great age of American mural painting. Age has slowed him down somewhat, but Bransby is still hard at work.

Queue Listen Now

Books
Arts

These 'Almost Famous Women' Won't Be Forgotten Again

12:07pm January 03, 2015

by NPR Staff

Megan Mayhew Bergman's new story collection focuses on the colorful tales of independent real-life, risk-taking women who've faded from the spotlight (or never cared for it in the first place).

Queue Listen Now