Arts

In All Is Lost, Robert Redford plays an unnamed sailor, stranded at sea on a badly damaged yacht.

Arts

At 77, Robert Redford Goes Back To His Roots

6:23pm December 12, 2013

by NPR Staff

Redford says filming All Is Lost was a "pure cinematic experience — the way films used to be." He talks with Fresh Air's Terry Gross about how it's been "sort of weird" being known for his good looks, and about how he nearly wasn't cast in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.

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Gov. Scott Walker Recounts First-Term Battles In New Book

12:51pm December 12, 2013

by NPR Staff

The Wisconsin Republican survived a recall effort last year after signing legislation that eliminated collective bargaining rights for most of the state's public employees. He writes about the political battle in Unintimidated: A Governor's Story and a Nation's Challenge.

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Arts

Winston-Salem Theatre Alliance Presents "Every Christmas Story Ever Told"

8:33am December 12, 2013

by David Ford

Just how many Christmas stories can you cram into 90-minutes?

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Browse more than 200 standout titles from 2013 selected by NPR staff and critics — including Maureen Corrigan.

Books
Arts

Need A Read? Here Are Maureen Corrigan's Favorite Books Of 2013

4:10pm December 11, 2013

by Maureen Corrigan

Fresh Air's book critic says it's just a fluke that 9 of the 11 titles she picked this year were written by female authors. Her favorites include a jumbo-sized Dickensian novel, a biography of Ben Franklin's sister, a comedy of manners, a stunning Scandinavian mystery and more.

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Michael Sheen plays Dr. William Masters, the senior member of a research team that conducted pioneering studies for more than three decades into the physiology of human sexuality.

Arts

Michael Sheen On The 'Accuracy And Invention' Of Real-Life Roles

2:25pm December 11, 2013

Sheen has made a name for himself playing real historical figures, including Mozart, Caligula, Prime Minister Tony Blair and British TV host David Frost. Now, in the Showtime drama Masters of Sex, he plays the part of groundbreaking sex researcher William Masters.

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Arts

William Mangum Discusses New Art Collection "Fall Into Me"

8:32am December 11, 2013

by David Ford

William Mangum has been a professional artist for 36 years, selling his art all over the world, running his own gallery and giving back to the community.

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Books
Arts

Frustrating Heroine Stars In Fresh, Feminist 'Nightingale'

3:33pm December 10, 2013

by John Powers

Nina Borg, the heroine of Death of a Nightingale, is a Red Cross nurse on a mission to save the dispossessed. But she neglects her own family as she rescues those in need in Agnete Friis and Lene Kaaberbol's elaborately plotted page-turner.

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Andre Le Notre pumped in water from the Seine River to create the Grand Canal at Chateau of Versailles.

Royal Gardener Planted The Seed Of Urban Planning At Versailles

10:45am December 10, 2013

by Eleanor Beardsley

Andre Le Notre helped turn an old hunting lodge into the Versailles we know today, taking his profession way beyond a trade. Experts say Le Notre's work was so groundbreaking, it continues to influence contemporary urban architecture. This year marks the 400th anniversary of Le Notre's birth.

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Arts

A Christmas Carol at the Andy Griffith Playhouse

8:36am December 10, 2013

by David Ford

Actor, director, playwright, and educator Bobby Bodford is a busy man. In his first year as Surry Arts Council Artistic Director, he's already produced Hairspray, Seussical, 9 to 5, and many others at the Andy Griffith Playhouse in Mount Airy where he is also Artistic Director. Bobby also directs hugely popular camps and workshops for young actors throughout the year. His upcoming productions at the Andy Griffith Playhouse include Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Dearly Beloved, Annie, The Little Mermaid, Smoke on the Mountain, and coming up this weekend, it's “A Children's Christmas Carol”.

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Delia Ephron is a novelist and playwright. Her essays have been published in The New York Times, O, Vogue and the Huffington Post. Her older sister, writer Nora Ephron, died in June 2012.

Books
Arts

Delia Ephron On The Closeness And Complexity Of Sisterhood

4:56pm December 09, 2013

Novelist Delia Ephron says that losing her older sister Nora was like "losing an arm." But for all their collaboration and closeness, Delia writes about the complications of sisterhood in her new collection of autobiographical essays, Sister Mother Husband Dog (etc.).

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