Arts

What's The Most Important Thing Food Labels Should Tell Us?

7:29pm November 14, 2013

by Dan Charles

Food labels have become battlegrounds. Government regulators, companies and food movement activists have been fighting over what belongs on the label. (GMOs? Trans fats? Claims that bran prevents heart disease?) We asked four big thinkers for their dream food label.

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Bruce Dern has been acting for more than 50 years. In Nebraska, he plays a man on a mission to collect $1 million.

Arts

Actor Bruce Dern Gets Up Close And Personal In 'Nebraska'

4:08pm November 14, 2013

by NPR Staff

Dern's new film follows a man named Woody who is starting to show signs of dementia. When Woody falls for one of those junk-mail sweepstakes come-ons, he becomes convinced that he's won $1 million and sets out on foot to collect the cash. Dern tells Fresh Air's Terry Gross, "[Nebraska] is the most personal movie I've ever done in my career."

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Arts

The Future of North Carolina Shakespeare Festival

8:31am November 14, 2013

by David Ford

On August 1st the North Carolina Shakespeare Festival announced that it was suspending operations, effective immediately. Extreme financial challenges in a difficult fundraising climate were sighted as the root causes for the decision. In their announcement, the NCShakes Board of Trustees vowed to re-evaluate their programming and adjust their mission to alleviate the potential $300,000 budget shortfall. Artistic and Managing Director Pedro Silva joined the organization at its inception in 1977, becoming managing director six years later.

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After receiving a dubious letter, the aging Woody (Bruce Dern) heads off on a quest to collect $1 million, dragging his son David (Will Forte) along with him.

Arts

Chasing Money, And Meaning, In 'Nebraska'

8:32pm November 13, 2013

by Bob Mondello

A road-trip movie from director Alexander Payne (Sideways) follows a man en route to collect a million-dollar prize that probably never was. NPR's Bob Mondello says the black-and-white film is just the latest achievement from a talented filmmaker. (Recommended)

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Adam Minter has also written for The Atlantic, Foreign Policy and The Wall Street Journal. Junkyard Planet is his first book.

Christmas Lights Make Slippers In Global 'Junkyard' Economy

7:01pm November 13, 2013

The Chinese town of Shijiao is known for recycling discarded Christmas tree lights for their copper and wire insulation, which are then used to support growing economies and make slipper soles, respectively. In Junkyard Planet, Adam Minter explores the business of recycling what developed nations throw away.

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A young woman holding an elderly woman's hands

Books
Arts

A 'Marriage', A Divorce, A Dying Dog And Essays Done Right

2:44pm November 13, 2013

by Maureen Corrigan

Essay collections are underrated and often ignored in favor of short stories or novels. But in the hands of a writer as practiced as Ann Patchett, critic Maureen Corrigan says the essay becomes an expansive storytelling vessel. Patchett's new book is This Is The Story Of A Happy Marriage.

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Arts

Men's Vocal Ensemble Group Cantus to Perform for Secrest Series

8:41am November 13, 2013

by David Ford

All is Calm: The Christmas Truce of 1914 by Peter Rothstein, with musical arrangements by Erick Lichte and Timothy Takach, is based on a true story that took place during the first winter of World War I. Next week, Minneapolis-based Theatre Latte Da brings All is Calm to the Triad. They'll be joined in performance by the internationally acclaimed men's vocal ensemble Cantus with patriotic tunes, trench songs, medieval Scottish ballads, and holiday carols from England, Wales, France and Germany.

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Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., talks to reporters at the U.S. Capitol on Sept. 3.

Was Rand Paul's Plagiarism Dishonest Or A Breach Of Good Form?

4:31pm November 12, 2013

by Geoff Nunberg

The flap over the Kentucky senator's articles and speeches is just the latest in a series of cases of plagiarism by high-profile journalists and politicians. Linguist Geoff Nunberg looks at the way the word plagiarism has been used since it was invented by the Romans and wonders if it's always immoral or just bad form.

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Arts

Renowned Typographer, Linguist, Poet Robert Bringhurst to Speak at Hanes Art Gallery

9:54am November 12, 2013

by David Ford

Renowned typographer Robert Bringhurst is a linguist, translator, cultural historian, and one of Canada's most revered poets. His poetry has been described as “rare but not rarified”, and in his landmark book The Elements of Typographic Style, he's been said to “conjure poetry out of the smallest detail, from the humble hyphen to the nuances of serifs”.

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El Rey, which will be targeting a young Latino audience, is being spearheaded by filmmaker Robert Rodriguez, shown at the premiere of his recent film Machete Kills in October.

Arts

Comcast Deal Puts New Minority-Run Channels In Play

8:15am November 12, 2013

by Mandalit del Barco

The conglomerate is launching new networks — targeted at diverse audiences and run by Sean Combs, Magic Johnson and Robert Rodriguez — to satisfy an agreement made with the FCC when the company merged with NBCUniversal.

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