Arts

Quvenzhane Wallis (second from right) stars in an updated version of Annie, produced by Jay Z.

Arts

An Updated 'Annie' And The Tradition Of Nontraditional Casting

9:07pm December 17, 2014

by Bob Mondello

As an African-American Annie arrives on movie screens, critic Bob Mondello looks at other cross-cultural reinventions, from Pearl Bailey's Dolly to the Americanization of Carmen as Carmen Jones.

Queue Listen Now

Books
Arts

How Author John Safran Lost A Year In Mississippi

7:51pm December 17, 2014

God'll Cut You Down is a new book based on the tangled true story about the murder of a white supremacist by a black hustler. NPR's Rachel Martin speaks with the book's author, John Safran.

Queue Listen Now

Daisy Armstrong began performing poetry when her mother took her to a youth poetry group. Soon, she was winning competitions — but she was also kicked out of school after a slam poetry tour.

From Feeling Lost To Army Strong, With The Help Of Poetry

6:56pm December 17, 2014

by Yowei Shaw

Daisy Armstrong struggled in school. She was homeless for a time. Then she began performing poetry — and it helped her, a gay woman, find a niche where she never thought she'd belong: the Army.

Queue Listen Now

Arts

A Holiday Comic Standard: 'Christmas Vacation' Turns 25

2:38pm December 17, 2014

by Rachel Martin

With the holiday season, comes holiday movies, and this year marks the 25th anniversary of one of the best — National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation.

Queue Listen Now

The original, 1963 cover of Clifford the Big Red Dog. "[I] was shocked when it was accepted for publication, because I'd never written anything before," said Norman Bridwell.

'Clifford The Big Red Dog' Creator Bridwell Dies At 86

2:26pm December 17, 2014

by Bill Chappell

More than 50 years after he came up with a story about a huge dog, author Norman Bridwell has died. In 2012, Bridwell told NPR he had been shocked when his idea was accepted for publication.

Queue Listen Now

Books
Arts

Between World Wars, Gay Culture Flourished In Berlin

1:32pm December 17, 2014

In Gay Berlin, Robert Beachy describes the rise of a gay subculture in the 1920s and '30s, how it contributed to our understanding of gay identity and how it was eradicated by the Nazis.

Queue Listen Now

Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson star in HBO's True Detective.

Arts

Deggans: 'Fargo,' 'True Detective,' 'Transparent' Top Best TV Of 2014

11:44am December 17, 2014

by Eric Deggans

At a time when there is so much good TV around, NPR TV critic Eric Deggans says, any Top 10 list says as much about the critic as about the shows he is picking.

Halal jamón products made with lamb and beef inside the Balkis Gourmet curing room in Cumbres Mayores in Andalusia, Spain.

At Last, Muslims Can Savor A Halal Spin On Spain's Famous Jamón

11:29am December 17, 2014

by Lauren Frayer

Authentic jamón ibérico from free-range pigs fed on acorns is a key Spanish food that observant Muslims can't enjoy. But a Tunisian emigre is now making halal ham from lamb and beef in southern Spain.

Queue Listen Now

Arts

Meet the Artist: Author Wiley Cash

10:14am December 17, 2014

by Eddie Garcia

Queue Listen Now

The comic book superhero Priya survived a rape and now fights violence against women.

India's New Comic Book Hero Fights Rape, Rides On The Back Of A Tiger

6:46pm December 16, 2014

by Rhitu Chatterjee

Her name is Priya and she is the star of a new graphic novel in India. After she is gang-raped, her family and neighbors shun her — but then a Hindu goddess grants her special powers.