Arts

Two new books take an unusual approach to music history and blues appreciation

2:12pm July 17, 2023

by Ken Tucker

Ken Tucker reviews Robert McCormick's Biography of a Phantom: A Robert Johnson Blues Odyssey, and Robert Mugge's Notes from the Road: A Filmmaker's Journey Through American Music.

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Taylor Swift performs "The Man" during her Eras tour show in Arlington, Texas, in March. She just became the first woman to have four Top 10 charting albums at once.

Taylor Swift just made Billboard history, again

1:58pm July 17, 2023

by Rachel Treisman

Swift became the first woman and third artist ever to have four of the Top 10 albums on Billboard's 200 chart. This latest milestone comes weeks after the release of Speak Now (Taylor's Version).

Books
Arts

Some books are made for summer. NPR staffers share their all-time favorites

9:00am July 17, 2023

by NPR Staff

A few weeks ago we asked NPR staffers to share their favorite summer reads. Old, new, fiction, nonfiction — as long as it was great for hot and hazy hammock reading, it was fair game.

Concert goers dancing at the Silent Disco dance party at Lincoln Center, New York City on Saturday, July 1, 2023. Haptic suits designed for the deaf community were provided by Music: Not Impossible.

Vibrating haptic suits give deaf people a new way to feel live music

5:13am July 17, 2023

by Jennifer Vanasco

To celebrate Disability Pride Month, Music: Not Impossible brought vibrating haptic suits to a Lincoln Center dance party.

A visitor walks past shelves of books at the Mohammed bin Rashid Library in Dubai in June 2022. The library incorporates technology and artificial intelligence, including robots to help visitors and an electronic book retrieval system. It's just one example of the many ways AI has found its way into the world of books.

Arts
Books

Thousands of authors urge AI companies to stop using work without permission

5:13am July 17, 2023

by Chloe Veltman

Nora Roberts, Viet Thanh Nguyen, Michael Chabon and Margaret Atwood are among those signing an Authors Guild letter asking artificial intelligence companies to get permission or offer compensation.

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Arts

Only a small percentage of older video games are accessible now, a new survey finds

5:13am July 17, 2023

A new survey examining the availability of old video games finds that only a small percentage of games released before 2010 are still readily accessible today.

Jane Birkin, British actress, singer and French icon, dies at 76

4:53pm July 16, 2023

by Emma Bowman

The London-born star, whose British accent and natural style charmed her adopted country of France, died on Sunday. Her fame rivals the Hermès luxury handbags named after her.

Arts

The newest trend in fashion is a wardrobe staple you probably own

8:04am July 16, 2023

by Sacha Pfeiffer

NPR's Sacha Pfeiffer asks Vogue fashion writer Christian Allaire about the current popularity of plain white tank tops.

Arts

NPR's Student Podcast Challenge has a new award for stories about mental health

8:04am July 16, 2023

by Janet W. Lee

NPR's Student Podcast Challenge is awarding its first-ever prize to students who shared share their stories about mental health.

Tom Cruise returns again (and again, and again, and again) as Ethan Hunt in the latest Mission: Impossible film — Dead Reckoning Part One.

Arts

Cruise control: An homage to the relentless reliability of 'Mission: Impossible'

7:01am July 16, 2023

by Linda Holmes

The Mission: Impossible franchise runs on its ability to meet expectations. Not just any expectations — high expectations. And through all seven films, it has remained remarkably stable at its core.