Art & Design

Economics in Wonderland, by Robert B. Reich

Robert Reich Shows Off His Cartooning Skills in 'Economics in Wonderland'

7:00am November 12, 2017

by Etelka Lehoczky

"Economic concepts don't readily lend themselves to cartoons," says the former Secretary of Labor, a talented cartoonist who's put a lot of thought into drawing abstract ideas like tax expenditures.

Arts

Why A Thumb-Sized Stone Is Important To Ancient Greek Art History

8:07am November 11, 2017

A miniature masterpiece carved on an ancient seal stone is changing ideas about art history. Jack Davis helped discover the Pylos Combat Agate in Greece and tells Scott Simon why it's so important.

The show celebrates the Gothic cathedral's role in French history as well as the end of the First World War.

Spectacular Light Show At Notre Dame Cathedral Commemorates World War I

8:09pm November 10, 2017

by Richard Gonzales

A stunning display of color and technology illuminates the medieval cathedral's facade and tells a story about history, war and survival.

Magda Sayeg: Double-Decker Bus (London, United Kingdom)

Arts

Magda Sayeg: What's The Emotional Power Behind "Yarn Bombing"?

9:22am November 10, 2017

by NPR/TED Staff

From door handles to double-decker buses, Magda Sayeg "yarn bombs" inanimate objects by wrapping them in handmade knitting. She wants her bright, fuzzy artwork to make the world a little friendlier.

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Vincent Van Gogh's Olive Trees, made with oil on canvas in 1889. See the shadow cast by that small tree on the far right side? There's a grasshopper lurking in that shade.

Arts

The Grasshopper In The Van Gogh

6:51pm November 08, 2017

by Colin Dwyer

When museum conservators examined Vincent Van Gogh's Olive Trees, they found something curious stuck in its paint: a grasshopper. Could it be just some weird leftover — or a crucial clue?

Left: Johannes Vermeer's Lady Writing, 1665. Right: Caspar Netscher's Woman Feeding a Parrot, with a Page, 1666.

Arts

Dutch Artists Painted Their Patriotism With Pearls And ... Parrots?

4:55pm November 07, 2017

by Susan Stamberg

In the 1600s, after decades of war, the Netherlands was thriving. Artists like Johannes Vermeer celebrated the nation's wealth with images of fine clothing, glimmering pearls and imported parrots.

Bo, the first dog, boards Air Force One for a weekend trip to Chicago on May 27, 2010.

Photographer Pete Souza Reflects On 8 Years (And 1.9 Million Photos) Of Obama

4:11pm November 07, 2017

by Terry Gross

As the chief official White House photographer for President Obama, Souza sometimes shot more than 2,000 photos a day. "I was there all the time," he says. His new book is Obama: An Intimate Portrait.

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How Should We Build And Design Cities To Make It Tougher For Terrorists To Hurt People?

4:07pm November 02, 2017

This week's terror attack in Manhattan prompts a question: Can a city do anything to stop a truck attack? NPR's Mary Louise Kelly speaks with architect Thomas Vonier about how we can better design big cities to make it harder for terrorists to harm people.

The Architecture Behind The Quintessential Haunted House

4:58pm October 30, 2017

NPR's Ari Shapiro speaks with Mary Jo Bowling from Curbed on why Victorian architecture came to be associated with everything spooky and scary.

Arts

How To Design Haunted Houses

8:09am October 28, 2017

NPR's Melissa Block talks with Leonard Pickel, who is a haunted house architect. For more than 40 years he's designed and worked on these fear factories.