Arts & Life

Kevin Breel: What Can Depression Teach Us About Comedy?

9:10am March 24, 2017

by NPR/TED Staff

The image of the "sad clown" can seem like a cliche. But for Kevin Breel, it's very real. He describes how he struggled with depression while performing as a stand-up comedian.

Queue Listen Now

Books
Arts

Welcome To 'The Collapsing Empire:' Questions For John Scalzi

7:00am March 24, 2017

by Petra Mayer

Prolific sci-fi author John Scalzi boots up a new universe in The Collapsing Empire. It's set in a future where far-flung humanity's ability to travel and communicate between planets is under threat.

The Reality Show No One Was Watching

5:40pm March 23, 2017

by Colin Dwyer

Participants in the British show Eden spent a year in the remote Scottish highlands, living off their will and wits with cameras rolling. The only problem? No episodes have aired since August.

Dr. Hussam Jefee-Bahloul is the founder of Ta'sheeq, a group that puts on performances with Syrian poets, artists and musicians.

A Poem From A Syrian Psychiatrist: 'Cloud-Cafe'

5:32pm March 23, 2017

by Marc Silver

Dr. Hussam Jefee-Bahloul writes poems to capture his longing for his troubled homeland.

Estrangement on a Train: Wilson (Woody Harrelson), Claire (Isabella Amana) and Pippi (Laura Dern) in Wilson.

Arts

A Curmudgeonly Know-It-All Meets The Daughter He Doesn't: 'Wilson'

5:00pm March 23, 2017

by Mark Jenkins

Director Craig Johnson's film, based on the Daniel Clowes graphic novel, wants us to invest in a misanthrope's grumbling attempts to reconnect to humanity. Yet its uneven tone keeps us at a distance.

Zack (Ludi Lin), Kimberly (Naomi Scott), Jason (Dacre Montgomery), Billy (RJ Cyler) and Trini (Becky G) check the time, to determine if conditions are yet favorable for morphin', in Power Rangers.

Arts

In The Agreeably Schlocky 'Power Rangers,' 'Transformers' Meets 'The Breakfast Club'

5:00pm March 23, 2017

by Scott Tobias

"Go, Go Power Rangers!" - but should you? The film's playful, earnest tone and "gung-ho chintziness" slowly won critic Scott Tobias over.

"The needs of the many ...": Astronauts Rory (Ryan Reynolds) and David (Jake Gyllenhaal) in Life.

Arts

'Life' Doesn't Quite Find A Way

5:00pm March 23, 2017

by Chris Klimek

In space, no one can hear you yawn: Technically impressive but dramatically airless, this monster flick set on the International Space Station is powered by "space-movie cliches old and new."

A Grim Portrait of the Murderer as A Young Woman: Mother (Klára Melísková) and Olga (Michalina Olszanska) in I, Olga.

Arts

'I, Olga' Charts One Woman's Path From Alienation To Brutal, Senseless Violence

5:00pm March 23, 2017

by Andrew Lapin

The film about a young woman who ran her truck onto a Prague sidewalk in 1973, killing eight pedestrians, is tough to sit through, and recent events lend it a chilling sense of relevance.

An 'Intimate Portrait' Of Dorothy Day, The Catholic Activist With A Bohemian Past

1:54pm March 23, 2017

Kate Hennessy drew from family letters, diaries and memories in writing Dorothy Day, a biography of her late grandmother. Day founded the Catholic Worker Movement and is now a candidate for sainthood.

Queue Listen Now

Liberty Orchards in Cashmere, Wash., which was founded by two Armenian immigrants, still makes Aplets & Cotlets, a variation of Turkish delight that includes apples, apricots and walnuts.

How Two Armenian Immigrants Made Turkish Delight An American Hit

11:28am March 23, 2017

by Tove K. Danovich

Decades ago, an orchard in Washington state began producing "Aplets & Cotlets," a version of a confection based on childhood memories and hard work — and still beloved in the Pacific Northwest.