Arts & Life

Scales — debut feature from filmmaker Shahad Ameen — was Saudi Arabia's official entry for the 2021 Oscars. It's set in a dystopian fishing village and tells the lyrical story of a young woman struggling to find her place.

Arts

'Scales' Is A Saudi Arabian Filmmaker's Feminist Fable Of The Sea

12:29pm July 16, 2021

by Marisa Mazria Katz

Saudi Arabin director Shahad Ameen's debut feature film is set in a dystopian fishing village and tells the lyrical story of a young woman struggling to find her place.

Natasha Rothwell and Jennifer Coolidge in The White Lotus.

Arts

What's Making Us Happy: A Guide For Your Weekend Watching, Listening And Reading

12:00pm July 16, 2021

Each week, the guests and hosts on Pop Culture Happy Hour share what's bringing them joy. Today it's The White Lotus, KennyHoopla's song "Estella," Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis' first album and more.

Anthony Bourdain, in Roadrunner, the new documentary about his life.

Arts

I Thought I Knew Anthony Bourdain. 'Roadrunner' Shows Us Who He Really Was

8:47am July 16, 2021

by Jason Sheehan

Chef and food writer Anthony Bourdain died by suicide in 2018. The new documentary Roadrunner gathers people who knew him well to praise and remember him, and also to rage about his death.

Netflix's Naomi Osaka docuseries connects the personal journey of a tennis superstar to issues of race, nationalism, civil rights, modern media and the way athletes are marketed to the world.

Sports
Arts

An Introverted Champion Reveals Her Earnest Heart In Netflix's 'Naomi Osaka'

7:00am July 16, 2021

by Eric Deggans

A new Netflix documentary about tennis champion Naomi Osaka is a poignant, albeit curated, portrait of a young biracial woman navigating the precipice of sports superstardom.

I Alone Can Fix It: Donald J. Trump's Catastrophic Final Year by Carol Leonnig and Philip Rucker

How It Went Down: Authors Go Deep Into Doomed 2020 Trump White House

7:26pm July 15, 2021

by Ron Elving

By haranguing all who will listen, in interviews or rally rants, Donald Trump even now is demonstrating his abiding and preternatural confidence in his own persuasiveness.

Lady Danbury (Adjoa Andoh) and Simon Basset (Regé-Jean Page) in Bridgerton.

Arts

The Only 'New' Thing About Cross-Cultural Casting Is Who's Getting The Roles

5:04pm July 15, 2021

by Bob Mondello

Dev Patel as a knight of the Round Table, Jodie Turner-Smith as Anne Boleyn, the mostly nonwhite casts of Bridgerton and Hamilton — all belong to a tradition that has its roots in live theater.

The Women of Brewster Place, by Gloria Naylor

Books
Arts

'Women Of Brewster Place' Reissue Brims With Inventiveness — And Relevance

1:21pm July 15, 2021

by Maureen Corrigan

Now newly reissued, Gloria Naylor's 1982 novel-in-stories painted a group portrait of seven Black women living on a dingy street in an unnamed city, and the systematic racism they faced.

Re-Revising 'The History Of Jazz'

11:27am July 15, 2021

by Natalie Weiner

Ted Gioia first published his History of Jazz in 1997, updating it for the first time in 2011. This year he did so again, after a very important decade for the genre.

Arts

Got A Question Or Need Advice? Ask Life Kit And We'll Get An Expert To Answer

11:23am July 15, 2021

We've got experts, now we need your questions! Life Kit has a new advice column and we're looking for your questions and stories to share with our experts.

Kristin Chenoweth and the company of Schmigadoon!, premiering July 16 on Apple TV+.

Arts

'Schmigadoon!' Will Get Your Toes Tapping, So Sing Along If You Know The Words

9:55am July 15, 2021

by Linda Holmes

The new musical comedy series Schmigadoon! brings a delightful cast to a parody of 1940s Broadway musicals, with good musical results, if things are a little mixed otherwise.