Arts & Life

Maggie Smith plays Mary Shepherd and Alex Jennings plays writer Alan Bennett in The Lady in the Van. Bennett says people in his London neighborhood still remember Shepherd.

Arts

For 15 Years, The Real 'Lady In The Van' Lived In This Playwright's Driveway

9:06am December 12, 2015

by NPR Staff

When Alan Bennett invited Mary Shepherd to move into his driveway, he thought she'd only be there for three months. After she died, he turned Shepherd's story into a memoir, a play and now a film.

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The Relic Master, by Christopher Buckley.

Books
Arts

Monty Python Meets Ocean's 11 In 'The Relic Master'

9:05am December 12, 2015

by NPR Staff

Christopher Buckley's new novel is the story of a 16th-century relic hunter and his buddy Albrecht Dürer, who end up in trouble after trying to forge a holy shroud to sell to an unsuspecting nobleman.

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Arts

What You Might Be Missing On TV

7:47am December 12, 2015

As part of Weekend Edition's series on under-the-radar TV shows, NPR's Scott Simon talks to Hitfix TV critic Alan Sepinwall about one of his favorite shows this year: "Review" from Comedy Central.

Books
Arts

Which Books Should You Give This Season

7:47am December 12, 2015

London taxi driver Will Grozier is an avid reader. He joins NPR's Scott Simon with a list of his holiday reading picks — some new, some old, and some taxi-themed.

Arts

Back On Broadway: 'The Color Purple'

7:47am December 12, 2015

Cynthia Erivo stars on Broadway as Celie in The Color Purple. She talks with NPR's Scott Simon about the production, and revisits one of the first songs she sang for an audience: Silent Night.

Steve Carell plays Mark Baum and Ryan Gosling plays Jared Vennett in The Big Short. Director Adam McKay says, "One of my favorite moments in the movie is where you see ... Mark Baum make a large chunk of money and feel absolutely disgusted by it."

Books
Arts

On The Money: How 'The Big Short' And Its Jerk Heroes Explain Finance

7:21pm December 11, 2015

by NPR Staff

How do you make a subject as dense as the subprime mortgage crisis into a compelling movie? That's the challenge Adam McKay took on when he decided to turn Michael Lewis' book into a film.

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Arts

Before Fighting Atop A Moving Train, Some Things To Consider

7:20pm December 11, 2015

Commentator Brian McConnachie — a former SNL writer and an actor in 15 films — takes on a topic no one else dares to discuss: the dynamics of fighting on the roof of moving railroad trains. There's great concern for hats blowing off.

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Claire Vaye Watkins' new novel is Gold Fame Citrus.

Books
Arts

Whom Do You Write For? 'Pandering' Essay Sparks A Conversation

5:21pm December 11, 2015

by NPR Staff

Novelist Claire Vaye Watkins recently published an essay called "On Pandering," about realizing she was writing to appeal to white men. She and author Marlon James discuss responses to the piece.

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Arts

'The Big Short' Puts A Suspenseful, Comic Spin On The 2008 Financial Meltdown

2:29pm December 11, 2015

by David Edelstein

Adam McKay lampoons the financiers who contributed to the collapse of the subprime mortgage market in his new film, The Big Short. Critic David Edelstein calls it "one of the best films of the year."

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Michael B. Jordan as Adonis Johnson, the son of legendary fighter Apollo Creed.

Arts

Pop Culture Happy Hour: 'Creed,' Crying And Other Visceral Reactions

10:22am December 11, 2015

by Linda Holmes

On this week's show: Creed, crying, cringing, eyeball horror, and what's making us happy this week.

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