Arts & Life

Thomas Edison's talking dolls were reportedly pretty robust, but their miniature phonographs were another story.

Science
Arts

Edison's Talking Dolls Can Now Provide The Soundtrack To Your Nightmares

3:34pm June 14, 2015

by Neda Ulaby

Thomas Edison built and sold about 500 dolls back in 1890. Now, new technology has made hearing their supercreepy voices possible for the first time in decades. (Thanks, technology.)

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Arts

The Color Of This Puzzle Is Punny Looking

11:02am June 14, 2015

by Will Shortz

For the blank in each provided sentence, put in the name of a color to complete the sentence in a punny way.

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Arts

German Cold War Drama Comes To American TV

11:02am June 14, 2015

The German TV show Deutschland '83, about spies in East Germany during the Cold War, premieres on American television soon. NPR's Rachel Martin talks with its creators, Anna and Joerg Winger.

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Kathy Griffin, onstage for her Like a Boss Tour.

Arts

Shooting Barbs At The Stars: Kathy Griffin On Comedy And Intolerance

11:02am June 14, 2015

by NPR Staff

The comedian says she doesn't hold back in her biting humor, but she does try to evolve with the times. She isn't calling herself an "F-word hag" these days — but she will joke about Caitlyn Jenner.

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book jacket art cropped detailPermission Line reads:"Pulpit Rock, Echo Cañon, Utah, 1900 by William Henry Jackson. Used by permission of the High Museum of Art, Atlanta."

Books
Arts

'Meteor' Is A Fiery Ride Through American History

7:03am June 14, 2015

by Alan Cheuse

Norman Lock's new novel takes readers on a breathlessly-paced tour of the Old West, from the point of view of a former Civil War bugle boy who tags along with some of the era's legendary characters.

Greg Kay decided to raise his son Linken, 10, to speak Esperanto as his native tongue. When Greg was younger, he traveled around South Korea, biking between Esperanto-speaking homes.

Esperanto Is Not Dead: Can The Universal Language Make A Comeback?

6:21pm June 13, 2015

by Stina Sieg

A hundred years ago, a Polish physician created a language that anyone could learn easily. The hope was to bring the world closer together. Today Esperanto speakers say it's helpful during travel.

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Books
Arts

'Seven Good Years' Between The Birth Of A Son, Death Of A Father

6:21pm June 13, 2015

by NPR Staff

Israeli writer Etgar Keret wrote his first piece of nonfiction the day his son was born. Later, when his father became terminally ill, he decided to publish his essays as a "living tombstone."

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Kim Kardashian arrives at The Midori Trunk Shows at Trousdale in May 2011 in West Hollywood, Calif.

Arts

Not My Job: Kim Kardashian Gets Quizzed On Kim Jong Un

11:03am June 13, 2015

Kardashian is likely the most famous Kim in the world — except in North Korea. So we'll ask her three questions about her celebrity rival, Kim Jong Un, who dominates TMZ on the other side of the DMZ.

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Books
Arts

'More Fool' Fry: Comedian's New Memoir Misses The Mark

7:03am June 13, 2015

by Trey Graham

Stephen Fry is a world-class wit, a learned fellow and probably a really great guy. Unfortunately, says reviewer Trey Graham, that doesn't come through in More Fool Me, the new volume of his memoirs.

Greg (Thomas Mann) is jokey, mostly as a substitute for actual social interaction.

Arts

Laughs Leaven Tears In 'Me And Earl And The Dying Girl'

8:55pm June 12, 2015

by Bob Mondello

Me and Earl and the Dying Girl was a surprise smash at this year's Sundance Film Festival; it's a tale of three teens facing mortality that manages to capture teen angst without wallowing in drama.

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