Arts & Life

Books
Arts

Author Imbolo Mbue Explores The Politics Of Oil In 'How Beautiful We Were'

1:20pm April 29, 2021

by Arun Venugopal

Mbue's novel was inspired in part by her own experiences growing up in Cameroon. Set in a fictional African village in the 1980s, it follows a group of villagers who take on an American oil company.

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Arts

Collection Showcases 20 Years Of Louis Armstrong's Studio Work

1:20pm April 29, 2021

by Kevin Whitehead

A CD set from Mosaic, full of singles and albums made between '46 and '66, confirms the variety of Armstrong's studio sides — and shows how much work went into making them sound casual.

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Books
Arts

2 Novels Explore The Big Romantic Bargains We Strike In The Name Of Love

1:06pm April 29, 2021

by Maureen Corrigan

Early Morning Riser, by Katherine Heiny and Secrets of Happiness, by Joan Silber, ruminate on love and family — particularly the family that's thrust upon you when you fall in love.

Books
Arts

Jhumpa Lahiri's New 'Whereabouts' Is About Places Both Geographical And Emotional

10:01am April 29, 2021

by Heller McAlpin

Jhumpa Lahiri's new novel — which she wrote in Italian, then translated back to English herself — centers on a middle-aged Italian woman trying to figure out her place in the world.

Books
Arts

Survival Is An Invitation To Push Through Hard Times In 'White Magic'

7:45am April 29, 2021

by Gabino Iglesias

Elissa Washuta's White Magic is full of magic — and pain — as it deals with trauma while exploring cultural inheritance and the way attacks on Native women never stopped.

Mom Genes: Inside the New Science of Our Ancient Maternal Instinct, by Abigail Tucker

'Mom Genes' Aims To Examine Biological Transformations Of Motherhood

11:51am April 28, 2021

by Barbara J. King

Abigail Tucker's descriptions of how radically women may change at the time of motherhood — and, as an extension, how this might affect their ability to focus on other things — gets pretty harrowing.

The Haunting of Alma Fielding: A True Ghost Story, by Kate Summerscale

Books
Arts

'The Haunting Of Alma Fielding' Is A Ghost Story — And A Tale Of Power And Fear

8:42am April 28, 2021

by Ilana Masad

In 1938, a housewife went to the press complaining of a poltergeist in her home — and a ghost hunter investigated. Kate Summerscale's true tale is about women and power, anxiety, and choices.

Money Mark, a still from the documentary The Sound of Toys.

Money Mark, Beastie Boys Keyboardist, Has A Timeless Reminder

6:11am April 28, 2021

As part of Morning Edition's Song Project, Mark Ramos Nishita revisited the songwriting routine he implemented at the beginning of lockdown, and which changed dramatically throughout it.

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Stephen Colbert says working without a live audience has been challenging during the pandemic: "There's some vital performance adrenaline spark that's missing."

Arts

Stephen Colbert On Missing His Live Audience And Making Comedy A Family Business

6:33pm April 27, 2021

by Terry Gross

Colbert has been taping The Late Show without a live audience during the pandemic, but he's not always alone. Sometimes his wife, Evie, is in the room. If she laughs, he knows he's on the right track.

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The Penn Museum is home to the The Morton Cranial Collection, which includes nearly 900 human skulls obtained during the early 19th century by Philadelphia scientist Dr. Samuel Morton. His research was used to lend scientific support to white supremacy.

Arts

Penn Museum Apologizes For 'Unethical Possession Of Human Remains'

4:44pm April 27, 2021

by Peter Crimmins

In the early 19th century, hundreds of human skulls — many obtained from grave robbers — were assembled for the Morton Collection and used to lend scientific support to white supremacy.

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