Produce Samurai
Wham! Slice the word "cherry" in half to get "ch" and "erry." Can you guess which rock star's name put the pieces together? Chuck Berry! Your brain will do push-ups in this wordy round.
Arts & Life
A Vivid Portrait Of Tudor Turmoil In 'Lamentation'
The sixth volume of C.J. Sansom's Shardlake mysteries is set during the last days of England's King Henry VIII, as a potentially explosive religious manuscript written by his queen has gone missing.
Rapper Jin Tries To Stretch His '15 Minutes' Of Fame
In 2004, Jin was one of the first Asian-Americans to drop a major label rap album. One controversial song, "Learn Chinese," raised eyebrows. A decade later, he's trying to rephrase the message.
From Laundering To Profiteering, A Multitude Of Sins At The Vatican Bank
In God's Bankers Gerald Posner explores the history of money, power and the church. During World War II, he says, the Vatican made money off of the life insurance policies of Jews sent to death camps.
A Life Examined — And Examined And Examined In 'Ongoingness'
Writer Sarah Manguso has been a compulsive diarist since childhood; her new memoir documents the ways motherhood has changed her writing. Critic Heller McAlpin says it's full of lovely observations.
'The Devil's Detective' Is A Grim Tour Through A Noirish Hell
Hell is actually a bureaucracy in Simon Kurt Unsworth's debut novel. Reviewer Jason Heller says the tale of a demonic murder investigation starts strong but gets mired in the details of infernal life.
Ever Cheat At Monopoly? So Did Its Creator: He Stole The Idea From A Woman
The game Charles Darrow sold in the 1930s bore a striking resemblance to a game Lizzie Magie patented in 1904. In The Monopolists, Mary Pilon tells Monopoly's origin story.
Prepare For 'The End Of College': Here's What Free Higher Ed Looks Like
In his new book, Kevin Carey envisions a future in which online education programs solve two of colleges' biggest problems: costs and admissions.
This Weekend, Experience The Enduring Power Of 'The Millstone'
Margaret Drabble's The Millstone, set in the 1960s, tells the story of a young, unmarried woman who finds herself pregnant. Author Tessa Hadley says this 50-year-old novel is a weekend must-read.
Play Depicts Scalia As Supreme Court's 'Originalist'
Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia is portrayed on stage in John Strand's new play, The Originalist. NPR's Rachel Martin talks to Strand and the actor who plays Scalia, Edward Gero.