Arts & Life

Protesters in Boston during a December demonstration against the deaths of two unarmed black men at the hands of white police officers in New York City and Ferguson, Mo.

Videos Of Ray Rice, Eric Garner Among Biggest Media Moments Of 2014

1:08pm December 23, 2014

by Eric Deggans

Some of the most interesting things on TV in 2014 weren't actually made for TV. NPR TV critic Eric Deggans lists the moments in television, viral video and social media that changed us all this year.

Australian Christmas today is characterized by gastronomic eclecticism. Many of us have abandoned the old British customs — except for the rich and alcoholic Christmas pudding.

For Australian Christmas, Everything's Overturned But The Pudding

11:58am December 23, 2014

by Barbara Santich

Cooking in 100-degree weather is no fun, which is why many Australians ditched roasts and other holiday mainstays long ago. Except for Christmas pudding, a tradition steeped in history — and alcohol.

A Christmas pageant display in the Myer department store windows depicts Santa's elves in Melbourne, Australia.

Arts

Time For A Holiday Favorite: 'Santaland Diaries'

11:14am December 23, 2014

by David Sedaris

About this time every year, we present an encore broadcast of the life and times of Crumpet the Elf. Crumpet is the alter ego of writer David Sedaris, who once worked as a department store elf.

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Arts

Filmmaker: Sony Hack Will Make Satirists Think Twice About Content

8:52pm December 22, 2014

Sony has canceled its new film, The Interview, which depicts the assassination of North Korea's leader. NPR's Rachel Martin talks with filmmaker Kevin Smith about writing controversial comedies.

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Arts

Sandwich Monday: The 'Shroom Burger From Shake Shack

6:21pm December 22, 2014

by Ian Chillag

For this week's Sandwich Monday, we try a next-level veggie burger: the 'Shroom Burger from Shake Shack. It's a fried mushroom burger stuffed with two types of cheese.

In Exodus, Christian Bale's Moses is more of an action hero than a religious figure.

Arts

We Ask A Scholar: How Does Ridley Scott's 'Exodus' Compare With The Bible's?

5:50pm December 22, 2014

by NPR Staff

Robert Alter, a leading secular scholar of Scripture, says the film was fun to watch, but "it's not exactly Exodus; it's panorama and pageantry, which is what film does." And, he adds, why not?

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Cookbook author Dorie Greenspan says she makes a "Franco-American" buche de Noel with American flavoring and French technique.

Arts

Yule Have To Try This Gingerbread Buche De Noel

5:50pm December 22, 2014

by NPR Staff

In Paris, holiday buche de Noel cakes verge on art. Cookbook author Dorie Greenspan has created her own Franco-American version that's fun to make and "just as good as birthday cake," she says.

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Why Does It Take A Movie Robot To Show What Nurses Really Do?

3:13pm December 22, 2014

by Kelli Dunham

If TV and movie nurses took care of us when we're sick, we'd be in a heap of trouble. Those images of nutty, slutty and clueless nurses are bad news for the profession, and for patients.

Panamanian tamales stuffed with chicken and wrapped in bijao leaves — one of hundreds of interpretations of the dish found throughout Latin America.

Pride And Prejudice: For Latinos, Tamales Can Taste Of Both

1:05pm December 22, 2014

by Maria Godoy

Tamales are a Christmas Eve tradition throughout Latin America, but there are hundreds of different versions. Whose is best? That's a question likely to elicit a fiercely partisan response.

'Rum, Rumba, And Romance': A Book On Cuba's Enduring Mystique

5:24pm December 21, 2014

by Richard Blanco

This week, President Obama announced that he will begin to normalize relations with Cuba. Cuban-American writer Richard Blanco recommends a book about Cuba's imprint on the American imagination.

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