Arts & Life

Cookbook author Reem Kassis says that many foods that are considered Middle Eastern or Israeli actually originated as Palestinian dishes.

Books
Arts

For This Palestinian Cook, The Kitchen Is A 'Powerful Place' — Not A 'Life Sentence'

6:10pm April 07, 2021

by Terry Gross

Reem Kassis began gathering family recipes after the birth of her first child. The recipes, she says, "could be the story of any and every Palestinian family." Her new book is The Arabesque Table.

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Arts

'Atlantic Crossing' Explores Little Known Relationship During World War II

4:28pm April 07, 2021

NPR's Ari Shapiro talks with actor Kyle MacLachlan about playing former President Franklin D. Roosevelt in PBS' Masterpiece series Atlantic Crossing.

At the start of Disco Elysium, you wake up in a crummy hostel room, without your memories — and without your pants.

Arts

'Disco Elysium: The Final Cut' Is A Grimly Gorgeous Genre-Bender

12:00pm April 07, 2021

by Keller Gordon

In Disco Elysium, you play as an unnamed detective figuring out the story behind a dead body in a windswept, wintry city. The new Final Cut edition features extra quests and a fully-voiced script.

Books
Arts

Too Many 'Peaces' Overload An Otherwise Entertaining Story

10:00am April 07, 2021

by Gabino Iglesias

Helen Oyeyemi's new novel is a no-holds-barred mashup of Agatha Christie-style mystery oddities like mongoose genealogy, kidnapped gaming champions and a woman who chokes on emeralds in her sleep.

Books
Arts

'Farewell For Now:' Leigh Bardugo On 'Rule Of Wolves'

7:00am April 07, 2021

by Petra Mayer

Leigh Bardugo is winding up her Russian-inflected Grishaverse series (at least for now) with Rule of Wolves, which continues the story of the dashing King Nikolai of Ravka and his demonic interloper.

Arts

'This Is About Lifting Culture,' Says History-Making Producer Charles D. King

6:07am April 07, 2021

by Mandalit del Barco

Judas and the Black Messiah has made Oscar history as the first Best Picture nominee with an all-Black producing team. And it's not the first time producer Charles D. King has made Hollywood history.

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Books
Arts

A Daughter Struggles To Escape Her Mother's Shadow In 'Libertie'

7:56pm April 06, 2021

by Maureen Corrigan

What if a child doesn't share a parent's ambition? Kaitlyn Greenidge's novel is inspired by the life of Dr. Susan Smith McKinney-Steward, the third Black woman to earn a medical degree in the U.S.

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Books
Arts

In 'Caul Baby,' A Rare Gift Becomes A Double-Edged Sword

4:42pm April 06, 2021

by Ari Shapiro

In Morgan Jerkins' novel, a family of Black women has a gift; they're born with a caul, a layer over their skin that protects them from harm. They can share and sell the caul — which brings trouble.

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Writer-director Oliver Hermanus created Moffie from an autobiographical novel by André Carl van der Merwe — but he gives the film an air of lived experience.

Basic Training Proves Anything-But-Basic In The Powerful South African Drama 'Moffie'

4:42pm April 06, 2021

by Bob Mondello

The effect of so much institutional hatred within the military of South Africa in the early '80s was to leave a generation traumatized, the film concludes.

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2021 is shaping up to be a big year for singer-songwriter H.E.R., who, after winning two Grammy awards in one night, was nominated for an Oscar the morning after.

H.E.R. Is A 'Soul Baby' With a Social Conscience

4:42pm April 06, 2021

by Elizabeth Blair

The morning after winning two Grammy awards, R&B singer H.E.R. received an Oscar nomination for the song "Fight For You" from the film Judas and the Black Messiah.

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