Arts & Life

Wiggle (don't jab) the knife in from the hinge of the shell.Turn it like a key. Once you have leverage, MJ says you can pop off the top shell. Make sure the cup-side of the shell is on the bottom.

For The Love Of Oysters: How A Kiss From The Sea Evokes Passion

7:58pm February 14, 2014

by Allison Aubrey

Scientists have made some attempts to link mollusks to increased libido. There's even evidence that consuming heavy doses of an amino acid found in oysters can increase sperm count – in rabbits. But do any of these findings actually prove that oysters can — ahem — amp up arousal? Not so much.

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Eleven-year-old Jaron "Bear" Williams practices trumpet before marching in his first Mardi Gras season. The Whole Gritty City follows young student marching bands as they prepare for coveted spots in the New Orleans parade.

Arts

In 'Whole Gritty City,' Marching Bands Vie For Coveted Mardi Gras Spots

4:51pm February 13, 2014

by David Bianculli

"New Orleans buries too many of its young," Wynton Marsalis says in the documentary's introduction. The Whole Gritty City, airing Saturday on CBS, follows young students who take refuge in New Orleans marching bands.

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Caesar, flanked by cast performers Imogene Coca and Carl Reiner, listens to a singer in a skit from the TV comedy series Your Show of Shows, in 1952.

Sid Caesar, Who Got Laughs Without Politics Or Putdowns, Dies At 91

8:00pm February 12, 2014

by Susan Stamberg

The comedian was one of early network TV's biggest stars, and he didn't do smut or smarmy remarks. Caesar did skits: grown-up, gentle comedy for the whole family. He died Wednesday morning at his home in Beverly Hills.

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Most of us have never been submerged under more than a few feet underwater. But just a few meters down, the water compresses the tissues of your body so that you become more dense. At that point, "You're more likely to sink than float," says Dr. Kevin Fon

Books
Arts

Practicing 'Extreme Medicine,' From Deep Sea To Outer Space

12:39pm February 12, 2014

by NPR Staff

In his new book, Dr. Kevin Fong explores how humans survive extremes of heat, cold, outer space and deep sea. "We're still exploring the human body and what medicine can do in the same way that the great explorers of the 20th century and every age before them explored the world," he says.

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Brian McGough and Kayla Williams met in Iraq in 2003.

Books
Arts

For Military Couples, It's A Long Recovery 'When We Get Home'

8:24am February 11, 2014

Kayla Williams and Brian McGough met in Iraq in 2003. Williams' new memoir, Plenty of Time When We Get Home, describes their homecoming after McGough suffered physical and cognitive injuries in an IED explosion.

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Books
Arts

Romance Novels Sweep Readers Off Their Feet With Predictability

1:26pm February 10, 2014

by NPR Staff

At $1.4 billion, romance is by far the biggest sector of the publishing industry. Harper's editor Jesse Barron looked into the business of romance and its peculiarities for this month's issue. He says the key is copying the elements that made other authors successful — down to the cover model's pose.

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detail from cover of Code Name: Johnny Walker

Books
Arts

With Fearlessness And A 'Code Name,' Iraqi Helped Navy SEALs

6:33pm February 09, 2014

by NPR Staff

Interpreter "Johnny Walker" accompanied the U.S. military on countless missions in his war-torn home country of Iraq. His memoir, Code Name: Johnny Walker, details his experiences with the SEALs and his family's long path to U.S. citizenship.

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Books
Arts

Lessons On Addiction And Escaping The 'Death Grip From Satan'

6:34pm February 08, 2014

In order to understand and to mourn the death of Philip Seymour Hoffman, Slate senior editor Emily Bazelon recommends reading The Night of the Gun by David Carr.

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Sports
Arts

People, Language And Controversy In The Headlines

6:34pm February 08, 2014

Writer and comedian Hari Kondabolu speaks with NPR's Arun Rath about India being excluded from the Olympics, a controversial Coke commercial, and comments from Sen. Pat Roberts from Kansas during the confirmation hearings for surgeon general nominee Dr. Vivek Murthy.

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Critic David Edelstein says that The Monuments Men has "an all-star cast" — including Matt Damon and Cate Blanchett — but that "the stars are all low-wattage."

Arts

Masterpieces In Peril, 'Monuments Men' Protects, But Also Panders

3:32pm February 07, 2014

by David Edelstein

George Clooney's film tells the largely true story of a World War II squad of art experts assigned to protect European masterworks from Nazi theft and Allied bombardment. Critic David Edelstein says the film is engaging and earnest, but a little formulaic.

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