Arts & Life

Bobby Moynihan (left) appears on Saturday Night Live as the character "Drunk Uncle."

Arts

For 'SNL' Cast Member, The Waiting Was The Hardest Part

6:20pm January 26, 2014

by NPR Staff

After years of working at a restaurant by day and performing improv comedy by night, Bobby Moynihan got the opportunity of a lifetime: an audition for Saturday Night Live. But as Moynihan recalls, actually getting his 'big break' on the show was much more difficult.

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Published in 1943, The Little Prince is one of the world's most beloved books. AuthorAntoine Saint-Exupery wrote and illustrated the book in New York, between Long Island and Manhattan.

Books
Arts

Before He Fell To Earth, 'The Little Prince' Was Born In N.Y.

1:31pm January 25, 2014

by Margot Adler

Author Antoine Saint-Exupery was French, but his beloved book, The Little Prince, wasn't written in Paris. Saint-Exupery wrote it in New York, and even included references to the island in his original manuscript.

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Arts

Middle-Aged And Divorced, 'Gloria' Takes On Life's Uncertainties

4:23pm January 24, 2014

by David Edelstein

Gloria is a new film from Chile that centers on a late-middle-aged divorced woman whose life is full of ambiguity. She's played by Paulina Garcia, who won the top acting prize — the Silver Bear — at the 2013 Berlin Film Festival, where the movie was a surprise hit. It opens this week in New York and Los Angeles, and wider next month.

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Ann Patchett is an award-winning novelist and memoirist. Her other books include Truth & Beauty, The Magician's Assistant and Run.

Books
Arts

Patchett: In Bad Relationships, 'There Comes A Day When You Gotta Go'

4:58pm January 23, 2014

Ann Patchett got married and divorced young. When she met the man who would eventually become her second husband she said: "I'll be true, I'll be faithful, I'll see you every day ... but I don't want to get married and I don't want to live together." Her new book is This Is The Story of a Happy Marriage.

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Books
Arts

Skeptic Takes A Tour Of Self-Help's 'Promise Land'

3:29pm January 22, 2014

Despite being the daughter of a child psychologist and self-help author, Jessica Lamb-Shapiro has spent most of her life recoiling from the self-help industry. But eventually, her curiosity got the best of her. She tells Fresh Air about self-help's high- and low-brow iterations and the ways the industry helped her address her fears.

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For World Superpowers, The Negotiating Table Often Had A Net

7:44pm January 20, 2014

Melissa Block talks with Nicholas Griffin about his book, Ping-Pong Diplomacy, which explores the importance of the tabletop game in Chinese political history and foreign policy.

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Demonstrators march down Constitution Avenue during the March on Washington on Aug. 28, 1963.

Books
Arts

The Politics Of Passing 1964's Civil Rights Act

6:35pm January 20, 2014

The act, among other things, ended the era of legal segregation in public accommodations, like restaurants and hotels. This year marks the 50th anniversary of its passage. Author Todd Purdum joins Fresh Air to talk about the legislative and political battles that surrounded it.

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Arts

How Breakthrough 'Captain Phillips' Actor Connected To The Role

6:43pm January 19, 2014

This past week, Somali-born actor Barkhad Abdi received an Academy Award nomination for his role opposite Tom Hanks in the film Captain Phillips. The part was his first acting role. Abdi plays a Somali pirate who leads the hijacking of the Maersk Alabama. He spoke with NPR's Arun Rath in October about learning to relate to his character. (This story originally aired on All Things Considered on Oct. 20, 2013.)

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detail from cover of Forgiving the Angel

Books
Arts

Living, And 'Forgiving,' In A Brilliant Writer's Orbit

11:35am January 18, 2014

by NPR Staff

Jay Cantor is a hard author to nail down. He's written about topics as wide-ranging as Che Guevara and Krazy Kat. His latest work expands his range even more, fictionalizing the lives of four of Franz Kafka's friends and lovers. It's called Forgiving the Angel, and Cantor tells NPR's Lynn Neary it's a book born out of gratitude.

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A Strange Composition: Classical Music Meets Bioterror In 'Orfeo'

8:33pm January 17, 2014

by NPR Staff

Richard Powers' new novel tells the story of an avant-garde classical composer who finds himself dabbling in DNA. He "gets obsessed with finding music inside of living things," Powers explains, and, as a fugitive, ends up leading officials on a low-speed chase.

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