Arts & Life

Books
Arts

Charlie Jane Anders: How Can Science Fiction Allow Us To Imagine Better Futures?

9:26am March 19, 2021

by NPR/TED Staff

Science fiction author Charlie Jane Anders explains how the genre is a portal for us to imagine different ways of being human. She invites listeners into one new world with an excerpt from her work.

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Arts

'Justice League' Fans Finally Get Access To Zack Snyder Cut Of Film On HBO Max

6:19am March 19, 2021

by Eric Deggans

After years of campaigning on social media, fans can now stream the 4-hour Zack Snyder's Justice League. What does that say about the relationship between fandoms and movie studios?

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Dustin Hoffman and Jon Voight appear in a still from "Midnight Cowboy," directed by John Schlesinger, 1969.

Books
Arts

'Shooting Midnight Cowboy' Turns An Eye To A Dark, Problematic Masterpiece

5:59pm March 18, 2021

by Michael Schaub

John Schlesinger's flawed drama, the only X-rated film to win an Oscar for best picture, made Jon Voight a star and solidified Dustin Hoffman's status as one of his generation's greatest actors.

Zack Snyder directs Ben Affleck and Gal Gadot. Zack Snyder's Justice League is the director's 2021 cut of the 2017 film.

Arts

Here At Long (Really Long) Last, 'Zack Snyder's Justice League' Is ... Not Bad?

4:20pm March 18, 2021

by Eric Deggans

Zach Snyder's Justice League drops on HBO Max on Thursday; despite being an eye-popping four hours long, it's a stronger film than the 2017 version finished by Joss Whedon after Snyder stepped away.

Lonnie G. Bunch III, shortly after he was named Smithsonian Secretary in 2019

Arts

Inside The Blacksonian With Lonnie Bunch

3:34pm March 18, 2021

by Karen Grigsby Bates

Smithsonian Secretary Lonnie G. Bunch III talks about how he turned entry into the Blacksonian into the hottest ticket in town and how the coronavirus is affecting the Smithsonians.

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Dutch composer Tom Holkenborg, aka Junkie XL.

The Music Of 'Justice League' Is Its Own Epic Tale Of Death And Rebirth

2:37pm March 18, 2021

by Tim Greiving

Tom Holkenborg, aka Junkie XL, is far from the first film composer to be fired at the eleventh hour. But he might be the first to get his job back.

In The Father, Anthony Hopkins plays a man with dementia, and Olivia Coleman is the daughter whose name he occasionally forgets.

Arts

In 'The Father,' Anthony Hopkins' Mind Is Playing Tricks On Him — And On You

1:42pm March 18, 2021

by Justin Chang

Few films have gone as deeply into the recesses of dementia as The Father. Hopkins plays a man whose mind has become a prison — and we're trapped right alongside him.

Leesa Kelly of Minneapolis, Minn., has been collecting plywood protest murals with the organization, Save the Boards, since the civil unrest following killing of George Floyd.

Plywood From Boarded-Up Shops Turned Into Art Commemorating Floyd Killing

5:12am March 18, 2021

by Leila Fadel

Put up to protect buildings from civil unrest, the boards have become vehicles of expression for devastated and angry Minnesotans.

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Books
Arts

In 'Abundance,' Measuring A Life In Dollars And Cents

4:28pm March 17, 2021

by Ari Shapiro

In his debut novel, Jakob Guanzon wanted to write about hunger and need and the one thing that's inescapable for anyone living paycheck-to-paycheck: The fluctuating numbers of your budget.

James Levine conducts the Boston Symphony Orchestra in 2007.

James Levine, Former Met Opera Music Director, Is Dead At Age 77

4:28pm March 17, 2021

by Tom Huizenga

The gifted conductor who had wielded immense influence in the classical music world, was publicly accused by nine men of sexual abuse. He died March 9 at age 77 of natural causes.