Arts & Life

Arts

Did They Or Didn't They? 'Quiz' Centers On 2 Accused Game Show Cheats

1:50pm May 28, 2020

by John Powers

A limited series premiering on AMC deftly sketches the portrait of a married couple who get put on trial for cheating to win the top prize on the British version of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?

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Illustrator Kirk Reedstrom says his life began to feel surreal when his state imposed quarantine measures.

Arts

'Quaranzines' Bring Readers Together Despite Distancing

10:29am May 28, 2020

by Allyson McCabe

During the coronavirus pandemic, the Internet has become home to a growing number of self-published "quaranzines" on everything from cutting your own hair to building emergency hand washing stations.

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Writer and activist Larry Kramer, here in 1989, was an unapologetically loud and irrepressible voice in the fight against AIDS.

Larry Kramer, Pioneering AIDS Activist And Writer, Dies At 84

5:44pm May 27, 2020

by Neda Ulaby

Kramer was a writer with an Oscar-nominated screenplay when his friends started dying mysteriously — galvanizing him to found the Gay Men's Health Crisis, and later ACT UP, to combat AIDS.

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Walt Disney World closed in March in response to the coronavirus outbreak. Now, they have announced a phased reopening starting July 11.

Disney World And Other Florida Theme Parks Outline Reopening Plans

3:58pm May 27, 2020

by Greg Allen

The popular theme parks will open their doors in the next few weeks and say they're planning to keep guests and employees as safe as possible.

Breathing slowly and deeply through the nose is associated with a relaxation response, says James Nestor, author of Breath. As the diaphragm lowers, you're allowing more air into your lungs and your body switches to a more relaxed state.

How The 'Lost Art' Of Breathing Can Impact Sleep And Resilience

3:07pm May 27, 2020

by Terry Gross

While researching his book, Breath, James Nestor participated in a study in which his nose was completely plugged for 10 days, forcing him to breathe solely through his mouth. "I felt awful," he says.

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Books
Arts

A Memoir Reflects On What Happens To The 'Fairest' Of Them All

2:57pm May 27, 2020

by Hope Wabuke

During a boyhood in the Philippines, Meredith Talusan received positive reactions to the white skin and blonde hair accompanying albinism. She found a different response as a trans woman in the U.S.

People react during a rally to protest the shooting of Ahmaud Arbery in Brunswick, Ga.

Arts

'Running For Your Life': A Community Poem For Ahmaud Arbery

5:16am May 27, 2020

by Rachel Martin

For this latest community poem, NPR poet-in-residence Kwame Alexander sifted through more than 1,000 submissions reacting to the killing of Ahmaud Abrery and created a poem that speaks with one voice.

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Darby (Anna Kendrick) waits for love (and the A Train) in Love Life, an original series launching with HBO Max.

Arts

HBO Max's Original Series: A Guide For The Perplexed

5:01am May 27, 2020

The new streaming service launches with a handful of original series, featuring ballroom culture, Anna Kendrick, Elmo and crafting. We take a look at what's on offer.

"In many ways I appear very good at being social," says comic Hannah Gadsby. "But it's an incredibly exhausting process for me." She found her autism spectrum diagnosis in 2016 helped put her experience into perspective.

Arts

Autism Spectrum Diagnosis Helped Comic Hannah Gadsby 'Be Kinder' To Herself

1:44pm May 26, 2020

by Terry Gross

Growing up, the comic — known for her Nanette stand-up special — struggled to read social cues. She says her 2016 diagnosis "shifted the way that I understood myself." Her latest special is Douglas.

Cover detail of St. Christopher on Pluto, by Nancy McKinly

Books
Arts

'St. Christopher On Pluto' Follows The Adventures Of 2 Friends In An Old Buick

1:13pm May 26, 2020

by Maureen Corrigan

Nancy McKinley mixes screwball humor with social criticism in a collection of interlocking stories about two women who work at a mall in Northeastern Pennsylvania.