Arts & Life

Texas state Rep. Matt Krause looks over the calendar as lawmakers rush to finish business in Austin, Texas, in May 2017.

A Texas lawmaker is targeting 850 books that he says could make students feel uneasy

7:35pm October 28, 2021

by Bill Chappell

Republican Matt Krause is asking schools for an accounting of any book that "might make students feel discomfort, guilt, anguish, or any other form of psychological distress."

A vigil celebrates cinematographer Halyna Hutchins in Albuquerque, N.M. Hutchins was killed on set while filming the movie Rust when a prop firearm held by actor Alec Baldwin discharged.

After the Rust shooting, one expert unpacks how people cope with accidental killings

3:41pm October 28, 2021

The founder of a support group for people who have caused accidental death or injury has some personal insight on the emotions stirred up by the killing of a cast member on the set of the movie Rust.

Supporters of President Trump protest outside the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.

Trump's strategy to overturn the 2020 election didn't work. Next time it might

2:11pm October 28, 2021

by Terry Gross

Robert Costa's book Peril, which he co-wrote with Bob Woodward, goes inside Trump's war room on the eve of the Jan. 6 insurrection. Costa says the 2024 election could trigger a constitutional crisis.

Queue Listen Now

The Merriam-Webster dictionary added 455 new words in October, many related to online slang or the coronavirus pandemic.

Arts

'TBH' and 'dad bod' are among Merriam-Webster's 455 newest words. Because language

12:14pm October 28, 2021

by L. Carol Ritchie

The dictionary added 455 new words and definitions to the dictionary for October to keep up with the evolving English language, including pandemic terms and online shortcuts.

Actor Vincent Price, master of campy scares, at a British TV studio in 1970.

Arts

'Squid Game' too much? Consider the softer side of scary with these movies

8:55am October 28, 2021

by Neda Ulaby

If you prefer your Halloween entertainment to be on the less terrifying side, we've got something for you: A robust subgenre of scary movies that are actually kind of warm and fuzzy.

Sandie (Anya Taylor-Joy) and Eloise (Thomasin McKenzie) merge minds, bodies and fashion senses in Last Night in Soho.

Arts

In 'Last Night In Soho,' Edgar Wright Goes Wrong

8:49am October 28, 2021

by Glen Weldon

Edgar Wright delivers a technically proficient but punishingly contrived genre mashup involving romance, time travel, murder, sex work and nostalgia.

Books
Arts

November Book-Ahead: What We're Excited To Read Next Month

8:11am October 28, 2021

by Meghan Collins Sullivan

November is looking crowded with some highly anticipated books. Here are a handful we are excited to read.

Books
Arts

'Skin of the Sea' sends its little mermaid swimming into very different waters

7:00am October 28, 2021

by Caitlyn Paxson

Natasha Bowen's new young adult novel is inspired by "The Little Mermaid," but charts a different course, using fairytale and folklore to deal with one of the grimmest chapters in human history.

Arts

Italian villa with the world's only Caravaggio ceiling mural is up for sale

5:35am October 28, 2021

The villa in Rome will be auctioned at a starting price of $547 million in January. Inside the villa is the world's only ceiling mural by the Italian painter Caravaggio.

Persephone sasses Hades in a scene from Lore Olympus.

Books
Arts

The Greek gods — they're just like us in 'Lore Olympus'

10:25pm October 27, 2021

by Etelka Lehoczky

Rachel Smythe's smash hit webcomic, out now in graphic novel form, transports the follies of the Greek pantheon — particularly Hades and Persephone — to a modern setting of suits and sports cars.