Arts & Life

"I am very conscious of the fact that these things that I've internalized are these kind of middle, upper middle-class white American milestones," says author Doree Shafrir about the societal pressures of the perfect job, marriage, and homeownership, "but

Books
Arts

A Late Bloomer Makes The Case For Rejecting Life's Typical Timeline

4:20pm October 14, 2021

NPR's Ailsa Chang speaks with Doree Shafrir about her book Thanks for Waiting and the obstacles and victories of postponing the usual milestones of success for women like marriage, kids and a career.

Adam Driver and Matt Damon play real-life combatants Jacques Le Gris and Sir Jean de Carrouges in The Last Duel.

Arts

'The Last Duel' is a 'Rashomon'-style #MeToo story — and a messy medieval epic

2:37pm October 14, 2021

by Justin Chang

Ridley Scott's epic, which opens in 1386 Paris, tells the story of a duel between a squire of a knight from three points of view — including that of the woman they're fighting over.

Paul Morrissey, Andy Warhol, Lou Reed and Moe Tucker from archival photography in a split-screen frame from "The Velvet Underground."

Todd Haynes' new film takes us deep into The Velvet Underground

1:44pm October 14, 2021

by Allyson McCabe

In his first documentary, filmmaker Todd Haynes uses the language of experimental cinema to spotlight the Velvet Underground, a legendary band that flowered within New York's avant-garde art world.

Books
Arts

'Two Feathers' is a flawed but gripping novel of racism in the Prohibition-era South

5:00am October 14, 2021

by Michael Schaub

Margaret Verble's novel follows a young Cherokee woman whose life as a horse-diver in Tennessee zoo is derailed by a terrible accident. It's unfocused at times, but definitely a ride worth taking.

The National Museum of African American Music, in Nashville.

A new museum in Nashville centers the artistry of Black musicians

5:26pm October 13, 2021

by Ambriehl Crutchfield

Nashville has long been associated with country music. But a museum devoted to African-American music, which opened earlier this year, sets the record straight about the city's diversity

Dome home by Vidyun R Hebbar, India, Winner, 10 Years and Under. Vidyun R Hebbar watches a tent spider as a tuk-tuk passes by. Exploring his local theme park, he found an occupied spider's web in a gap in a wall. A passing tuk-tuk provided a backdrop of r

Immerse yourself in nature with these 2021 Wildlife Photographer of the Year images

5:24pm October 13, 2021

The top two winners of the 2021 Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition were selected from more than 50,000 entries worldwide. They are a biologist from France and a 10 year old from India.

Tubist Richard Antoine White shares his unlikely path to the stage 'I'm Possible'

1:52pm October 13, 2021

by Dave Davies

White spent his early childhood in poverty in Baltimore, at times sleeping in abandoned houses. He's now principal tubist in the Santa Fe Symphony and the New Mexico Philharmonic.

Queue Listen Now

Ilana Glazer kneels in a white shirt and blue jeans

Arts

'Wait Wait' for Oct. 9, 2021: Ilana Glazer plays Not My Job

10:47am October 13, 2021

Ilana Glazer shot to fame as the co-creator and co-star of Broad City, but since she's a Glazer, we thought we'd ask about the things that get glazed: donuts.

Queue Listen Now

A laboratory in New York City's Bellevue Medical Center on May 17, 1949.

Why a literary magazine at the nation's oldest public hospital matters more than ever

5:39am October 13, 2021

by Neda Ulaby

One of the world's most famous hospitals also houses a respected literary magazine focused on health and healing. The Bellevue Literary Review has seen an uptick of submissions during the pandemic.

Dear Memory: Letters on Writing, Silence, and Grief, by Victoria Chang

Books
Arts

'Dear Memory' sees a direct connection between memory and identity formation

5:00am October 13, 2021

by Thúy Đinh

Victoria Chang's lyrical experiment memorably evokes an individual family's time capsule and an artist's timeless yearning to shape carbon dust into incandescent gem.