culture

'The Man Who Tasted Words' forces readers to question their reality

8:29am March 09, 2022

by Gabino Iglesias

Most humans walk around feeling like they know what reality is, but the message at the core of Dr. Guy Leschziner's book is that all sensory information we receive is intrinsically ambiguous.

McDonald's says it is temporarily closing all of its 850 restaurants in Russia in response to the invasion of Ukraine.

McDonald's, Coca-Cola, PepsiCo and Starbucks join a corporate exodus from Russia

4:31pm March 08, 2022

The big American companies are the latest to suspend their operations in the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Disney employees furious the company won't denounce Florida's 'Don't Say Gay' bill

1:18pm March 08, 2022

by Elizabeth Blair

Disney employees are expressing their outrage over the entertainment company's decision not to denounce Florida's proposed 'Don't Say Gay' bill.

Former Attorney General William Barr stands for a portrait at his house in McLean, Virginia, on Wednesday, March 2.

Trump's attorney general sends a letter from No Man's Land

8:48am March 08, 2022

by Ron Elving

In One Damn Thing After Another, Bill Barr alternates between castigating and exonerating. He catalogs Trump's offenses yet casts him as the latest victim of dishonest media and "the radical Left."

WNBA players Brittney Griner (right) of the Phoenix Mercury and Courtney Vandersloot of the Chicago Sky compete during the WNBA Finals in Chicago in October 2021.

Why Brittney Griner was in Russia and what it has to do with U.S. women's basketball

6:27pm March 07, 2022

by Anastasia Tsioulcas

Many WNBA players head overseas to play during the off-season, where they can be paid much more than they earn in the U.S. Griner, who was arrested for allegedly transporting drugs, is one of them.

Arts

The 2022 Independent Spirit Awards nod towards possible Oscar winners

4:29pm March 07, 2022

Some of the biggest Oscar snubs were recognized at Sunday's Independent Spirit Awards. For the second year, television shows and performances were also celebrated.

Books
Arts

It took this 'New Yorker' cartoonist 25 years to achieve his childhood dream

1:54pm March 07, 2022

by Terry Gross

David Sipress endured years of rejection before finally landing a gig with The New Yorker in '98. "I wasn't about to let all that rejection get in the way," he says. His new memoir is What's So Funny?

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Sandy Hook took place as 'alternative facts' muscled out objective truth

1:48pm March 07, 2022

by Jim Zarroli

A feature writer at The New York Times, author Elizabeth Williamson is a compassionate storyteller and a thorough reporter who never loses sight of the larger issues Newtown presents.

An installation of the inspirational posters at a youth art exhibit at Healdsburg Center for the Arts in California.

Press 3 for a pep talk from kindergartners. A new hotline gives you options for joy

5:48pm March 06, 2022

by Adrian Florido

What started as an art project at a California elementary school has gone viral. The free hotline offers wise advice and encouraging messages from kids to anyone who calls.

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The making of the Cartography Project, a work honoring victims of racial violence

5:17pm March 06, 2022

NPR's Michel Martin speaks with artists Marc Bamuthi Joseph and Liz Gre about The Cartography Project — a multi-year art commission that explores the effects of racial violence.