culture

Composer Jonny Greenwood arrives for the Academy Awards on March 4, 2018, in Hollywood, Calif. Greenwood was nominated for an Oscar his work on Phantom Thread.

For Radiohead's Jonny Greenwood, there are no rules to composing for film

1:24pm February 07, 2022

by Terry Gross

Greenwood says writing the music for The Power of the Dog allowed him to experiment by mixing a banjo and a string quartet. He also recently scored Spencer and Licorice Pizza.

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Reconsidering Scott Joplin's 'The Entertainer'

1:03pm February 07, 2022

by Lara Downes

The king of ragtime published his hit tune 120 years ago. Pianist Lara Downes believes the piece helped shape the future of American music.

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Books
Arts

Thriller 'The Violin Conspiracy' addresses racism in classical music

9:17am February 07, 2022

by Bethanne Patrick

In his debut thriller, Brendan Slocumb employs polemic about racism to great effect as he reminds us that the high-toned world of classical music suffers from, and because of, racism.

UFC announcer and podcaster Joe Rogan speaks at the weigh in before a UFC on FOX 5 event in Seattle, on Dec. 7, 2012.

Arts

Spotify says Joe Rogan isn't going anywhere

7:17am February 07, 2022

by The Associated Press

In a message to employees, CEO Daniel Ek condemned Rogan's comments on vaccines and use of racial slurs, but said he didn't believe that "silencing Joe is the answer."

Children's author and illustrator Ashley Bryan has died at age 98.

Books
Arts

Ashley Bryan, children's illustrator and author, has died at 98

5:01pm February 05, 2022

by Elizabeth Blair

He created stories centered on African and African American folk tales and his vibrantly colored collage and paper-cut illustrations adorned the pages of some 50 books.

Lou Stovall's Glazing, 1972. screenprint, 26 x 40 in

Arts

How Lou Stovall took silkscreen-printing from grocery stores to gallery walls

3:20pm February 05, 2022

by Susan Stamberg

The famed silkscreen printer, whose work is on display at the Kreeger Museum's exhibition "Lou Stovall: On Inventions and Color," pioneered an artform while building community in Washington, D.C.

Books
Arts

A woman embraces change in the 1960s in Tessa Hadley's novel 'Free Love'

11:09am February 05, 2022

by Heller McAlpin

Phyllis Fischer, a 40-year-old wife and mother, is drawn into a liberating relationship with a much younger man. She soon realizes that perhaps she wasn't so content as she thought.

Historian Shermann "Dilla" Thomas uses TikTok to explain why Chicago is the coolest city in the world.

Arts

'Wait Wait' for Feb. 5, 2022: With Not My Job guest Shermann 'Dilla' Thomas

8:59am February 05, 2022

Historian Shermann Thomas is Chicago's most popular TikTok star, and he got there by telling cool facts about the city he loves. But what does he know about goats? We ask him 3 questions to find out.

Painter Irfan Mohammad works on a truck at a sprawling workshop in Rawalpindi, Pakistan.

These eye-popping, hand-painted trucks rule Pakistan's roads

8:02am February 05, 2022

by Hannah Bloch

Around the world, trucks are essential everyday vehicles. In Pakistan, trucks are also canvases for dazzling works of art. Truck art has served a social good too, and helped recover missing children.

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Books
Arts

Coming of age with three contemporary YA novels

3:21pm February 04, 2022

by Caitlyn Paxon

In each of these stories — Full Flight, Required Reading for the Disenfranchised Freshman, Ophelia After All — a girl stands at a junction in her life, on the brink of deciding who she wants to be.