Obituaries

Remembering legendary music executive Seymour Stein, co-founder of Sire Records

1:56pm April 07, 2023

by Terry Gross

Stein, who died Sunday at 80, signed a wide range of pioneering artists: The Ramones, Madonna, Talking Heads, The Pretenders, k.d. lang and Ice-T. We'll listen back to two of his Fresh Air interviews.

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Coolio performs at Groovin The Moo in 2019 in Australia.

Coolio died of an accidental fentanyl overdose, coroner's report shows

10:08am April 07, 2023

by Kaitlyn Radde

Coolio died on Sept. 28, 2022, at a friend's home in Los Angeles. The 59-year-old rapper's cause of death was unknown at the time.

Director Steven Spielberg, camera operator Michael Chapman and cinematographer Bill Butler on the set of the Universal Pictures production of 'Jaws' in 1975.

Arts

Bill Butler, 'Jaws' cinematographer, dies at 101

9:22pm April 06, 2023

by Mandalit del Barco

The Oscar-nominee's work also includes One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, Grease, and The Conversation.

Klaus Teuber, a dental technician from Darmstadt, presents his game The Settlers of Catan on Sept. 29, 1995, in Frankfurt, Germany.

World News

Klaus Teuber, Catan board game creator, dies at 70

4:37pm April 06, 2023

by Neda Ulaby

Teuber created the hugely popular game in which players compete to build settlements on a fictional island. Since its 1995 debut, it has sold tens of millions of copies in more than 40 languages.

Kwame Brathwaite, Self-portrait, African Jazz-Art Society & Studios (AJASS), Harlem, ca. 1964; from Kwame Brathwaite: Black Is Beautiful (Aperture, 2019)

Arts

'Black is Beautiful' photographer Kwame Brathwaite has died at 85

4:55pm April 04, 2023

by Elizabeth Blair

Kwame Brathwaite spent some six decades chronicling Black life, culture and activism. He's credited with helping found the "Black is Beautiful" movement.

Music & Culture

Remembering music mogul Seymour Stein, dead at 80

4:28pm April 04, 2023

by Phil Harrell

Music mogul Seymour Stein died Sunday at the age of 80. As the head of Sire Records, he signed genre-defining artists like Madonna, Ice-T, the Ramones and Talking Heads.

Ryuichi Sakamoto posing for a portrait in Paris in 1996.

Ryuichi Sakamoto, a godfather of electronic pop, has died

2:20pm April 02, 2023

by Anastasia Tsioulcas

The influential Japanese composer died March 28 from cancer. A wide-ranging musician, the Yellow Magic Orchestra co-founder was a synth-pop idol and the writer of sweeping movie scores.

Yang Bing-Yi started the Din Tai Fung restaurant with his wife in Taipei in 1972. From there, the restaurant grew into a chain of more than 170 locations around the world, known for steamed soup dumplings.

World News

Yang Bing-Yi, patriarch of Taiwan's soup dumpling empire, has died

9:16pm March 29, 2023

by Emily Feng

The cofounder of Taiwan's famed Din Tai Fung restaurant chain died at 96, his company announced March 26. He helped turn delicate soup dumplings into a global phenomenon, even earning Michelin stars.

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Raphael Mechoulam delivers a speech at a cannabis conference in Tel Aviv in 2016.

Science

Raphael Mechoulam, the 'father of cannabis research' who discovered THC, has died

8:27pm March 27, 2023

by Becky Sullivan

When Mechoulam began his chemistry career, other drugs like cocaine and morphine had long been studied. But little was known about the scientific properties of the marijuana plant.

Chabelo, Mexican children's comic, dies at 88

5:06am March 27, 2023

Mexican children's comic Xavier López — better known as "Chabelo" — has died at age 88.