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Culture

Tuesday

Fact Or Fiction? Even When It Comes To Food, It's Hard To Tell With Rasputin

Worshipful female followers fought for the Mad Monk's leftover bread crusts. His infamous sweet tooth led to his death. Or did it? A century later, rumors about Grigori Rasputin, Russia's czarina whisperer, still swirl. RGALI/Courtesy of Farrar, Straus and Giroux hide caption

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RGALI/Courtesy of Farrar, Straus and Giroux

The Salt

Fact Or Fiction? Even When It Comes To Food, It's Hard To Tell With Rasputin

Worshipful female followers fought for the Mad Monk's leftover bread crusts. His infamous sweet tooth led to his death. Or did it? A century later, rumors about Russia's czarina whisperer still swirl.

'Breaking News' Artists Use Mass Media As Their Medium

An exhibition at The Getty Center in Los Angeles features some 200 works of news-inspired art, dating back to the 1960s. Above, The Air Power of the World from Masao Mochizuki's 1976 "Television" series. Wilson Centre for Photography/Masao Mochizuki, courtesy of Osiris hide caption

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Wilson Centre for Photography/Masao Mochizuki, courtesy of Osiris

Fine Art

'Breaking News' Artists Use Mass Media As Their Medium

An exhibition in Los Angeles features some 200 works of news-inspired art, dating back to the 1960s. Many of the images are disturbing; "Art is more than a pretty picture," says curator Arpad Kovacs.

'Breaking News' Artists Use Mass Media As Their Medium

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Monday

Attention Must Be Paid To What 'The Salesman' Is Selling

Rana (Taraneh Alidoosti) and Emad's (Shahab Hosseini) marriage is shattered in The Salesman. Courtesy of Cohen Media Group hide caption

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Courtesy of Cohen Media Group

Review

Movie Reviews

Attention Must Be Paid To What 'The Salesman' Is Selling

A review of The Salesman, an Iranian film about a couple whose home life becomes unsettled while they're starring together in a production of Death of a Salesman.

Attention Must Be Paid To What 'The Salesman' Is Selling

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'Perfect Little World' Imagines Family Drama Inside A Utopian Compound
Marian Carrasquero/NPR

Review

Book Reviews

'Perfect Little World' Imagines Family Drama Inside A Utopian Compound

Fresh Air

Kevin Wilson's new novel is set on a state-of-the-art commune where children don't know who their biological parents are. Critic Maureen Corrigan says the book lives up to its title.

'Perfect Little World' Imagines Family Drama Inside A Utopian Compound

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Doctor Considers The Pitfalls Of Extending Life And Prolonging Death
Caiaimage/Sam Edwards/Getty Images

Shots - Health News

Doctor Considers The Pitfalls Of Extending Life And Prolonging Death

Fresh Air

In Modern Death, Dr. Haider Warraich says a slow dying process, during which patients move in and out of hospitals or nursing homes, is a "very recent development in our history as a species."

Doctor Considers The Pitfalls Of Extending Life And Prolonging Death

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'This Is How It Always Is' Was Inspired By Its Author's Transgender Child

This Is How It Always Is by Laurie Frankel. Marian Carrasquero/NPR hide caption

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Marian Carrasquero/NPR

Author Interviews

'This Is How It Always Is' Was Inspired By Its Author's Transgender Child

Still, Laurie Frankel says, her book is fiction. "The nice thing about my life is that it's pretty boring, which is really how you want your life to be — but not how you want your novel to be."

'This Is How It Always Is' Was Inspired By Its Author's Transgender Child

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Sunday

Kim Cattrall, More Than Just A Murder Victim In 'Witness For The Prosecution'

Kim Cattrall as socialite — and murder victim — Emily French in The Witness for the Prosecution. Robert Viglasky/Acorn TV hide caption

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Robert Viglasky/Acorn TV

Television

Kim Cattrall, More Than Just A Murder Victim In 'Witness For The Prosecution'

Cattrall — best known for her role on Sex and the City — plays a murdered socialite in a new TV adaptation of Agatha Christie's play. She says she wanted to open up the character and understand her.

Kim Cattrall, More Than Just A Murder Victim In 'Witness For The Prosecution'

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Saturday

Hip-Hop Duo Run The Jewels Plays Not My Job

El-P (left) and Killer Mike perform at the Pitchfork Music Festival in Chicago in July 2015. Barry Brecheisen/Barry Brecheisen/Invision/AP hide caption

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Barry Brecheisen/Barry Brecheisen/Invision/AP

Wait Wait...Don't Tell Me!

Hip-Hop Duo Run The Jewels Plays Not My Job

Sure they're known as Run the Jewels ... but what do they know about running the Jews? El-P and Killer Mike will answer three questions about rabbis.

Hip-Hop Duo Run The Jewels Plays Not My Job

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Mississippi Masala: How A Native Of India Became A Southern Cooking Star

Vishwesh Bhatt is the executive chef of Snackbar, a restaurant in Oxford, Miss. And he's winning acclaim as one of the region's best chefs for Indian-inflected Southern fare that reflects a changing South. Danny Klimetz for NPR hide caption

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Danny Klimetz for NPR

The Salt

Mississippi Masala: How A Native Of India Became A Southern Cooking Star

Food has always been a big part of Southern identity. These days, one of the region's best chefs is Vish Bhatt, a man born 9,000 miles away. And his Indian-inflected cuisine reflects a changing South.

Mississippi Masala: How A Native Of India Became A Southern Cooking Star

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Renowned Biographer Patricia Bosworth Writes A Chapter From Her Own Life

Bosworth sits in her "hideout" in 1945. Courtesy of Patricia Bosworth hide caption

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Courtesy of Patricia Bosworth

Author Interviews

Renowned Biographer Patricia Bosworth Writes A Chapter From Her Own Life

The Men in My Life chronicles a 10-year period during which Bosworth married, divorced, finished college, became an actress, and worked alongside some of the biggest movie stars of the 1950s.

Renowned Biographer Patricia Bosworth Writes A Chapter From Her Own Life

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Cast As Brooding Leads, Rufus Sewell Says His Real Talent Is Comedy

Brooding? Just a bit. Rufus Sewell stars as American Nazi leader John Smith in The Man in the High Castle. Liane Hentscher hide caption

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Liane Hentscher

Television

Cast As Brooding Leads, Rufus Sewell Says His Real Talent Is Comedy

Rufus Sewell is seemingly everywhere these days — on stage and on the small screen, including Amazon's alternate-history series The Man in the High Castle, in which he plays an American Nazi leader.

Cast As Brooding Leads, Rufus Sewell Says His Real Talent Is Comedy

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