Culture Art and entertainment commentary plus interviews, book reviews, movie reviews, music reviews, comedy, and visual art. Subscribe to podcasts and follow trends in music, painting, art, architecture, photography, and design.

Thursday

Behrouz Boochani, a Kurdish-Iranian journalist and asylum-seeker, won two prestigious Australian literary prizes for his debut, a book composed in text messages sent from a detention center on Manus Island. Hoda Afshar hide caption

toggle caption
Hoda Afshar

A Teen Faces Colorism At School And At Home In 'Genesis Begins Again'

  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/690381040/690469012" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Wednesday

Composer Nicholas Britell says cellos were central to the score he wrote for If Beale Street Could Talk (starring Stephan James and KiKi Layne, above): "The cellos really became for us this symbol of love, because the movie is about love and injustice." Tatum Mangus/Annapurna Pictures hide caption

toggle caption
Tatum Mangus/Annapurna Pictures

'Beale Street' And 'Vice' Composer Isn't Afraid To Play The 'Wrong' Notes

  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/689822798/690019867" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Black Earth Rising Des Willie/BBC/Netflix hide caption

toggle caption
Des Willie/BBC/Netflix

'Black Earth Rising' Is A Fascinating, If Clunky, Take On The Rwandan Genocide

  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/689892841/690019346" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Netflix's Tidying Up With Marie Kondo is a different kind of cleaning show — one that prioritizes self-care. Netflix hide caption

toggle caption
Netflix

Tuesday

Jussie Smollett speaks last month at an awards ceremony held in Los Angeles by Children's Defense Fund California. Gabriel Olsen/Getty Images hide caption

toggle caption
Gabriel Olsen/Getty Images

Police Say 'Empire' Actor Jussie Smollett Attacked In Possible Hate Crime

  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/689758253/689811745" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Stephanie Land says that cleaning houses gave her an intimate knowledge of the homeowners: "I knew them by the imprints they left in their bed. I knew them by the ring of coffee from their coffee mug that was always in the same place." Nicol Biesek/Hachette hide caption

toggle caption
Nicol Biesek/Hachette

In 'Maid,' A Single Mother Finds 'No Way' To Make It On Minimum Wage

  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/689611873/689707089" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie's new book, Let Me Finish: Trump, the Kushners, Bannon, New Jersey, and the Power of In-Your-Face Politics details his history with New Jersey politics and thoughts on the Trump administration. Elias Williams for NPR hide caption

toggle caption
Elias Williams for NPR

Chris Christie: There Is No One With More Influence Over Trump Than Jared Kushner

  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/689388865/689760976" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript