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Wednesday

Fleetwood Mac singer-songwriter Christine McVie dies at 79

Christine McVie from the band Fleetwood Mac performs at Madison Square Garden in New York on Oct. 6, 2014. The band announced her death on social media Wednesday. Charles Sykes/Charles Sykes/Invision/AP hide caption

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Charles Sykes/Charles Sykes/Invision/AP

Obituaries

Fleetwood Mac singer-songwriter Christine McVie dies at 79

The British-born vocalist, songwriter and keyboard player whose cool, soulful contralto helped define such classics as "You Make Loving Fun," "Everywhere" and "Don't Stop," died Wednesday.

Author Interviews

Journalist Maria Ressa explains 'How to Stand Up to a Dictator'

Fresh Air

The Nobel Peace Prize-winning journalist faced criminal charges in the Philippines after her news site's reporting angered government officials. How to Stand Up to a Dictator is her new memoir.

Journalist Maria Ressa explains 'How to Stand Up to a Dictator'

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Maureen Corrigan's favorite books of the year: 10 disparate reads for a hectic 2022
NPR

Review

Book Reviews

Maureen Corrigan's favorite books of the year: 10 disparate reads for a hectic 2022

Fresh Air

Some years, this annual book list falls into a pattern: like stand-out memoirs or dystopian fiction. But 2022 could not be contained, and these titles sprawl all over the place in subject and form.

Maureen Corrigan's favorite books of the year: 10 disparate reads for a hectic 2022

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Everyone hates a boring party. Here's how to kick things up a notch

NPR Life Kit listeners share photos from their best theme parties. Left: a vision board for a "Vampire Nights"-themed party; middle: An '80s-themed ski party; right: An Olympics watch party. Photos courtesy of L to R: Gabby Kanu; Arik Colbath; Tom Czech and Elizabeth Novak hide caption

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Photos courtesy of L to R: Gabby Kanu; Arik Colbath; Tom Czech and Elizabeth Novak

Life Kit

Everyone hates a boring party. Here's how to kick things up a notch

Hosting a holiday party? NPR's audience shares their best untraditional party ideas and themes — and their strategies to make the experience truly epic.

Everyone hates a boring party. Here's how to kick things up a notch

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Where did all the key changes go?

The key change has been used by musicians like Beyoncé, Travis Scott, Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys and Michael Jackson for decades. Nowadays, it's getting harder and harder to find in top songs. Kevin Winter/The Recording Academy/Getty Images; Rick Kern/Getty Images; Ron Galella/Getty Images; GARCIA/Gamma-Rapho/Getty Images hide caption

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Kevin Winter/The Recording Academy/Getty Images; Rick Kern/Getty Images; Ron Galella/Getty Images; GARCIA/Gamma-Rapho/Getty Images

Music Features

Where did all the key changes go?

Many of the biggest hits in pop music used to have a key change, but it's getting harder and harder to find in top hits.

Where did all the key changes go?

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An Israeli director sparks outrage in India over a film about Hindu persecution

A man walks past a banner of Bollywood movie The Kashmir Files outside a cinema in the old quarters of Delhi on March 21, 2022. Sajjad Hussain/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

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Sajjad Hussain/AFP via Getty Images

World

An Israeli director sparks outrage in India over a film about Hindu persecution

Controversy has erupted at one of India's top film festivals over the screening of a movie with Hindu nationalist themes. Were the jury head's comments an artistic critique or political commentary?

Arts Week: The Literary Magazine Dissecting Health And Healing

A general View of Bellevue Hospital in October, 2014. Kena Betancur / Getty Images hide caption

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Kena Betancur / Getty Images

Short Wave

Arts Week: The Literary Magazine Dissecting Health And Healing

New York's Bellevue Hospital is the oldest public hospital in the country, serving patients from all walks of life. It's also the home of a literary magazine, the Bellevue Literary Review, which is now more than 20 years old. In today's encore episode, NPR arts correspondent Neda Ulaby tells Emily how one doctor at Bellevue Hospital decided a literary magazine is essential to both science and healing.

Arts Week: The Literary Magazine Dissecting Health And Healing

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Does 'Disenchanted' find the fairy tale magic?

Amy Adams returns as Giselle in Disenchanted on Disney Plus. Disney Enterprises, Inc. hide caption

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Disney Enterprises, Inc.

Review

Pop Culture Happy Hour

Does 'Disenchanted' find the fairy tale magic?

The Disney Plus movie Disenchanted brings back Amy Adams, Patrick Dempsey and James Marsden in the continuing story of a cartoon princess making a life in the real world. A follow-up to 2007's Enchanted, it has more songs, gags and conflicts between fairytale life and reality that animated, so to speak, the original.

Does 'Disenchanted' find the fairy tale magic?

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Tuesday

A teary Will Smith opens up to Trevor Noah about the 'rage' behind his Oscar slap

Actor Will Smith's success at the 94th Oscars was largely overshadowed by his behavior earlier in the ceremony, when he slapped comedian Chris Rock over a joke about Smith's wife's hair. In a new interview, Smith says that bottled up rage led to that moment. Robyn Beck/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

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Robyn Beck/AFP via Getty Images

A teary Will Smith opens up to Trevor Noah about the 'rage' behind his Oscar slap

In his first big interview since March, the blockbuster actor said he "just lost it" over Rock's joke about his wife's hair. "That was a rage that had been bottled for a really long time," he said.

A journalist's plea to the West: 'Pay attention to Ukraine and its fate'

Ukrainian flags fly in Kharkiv, Ukraine, on Oct. 19, marking the graves of soldiers killed in action following the Russian invasion earlier this year. Carl Court/Getty Images hide caption

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Carl Court/Getty Images

Ukraine invasion — explained

A journalist's plea to the West: 'Pay attention to Ukraine and its fate'

Fresh Air

Invasion author Luke Harding began reporting from Ukraine in December 2021 and was in Kyiv the night before the Russian invasion began. "There is no mood inside Ukrainian society to yield," he says.

A journalist's plea to the West: 'Pay attention to Ukraine and its fate'

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The rules of improv can make you funnier. They can also make you more confident.
Annelise Capossela for NPR

Life Kit

The rules of improv can make you funnier. They can also make you more confident.

Improv comedy is about more than making people laugh. It can help performers be more creative and self-assured — and combat anxiety, both on and off stage.

The rules of improv can make you funnier. They can also make you more confident.

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Monday

Balenciaga is suing the producers of its own ad campaign after facing backlash

A Balenciaga retail store is seen closed to customers due to pandemic lockdowns in Melbourne, Australia, in 2021. The brand has come under fire in recent weeks due to back-to-back ad scandals. Asanka Ratnayake/Getty Images hide caption

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Asanka Ratnayake/Getty Images

National

Balenciaga is suing the producers of its own ad campaign after facing backlash

The luxury fashion house is taking legal action against the production company North Six after back-to-back ad campaigns have left the luxury fashion house embroiled in controversy.

Influential jazz pianist Ahmad Jamal has released a pair of archival albums

Ahmad Jamal, photographed during the Marciac Jazz Festival on Aug. 3, 2016 in Marciac, France. Remy Gabalda/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

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Remy Gabalda/AFP via Getty Images

Music News

Influential jazz pianist Ahmad Jamal has released a pair of archival albums

WRTI

Musician Ahmad Jamal has been a major jazz figure since the 1950s. Emerald City Nights: Live at the Penthouse is a set of never-before-released recordings of Jamal in his prime.

Influential jazz pianist Ahmad Jamal has released a pair of archival albums

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When should you put up Christmas lights? A new survey illuminates an evergreen debate

Now that Thanksgiving is over, the age-old debate alights: When should you hang up your Christmas decorations? A new survey reveals where Americans stand. Kinga Krzeminska/Getty Images hide caption

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Kinga Krzeminska/Getty Images

When should you put up Christmas lights? A new survey illuminates an evergreen debate

The age-old debate is back: When is the acceptable time to put up Christmas lights? A survey says Dec. 1 is a popular date, but some people — especially in Georgia — like to start sooner.

When should you put up Christmas lights? A new survey illuminates an evergreen debate

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It's no trick; Merriam-Webster says 'gaslighting' is the word of the year

Gas lamps illuminate St. Louis' Gaslight Square on April 2, 1962. "Gaslighting" — mind manipulating, grossly misleading, downright deceitful — is Merriam-Webster's word of 2022. JMH/AP hide caption

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JMH/AP

It's no trick; Merriam-Webster says 'gaslighting' is the word of the year

Online searches for the word "gaslighting" on merriam-webster.com increased 1,740% in 2022 over the year before, leading the reference publishing company to name it the word of the year.