Accessibility links
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.

Culture

Monday

Movie Interviews

Encore: Hollywood Shines New 'Spotlight' On Boston Clergy Sex Abuse

With Spotlight winning the Oscar for Best Picture, NPR's Audie Cornish talks to Sacha Pfeiffer, one of the reporters portrayed in the film who broke the story of sexual abuse by Catholic priests.

Encore: Hollywood Shines New 'Spotlight' On Boston Clergy Sex Abuse

Listen · 7:38
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/468607076/468607108" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
For Better Or Worse, Chris Rock Made The Oscars As Black As He Possibly Could

Comedian Chris Rock hosting the Oscars on Sunday. Rock's razor-sharp monologue skewered sensibilities on all sides of the #OscarsSoWhite debate. Christopher Polk/Getty Images hide caption

toggle caption
Christopher Polk/Getty Images

Code Switch

For Better Or Worse, Chris Rock Made The Oscars As Black As He Possibly Could

Despite the fact that no black actors were nominated in any high-profile categories, Academy Awards host Chris Rock kept race at the center of the event.

For Better Or Worse, Chris Rock Made The Oscars As Black As He Possibly Could

Listen · 3:08
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/468566401/468607120" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
Teen Girls And Social Media: A Story Of 'Secret Lives' And Misogyny

Nancy Jo Sales interviewed more than 200 teenage girls about their social media and Internet habits while researching her book American Girls. Knopf hide caption

toggle caption
Knopf

All Tech Considered

Teen Girls And Social Media: A Story Of 'Secret Lives' And Misogyny

Fresh Air

Author Nancy Jo Sales says the Internet fosters a kind of sexism that is harmful to teen girls. Her new book is American Girls: Social Media and the Secret Lives of Teenagers.

Teen Girls And Social Media: A Story Of 'Secret Lives' And Misogyny

Listen · 20:34
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/467959873/468586617" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Author Interviews

'The Ballad Of Black Tom' Offers A Tribute To And Critique Of Lovecraft

Growing up, Victor LaValle loved reading the horror stories of H.P. Lovecraft. It wasn't until later that LaValle recognized the racism in Lovecraft's work and felt the need to respond.

'The Ballad Of Black Tom' Offers A Tribute To And Critique Of Lovecraft

Listen · 24:50
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/468558238/468586638" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
A Big Night For 'Spotlight,' DiCaprio And Earned Discomfort

Leonardo DiCaprio and director Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu celebrate their awards on stage at the 88th Oscars on Sunday. Mark Ralston/AFP/Getty Images hide caption

toggle caption
Mark Ralston/AFP/Getty Images

Pop Culture Happy Hour

A Big Night For 'Spotlight,' DiCaprio And Earned Discomfort

Sunday night's Oscars gave best picture to Spotlight, best actor to Leonardo DiCaprio and a lot of opportunities to host Chris Rock.

A Big Night For 'Spotlight,' DiCaprio And Earned Discomfort

Listen · 13:12
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/468511558/468618403" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">

Sunday

Some Diverse Views From Academy Members On #OscarsSoWhite

For the second year in a row, all of the Oscars' acting nominees are white. Scott Olson/Getty Images hide caption

toggle caption
Scott Olson/Getty Images

Movies

Some Diverse Views From Academy Members On #OscarsSoWhite

The organization plans to increase diversity after criticism of a very white cast of nominees. A big difference in how some members feel about the changes is based on how they view the Academy's role.

Some Diverse Views From Academy Members On #OscarsSoWhite

Listen · 8:01
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/468433625/468446247" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
The Bravest Woman On TV Tonight Is The Star Of Oscar-Nommed Ebola Film

Garmai Sumo is a nurse featured in the documentary, Body Team 12. In one scene, she shares her religious views: "When they die, the righteous will resurrect on the day of the trumpet. But everyone remain in their grave for now." Body Team 12 hide caption

toggle caption
Body Team 12

Goats and Soda

The Bravest Woman On TV Tonight Is The Star Of Oscar-Nommed Ebola Film

body Team 12, a 13-minute documentary, has its TV premiere on HBO. The main character is Garmai Sumo, a 29-year-old nurse (and mom) who risked her life to collect the bodies of Ebola victims.

Thin Mint Mashup: Grind Those Girl Scout Cookies Into Cheesecake

Girl Scout Cookie Unity Cheesecake: the mashup dessert you never knew you needed. Courtesy of Emily Vonn/Vail Custom Cakes hide caption

toggle caption
Courtesy of Emily Vonn/Vail Custom Cakes

The Salt

Thin Mint Mashup: Grind Those Girl Scout Cookies Into Cheesecake

Many of us cheer Girl Scout season, but after plowing through several sleeves of Samoas, fatigue can set in. Here, Dan Pashman, host of The Sporkful, offers recipes meant to rekindle the cookie love.

Thin Mint Mashup: Grind Those Girl Scout Cookies Into Cheesecake

Listen · 3:58
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/468249759/468446229" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Saturday

A Bridge To Hollywood Legend: Saying Farewell To The Sixth Street Viaduct

The crumbling Sixth Street Viaduct, which has appeared in scores of Hollywood productions, is being demolished due to safety concerns. Mark Ralston/AFP/Getty Images hide caption

toggle caption
Mark Ralston/AFP/Getty Images

National

A Bridge To Hollywood Legend: Saying Farewell To The Sixth Street Viaduct

The bridge starred in so many iconic scenes — in films from Grease to Terminator 2 — it had become an icon unto itself. Due to safety concerns, though, the Sixth Street Viaduct is getting torn down.

A Bridge To Hollywood Legend: Saying Farewell To The Sixth Street Viaduct

Listen · 3:11
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/468263869/468402324" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
Brazilian Singer Seu Jorge: On Music, Race, And Luck Versus Hard Work

Seu Jorge Frazer Harrison/Getty Images hide caption

toggle caption
Frazer Harrison/Getty Images

Code Switch

Brazilian Singer Seu Jorge: On Music, Race, And Luck Versus Hard Work

The celebrated musician stopped by NPR's Alt.Latino to chat about his incredible musical journey.

Brazilian Singer Seu Jorge: On Music, Race, And Luck Versus Hard Work

Listen · 4:41
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/468264352/468402348" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
Not My Job: Singer Trisha Yearwood Gets Quizzed On Unhappy Couples
Michael Tran/FilmMagic/Getty Images

Wait Wait...Don't Tell Me!

Not My Job: Singer Trisha Yearwood Gets Quizzed On Unhappy Couples

Yearwood had a hit song called "How Do I Live Without You," so we've invited her to play game called "How Do I Live With You?" Three questions about unhappy marriages.

Not My Job: Singer Trisha Yearwood Gets Quizzed On Unhappy Couples

Listen · 10:07
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/468278794/468379870" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Fresh Air Weekend

Fresh Air Weekend: 'Hap And Leonard'; 'All My Yesterdays'; Maggie Smith

Fresh Air

Joe R. Lansdale worked as a janitor before finding success as a writer. Kevin Whitehead reviews a two-CD set featuring Thad Jones and Mel Lewis. Maggie Smith discusses the pressures of acting.

Fresh Air Weekend: 'Hap And Leonard'; 'All My Yesterdays'; Maggie Smith

Listen · 47:30
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/468120016/468380340" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
A Writer-Engineer's Historical Fiction Hack: Add Dragons

Book News & Features

A Writer-Engineer's Historical Fiction Hack: Add Dragons

Before her first book, Naomi Novik was a programmer who wrote Napoleonic-era fan fiction on the side. Then she had an idea: "What could make the Napoleonic wars more exciting? Dragons!"

A Writer-Engineer's Historical Fiction Hack: Add Dragons

Listen · 4:28
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/467810806/468366675" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript