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

Thursday

New Museum Will Mention Sexual Assault Accusations Against Bill Cosby After All

Some of Bill Cosby's accusers were upset that the museum did not initially plan to include a reference to the sexual assault allegations against him. William Thomas Cain/Getty Images hide caption

toggle caption
William Thomas Cain/Getty Images

The Two-Way

New Museum Will Mention Sexual Assault Accusations Against Bill Cosby After All

After days of criticism, the Smithsonian says the National Museum of African American History and Culture will make reference to the assault accusations against the comedian.

In 'Everything Is Copy,' Nora Ephron's Son Tries Her Philosophy

Writer, director and journalist Nora Ephron died in 2012 of complications from leukemia. Courtesy of HBO hide caption

toggle caption
Courtesy of HBO

Movie Interviews

In 'Everything Is Copy,' Nora Ephron's Son Tries Her Philosophy

Fresh Air

Jacob Bernstein named his documentary about his mother after an Ephron family saying — "everything is copy," meaning that anything and everything that happens to you is fair game to write about.

In 'Everything Is Copy,' Nora Ephron's Son Tries Her Philosophy

Listen · 24:48
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/472534582/472559623" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
What's Over The Horizon? Cartographer Traces 'Beyond The Sea'

A map by cartographer Andy Woodruff shows the coastlines around the world from which you could "see" Australia and Oceania, if you could follow your gaze around the Earth's curvature. Courtesy of Andy Woodruff hide caption

toggle caption
Courtesy of Andy Woodruff

The Two-Way

What's Over The Horizon? Cartographer Traces 'Beyond The Sea'

From the beaches of New England, you could be looking toward Africa, Australia, Europe or South America. Andy Woodruff has illustrated the surprising paths we'd trace if we could follow our gaze.

Renowned Architect Zaha Hadid Dies At 65

Zaha Hadid stands before the Riverside Museum, her first major public commission in the U.K., in Glasgow, Scotland, in 2011. Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images hide caption

toggle caption
Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images

The Two-Way

Renowned Architect Zaha Hadid Dies At 65

Hadid was first famous for spectacular designs that were never built — but later proved her ideas worked in the real world, not just on paper. She was the first woman to win the Pritzker prize.

Hadid on Fresh Air (2004)

  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/472535144/472553740" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
'You Cannot Shame Me': 2 New Books Tear Down 'Fat Girl' Stereotypes

Dietland and 13 Ways of Looking at a Fat Girl Brandon Chew/NPR hide caption

toggle caption
Brandon Chew/NPR

Author Interviews

'You Cannot Shame Me': 2 New Books Tear Down 'Fat Girl' Stereotypes

Authors Sarai Walker and Mona Awad were tired of the way fat characters were — and weren't — portrayed in fiction. Dietland and 13 Ways of Looking at a Fat Girl attack a culture of stigmatization.

'You Cannot Shame Me': 2 New Books Tear Down 'Fat Girl' Stereotypes

Listen · 6:20
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/472132175/472501064" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Wednesday

Ray Romano Gets Deep, Dark And Angsty For Martin Scorsese's 'Vinyl'

Ray Romano plays Zak Yankovich, a record company's head of promotions, in HBO's Vinyl. Macall B. Polay/HBO hide caption

toggle caption
Macall B. Polay/HBO

Television

Ray Romano Gets Deep, Dark And Angsty For Martin Scorsese's 'Vinyl'

Fresh Air

Ever since Everybody Loves Raymond, the actor says he has been trying to take on more dramatic roles. In the HBO drama Vinyl, he plays a record company executive who contemplates suicide.

Ray Romano Gets Deep, Dark And Angsty For Martin Scorsese's 'Vinyl'

Listen · 43:41
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/472385235/472418507" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
For 19th Century French Artists, 'Noir' Was The New Black

In Eugène Delacroix's 1827 lithograph, Mephistopheles Aloft, 1827, a demon flies over a dark city. Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco/The J. Paul Getty Museum hide caption

toggle caption
Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco/The J. Paul Getty Museum

Fine Art

For 19th Century French Artists, 'Noir' Was The New Black

After the Industrial Revolution, artists started getting creative with some newly available black materials. An exhibit at LA's Getty museum celebrates their exploration of the shadows.

For 19th Century French Artists, 'Noir' Was The New Black

Listen · 3:44
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/470578816/472365323" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Tuesday

Adopt A Beehive — Save A Beekeeper?

A beehive at Frangiosa Farms, in Parker, Colo. The farm introduced an adopt-a-hive program in 2012. The one-time adoption fees per hive range from $45 to $130 (the latter gets you three jars of honey). Courtesy of Nick French/Frangiosa Farms hide caption

toggle caption
Courtesy of Nick French/Frangiosa Farms

The Salt

Adopt A Beehive — Save A Beekeeper?

Many of the foods we eat depend on pollination from honeybees. But bees are in trouble, and so are beekeepers — replacing lost hives is expensive. Some have come up with a new source of funding.

'Girls & Sex' And The Importance Of Talking To Young Women About Pleasure
Natalie Wilson/Flickr State/Getty Images

Shots - Health News

'Girls & Sex' And The Importance Of Talking To Young Women About Pleasure

Fresh Air

Author Peggy Orenstein says that when it comes to sexuality, girls hear that "they're supposed to be sexy, they're supposed to perform sexually for boys, but ... their sexual pleasure is unspoken."

'Girls & Sex' And The Importance Of Talking To Young Women About Pleasure

Listen · 37:52
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/472211301/472298223" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
When You Become The Person You Hate On The Internet
Turnbull/Getty Images/Ikon Images

Opinion

All Tech Considered

When You Become The Person You Hate On The Internet

Fresh Air

Author Sarah Hepola has complained for years about the random hatred of the Internet. Then, with one careless post, she became part of the problem.

When You Become The Person You Hate On The Internet

Listen · 6:27
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/472207613/472298239" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
Baked Alaska: A Creation Story Shrouded In Mystery

This version of Baked Alaska at Delmonico's restaurant in New York City stays true to the original: a walnut sponge cake layered with apricot compote and banana gelato, covered with torched meringue. Courtesy of Delmonico's Restaurant hide caption

toggle caption
Courtesy of Delmonico's Restaurant

The Salt

Baked Alaska: A Creation Story Shrouded In Mystery

In March 1867, the U.S. purchased Alaska. This igloo-shaped, torched-meringue dessert came as a fringe benefit. Was it a sweet flash of genius, political satire — or maybe a bit of both?