Culture : NPR

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Should Your Avatar's Skin Match Yours?

August 31, 2019 • In a video game, you can try on different identities. But the rules of the real world don't always translate to the fantasy world.

'It Had To Be Love': A Syrian Playwright's Struggle To Tell A Story In Arkansas

Kholoud Sawaf, creator and director of 10,000 Balconies, stands at TheatreSquared in Fayetteville, Ark., on Friday. Sarah Bentham for NPR hide caption

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Sarah Bentham for NPR

'It Had To Be Love': A Syrian Playwright's Struggle To Tell A Story In Arkansas

August 31, 2019 • Director Kholoud Sawaf wanted to challenge American views of Syria with a play inspired by Romeo and Juliet. Instead, she endured a three-year ordeal involving war, displacement and the travel ban.

'It Had To Be Love': A Syrian Playwright's Struggle To Tell A Story In Arkansas

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Mike Coppola/Getty Images for The Cove, Paradise Island

Not My Job: We Ask Michelin-Star Chef José Andrés About The Michelin Man

August 31, 2019 • Andrés' restaurants have won Michelin stars, but how much does he know about the Michelin Man, the weirdly bloated, rubberized spokesmascot for the Michelin tire company?

Not My Job: We Ask Michelin-Star Chef José Andrés About The Michelin Man

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Cookie Artist Teaches Edible Lessons In Asian American History

Jasmine Cho's cookie portrait of Afong Moy, who is often cited as the first Chinese woman to step foot in the United States. Beginning in the 1830s, Moy was put on display before crowds as a curiosity. Jasmine Cho hide caption

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Jasmine Cho

The Salt

Cookie Artist Teaches Edible Lessons In Asian American History

August 31, 2019 • Jasmine Cho makes cookie portraits of people like Takao Ozawa, who was denied U.S. citizenship on the basis of race in a landmark case. Her goal: to make social justice lessons more palatable.

'Palestine + 100' Explores Contested Territory, Past And Future

Comma Press

Review

Book Reviews

'Palestine + 100' Explores Contested Territory, Past And Future

August 31, 2019 • A new anthology invites Palestinian writers to imagine their homeland in 2048 — 100 years after the creation of Israel. The stories are inventive, dextrous, painful, and even sometimes playful.

Valerie Harper, Who Played Beloved TV Sidekick Rhoda, Dies At 80

In her memoir, I, Rhoda, Harper (pictured here in 2013) writes that she was "determined to define [Rhoda's] style" and help soften her sharp edge. Kris Connor/Getty Images hide caption

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Kris Connor/Getty Images

Obituaries

Valerie Harper, Who Played Beloved TV Sidekick Rhoda, Dies At 80

August 30, 2019 • Harper's Mary Tyler Moore Show character was the perfect foil for the sitcom's buttoned-up protagonist. "Rhoda had this wonderful quality of saying the unsayable," Harper told NPR in 2010.

Valerie Harper, Who Played Beloved TV Sidekick Rhoda, Dies At 80

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Aparna Nancherla: 'I'm Still Shy,' Even As A Stand-Up Star

Aparna Nancherla, who has now performed comedy specials for Netflix and Comedy Central (seen here), says an episode of depression led her to attempt stand-up comedy for the first time while in college. Comedy Central hide caption

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Comedy Central

She's Funny

Aparna Nancherla: 'I'm Still Shy,' Even As A Stand-Up Star

August 30, 2019 • A comedian who has often found the laughs in anxiety, she reflects on her start in stand-up, being a shy kid and her experience in television writers' rooms in a public conversation.

Aparna Nancherla: 'I'm Still Shy,' Even As A Stand-Up Star

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Television

Billy Eichner Makes A Career Out Of Love/Hating Celebrity Culture

Fresh Air

August 30, 2019 • In his Emmy-nominated series Billy on the Street, Eichner roams the sidewalks of Manhattan, asking strangers open-ended questions about the entertainment industry. Originally broadcast Dec. 12, 2016.

Billy Eichner Makes A Career Out Of Love/Hating Celebrity Culture

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Politics

Satirist Randy Rainbow Uses Show Tunes And Pop Songs To Lampoon Trump

Fresh Air

August 30, 2019 • The Emmy-nominated lyricist/performer used to consider song parody cheap humor: "But ... I've gotten [such a] response ... that I'm appreciating it as an art form." Originally broadcast July 17, 2019.

Satirist Randy Rainbow Uses Show Tunes And Pop Songs To Lampoon Trump

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Ophira Eisenberg performs on stage on Ask Me Another at the Bell House in Brooklyn, New York. Mike Katzif/NPR hide caption

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Mike Katzif/NPR

Ask Me Another

Animal Houses

August 30, 2019 • Hosts Ophira Eisenberg and Johnathan Coulton read fictional real estate listings for animal habitats. When you're a lion, the only room you need is a den.

Animal Houses

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Contestants Hope Dickens and Iliya Smithka appear on Ask Me Another at the Bell House in Brooklyn, New York. Mike Katzif/NPR hide caption

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Mike Katzif/NPR

Ask Me Another

When The Saints Come Marching In

August 30, 2019 • Roman Catholic canonization meets the pop culture canon in this audio quiz where every answer starts with "saint."

When The Saints Come Marching In

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Jonathan Coulton and Ophira Eisenberg lead a game with Julio Torres on Ask Me Another at the Bell House in Brooklyn, New York. Mike Katzif/NPR hide caption

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Mike Katzif/NPR

Ask Me Another

The Goddessette With Julio Torres

August 30, 2019 • Los Espookys co-creator and star Julio Torres puts his knowledge of "Introductory Level Greek Mythology" to the test in a game casting Greek mythological figures as contestants on The Bachelor.

The Goddessette With Julio Torres

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House musician Jonathan Coulton leads a music parody game on Ask Me Another at the Bell House in Brooklyn, New York. Mike Katzif/NPR hide caption

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Mike Katzif/NPR

Ask Me Another

The Cures

August 30, 2019 • In this music parody game, songs by The Cure are rewritten to be about things that were touted as having health benefits, with no science to back up their claims.

The Cures

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Contestants compete in Ask Me Another's final round at the Bell House in Brooklyn, New York. Mike Katzif/NPR hide caption

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Mike Katzif/NPR

Ask Me Another

Electric Boogaloo 2: The Sequel

August 30, 2019 • In this brutal final round, contestants are given a movie sequel's subtitle, and must identify the original film.

Electric Boogaloo 2: The Sequel

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Contestants Brett Greenfield and Ashley Davis appear on Ask Me Another at the Bell House in Brooklyn, New York. Mike Katzif/NPR hide caption

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Mike Katzif/NPR

Ask Me Another

Online Shopping Recommendations

August 30, 2019 • Contestants identify famous people based on a fictional list of their online shopping recommendations. Do you think Pharrell is sick of getting ads for hats?

Online Shopping Recommendations

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Saturday August 31, 2019

'It Had To Be Love': A Syrian Playwright's Struggle To Tell A Story In Arkansas

Not My Job: We Ask Michelin-Star Chef José Andrés About The Michelin Man

Review

Friday August 30, 2019

Valerie Harper, Who Played Beloved TV Sidekick Rhoda, Dies At 80

Aparna Nancherla: 'I'm Still Shy,' Even As A Stand-Up Star

Fresh Air

Billy Eichner Makes A Career Out Of Love/Hating Celebrity Culture

Fresh Air

Satirist Randy Rainbow Uses Show Tunes And Pop Songs To Lampoon Trump

Animal Houses

When The Saints Come Marching In

The Goddessette With Julio Torres

The Cures

Electric Boogaloo 2: The Sequel

Online Shopping Recommendations