Arts

Afghanistan just had its very first airline flight with an all-female crew, a milestone in a country where women often have very limited opportunities.

The 1st anniversary of lockdowns, shutdowns, and shortages is upon us. To mark it, we've asked people to share their memories of when they realized how much life in the U.S. was about to change.

NPR's Scott Simon speak with Eugenia Sweeney, the daughter of Jimmy Sweeney, who was an early unacknowledged influence on Elvis Presley. We also talk with music historian Christopher Kennedy.

Cartoonist and zine-maker John Porcellino has been a hugely influential figure in the world of zine-making. As several of his classic books are reissued, we talk to him about his life and work

Swati Mohan was the Guidance and Controls Operations Lead on the NASA Mars 2020 Mission, which successfully landed the newest Mars Rover, Perseverance, on February 18.

Patricia Engels' novel about the experiences of a Colombian family migrating to the U.S. stands out for its sharp writing — but frustrates in equal measure because of its reliance on summary.

The new movie Cherry follows an Iraq war vet who gets addicted to heroin and starts robbing banks. It's based on a semi-autobiographical novel by Nico Walker, who was just released from prison.

Lawrence Ferlinghetti, who died Feb. 22 at age 101, wrote a string of verses called "What is Poetry." We remember him by excerpting some lines.

NPR's Scott Simon speaks with Larry Wilmore about his new Netflix docu-series, Amend: The Fight for America," about the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

Viet Thanh Nguyen's Pulitzer Prize-winning spy novel The Sympathizer told the story of a communist double agent just after the Vietnam War — his quest for revolution resumes in The Committed.

Wibke Brueggemann's charmingly snarky YA novel follows teenaged Phoebe as she recovers from the Worst New Year's Ever and learns that not all of life's answers can be found via Google.

Chanell Stone wants to change how people think about nature photography. "As Black people, it feels like these rural spaces aren't for us," she says. "I want to turn that idea on its head."