Arts

"I'm a boring human being that just happens to have amazing writers to make me look really interesting on television," says Arturo Castro, creator and star of Alternatino.

Arts

'Alternatino' Star Arturo Castro Wants You To Know You're 'Invited To The Party'

8:17am June 23, 2019

by Lulu Garcia-Navarro

"I really want people to know: You don't have to be Latin in order to enjoy the show," says Castro. His sketch comedy series on Comedy Central pokes fun at supposedly woke white people.

Books
Arts

Bad Things Happen Out Of The Blue In Sadie Jones' 'The Snakes'

8:17am June 23, 2019

by Lulu Garcia-Navarro

The author says writing this novel was like writing an "anti-murder mystery." Murder mysteries are nice and tidy, she says, but this disturbing morality tale is about unforeseeable tragedy.

Books
Arts

Simple, Sassy 'Summer Of '69' Is The Perfect Beach Read

7:00am June 23, 2019

by Jean Zimmerman

Elin Hilderbrand — known as the "Queen of Summer" — is back with another beachy tale of family secrets and intrigue (and tasty period details), set on Nantucket during the turbulent summer of 1969.

Najee Spencer-Young poses in front of her mural portrait by artist Amy Sherald.

Arts

'She Had A Special Energy': Philly Teen Inspires Amy Sherald's 6-Story Mural

5:10pm June 22, 2019

by Darryl C. Murphy

Amy Sherald's portrait of Michelle Obama still draws crowds to D.C.'s National Portrait Gallery. Now, Sherald has painted 19-year-old Najee Spencer-Young on the wall of a Philadelphia Target.

March 1950: Louis Armstrong plays trumpet in his dressing room before a show in New York.

Satchmo In His Adolescence: 1915 Film Clip May Show Young Louis Armstrong

1:38pm June 22, 2019

Music historian James Karst explains his recent research into the early life of the legendary Louis Armstrong.

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Evvie Drake Starts Over, by Linda Holmes

Books
Arts

2 Fractured Halves Make A Whole In 'Evvie Drake'

8:22am June 22, 2019

by Scott Simon

The debut novel from NPR's own Linda Holmes follows a suddenly widowed (and not all that grief-stricken) woman and her new lodger — a former major league ballplayer who's lost his ability to pitch.

Jordan Weatherston Pitts (center) sings the role of Renata, the drag queen, with the company of New York City Opera's Stonewall.

'Stonewall' Opera Marks Uprising's 50th Anniversary

8:22am June 22, 2019

by Jeff Lunden

New York City Opera has commissioned Stonewall, a new opera premiering one week before the 50th anniversary of the riots that sparked the modern gay-rights movement.

Books
Arts

Why We're Reading Beowulf In The Bathtub

7:00am June 22, 2019

by Juanita Giles

NPR's new kids' fiction column — by Juanita Giles, founder of the Virginia Children's Book Festival — kicks off with an explanation of why the epic poem Beowulf is the perfect bathtime read.

Someone Who Will Love You in All Your Damaged Glory by Raphael Bob-Waksberg

Books
Arts

'Damaged' Tales Of Love, In Fiction From 'BoJack' Creator Raphael Bob-Waksberg

6:37pm June 21, 2019

by Ari Shapiro

The writer, better known for his dark animated comedy about a has-been horse, has written a collection of surreal short stories called Someone Who Will Love You in All Your Damaged Glory.

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In the Legion's third (and final) season, it's not clear if the show's central character, David Haller (Dan Stevens), is a hero or a villain.

Arts

'Legion' And 'Jessica Jones' Played The Long Game — And It Paid Off

12:30pm June 21, 2019

by David Bianculli

After three seasons, both Marvel TV shows are ending their runs with first-rate acting and storytelling that's strong, ambitious and surprisingly satisfying.