Arts

Country, Wronged: Music star Liam Page (Alex Roe) returns to his hometown, and his ex Josie (Jessica Rothe), whom he left to pursue his career.

'Forever My Girl': A Familiar Tune, Played (Too) Simply

5:00pm January 18, 2018

by Ella Taylor

A Southern town, a heapin' helpin' of heartbreak, a shot at redemption and an adorable tyke: Writer-director Bethany Ashton Wolf's romantic drama never complicates or deepens its rote story.

Splendid in the Grass: A young girl (voiced by Ruby Barnhill) pines for adventure in Mary and the Witch's Flower.

Arts

With 'Mary And The Witch's Flower,' A Studio Ghibli Offshoot Blooms

4:38pm January 18, 2018

by Andrew Lapin

Director Hiromasa Yonebayashi, a Ghibli veteran, has made an animated film that owes a great deal to his influences yet displays skill and imagination all its own.

"It brings back a lot of shame," Christian Picciolini says of his time fronting a white power punk band. He has since disavowed the white supremacist movement and works to help others disengage from it too.

A Former Neo-Nazi Explains Why Hate Drew Him In — And How He Got Out

2:27pm January 18, 2018

by Dave Davies

Christian Picciolini spent eight years as a member of a violent, white power skinhead group. He eventually withdrew and co-founded a nonprofit to help extremists disengage.

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Wes Studi, pictured here in 2014, says he got into acting through community theater.

Arts

Wes Studi On His Cherokee Nation Childhood And How He Discovered Acting

7:29am January 18, 2018

by Steve Inskeep

Studi says he was a Vietnam veteran looking for a rush when he got into community theater and "rediscovered that huge wall of fear." He plays a Cheyenne chief in the new film Hostiles.

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Books
Arts

In 'Heartland,' Writer's Block Can Be Murder

7:00am January 18, 2018

by Juan Vidal

Ana Simo's brash and unsettling debut novel straddles the line between pulp noir and slapstick; it's the story of a struggling writer who decides that murder is the cure for her decade-long block.

Books
Arts

Daniel Pink's 'When' Shows the Importance Of Timing Throughout Life

7:01pm January 17, 2018

NPR's Mary Louise Kelly talks with author Daniel Pink about his new book When: The Scientific Secrets of Perfect Timing. In his book, Pink examines the importance of timing in various aspects of life.

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Are Implanted Medical Devices Creating A 'Danger Within Us'?

3:11pm January 17, 2018

by Dave Davies

Medical journalist Jeanne Lenzer warns that implanted medical devices are approved with far less scrutiny and testing than drugs. As a result, she says, some have caused harm and even death.

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Jack Reynor and Geraldine Chaplin star in the "Impossible Planet" episode of the Amazon series Electric Dreams.

Arts

'Black Mirror' And 'Electric Dreams' Prove It: The Anthology Show Is Back

3:11pm January 17, 2018

by David Bianculli

Critic David Bianculli says both shows are part of the revival of a TV genre that's been dormant for too long. "The beauty of the anthology series is that anything could happen," he says.

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The Girls in the Picture, by Melanie Benjamin

Books
Arts

'Girls In The Picture' Traces A Friendship In The Flickers

7:00am January 17, 2018

by Jean Zimmerman

A century ago, Hollywood had no stars. Movies were silent and the actors were anonymous. Melanie Benjamin's new novel outlines how actress Mary Pickford and writer Frances Marion changed that.

Arts

'What Would My Experience Be Like If I Were White?' An Online Dating Experiment

3:42pm January 16, 2018

In 2015, Hadiya Roderique set up an online dating profile on OkCupid. After she suspected her race affected the amount of messages she received, she decided to try an experiment.