Arts

'Saturday Night Live' Stops Accepting Jokes From Freelancers

4:38pm September 14, 2017

by Elizabeth Blair

Freelancers are a bit of a trade secret when it comes to late night shows. They often send in pages of one-liners for the shows to use or reject. Now Saturday Night Live is telling freelancers it will no longer accept their submissions.

Drummer Grant Hart, Co-Founder Of Punk Band Hüsker Dü, Dies At 56

4:38pm September 14, 2017

by Andrew Limbong

Drummer Grant Hart co-founded one of the most influential punk bands of all time: Hüsker Dü. Hart played drums and wrote many of the trio's songs. He died of complications from liver cancer and hepatitis C Thursday night at the age of 56.

Books
Arts

In 'Forest Dark,' A Building In Israel Connects 2 Searching Souls

4:38pm September 14, 2017

by Lynn Neary

Nicole Krauss' new novel, Forest Dark, tells two stories concurrently: a man at the end of a financially successful life searching for meaning, and a younger woman writer searching for meaning as her marriage collapses. The only thing that connects them is a building on the other side of the world.

Actor Frank Vincent, Who Portrayed Mobsters In 'Goodfellas' And 'The Sopranos,' Dies

4:38pm September 14, 2017

by Mandalit del Barco

Actor Frank Vincent, who was best known for his portrayal of mobsters in Martin Scorsese's, Goodfellas and the HBO series, The Sopranos, has died.

Queue Listen Now

Arts

'Call Me By Your Name' Stands Out Among Dozens At Toronto Film Festival

4:38pm September 14, 2017

The Toronto International Film Festival wraps up this week and NPR's critics have seen dozens of movies. They provide a sneak peek at films getting early buzz for Oscars, some hidden gems and others to avoid.

Queue Listen Now

Musician Fred Hersch Recounts A Life 'In And Out Of Jazz' In His New Memoir

2:50pm September 14, 2017

Nearly 30 years ago, Hersch was among the first jazz musicians to come out as both gay and HIV positive. His memoir looks back on that time, as well as the time he spent in a medically induced coma.

Queue Listen Now

Ken Burns' 10-part, 18-hour series premiers Sunday. Above, an American Marine machine gun crew is poised for action.

Arts

New Ken Burns Series Remembers Vietnam War Through The Eyes Of Everyday People

1:49pm September 14, 2017

by David Bianculli

Burns made a name for himself by finding the small stories that lend perspective and emotion to larger narratives. Critic David Bianculli says his latest effort is "compelling from the start."

Attica Locke is the author of Black Water Rising, The Cutting Season and Pleasantville, and has written for the Fox drama, Empire.

Books
Arts

Author Attica Locke: In America, We Walk 'Side By Side' With Our Past

1:17pm September 14, 2017

by Rachel Martin

Locke's novel Bluebird, Bluebird is set in Texas where her family roots stretch back to slavery. The family didn't go north during the Great Migration, she explains: "We said: No, Texas is ours, too."

Queue Listen Now

Books
Arts

The Wind Still Blows Through The Willows — And Along 'The River Bank'

12:55pm September 14, 2017

by Amal El-Mohtar

Kij Johnson works fresh magic with an old story in The River Bank, a sequel to The Wind in the Willows that introduces two new characters, Miss Mole and Miss Rabbit, but keeps the original's charm.

The Rise and Fall of Adam and Eve. (Jennifer Kerrigan/NPR)

Books
Arts

It All Began With 'Adam And Eve'

7:00am September 14, 2017

by Michael Schaub

In his new book, Stephen Greenblatt argues that the world wouldn't be the same without the story of Adam and Eve — the primal narrative that shapes how we think about almost everything.