Arts

How did your predictions and resolutions for 2016 stack up?

Arts

Pop Culture Happy Hour: In One Year And Out The Other, 2017 Edition

10:20am December 30, 2016

by Linda Holmes

Every year at this time, we revisit our resolutions and our predictions from 2016 and we make new ones for 2017. From creating more to who might win Oscars, we're working hard to figure out 2017.

Ed Welburn, vice president of General Motors Global Design, stands with the Buick Riviera concept as it makes its North American debut at the North American International Auto Show in 2008 in Detroit.

From 'No Way,' To Global Success: The Inspired Journey Of GM's Design Chief

10:14am December 30, 2016

A lover of cars since he was a little tyke who later trained as a sculptor, Ed Welburn has shaped the physical world we live in as the longtime head of design for General Motors.

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Ben Affleck and Sienna Miller in Live by Night.

Arts

Affleck's 'Live By Night': An Ambitious, Frenetic But Overstuffed Gangster Film

9:01pm December 29, 2016

by Chris Klimek

Ben Affleck wrote the screenplay, directed and stars in this bloated genre exercise, which never slows down enough to pack any real emotional impact.

I Am Not Your Negro uses the words of James Baldwin to analyze American attitudes toward race.

Arts

Studios And Audiences Had Lots To Celebrate In 2016

8:01pm December 29, 2016

by Bob Mondello

This is the time of year when critics release their best-of lists. Usually, they pick the 10 best — but our film critic Bob Mondello couldn't narrow it down that much. He picked 18 of his favorites.

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Moe stands behind her tiny bar in Shanghai, where there are only eight seats and reservations are a must.

In A Massive City, This Bar Serves Up Diverse Drinks — To 8 People At A Time

7:07pm December 29, 2016

by Rob Schmitz

Bar Moju in Shanghai is tiny and only serves authentic concoctions created by its owner, Moe. To visit, you must make a reservation.

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Debbie Reynolds and her daughter, Carrie Fisher, at the Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards in 2011 in Los Angeles. Reynolds' death, just one day after her daughter's, has led many to ask whether it's really possible to die of a broken heart.

Science
Arts

Is It Possible To Die Of Grief?

6:26pm December 29, 2016

by Maggie Penman

Actress Debbie Reynolds died just one day after her daughter Carrie Fisher's sudden death — which has led some to speculate that grief might have been a contributing factor.

How Tattoo Artist Brian Finn Is Covering Up Pain With Art

5:25pm December 29, 2016

by NPR Staff

Just over a year ago, Toledo, Ohio tattoo artist Brian Finn began offering free tattoos to people to cover their scars from trauma. We take a year-end look at his work.

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Luis Gnecco as Pablo Neruda in Pablo Larrain's Neruda.

Arts

'Neruda' Affectionately Dismantles The Myth Surrounding The Chilean Poet

5:00pm December 29, 2016

by Ella Taylor

Director Pablo Larrain digs beneath the poetry to offer a warm, humorous and revealing biopic of Pablo Neruda, neatly avoiding the genre's tendency to lionize its subjects.

Celebrating 50 Years Of Kwanzaa

4:19pm December 29, 2016

by NPR Staff

Tonight is the third night of Kwanzaa. Those who celebrate the seven-day festival will gather around the Kinara and light the last red candle. The holiday is also observing it's 50th anniversary.

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Arts

To Make 'The Godfather' His Way, Francis Ford Coppola Waged A Studio Battle

3:54pm December 29, 2016

Coppola was 29 years old when he signed on to direct a film. "I was young and had no power," he says, "so [the studio] figured they could just boss me around." Originally broadcast Nov. 16, 2016.

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