Arts

Books
Arts

'Somewhat United' Brings Lafayette Down From His Pedestal

3:29pm October 21, 2015

by Colin Dwyer

Sarah Vowell's charming not-quite-a-history gives us a young, glory-hungry Marquis de Lafayette, and the Founding Fathers not as marble statues, but as real men who bicker, bumble and snore.

Arts

The Heat, The Pressure, The Violence: Cooking Films Are The New Boxing Movies

2:15pm October 21, 2015

by Neda Ulaby

When you go to boxing movies, you can count on training montages, high-stakes dramatic moments, and the way a scrappy outsider always seems to have to prove him or herself in the ring. Many of these traits are showing up in a new group of movies — this time about chefs.

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Arts

Hanes Gallery Presents "Esther Gruber: With But Beyond The Eye"

8:45am October 21, 2015

by David Ford

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Books
Arts

Enlightenment Proves Elusive In 'Witches Of America'

7:03am October 21, 2015

by Genevieve Valentine

Alex Mar's half-memoir, half-cultural study of American occultism mixes research with her own search for meaning. Critic Genevieve Valentine says it's a difficult journey, for Mar and for readers.

Arts

'Star Wars' Fans Light Up The Internet As New Trailer Debuts

7:41pm October 20, 2015

by Andrew Limbong

The final trailer for Star Wars: Episode VII The Force Awakens was released Monday night, and tickets for the film went on sale. Fans lit up the Internet with theories about the story, and movie theater web sites crashed.

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Arts

Meaningful Art: Taylor Hayes

4:52pm October 20, 2015

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Oprah Hopes Her Midas Touch Gilds Her OWN Series, 'Belief'

4:18pm October 20, 2015

by NPR Staff

Oprah Winfrey acquired a stake in Weight Watchers and the company's stock soared. She hopes to do the same for her cable TV network with a new seven-part series on faith and religion around the world.

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Books
Arts

Don't Take 'Submission' Lying Down

3:14pm October 20, 2015

by Heller McAlpin

Michel Houellebecq's dark satire Submission caused a furore in his native France with its depiction of an Islamist takeover. But critic Heller McAlpin calls it "too distasteful to be amusing."

Flights Of Fancy: Exploring The Songs And Pathways Of 'The Living Bird'

2:53pm October 20, 2015

Wildlife photographer Gerrit Vyn and essayist Scott Weidensaul share bird calls and discuss some of the remarkable abilities of birds. Both men contributed to a new book about North American birds.

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Books
Arts

Poetic And Expansive, 'City On Fire' Ultimately Falls Short Of Its Reach

2:53pm October 20, 2015

by Maureen Corrigan

Garth Risk Hallberg's 900-page debut novel is an intricately-plotted story set in chaotic 1970s New York. Critic Maureen Corrigan says City On Fire has much to admire, even if its ending falls flat.

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