Arts

Arts

Not My Job: Brady Bunch's Florence Henderson Gets Quizzed On Weird Science

12:45pm October 25, 2014

For decades, Florence Henderson, who presided over the Brady Bunch, was America's perfect Mom. We'll ask Henderson three questions about the Ig Nobels — awarded for real, if ridiculous, research.

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A depiction of "Gin Lane," filled with sins caused by drunken revelries.

Tracing A Gin-Soaked Trail In London

11:57am October 25, 2014

by Ari Shapiro

Around the world, new gin distilleries are popping up like mushrooms after a rain. NPR traces the boom to its historic roots in London, which once had 250 distilleries within the city limits alone.

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Books
Arts

The Life Of De Niro, From 'Mean Streets' To 'Meet The Parents'

11:57am October 25, 2014

by NPR Staff

Shawn Levy's brick-sized new biography of screen legend Robert De Niro was produced without cooperation from the actor — but Levy says that just forced him to do better research.

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Music To Keep You On The Edge Of Your Seat

11:57am October 25, 2014

Conductor John Mauceri's latest album is filled with renditions of the most-chilling music from Alfred Hitchcock's films. He talks with NPR's Scott Simon.

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Nuruddin Farah is the author of 11 novels, including Maps, Gifts and Secrets. He is a professor of literature at Bard.

Books
Arts

Novelist Nuruddin Farah: Facing A Blank Page Is 'Bravest Thing' A Writer Does

11:57am October 25, 2014

by NPR Staff

Farah's latest is called Hiding in Plain Sight. It's the story of Bella, a Somali photographer living in Rome who gets drawn into the lives of her niece and nephew after her half-brother is killed.

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Arts

New Shakespeare Movie Puts Hamlet In Kashmir

11:57am October 25, 2014

Shakespeare's Hamlet has been turned into a Bollywood film, but this time, the story is set in Indian-controlled Kashmir. NPR's Scott Simon talks to screenwriter Basharat Peer.

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Books
Arts

'Beautiful You' Makes Sex And Death Boring

10:03am October 25, 2014

by Jason Sheehan

Chuck Palahniuk aims for piquant social satire in his new novel, but reviewer (and longtime fan) Jason Sheehan finds his fandom severely dented by lazy characterizations and lack of actual satire.

Books
Arts

'Heap House' Is A Treasure Of A Trash Tale

5:39am October 25, 2014

by Amal El-Mohtar

Edward Carey's illustrated young adult novel about the keepers of mystical trash heaps (yes, you read that right) in an alternate Victorian London combines thrills with intelligence and compassion.

A 'controlled avalanche' gets out of control in Force Majeure.

Arts

Alienating Leading Men: The Force Behind 'Listen Up Philip' And 'Majeure'

8:59pm October 24, 2014

by Bob Mondello

NPR film critic Bob Mondello reviews Listen Up Philip and Force Majeure — two movies, he says, with compelling lead men who are impossible to empathize with.

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Designer Diane Von Furstenberg has written a memoir called The Woman I Wanted to Be.

Books
Arts

40 Years Later, Diane Von Furstenberg's Wrap Dress Still Wears Well

6:59pm October 24, 2014

by NPR Staff

In her memoir, The Woman I Wanted to Be, Diane von Furstenberg says she owes her success to her mother, a strong, strict Holocaust survivor who called Diane her "torch of freedom."

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