Arts

Poker players take part in the 2004 World Series of Poker Tournament in Las Vegas.

Books
Arts

From Poker Amateur To World Series Competitor In 'The Noble Hustle'

1:37pm May 07, 2014

Colson Whitehead's new book was born of an assignment to write about the World Series of Poker for Grantland. It's a sharp observational tale of the game, those who play it and how it changed him.

Queue Listen Now

Arts

Marilyn Keiser Performs at Old Salem for 10th Anniversary of David Tannenberg Organ's Restoration

8:28am May 07, 2014

by David Ford

Queue Listen Now

Srinivas Ayyagari onstage in 1992 (left); at right, Ayyagari today. "Seeing someone from ESPN commenting on your style and strategy was bizarre and weird. But it's the closest I'll ever come to being an athlete," Ayyagari says.

Arts

What Happens To Spelling Bee Kids? Years Later, The Prize Is Perspective

2:25pm May 06, 2014

by Elise Hu

NPR tracked down former top spellers to see how they're faring, decades after their early successes.

Queue Listen Now

Arts

Pianist Alexander Schimpf to Perform Several Concerts with Greensboro Symphony Orchestra

7:54am May 06, 2014

by David Ford

Queue Listen Now

Todd Barry has appeared on Jimmy Kimmel Live, the Late Show With David Letterman and Late Night With Conan O'Brien.

Arts

Todd Barry's New Stand-Up Strategy: 'Does Anyone Want To Talk To Me?'

3:51pm May 05, 2014

Last year, the comedian teamed up with Louis C.K. to film a tour in which all he did was crowd work, or engage the audience in improvised conversations.

Queue Listen Now

Books
Arts

In 'Hotel Florida,' Three Couples Chronicle The Spanish Civil War

3:40pm May 05, 2014

by Maureen Corrigan

Biographer Amanda Vaill's new book delves deeply into the lives of journalists like Ernest Hemingway and Martha Gellhorn, whose documenting of the war helped shape public perception.

Queue Listen Now

Arts

Taylor Brown's "In the Season of Blood and Gold" Released by Press 53

8:01am May 05, 2014

by Bethany Chafin

Queue Listen Now

Arts

'24' Returns To Live Another Action-Packed Day

12:33pm May 03, 2014

Jack Bauer is back and fighting terrorism in Europe. Can he save the day again? NPR's Scott Simon speaks with Kiefer Sutherland about bringing Bauer back for a new season of "24."

Queue Listen Now

Gugu Mbatha-Raw plays Dido Elizabeth Belle, the illegitimate daughter of a British admiral.

Arts

In 'Belle,' A Complex Life Tangled In Class And Commerce

11:17am May 03, 2014

by Bob Mondello

Bob Mondello reviews Belle, based on a true story about a child of an admiral and a Caribbean slave, raised as an aristocrat in 18th century England.

Queue Listen Now

Arts

'Fresh Air' Remembers British Actor Bob Hoskins

2:23pm May 02, 2014

Hoskins, who played a human detective in a world of cartoon characters in the acclaimed movie Who Framed Roger Rabbit, died this week after contracting pneumonia. He was 71 years old.

Queue Listen Now