Arts

Why does thunder rumble? Acoustic professor Trevor Cox explains that it has to do with the way lightning is a jagged line. "Each little kink is actually generating the sound, and the reason thunder rumbles is because the sound takes different time to come

One Man's Quest To Find The 'Sonic Wonders Of The World'

2:38pm February 19, 2014

Acoustic engineer Trevor Cox has traveled around the globe to hear whispering arches and singing sand dunes. Closer to home, he can also explain why your singing sounds better in the shower.

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In 1975, Shoah director Claude Lanzmann (left) interviewed Benjmain Murmelstein, the last surviving Elder of the Jews of the Czech Theresienstadt ghetto, at his home in Rome. The resulting film is The Last of the Unjust.

Arts

For A Rabbi Who Worked With The Nazis, Is Judgment 'Unjust'?

2:38pm February 19, 2014

by John Powers

Claude Lanzmann's documentary profiles a Viennese rabbi put to work in a Czech concentration camp. Although Benjamin Murmelstein was himself not a free man, he was despised by fellow Jewish prisoners.

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Arts

The Enrichment Center Celebrates Mardi Gras

9:28am February 19, 2014

by David Ford

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The feet of a teen couple dangle as they sit on a dock.

Books
Arts

Teens Rehearse For Adulthood In Wolitzer's 'Interestings'

3:03pm February 18, 2014

Meg Wolitzer's novel is about lifelong friendship tinged with jealousy. It begins at a summer camp in 1974 and follows a group of friends through middle age. Wolitzer says her teen years were a rehearsal for her adult life and that today she is "different" but "in the same shell."

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Jimmy Fallon took over as host of The Tonight Show on Monday. "I hope I do well," he told the audience. "I hope that you enjoy this."

Arts

With Humor And A Nod To History, Fallon Takes Over 'The Tonight Show'

3:03pm February 18, 2014

by David Bianculli

On Monday night, Jimmy Fallon paid homage to 60 years of Tonight Show history while claiming his own place in line. "I just want to do the best I can and take care of the show for a while," he said. "If you guys let me stick around long enough maybe I'll get the hang of it."

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Classical Music Piece Enhances Roald Dahl's 'Dirty Beasts'

11:03am February 18, 2014

by Ari Shapiro

On Sunday, the London Philharmonic debuted a new piece of music based on Roald Dahl's Dirty Beasts. With Matilda playing to sold-out crowds on Broadway and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory running in London's West End, this is just the latest work by the author to get a musical soundtrack.

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Arts

Helen Simoneau Danse Presents Original Choreography at Hanes Brands Theatre

9:52am February 18, 2014

by David Ford

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Books
Arts

Don't Know What To Do With Your Life? Neither Did Thoreau

2:59pm February 17, 2014

by Maureen Corrigan

A new biography reveals that young Thoreau took quite a few detours on his path to Walden. A gossipy young man who loved eating popcorn, ice skating and listening to his music box, schoolmates and neighbors found him standoffish and regarded his fascination with plants and Indian relics as downright odd.

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Arts

Carolina Winter Music Festival Presents "Brass Under the Big Top"

9:26am February 17, 2014

by David Ford

The Carolina Winter Music Festival presents “Brass Under the Big Top”, music and magic of the circus for the whole family this Saturday morning, February 22, at 11:00 AM in the Milton Rhodes Center. The unique performance features the acclaimed Giannini Brass with Special Guest Dikki Ellis, from New York's Big Apple Circus. Former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg called Dikki's performance “terrific”, and the N.Y. Post's Clive Barnes said: "One also had to admire the actual circus feats of a very deft Dikki Ellis...".

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Arts

An App On The Search For The Secret To Happiness

1:13pm February 15, 2014

An app that helps researchers measure happiness? It's here! NPR's Guy Raz from the Ted Radio Hour speaks with social scientist Matt Killingsworth, who has developed the Happy App.

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