Arts
Zack Snyder, Making Superman Over For Our Era
In Man of Steel, the director behind Watchmen and 300 has had a go at that most quintessentially American superhero. He speaks with NPR's Linda Werthheimer about his reverence for the character's mythology — and why he chose to change some of it up.
Janis Siegel On Piano Jazz
Siegel, a singer, is one quarter of the jazz supergroup The Manhattan Transfer. Throughout the 30 years she's spent with that musical institution, she's also released her own recordings featuring hip, seductive arrangements of standards, as well as newer works. Here, she visits Piano Jazz along with pianist and accordion player Gil Goldstein.
Meet 'Ivan': The Gorilla Who Lived In A Shopping Mall
Katherine Applegate's The One and Only Ivan was inspired by a real-life gorilla who lived in a mall in Tacoma, Wash. The author says humans have "a real obligation" to care responsibly for animals in captivity.
Saving Grandma's Strawberry Cake From The Clutches Of Jell-O
Postwar marketing of convenience foods pushed our grandmothers to take many shortcuts in the kitchen that modern foodies might find unpalatable. Many involved Jell-O. Cookbook author Jeremy Jackson updated his grandma Mildred's famous strawberry cake recipe to remove this old-school secret ingredient.
Bob Timberlake: A 70-Year Retrospective in Winston-Salem
"It only takes three things for you to be happy in this world," Bob Timberlake says, "Someone to love, something to look forward to, and something to work hard at."
Florida-Grown Fiction: Hiaasen Satirizes The Sunshine State
Novelist and Miami Herald columnist Carl Hiaasen writes with passion and purpose about the state he loves. His latest book, Bad Monkey, is an offbeat murder mystery set in Key West.
Slaid Cleaves: 'Still Fighting' With Smart Lyrics And Stories
The singer-songwriter has said, as he was writing his new album Still Fighting the War, that "a theme of perseverance through hard times revealed itself." Rock critic Ken Tucker says the record is no downer, and that Cleaves finds complex sentiments and wittily phrased ideas in many of his new songs.
Israeli Writer Yoram Kaniuk, 83, On Pain And Peace
Author and journalist Yoram Kaniuk died June 8 at age 83. He joined Fresh Air's Terry Gross in August 1988 to talk about fighting in the Israeli underground and his belief that, for Israelis and Palestinians, "the only way is to live somehow together."
From Seinfeld, A Second Season Of 'Coffee' Talk
The stand-up is back with another run of his Webby-winning online series Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee. He tells NPR's Linda Wertheimer the project still feels like a personal outing with friends from the business.