Arts

Meet NYC's Elizabeth Shvarts, one of the Nation Youth Poet Laureate finalists

4:24pm April 20, 2022

To celebrate National Poetry Month, we're introducing listeners to poets competing to be the next National Youth Poet Laureate. Today: Elizabeth Shvarts, the New York City Laureate.

Fairport Convention band cofounder Richard Thompson looks back on his life in music

1:22pm April 20, 2022

by Terry Gross

The British singer/guitarist talks about his formative years, and about pioneering a new musical genre that blended rock with traditional music of the British isles. Thompson's new memoir is Beeswing.

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A Ukrainian man holds a set of stamps commemorating the Snake Island soldiers who responded to Russian troops' calls to surrender with a few choice words: "Russian warship, go f*** yourself!"

Ukrainians wait in line for hours to buy commemorative Snake Island postage stamps

1:04pm April 20, 2022

by Rachel Treisman

The stamps honor the Snake Island soldiers who answered a Russian calls to surrender with "Russian warship, go f*** yourself!" Ukraine's postal service had to limit purchases to six stamps apiece.

Taylor Swift, pictured in 2021, is the inspiration for the name of the newly described Twisted-Claw Millipede, Nannaria swiftae.

Taylor Swift was the inspiration for the name of a new millipede species

8:54am April 20, 2022

by Rina Torchinsky

The Swift Twisted-Claw Millipede, or Nannaria swiftae, was among several new species found in Tennessee.

Ukrainian band DakhaBrakha delivers an urgent message to U.S. audiences

6:22am April 20, 2022

by Anastasia Tsioulcas

This "ethno-chaos" group brings sophisticated music and strong anti-Putin messages to their listeners at home and abroad, as "ambassadors of free Ukraine." They're currently on a U.S. tour.

Raider of the lost hearth: Alexander Skarsgård rages for revenge, and his erstwhile homeland, in The Northman.

Arts

In Viking epic 'The Northman,' life is nasty, brutish and short-tempered

5:00am April 20, 2022

by Glen Weldon

Robert Eggers (The Witch, The Lighthouse) captures both the stark beauty and brutality of the Vikings in his latest film, which tamps down his experimental impulses to tell a familiar revenge tale.

Johnny Depp sued Amber Heard after The Washington Post published her opinion piece, which Depp's lawyers say falsely implies that she was physically and sexually abused by Depp when the actors were married.

Arts

Johnny Depp in court says he has never struck any woman in his life

9:01pm April 19, 2022

Depp says in court: "Never did I myself reach the point of striking Ms. Heard in any way, nor have I ever struck any woman in my life."

Anthony Anderson and Tracee Ellis Ross in the series finale episode of Black-ish, "Homegoing."

Arts

The legacy of ABC's 'Black-ish': Presenting a Black TV family that isn't a monolith

6:35pm April 19, 2022

by Eric Deggans

The sitcom ends Tuesday after eight seasons.

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A woman walks next to a damaged building after a Russian bombardment in Kharkiv, Ukraine, on Tuesday. Russia ratcheted up its battle for control of Ukraine's eastern industrial heartland on Tuesday, intensifying assaults on cities and towns along a front

Russia-Ukraine war: What happened today (April 19)

5:02pm April 19, 2022

by NPR Staff

A roundup of key developments and the latest in-depth coverage of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Tim McGraw says he and his wife Faith Hill never sat down to rehearse their lines together for the Paramount+ series 1883: "We didn't want to bring so much of Tim and Faith into our characters. We wanted it to remain Margaret and James."

Country star Tim McGraw travels back in time to '1883' with wife Faith Hill

2:14pm April 19, 2022

by Dave Davies

The Paramount+ series is the first time McGraw and Hill have appeared together on screen. Before they filmed, they attended "cowboy camp," to learn the basics of riding horses and driving wagons.

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