Arts

Dave Chappelle performing during his new special, "The Closer.

Arts

For Dave Chappelle, punchlines are dares. His new special, 'The Closer,' goes too far

10:18pm October 05, 2021

by Eric Deggans

In his new Netflix special, Dave Chappelle tries — and often fails — to justify button-pushing jokes about gay people, transgender people and feminists.

Books
Arts

For Stanley Tucci, food is like religion — and cancer almost took it away

6:38pm October 05, 2021

by Dave Davies

Tucci's entire world, since childhood, has revolved around food. He was devastated when treatment for cancer put him on a feeding tube for six months. Now cancer-free, he has a new memoir, Taste.

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Left: Shelly C. Lowe, nominee for the chair of the National Endowment for the Humanities. Right: Maria Rosario Jackson, nominee for the National Endowment for the Arts chair

Arts

Here are the White House's picks to lead the National Arts and Humanities Endowments

5:09pm October 05, 2021

by Elizabeth Blair

The White House has announced its nominees for the next Chairs of the National Arts and Humanities Endowments. If confirmed, the NEH pick would become the first Native American to become chair.

Jeanna de Waal plays Diana, the princess, in Diana, The Musical.

'Diana, The Musical' mixes camp with sincerity. Here's where every song ranks

3:55pm October 05, 2021

by Linda Holmes

The songs in the widely panned Netflix musical that sings and dances its way through Princess Diana's tragic life are not all alike — and we're here to put them all in their proper place.

Arts

'Sopranos' prequel gives Tony a backstory — without the grace notes of the original

1:58pm October 05, 2021

by David Bianculli

The Many Saints of Newark centers on a teen version of mob-boss Tony Soprano. Despite standout performances by its stars, the film offers a confusing narrative, without any real sense of clarity.

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A selection of the 2021 National Book Award finalists

Books
Arts

Here are the finalists nominated for a 2021 National Book Award

12:33pm October 05, 2021

by Andrew Limbong

Writers in the final round include Lauren Groff, Hanif Abdurraqib and Anthony Doerr. The prize recognizes fiction, nonfiction, poetry, translated literature and young people's literature.

Arts

Woman who lost her eyesight finishes her first marathon

7:44am October 05, 2021

Laura Sosalla was determined to stay active and reached out to an organization that helped her finish her run with a guide.

Books
Arts

With four kids in an old Studebaker, Amor Towles takes readers on a real joyride

7:31am October 05, 2021

by Heller McAlpin

Set in the early summer of 1954, The Lincoln Highway follows a crew of kids — some fresh out of reform school — who hit the road in search of a better future, with a few detours along the way.

I Love You but I've Chosen Darkness, by Claire Vaye Watkins

Books
Arts

Claire Vaye Watkins goes on an autofictional odyssey out West in her latest

7:00am October 05, 2021

by Natalie Zutter

I Love You But I've Chosen Darkness follows a woman, also named Claire, who abandons her family during a bout of postpartum depression in favor of a road trip through significant places in her past.

Books
Arts

'Noir Alley' host celebrates cinema's double crosses and doomed characters

8:57pm October 04, 2021

by Terry Gross

Eddie Muller's book, Dark City, chronicles film noir from the '40s and '50s. "A lot of factors ... go into making something of film noir," he says, including, a "very dark vision of existence."

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