Arts

Schofield (George MacKay) gets entrenched in Sam Mendes' 1917.

Arts

'1917' Is Gripping, Visceral And Strangely Beautiful

5:01am December 24, 2019

by Chris Klimek

Sam Mendes' technique — stringing together a series of long takes to seem continuous, as if the story's events unfold in real time — makes for a "wholly absorbing cinematic experience."

Ram Dass meditates at the First Unitarian Church in San Francisco in January 1970.

Arts

Ram Dass, Spiritual Teacher And Psychedelics Pioneer, Dies At 88

5:41pm December 23, 2019

by Andrew Limbong

His name meant "servant of God," a title given to him by a Hindu mystic he met in India in the '60s. Ram Dass wrote books popularizing New Age thinking and toured the U.S. lecturing about mindfulness.

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Valerie Pachner and August Diehl star as Fani and Franz Jagerstatter in the film A Hidden Life.

Arts

In Austria's Alps, 'A Hidden Life' Of World War II Resistance

5:07pm December 23, 2019

by Bilal Qureshi

Director Terrence Malick is known for dream-like movies. His latest tells a more direct story: one of a family, and how it is affected by the father's decision not to swear allegiance to Hitler.

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Parasite and Knives Out top Justin Chang's 2019 list of movie pairings. At left, Lee Sun-kyun and Cho Yeo-jeong play a wealthy couple whose hired help isn't quite what it seems in Bong Joon-ho's thriller, Parasite. Chris Evans (right) is a trust-fund play

Arts

Double Feature: Critic Justin Chang Pairs His Favorite Films Of 2019

1:32pm December 23, 2019

by Justin Chang

In a year where wealth, inequality and class rage were hot movie topics, few had more to say than Parasite and Knives Out — two films that seemed to be in conversation with each other.

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Dan Stevens plays a young man who's haunted by the voices in his head in Legion. Kristen Bell explores what it means to be a good person on The Good Place.

Arts

Nothing Beats 'The Good Place': David Bianculli Picks The Best TV Of 2019

1:31pm December 23, 2019

by David Bianculli

There were a lot of great shows to watch on television this year — many of them on streaming services. At the top of the list is NBC's comedy about life after death.

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NPR's Book Concierge offers 350+ new books handpicked by NPR staff and critics — including Elizabeth Blair. Click here to find your next great read.

Books
Arts

Year-End Book Picks: 'I Like To Watch' By TV Critic Emily Nussbaum

10:14am December 23, 2019

by Elizabeth Blair

As we look back at books published in 2019, Elizabeth Blair is still thinking about one essay in particular from Nussbaum's collection I Like to Watch: Arguing My Way Through the TV Revolution.

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Façade of Chicago's first and only Hanukkah-themed pop-up bar in Wrigleyville.

In Chicago, Hanukkah Now Has Its Own Pop-Up Bar Experience

6:26pm December 22, 2019

by Michel Martin

The two creators of the new Hanukkah-themed bar saw a void in the pop-up scene. Neither is Jewish, but they did enough research to be able to serve up matzo ball soup, latkes, and boozy jelly donuts.

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Long-Running San Francisco Musical Revue 'Beach Blanket Babylon' Nears End

7:48am December 22, 2019

by Chloe Veltman

After 45 years, a staple of kitsch in San Francisco is closing. The show Beach Blanket Babylon ends Dec. 31.

Genie Milgrom, pictured in 2013, stands in the entryway of her Miami home wrapped in a long family tree, filled with the names of 22 generations of grandmothers. Raised Catholic, Milgrom traced her family's hidden Jewish roots with the help of a trove of

Trove Of Recipes Dating Back To Inquisition Reveals A Family's Secret Jewish Roots

7:48am December 22, 2019

by Greg Allen

Many Jews were forced to convert during the Inquisition, a history often lost to their descendants. Finding recipes adhering to Jewish food customs helped one woman unearth her family's hidden past.

Hanukkah Lights 2019

7:00am December 22, 2019

Susan Stamberg and Murray Horwitz read original stories about Hanukkah, from a celebration interrupted by a stranger to a group that brings the holiday to another planet.