Arts

Winston Duke (left) and Zazie Beetz in a realm where souls are auditioned for life on Earth in Nine Days.

Arts

Celebrate Life On Earth With 4 Films That Look Into The Great Beyond

7:12pm July 30, 2021

by Bob Mondello

The new film Nine Days — at its essence, a reminder to celebrate every moment you're given — is both deep and fun. Here are three other movies that ponder the meaning of life.

At the beginning of the new movie The Green Knight, Dev Patel's Gawain is the young headstrong nephew of King Arthur. He isn't a knight yet and has a lot to prove.

Arts

Dev Patel Conquers 'The Green Knight' And Embraces Every Role As A Journey

6:06pm July 30, 2021

NPR's Ailsa Chang speaks with Dev Patel, who plays aspiring knight Gaiwan in the new movie, The Green Knight, based on one of the most famous Arthurian legends.

When Beavis and Butt-Head debuted on MTV in 1993, critics called the duo "crude," "ugly" and "self-destructive." That did not stop the 1996 film Beavis and Butt-Head Do America from getting good reviews.

Arts

MTV Is Turning 40. Here's How Beavis, Butt-Head And Daria Upended TV Animation

4:22pm July 30, 2021

by Jason Slotkin

"Animation has been critical to the MTV brand from its inception," says MTV Entertainment president Chris McCarthy. The network helped bring adult and experimental animation into the mainstream.

Arts

Acting Is 'Problem Solving,' Says Courtney B. Vance

1:42pm July 30, 2021

by Terry Gross

Vance played attorney Johnnie Cochran in The People v. O.J. Simpson. Now he takes to the pulpit as Aretha Franklin's father, Rev. C.L Franklin, in Genius: Aretha. Originally broadcast April 21, 2021.

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Books
Arts

1963 Novel 'The Stone Face' Has New Edition — And It Couldn't Be More Timely

1:42pm July 30, 2021

by John Powers

William Gardner Smith wrote the story of a Black writer who, like Smith himself, moved to Paris to pursue a freedom he couldn't find in America. New York Review Books is releasing a new edition.

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Jason Sudeikis and Juno Temple as Ted and Keeley in Ted Lasso.

Arts

Ted Lasso Recap, Season 2, Episode 2: The Prodigal Beefcake

12:04pm July 30, 2021

by Linda Holmes

Jamie Tartt has fallen on hard times and asks to return to AFC Richmond in "Lavender," the second episode of the second season. Meanwhile, Ted continues to struggle to trust Dr. Sharon.

Saleem Reshamwala Takes Us To Far Flung Places

9:06am July 30, 2021

This hour, journalist Saleem Reshamwala gives us a tour of surprising people and places — Lima, Nairobi, and prehistoric New Jersey — to inspire new perspectives on travel and cultures.

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The singer Yola, whose sophomore album Stand For Myself releases July 30.

Yola Takes The Whole Wheel With 'Stand For Myself'

6:17pm July 29, 2021

The British-born singer is, after years of successful but imbalanced collaborative work and four Grammy nominations for her last record, finally and fully at the creative helm of her career.

John Douglas Thompson portrays the magician Prospero in a Commonwealth Shakespeare Company production of The Tempest in Boston this month.

Arts

Black Theater Artists Are Helping Shakespeare Speak To More Diverse Audiences

5:19pm July 29, 2021

by Jeremy D. Goodwin

Scholars have a mantra: Shakespeare is universal and his works are for everyone. But for Black actors and audiences, does an implicit whiteness in the Bard's canon hinder access and identification?

Allison Russell, center, performs during day five of the 2021 Newport Folk Festival on July 27, 2021 in Newport, R.I.

Newport Folk Festival Returns, In A Year Defined By Uncertainty

12:51pm July 29, 2021

by Hilary Hughes

After a silent year in which artists were sent grants instead of invitations to perform, the beloved festival was determined to go on this year, as carefully as possible. And how possible is that?