The Good And Goofy 'Great News' Comes To NBC
A new NBC comedy has a lot of 30 Rock DNA, and it shows. While it's uneven at first, viewers who stick with it will get a satisfying blast of very silly jokes.
Arts & Life
Nation's Report Card Finds Mixed Grades For U.S. Students In Visual Arts, Music
It's the first time since 2008 that the federal government has released its assessment of U.S. eighth-graders in the arts. While there are some signs of progress, troubling achievement gaps remain.
'Zen And The Art of Motorcycle Maintenance' Author Robert M. Pirsig Dies At 88
Zen was published by William Morrow in 1974, after being rejected by 121 publishing houses. The book has endured as a work of popular philosophy, and inspired many a road trip across the West.
Two Stars Share The Stage, And The Roles, In 'Little Foxes'
"Great parts are meant to be played; they're not meant to be owned," says Laura Linney. So she and Cynthia Nixon have agreed to switch roles for each performance of Lillian Hellman's 1939 melodrama.
A Watergate Villain Walks Into A Berkeley Restaurant. What Could Go Wrong?
A new film profiles influential chef Jeremiah Tower. When one of the most hated men in U.S. politics walked in for dinner at Berkeley's famed Chez Panisse, where Tower worked, a colorful scene ensued.
'Hourglass' Exposes The Fissures That Develop In A Long-Term Marriage
Dani Shapiro's new memoir dramatizes the dizzying ways a lifetime passes, loops around, speeds up and sometimes seems to stand still. Critic Maureen Corrigan calls it an incisive and charged work.
'Thunder In The Mountains' Tells Tragedy Of Two Strong, Opposing Leaders
Daniel Sharfstein's new book Thunder In the Mountains sheds new light on the Nez Perce Indian wars, and the two historical figures on each side of the conflict: Chief Joseph and Oliver Otis Howard.
LA Riot Documentaries Show Dehumanizing Black People Enables Abuses in Policing
A slew of new documentaries look back on the Los Angeles riots, 25 years after the city erupted in protest. But why are so many being made and why now?
'Janesville' Looks At A Factory Town After The Factory Shuts Down
Washington Post reporter Amy Goldstein talks about her book Janesville: An American Story, that's about a factory town in Wisconsin that lost its lifeblood when its factory shut down.
#NPRpoetry Naturally Goes Outside For Some Earth Day Inspiration
This weeks #NPRpoetry Twitter submissions celebrate Mother Earth.