Arts & Life

Arts

After A Year On The Job, Stephen Colbert Finds His Voice On 'The Late Show'

5:06pm December 10, 2016

by Eric Deggans

At a taping of the show this week, during a visit by Vice President Joe Biden, Late Show writers and producers explain how they managed to turn the program around after a rough start.

Sen. Bernie Sanders speaks during a news conference on Dec. 23, 2015, in Chicago, Ill.

Arts

Not My Job: We Quiz Sen. Bernie Sanders On KFC's Colonel Sanders

11:54am December 10, 2016

This week, we welcome the world's foremost Larry David impersonator (and 2016 Democratic presidential candidate) onto the show.

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Retired Stars Find Assisted Living At The Lillian Booth Home

8:58am December 10, 2016

by John Kalish

The Lillian Booth Home in Englewood, N.J., is run by the Actors Fund as both a nursing facility and assisted living. Like the residents, many of the staff come from the entertainment industry.

Arts

Actor Kirk Douglas Turns 100

8:40am December 10, 2016

by Scott Simon

The actor — who played a boxer, a hard-bitten detective, a cynical reporter, Doc Holliday, Vincent Van Gogh and a French colonel — turned 100. NPR's Scott Simon looks back on Kirk Douglas' career.

Wheeldon says the World's Fair was a natural fit for The Nutcracker's second act. Above, Christine Rocas and Fabrice Calmels.

Arts

Taking A Crack At A New 'Nutcracker': This One's Set At The World's Fair

8:28am December 10, 2016

by Jeff Lunden

Choreographer Christopher Wheeldon has a fresh take on the classic Christmas tale. The $4 million Joffrey Ballet production premieres Saturday, and doesn't center around a wealthy Victorian family.

Books
Arts

'Iraq + 100' Is Painful, But Don't Look Away

7:00am December 10, 2016

by Amal El-Mohtar

This new anthology of science fiction and fantasy, edited by Hassan Blasim, imagines Iraq 100 years after the invasion of 2003. Harrowing, necessary, often beautiful, it resists comfort and catharsis.

'Deadspin' Columnist Outlines Hater's Guide To Williams-Sonoma Catalog

6:33pm December 09, 2016

NPR's Audie Cornish and Ari Shapiro talk with Deadspin columnist Drew Magary about his hater's guide to the Williams-Sonoma catalog.

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Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone star in Damien Chazelle's new film La La Land, a musical meditation on growing up and reconciling your showbiz dreams with reality.

Arts

Showbiz Dreams Collide With Reality In 'La La Land'

6:33pm December 09, 2016

by NPR Staff

Damien Chazelle's latest film is a modern take on classic 1930s musicals. It's the story of a musician and a frustrated actress, learning to reconcile their dreams with the reality of Hollywood life.

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Trump To Retain Credit As Executive Producer Of 'Celebrity Apprentice'

6:33pm December 09, 2016

by Eric Deggans

President-elect Donald Trump will retain a credit as executive producer of the reality TV show Celebrity Apprentice. The new season, with new "boss" Arnold Schwarzenegger, premieres January 2. NPR TV critic Eric Deggans says no one but Trump knows how involved he will be, but the news seems to contradict NBC's past assertion that it has severed business ties with Trump.

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Louis Hofmann (left) and Roland Møller (right) in Land of Mine.

Arts

'Land Of Mine': Explosively Understated

5:00pm December 09, 2016

by Bob Mondello

Denmark's Oscar nominee for Best Foreign Language film is Land of Mine, a movie about German boys disarming landmines left behind after World War II.