Arts & Life

Arts

'Food Surgeon' Dissects Candy And Fruit With Weirdly Hypnotic Flair

5:51pm February 03, 2016

by Eliza Barclay

The Food Surgeon, a channel on YouTube, turns a camera and a doctor's operating tools on familiar foods. It's just art, says the guy behind the videos, a food-loving engineer in Seattle.

Morris Robinson in the Los Angeles Opera's 2009 production of The Magic Flute.

From Football To Opera: Singer Morris Robinson Takes Center Stage

4:11pm February 03, 2016

by Karen Grigsby Bates

Once Morris Robinson dreamed of fame on the football field. Now, he's moving audiences across the world with the power of his voice, and changing the face of opera.

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Books
Arts

A Writer Straddles Jerusalem's Two Worlds In 'Native'

2:17pm February 03, 2016

by Jason Sheehan

With wit and subtle anecdote, Sayed Kashua explores the meaning of identity, prejudice and everyday life as an Arab-Israeli newspaper writer living in Jerusalem.

Guests attend the Film Independent Brunch during the 2016 Sundance Film Festival.

In The Conversation About Diversity In Hollywood, Where Does Sundance Fit In?

10:22am February 03, 2016

by Monica Castillo

Sundance may be just one part of a much bigger puzzle, but filmmakers of color say it has an important role to play.

In 1747, members of the notorious Hawkhurst Gang carried out a brazen midnight raid on the King's Custom House in Poole, England: They broke in and stole back their impounded tea. What followed over the next weeks would shock even hardened criminals.

Cuppa Thugs: These Brutal Smugglers Ran An 18th Century Tea Cartel

9:24pm February 02, 2016

by Nina Martyris

In the 1700s, steep taxes made tea too pricey for most. Smugglers like the notorious Hawkhurst Gang helped feed England's growing taste for tea, operating with a mix of popular support and fear.

Richard Dreyfuss stars as Bernie Madoff.

Arts

'Madoff' Tells Its Tale To The Camera

8:34pm February 02, 2016

by Linda Holmes

Richard Dreyfuss plays Bernie Madoff in a new ABC miniseries as a con men who — like many of his kind — looks right at the viewer.

Courtney B. Vance — pictured above in his role as Johnnie Cochran in The People v. O.J. Simpson — says the miniseries is a "perfect opportunity for us to begin the process" of talking about the nation's deep racial divide. "It's not going to happen ov

Arts

Cochran Would Be 'Leading The Charge' In Ferguson, Says Actor Courtney Vance

6:38pm February 02, 2016

by NPR Staff

Actor Courtney B. Vance plays lawyer Johnnie Cochran in the FX miniseries The People v. O.J. Simpson. "Finally, on the biggest stage, a black man worked the system," Vance says.

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'The High Mountains of Portugal' By Yann Martel

Books
Arts

Author Yann Martel On 'That Deeply Unreasonable Phenomenon' Of Faith

5:32pm February 02, 2016

by NPR Staff

Martel's new book, The High Mountains of Portugal, shares some themes with his 2001 novel, Life of Pi: Both feature animals (in this case, a chimpanzee) and both struggle with questions of faith.

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King cakes are supposed to come with a figurine hidden in them (usually a plastic baby). The person who finds the hidden figurine in a slice must bring the next cake to the office. This exchange goes on until Mardi Gras, after which the cakes disappear fo

New Orleans: A City In The Grip Of King Cake Madness

3:00pm February 02, 2016

by David Beriss

Carnival is a monthlong season in New Orleans, when the colorful brioche cakes dominate the diet and culture. King cakes fuel workplace rituals, inspire contests and drive a collective obsession.

Who Are America's 'Homegrown Terrorists'?

1:27pm February 02, 2016

CNN's Peter Bergen describes how the Internet and social media have been used to radicalize and recruit Americans to jihad — and how some new jihadists then use those same tools to draw in others.

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