Arts & Life

The cucamelon is a tiny cucumber that looks like a watermelon.

Meet The Most Pampered Vegetables In America

12:20pm January 25, 2016

Chef's Garden is a farm in Ohio growing vegetables to the specifications of the world's top chefs. It's a place where vegetables are artistic materials painstakingly tended and handled like jewels.

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An Oscar statue, on display during the Academy Awards nominations announcement in Beverly Hills, Calif., on Jan. 14.

Arts

A Conversation With The Creator Of #OscarsSoWhite

12:26am January 25, 2016

by Aggi Ashagre

The hashtag resurfaced this year as a protest against the lack of diversity among Oscar nominees. The woman who started it, April Reign, explains her frustrations — and her hopes for the future.

For Art's Sake, Minneapolis Man Freezes His Pants

11:59am January 24, 2016

NPR's Rachel Martin notes an art installation, of sorts, by Tim Grotting. During the winter, the Minneapolis resident freezes pants and sets them upright in his neighborhood.

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Snow Cones Fresh From The Sky: Listeners Share Recipes

11:59am January 24, 2016

NPR's Rachel Martin asks professor Staci Simonich if it's okay to eat snow. Also, our listeners called in with some of their favorite recipes using freshly fallen snow.

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Books
Arts

Finnish Authors Heat Up The Speculative Fiction World

10:00am January 24, 2016

by Jason Heller

Finland hosts the World Science Fiction Convention in 2017 — but if you can't make it to Helsinki, hit the library: more and more Finnish speculative fiction authors are getting English translations.

With the help of her aspiring young artists, Vanessa German has transformed a house in Pittsburgh's Homewood neighborhood into a work of art.

Young Artists Find Home And Healing At Pittsburgh Art House

8:53am January 24, 2016

by Erika Beras

Whenever artist Vanessa German worked on her porch, kids asked if they could help. Now, in a neighborhood struggling with poverty and crime, she's created a place where they can make art of their own.

Books
Arts

Passion And Obsession En Pointe In 'Girl Through Glass'

7:47am January 24, 2016

by NPR Staff

Author Sari Wilson's new novel follows a young dancer in New York City in the 1970s, and a grown professor of dance years later — both of whom find their lives upended by dangerous relationships.

Books
Arts

Death Memoirs: Why The Grave Subject Sells So Well

7:47am January 24, 2016

Why do we love to read about dying? NPR's Rachel Martin asks critic Michelle Dean about the enduring popularity of books like "The Last Lecture" and "Tuesdays with Morrie."

Books
Arts

'The Road To Little Dribbling' Is A (Mostly) Pleasant Journey

7:00am January 24, 2016

by Annalisa Quinn

Bill Bryson follows up his classic travelogue Notes From A Small Island 20 years later — older, grayer, and definitely crankier. It's a charming trip, though marred by a little too much grumpiness.

Books
Arts

Groucho Marx Spared No One — And His Biographer Isn't Pulling Punches, Either

7:24pm January 23, 2016

by NPR Staff

Lee Siegel, author of Groucho Marx: The Comedy of Existence, wanted his biography to uncover the real man behind the iconic mustache. What Siegel found, he says, was "a thoroughgoing misanthrope."

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