Arts & Life

Books
Arts

'The Golden Compass' Turns 20 (Its Daemon Has Probably Settled)

7:33pm October 15, 2015

by NPR Staff

Philip Pullman's beloved fantasy series traces the adventures of brave young Lyra Belacqua (and her daemon, Pantalaimon), through an alternate universe that occasionally spills over into our own.

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Former New York Times restaurant critic and Gourmet editor Ruth Reichl speaks in New York City in 2013.

Books
Arts

How Twitter And Cooking Saved Ruth Reichl After 'Gourmet' Folded

7:33pm October 15, 2015

by Neda Ulaby

Food writer Ruth Reichl has a new cookbook called My Kitchen Year: 136 Recipes That Saved My Life. It describes how she found her voice after Conde Nast shut down the magazine where she was editor.

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Arts
Economy

Alexander Hamilton's Financial Legacy Is A Hit Musical

7:33pm October 15, 2015

by Jim Zarroli

Hamilton, the hottest ticket on Broadway, is a musical about the decidedly un-hot topic of his crucial role in U.S. economics. What can we learn about debt and the dollar through rhymes and R&B?

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Michael Fassbender plays Steve Jobs in the film, directed by Danny Boyle. "Steve's obsession is where we're going, not where we've been," Boyle says, "and he is maniacally focused on that, and will eviscerate anything that reminds him of the past."

Arts

In 'Steve Jobs,' A Life Told In 3 Acts — And Countless Complexities

7:27pm October 15, 2015

by NPR Staff

The mercurial Apple co-founder helped shape the world and our daily lives. Still, director Danny Boyle says, while "he's made some of the most beautiful things imaginable, he is himself poorly made."

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Arts

Big Themes, Tiny Frames: An Art Show Writ Small

6:23pm October 15, 2015

This weekend, The Mini Show opens at The Lodge, an emerging gallery on a gritty street in Los Angeles. It'll feature teeny, tiny paintings.

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The Art of Language, by David J. Peterson.

Books
Arts

Meet The Man Who Invents Languages For A Living

6:22pm October 15, 2015

by NPR Staff

David J. Peterson has crafted languages for TV shows and films — even a whole language for a single giant, in Game of Thrones. For him, every language is a balance of the technical and the artistic.

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Books
Arts

A Mixtape Of Russian History In 'Love And Techno'

6:22pm October 15, 2015

by NPR Staff

Anthony Marra's new book, The Tsar of Love and Techno, is a collection of stories playing out over nearly a century of change in Russia. He tells NPR he wants the book to function like a mixtape.

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Books
Arts

Sandra Cisneros Crosses Borders And Boundaries In 'A House Of My Own'

6:22pm October 15, 2015

by NPR Staff

The author's new memoir collects three decades worth of her journeys in search of a sense of home. "I guess I didn't realize I was gonna be crossing borders my whole life," she says.

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Dance, Sing, Just 'Keep Moving,' Dick Van Dyke Tells Seniors

6:20pm October 15, 2015

by NPR Staff

As he approaches his 90th birthday, the energetic, award-winning actor shares his tips on how to enjoy aging — and has a new book to prove it. It's all about attitude and staying active, he says.

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Books
Arts

Sloths Against Humanity in 'Memetic'

5:32pm October 15, 2015

by Etelka Lehoczky

James Tynion's zombie horror comic has an inspired idea at its core: The infection comes from an Internet meme, a cartoon of a cute sloth that turns all who see it into brainless, ravenous beasts.