Arts & Life

George Saunders' previous books include In Persuasion Nation and The Very Persistent Gappers of Frip. He won a MacArthur Fellowship in 2006.

Books
Arts

George Saunders Lives Up To The Hype

1:15pm January 15, 2013

by Maureen Corrigan

At the beginning of January, the cover story of The New York Times Magazine declared: "George Saunders Has Written The Best Book You'll Read This Year." The stories in the author's latest collection, The Tenth of December, prove that The Times may well be right.

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Ben Affleck as Tony Mendez in Argo. Affleck also directed the film, which is based on events surrounding the Iran hostage crisis of 1979.

Arts

Affleck On 'Argo' And The 1979 Hostage Crisis

1:11pm January 15, 2013

Fresh off Sunday's Golden Globe Awards, where he won for best director and his film won for best motion picture/drama, the actor and director talks about his approach to the story of six diplomats who managed to escape a hostile Iran — and the CIA operative who helped them do so.

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Barbara shows a quiet, restrained normalcy in the former East Germany.

Arts

In 'Barbara,' A New Look At Life Behind The Wall

5:21pm January 14, 2013

by Bilal Qureshi

Already an awards-season staple, German historical dramas are moving beyond the horrors of the Third Reich and delving into the nuanced past of the former East Germany. Films like Christian Petzold's Barbara, a quiet story about a troubled young doctor, tell a different kind of history.

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There are those who say the phrase "the whole nine yards" comes from a joke about a prodigiously well-endowed Scotsman who gets his kilt caught in a door.

Arts

'The Whole Nine Yards' Of What?

2:25pm January 14, 2013

by Geoff Nunberg

There are many theories about where the expression comes from — among them square-riggers with three masts, the amount of cloth in the queen's bridal train, the Shroud of Turin, and a prodigiously well-endowed Scotsman who gets his kilt caught in a door.

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Gene Robinson, the first openly gay bishop in the Episcopal Church, has retired. He'll start working with the Center for American Progress, a progressive research and policy organization, on issues of faith and gay rights.

Retired Bishop Gene Robinson On Being Gay And Loving God

2:25pm January 14, 2013

The first openly gay bishop in the Episcopal Church will start work with the Center for American Progress, focusing on issues of faith and gay rights. "Gay is not something we do," he says. "It's something we are." His book God Believes in Love: Straight Talk About Gay Marriage was published in September.

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A 'Beautiful Vision' In Science Forgotten

1:48pm January 14, 2013

by NPR Staff

Dorothy Wrinch was the first woman to ever receive a doctorate in science from Oxford University, and she was the first person to design a protein structure. But her name is largely unknown. I Died for Beauty, a biography of Wrinch by Marjorie Senechal, tells her story.

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Books
Arts

The Seedy Underbelly Of The Belle Epoque, 'Painted'

12:54pm January 14, 2013

by NPR Staff

The belle epoque was not particularly belle if you were poor and female — like the young girl who modeled for Edgar Degas' famous sculpture, The Little Dancer, Aged 14. A new novel by Cathy Marie Buchanan tells the story of that girl, ballet student Marie van Goethem.

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Ann Dowd plays Sandra, a hard-nosed Midwestern manager of a fast-food franchise in Compliance. The actress spent $13,000 to try to get an Oscar nomination for the role.

Arts

Ann Dowd's One-Woman Oscar-Nomination Campaign

11:01am January 13, 2013

by NPR Staff

Actress Ann Dowd received huge acclaim for her role in the indie film Compliance. But the studio told her it didn't have money to lobby the Academy for a best supporting actress award for her. So Dowd did something exceedingly rare in Hollywood: She spent $13,000 on her own campaign.

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Using touchscreens, visitors decide how they would make wartime choices.

World War II Exhibit Asks Visitors, 'What Would You Do?'

12:08pm January 12, 2013

by Elizabeth Blair

The National WWII Museum in New Orleans presents a range of real-life scenarios that give visitors a sense of the ethical — and often dangerous — decisions soldiers and civilians were forced to make during the war.

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Cover image for Amar'e Stoudemire's STAT: Slam Dunk.

NBA Star Aims To Inspire Young Readers With 'Slam Dunk'

12:08pm January 12, 2013

by NPR Staff

New York Knicks captain Amar'e "STAT" Stoudemire is a six-time All-Star, an education activist and the author of three books for middle-schoolers. In his latest release, an injury helps an 11-year-old STAT learn lessons both on and off the court.

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