'Downton' Returns With Aristocratic Class And Clash
On Sunday, the PBS anthology series Masterpiece Classic begins its third season of Downton Abbey, the British period drama that has taken England — and America — by storm.
Arts & Life
Who's Gay On TV? Dads, Journalists, Investigators And Footmen
Neda Ulaby looks at the current landscape of gay characters on television, from the highest brows of Downton Abbey to the surprisingly welcoming world of reality shows.
Jack Black: On Music, Mayhem And Murder
Actor Jack Black plays a kindly small-town funeral director who murders a millionaire in the film Bernie. Black is also one-half of the comedy folk-rock group Tenacious D. In May, they released an album in the style of heavy metal bands from the 1980s.
'Totally Biased' Comic On Race, Politics And Audience
Comic W. Kamau Bell's show, produced by Chris Rock, mixes standup, sketches and interviews. Bell tells Fresh Air about the origins of his political humor and why it's important for him to have a multiracial audience.
Don't Fear That Expired Food
When food passes its sell-by date, it's swept from the supermarket shelf. But that doesn't mean it's not safe to eat. Taste and smell are usually better indicators of a food's safety. And some items, like canned foods, can even last years or decades after their expiration date.
Listen Up! Audiobooks For Every Taste
From a charming tale of the tooth fairy to the very grown-up fiction of Graham Greene, read by the very grown-up Colin Firth, Robin Whitten of AudioFile magazine picks some of 2012's best audiobooks for your holiday listening.
Peter Parker's Dead, But Spider-Man Will Live On (Sort Of)
Marvel Comics has killed off the iconic web-headed superhero — or to be more precise, they've killed off Peter Parker. Spider-Man will continue web-slinging, albeit with a twist that has earned writer Dan Slott the ire of many fans.
Author Ben Fountain's Book Picks For 2013
Ben Fountain's first novel, Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk, was nominated for the 2012 National Book Award. He's well-read for 2013, so we thought we'd ask him what to look forward to in the book world.
Short Stories To Savor On A Winter Weekend
Author Hortense Calisher once called the short story "an apocalypse in a teacup." Critic Jane Ciabattari presents her favorite mini-apocalypses of 2012, from veteran authors like Sherman Alexie to newcomer Claire Vaye Watkins, who combines a unique voice and a shadowed family history in her debut collection.
Graphic Novels That Flew Under The Radar In 2012
As 2012 winds to a close, Glenn Weldon shares a couple of graphic novels that caught his eye this year: Drama by Raina Telgemeier and The Crackle of the Frost by Lorenzo Mattotti and Jorge Zentner. (This piece initially aired Nov. 20, 2012, on All Things Considered).