Arts

Last Call: Send Us Your Commercials For 'Nicer Living' Project

4:41pm January 13, 2017

by NPR Staff

It's the last call for our commercials for Nicer Living. It's an update of a project NPR's Susan Stamberg ran 45 years ago, where listeners wrote commercials for the little joys that make life better.

Sky Arts Pulls Michael Jackson Episode of 'Urban Myths" Featuring Joseph Fiennes

4:41pm January 13, 2017

An episode of the Sky Arts show Urban Myths, featuring Joseph Fiennes playing the role of Michael Jackson, will no longer be broadcast.

In his new memoir, writer Greg Hens explores his relationship with cigarettes.

In 'Nicotine,' A Longtime Smoker Confronts His Old Habit

4:41pm January 13, 2017

by NPR Staff

Writer Gregor Hens doesn't smoke anymore, but he still thinks about it every day. He says he started writing his memoir as a way to deal with the longing.

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Khoshaba Jaber, an Assyrian living in West London, plays a tambura, a traditional instrument known as the "mother of strings," after singing an epic poem he learned in his boyhood village in northern Iraq.

In England, An Effort To Preserve Ancient, Epic Assyrian Poetry

4:41pm January 13, 2017

by Alice Fordham

Driven to save his culture, an ethnic Assyrian living in Britain is recording ancient tales of adventure sung by modern-day bards. The songs echo stories from ancient Greece to the Bible.

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A screenshot from the British TV show Urban Myths shows actor Joseph Fiennes portraying singer Michael Jackson.

Arts

'Urban Myths' Episode With Joseph Fiennes As Michael Jackson Gets Yanked

3:41pm January 13, 2017

by Colin Dwyer

The half-hour comedy had drawn criticism for months. But it was complaints from Jackson's family that finally led Sky TV to ax it.

Malina Weissman and Louis Hynes play the older Baudelaire children, and Presley Smith is their baby sister in The Series of Unfortunate Events on Netflix.

Arts

'Series Of Unfortunate Events' On Netflix Will Charm And Delight

1:53pm January 13, 2017

by David Bianculli

Daniel Handler has adapted his popular children's book series for Netflix. Critic David Bianculli says A Series Of Unfortunate Events is "one of the best new TV shows in a long time."

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Arts

Hilarity And Hostility Converge In The Family Comedy 'Toni Erdmann'

1:23pm January 13, 2017

by David Edelstein

The German film centers on a prankster father who barges into the life of his business consultant daughter. Critic David Edelstein says Toni Erdmann keeps you guessing — in a good way.

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Books
Arts

The Man Behind Lemony Snicket Talks About Writing For Kids And His Childhood Fears

1:23pm January 13, 2017

Lemony Snicket, AKA Daniel Handler, wrote the children's book series, A Series of Unfortunate Events. Handler spoke to Terry Gross in 2001 and in 2012, when he brought his accordion to the studio.

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Jamie Lynch and Emily Hahn both figured in a surprising ending to Thursday night's Top Chef.

Arts

The Ethics Of Judges' Table: A 'Top Chef' Quandary

12:57pm January 13, 2017

by Linda Holmes

Ethics show up in the strangest places. Thursday night, Top Chef took a trip into a very gray area of competition.

Arts

B.O.O.K. Cupid

12:35pm January 13, 2017

We found the online dating profiles of some of fiction's biggest leading men and women; contestants must guess what book they're from.

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