Arts & Life : NPR

FDA Says 'Stay!' ... Away From 'Bone Treats'

An FDA report warns dog owners of the dangers of "bone treats," which can consist of full or partial pieces of animal bone. Andres Kudacki/AP hide caption

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Andres Kudacki/AP

FDA Says 'Stay!' ... Away From 'Bone Treats'

November 30, 2017 • In addition to guidance to avoid brittle chicken and turkey bones, the FDA says "bone treats," which it distinguishes from uncooked butcher bones, can cause harm, sickness and sometimes death.

'The Other Side Of Hope': Finding Haven — And Hamachi — in Helsinki

Sherwan Haji as Khaled, a young Syrian refugee in Helsinki. /Janus Films hide caption

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/Janus Films

Review

'The Other Side Of Hope': Finding Haven — And Hamachi — in Helsinki

November 30, 2017 • Finnish writer/director Ali Kaurismaki follows up his 2011 film The Havre with a darker, but still comic, variation on a similar theme — a character fleeing bloody conflict gets taken in by a group of outcasts.

Woodyland In Bad Decline: 'Wonder Wheel'

Kate Winslet as Ginny, a 1950s waitress on the verge of spinning out, in Wonder Wheel. Jessica Miglio/Amazon Studios hide caption

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Jessica Miglio/Amazon Studios

Review

Woodyland In Bad Decline: 'Wonder Wheel'

November 30, 2017 • Woody Allen's film about an unhappily married woman in 1950s Coney Island strains to evoke Eugene O'Neill. Critic Andrew Lapin says Wonder Wheel "isn't merely a bad movie but a laughable one."

'The Disaster Artist' Is 'The Room' Where It Happened

Nothing's Gonna Tear Them Apart, Lisa: Greg (Dave Franco) and Tommy (James Franco) wait for the lights to go down in The Disaster Artist. Justina Mintz/courtesy of A24 hide caption

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Justina Mintz/courtesy of A24

Review

'The Disaster Artist' Is 'The Room' Where It Happened

November 30, 2017 • Director/star James Franco fondly — and hilariously — chronicles the making of the cult-movie fiasco The Room, evincing a deep understanding of the unhinged ambition at its core. (Go figure.)

Jim Nabors, Who Played Affable Klutz Gomer Pyle, Dies At 87

Jim Nabors, in a 1964 episode of Gomer, U.S.M.C., getting chewed out by Frank Sutton as Gunnery Sgt. Vince Carter. AP hide caption

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AP

Jim Nabors, Who Played Affable Klutz Gomer Pyle, Dies At 87

November 30, 2017 • The actor and singer starred as Pyle for years — first in The Andy Griffith Show, then in Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C. Nabors parlayed the stardom of the beloved goof into a long career on stage, TV and film.

'The Hardest Bakery Possible': Reinventing The Meaning Of 'Whole Grain'

Jonathan Bethony bakes his whole grain breads in a wood-fired oven, heated to about 500 degrees, to help the weighty loaves rise. Whitney Pipkin for NPR hide caption

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Whitney Pipkin for NPR

'The Hardest Bakery Possible': Reinventing The Meaning Of 'Whole Grain'

November 30, 2017 • A handful of bakeries are pushing the envelope of what's possible — and palatable — by leaving the bran and germ in freshly milled grains from local farmers, who also help drive the menu.

Svitlana Unuchko/Getty Images/iStockphoto

First-Ever Aspen Words Literary Prize Unveils Its List Of Nominees

November 30, 2017 • The annual prize, in its inaugural year, will be awarded to one work of fiction. For the next few months, 20 books remain in contention — including works by Jesmyn Ward, Roxane Gay and Lisa Ko.

Teen Angst Has A Body Count In 'I Am Not Okay With This'

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Fantagraphics

Review

Teen Angst Has A Body Count In 'I Am Not Okay With This'

November 30, 2017 • Sydney, the teenage protagonist of Charles Forsman's new graphic novel, has all the usual problems of her age, plus one: She's telekinetic. And it quickly becomes clear that her story is a grim one.

Stars Of 'The President Show' Present An 'Off The Rails' Version Of Trump

Fresh Air

November 29, 2017 • Anthony Atamanuik and Peter Grosz's new Comedy Central series is set up like a late night talk show, hosted by President Trump with Vice President Pence as his sidekick.

Stars Of 'The President Show' Present An 'Off The Rails' Version Of Trump

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The Meaning Of Meghan: 'Black' And 'Royal' No Longer An Oxymoron In Britain

The first black British royal? Not so fast. Matt Dunham/AP hide caption

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Matt Dunham/AP

The Meaning Of Meghan: 'Black' And 'Royal' No Longer An Oxymoron In Britain

November 29, 2017 • Whether or not she cares, princess-to-be Meghan Markle has become a symbol of biracial people's coming-of-age, and maybe of the country's collective adulthood on race, writes Karen Grigsby Bates.

Two Towering Figures Collide On The World Stage In '1917'

'1917: Lenin, Wilson, and the Birth of the New World Disorder' by Arthur Herman Harper hide caption

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Harper

Review

Two Towering Figures Collide On The World Stage In '1917'

November 29, 2017 • Arthur Herman's new book zooms in on Vladimir Lenin, Woodrow Wilson, and the vast, conflicting historical forces they embodied — and which came to a head in the fateful year of 1917.

For Jesmyn Ward, Writing Means Telling The 'Truth About The Place That I Live In'

Fresh Air

November 28, 2017 • Ward's National Book Award-winning novel, Sing, Unburied, Sing, is set in a small town modeled after her own rural hometown. It centers on a biracial young boy confronting the South's racial legacy.

For Jesmyn Ward, Writing Means Telling The 'Truth About The Place That I Live In'

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'The World Goes On,' With Tiny Moments Of Joy Amid The Uncertainty

'The World Goes On' by Laszlo Krasznahorkai Claire Harbage/NPR hide caption

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Claire Harbage/NPR

Review

'The World Goes On,' With Tiny Moments Of Joy Amid The Uncertainty

November 28, 2017 • Susan Sontag once called author László Krasznahorkai the "contemporary Hungarian master of apocalypse," but his new book — while disturbing — isn't as hopeless as that might lead you to think.

Bookseller's Foray Into Hollywood Is A Dickens Of A Tale

Dan Stevens as Charles Dickens and Christopher Plummer as Ebenezer Scrooge in The Man Who Invented Christmas. Kerry Brown/Bleecker Street Media hide caption

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Kerry Brown/Bleecker Street Media

Bookseller's Foray Into Hollywood Is A Dickens Of A Tale

November 27, 2017 • Mitch Kaplan runs Books & Books in Miami, and helped start the popular Miami Book Fair. Now, he's making movies based on books, like the new Charles Dickens biopic The Man Who Invented Christmas.

Bookseller's Foray Into Hollywood Is A Dickens Of A Tale

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Patton Oswalt: Falling In Love Again Was Like 'Getting Hit By Lightning Twice'

Patton Oswalt co-starred on the comedy series King of Queens and voiced the main character in the Pixar film Ratatouille. More recently, he has appeared in Veep, Justified and Young Adult and other TV and film roles. Elizabeth Morris/Netflix hide caption

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Elizabeth Morris/Netflix

Television

Patton Oswalt: Falling In Love Again Was Like 'Getting Hit By Lightning Twice'

Fresh Air

November 27, 2017 • After the sudden death of his first wife in April 2016, Oswalt felt his life slipping away. But over the past year, things took a turn: He fell in love again, and now he has a new Netflix special.

Patton Oswalt: Falling In Love Again Was Like 'Getting Hit By Lightning Twice'

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