Accessibility links
Arts & Life Art and entertainment commentary plus interviews, book reviews, movie reviews, music reviews, comedy, and visual art. Subscribe to podcasts and follow trends in music, painting, art, architecture, photography, and design.

Arts & Life

Son Of A Secret Smuggler Digs Up The Truth About His Dad

Marijuana plants grow at a farm near Medellin. Tony Dokoupil's father made hundreds of thousands of dollars smuggling marijuana into the U.S. from Colombia. Raul Arboleda/AFP/Getty Images hide caption

toggle caption
Raul Arboleda/AFP/Getty Images

Author Interviews

Son Of A Secret Smuggler Digs Up The Truth About His Dad

Fresh Air

Tony Dokoupil's father was once busted for distributing enough marijuana "to roll a joint for every college-age person in America." In The Last Pirate, Dokoupil reflects on his dad's time as a dealer.

Son Of A Secret Smuggler Digs Up The Truth About His Dad

Listen · 37:58
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/297145984/297304263" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
In Kitchens Around The World, Comfort Foods Bring Us Together

Hall makes the hors d'oeuvres version of spanakopita. Meredith Rizzo/NPR hide caption

toggle caption
Meredith Rizzo/NPR

Food

In Kitchens Around The World, Comfort Foods Bring Us Together

Chef Carla Hall invites us over to make spanakopita, one of her favorite Greek dishes. Her new cookbook is all about celebrating the way home-cooked meals unite us — no matter where we're from.

In Kitchens Around The World, Comfort Foods Bring Us Together

Listen · 7:19
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/294323796/297076446" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
Cesar Millan's Long Walk To Becoming The 'Dog Whisperer'

Cesar Millan's television show Dog Whisperer on National Geographic debuted in 2004, but Millan previously spent years struggling to pursue a career as a dog trainer. Robin Layton/Courtesy of Cesar Millan hide caption

toggle caption
Robin Layton/Courtesy of Cesar Millan

My Big Break

Cesar Millan's Long Walk To Becoming The 'Dog Whisperer'

Millan is one of the world's most famous dog trainers, with TV shows and best-selling books. But his journey was arduous: He came to the U.S. illegally and was homeless before he got his big break.

Cesar Millan's Long Walk To Becoming The 'Dog Whisperer'

Listen · 4:02
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/295796786/296863497" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
3 Bedtime Picture Books That Won't Put Parents To Sleep

Books

3 Bedtime Picture Books That Won't Put Parents To Sleep

Librarian Margaret Willison offers tips for making repetitive reading more enjoyable, from choosing books with detailed illustrations to using word tricks.

3 Bedtime Picture Books That Won't Put Parents To Sleep

Listen · 5:24
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/295738069/296863485" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
In Civilian Snapshot Of Iraq, An Artist Is A 'Corpse Washer'
Courtesy of Yale University Press

Author Interviews

In Civilian Snapshot Of Iraq, An Artist Is A 'Corpse Washer'

The Corpse Washer, set in Baghdad in 2003, shows the U.S. invasion through the eyes of an aspiring Shiite artist and a handler of the dead. Author Sinan Antoon says he wanted to share a new viewpoint.

In Civilian Snapshot Of Iraq, An Artist Is A 'Corpse Washer'

Listen · 5:30
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/295243989/296863491" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
The Ides Of March Madness: 'Who's Gonna Stop Prospero?'

Paul Edward O'Brien, a stage actor, poet, and oncologist, delivered a Game Day-style analysis of how William Shakespeare's plays would match up in a tournament bracket. Wesley Moore hide caption

toggle caption
Wesley Moore

The Two-Way

The Ides Of March Madness: 'Who's Gonna Stop Prospero?'

A bracket pitting Shakespeare's plays against each other led stage actor Paul O'Brien of Charleston, S.C., to break down the matchups.

Paul O'Brien's Bracketology

  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/296819698/296823343" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">

Author Interviews

'A Small Player' On The Brink Of Self-Destruction

Lawrence Osborne's new novel, The Ballad of a Small Player, is set in the casinos of Macao where a haunting tale unfolds. NPR's Rachel Martin talks with the author about gambling and addiction.

'A Small Player' On The Brink Of Self-Destruction

Listen · 6:26
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/296673128/296673129" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Strategic Seating: How To Elicit The Optimal Dinner Conversation

Designer Alex Cornell tells NPR's Rachel Martin where to sit at the dinner table. (This story orginally aired on Weekend Edition Sunday on March 24, 2013.)

Strategic Seating: How To Elicit The Optimal Dinner Conversation

Listen · 2:56
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/296673109/296673110" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Author Interviews

A Libertarian With Roots In Rock Music

Matt Kibbe, CEO of FreedomWorks, has a new book. NPR's Rachel Martin talks to Kibbe about his libertarian manifesto, Don't Hurt People and Don't Take Their Stuff.

A Libertarian With Roots In Rock Music

Listen · 7:09
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/296673083/296673084" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

National

1,000 Farmworkers View Chavez Film, Dedicated To Them

Farm workers in California were treated to a film about the late Cesar Chavez, the legendary activist. He took on the powerful agricultural industry in the 1960s.

1,000 Farmworkers View Chavez Film, Dedicated To Them

Listen · 4:13
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/296673064/296673065" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript