Search results for

Thirty years after the publication of his book Cathedral, David Macaulay returns to the construction of sacred spaces with his new book Mosque. NPR's Liane Hansen joins the author for a conversation at the Islamic Center in Washington, D.C.

Hip-hop and R&B acts dominate the field of nominees for this year's Grammy awards, announced Thursday. Beyonce, Jay-Z, OutKast and Pharrell Williams each earned six nominations. Hear NPR's Michele Norris and music writer Tom Moon.

A softly lit oil portrait of a young woman with a pearl earring is one of Johannes Vermeer's best-known paintings. The new film Girl with a Pearl Earring brings the story behind the famous image to the silver screen. Los Angeles Times and Morning Edition film critic Kenneth Turan has a review.

Director Tim Burton's new film Big Fish stars Albert Finney as a fable-making father whose stories have caused his son to doubt his every word. NPR's Bob Mondello offers a review.

We remember actor, producer, author and comedian Alan King, who died Sunday. He was 76. King died in Manhattan's Sloan-Kettering Medical Center of lung cancer. He was known for his wry observations on suburbia and life at large.

Director Kevin Smith's latest film, Jersey Girl, stars Ben Affleck as a single father raising a young daughter. It's a departure from Smith's past work. The biting, iconoclastic humor of films such as Clerks, Dogma and Chasing Amy had established Smith as a force outside Hollywood's mainstream. Los Angeles Times film critic Kenneth Turan has a review.

The band Modest Mouse has released their first album in four years. The group often referred to as the perfect indie-rock band suddenly finds itself enjoying pop success that had eluded it for 10 years. Mikel Jollett has a review of their new CD, Good News for People who Love Bad News.

The Holocaust Memorial Museum's new exhibit, "Deadly Medicine: Creating the Master Race," takes a chilling look at the Nazi use of eugenics and its applications. The term "eugenics" comes from the Greek word meaning "well-born." In the 20th century, it came to mean something far more sinister: a scientific movement to create a more perfect race. NPR's Christopher Joyce reports.

Independent producer Julian Crandall Hollick continues his three-part audio portrait of modern India with an inspiring profile of Calcutta's tiny Ram Bhagan slum. The community has thrived on the skills of its native musicians, painters and craftsmen.

Jazz critic Kevin Whitehead reviews a new box set of Dave Brubeck's Time Out albums.