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Arts & Life

Rich Housewives Go Under The Microscope In 'Primates Of Park Avenue'
Emily Bogle/NPR

The Week's Best Stories From NPR Books

Rich Housewives Go Under The Microscope In 'Primates Of Park Avenue'

In her new book, social researcher Wednesday Martin examines the sometimes puzzling culture of motherhood in that most exotic of locales — Manhattan's Upper East Side.

Rich Housewives Go Under The Microscope In 'Primates Of Park Avenue'

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From Cuba To Florida: Diana Nyad's Final Attempt At A Record-Breaking Swim

Diana Nyad and Bonnie Stoll prepare for Nyad's swim to Florida in 2012. She failed that attempt, but returned a year later to complete the 110-mile-long journey. Ramon Espinosa/AP hide caption

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Ramon Espinosa/AP

My Big Break

From Cuba To Florida: Diana Nyad's Final Attempt At A Record-Breaking Swim

When the distance swimmer turned 60, she vowed to complete her life's biggest challenge: a 110-mile swim from Havana to Key West. It was her fifth attempt at the feat — and, ultimately, a triumph.

From Cuba To Florida: Diana Nyad's Final Attempt At A Record-Breaking Swim

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Pop Culture

Mickey Mouse Spoke For The First Time 86 Years Ago Today

When Mickey first hit the silver screen, he was quiet as the proverbial mouse. He was an instant success, and Disney decided to give him a voice. He first spoke in an animated short film called The Karnival Kid. What were Mickey's first words?

Mickey Mouse Spoke For The First Time 86 Years Ago Today

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Racial Diversity Grows On Network Television, But Will Quality Lag Behind?

Ken Jeong, right, stars in the new ABC series Dr. Ken. Jeong appears with, from left, Kate Simses, Tisha Campbell-Martin and Jonathan Slavin. Danny Feld/ABC hide caption

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Danny Feld/ABC

Code Switch

Racial Diversity Grows On Network Television, But Will Quality Lag Behind?

Network TV's fall schedule has a lot of new shows with non-white stars and casts. But NPR television critic Eric Deggans wonders if those series will explore race and culture as well as current shows.

A Century After His Birth, Saul Bellow's Prose Still Sparkles

Author Saul Bellow, the 1976 Nobel Prize winner for literature is shown in this 1977 portrait. He was born 100 years ago this June. Eddie Adams/AP hide caption

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Eddie Adams/AP

The Week's Best Stories From NPR Books

A Century After His Birth, Saul Bellow's Prose Still Sparkles

Bellow's centennial is being marked with reprints and a new biography. Today, critics still savor his metaphor-rich prose; his son remembers the personal pain the great writer caused.

A Century After His Birth, Saul Bellow's Prose Still Sparkles

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'Like An Avalanche': Otis Redding's Unstoppable Crossover

Author Mark Ribowsky describes Otis Redding as "bigger than the music he sang, because of how he sang and interpreted it during the most traumatic, metamorphic decade in history." Volt Records / Wikimedia Commons hide caption

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Volt Records / Wikimedia Commons

Author Interviews

'Like An Avalanche': Otis Redding's Unstoppable Crossover

"He had an underground kind of appeal that built on itself," says author Mark Ribowsky, whose book Dreams to Remember traces Redding's unlikely pivot into national stardom.

'Like An Avalanche': Otis Redding's Unstoppable Crossover

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Fact-Checking 'San Andreas': Are Earthquake Swarms For Real?

Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson and Carla Gugino star in the action thriller San Andreas. Jasin Boland /Courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures hide caption

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Jasin Boland /Courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures

Movie Interviews

Fact-Checking 'San Andreas': Are Earthquake Swarms For Real?

Seismologist Lucile Jones discusses how accurate — or not — the plot of this new California earthquake thriller really is. Bonus: Her advice on what to include in an earthquake kit.

Fact-Checking 'San Andreas': Are Earthquake Swarms For Real?

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North Korean Defector Reflects On Life 'Under The Same Sky'

Joseph Kim was born in North Korean in 1990, and he came to the United States in 2007. Currently, Kim attends college in New York City. Martin Bentsen /Courtesy of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt hide caption

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Martin Bentsen /Courtesy of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

Author Interviews

North Korean Defector Reflects On Life 'Under The Same Sky'

In his new memoir, Joseph Kim tells the harrowing tale of his journey from being homeless on the streets of North Korea to a college student in America.

North Korean Defector Reflects On Life 'Under The Same Sky'

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Author Interviews

Bringing Tales Of WWII To American Radios And Bookshelves

Bill Shirer brought stories of war in Europe into American homes. NPR's Scott Simon talks with Ken Cuthbertson about his new book, A Complex Fate: William L. Shirer and the American Century.

Bringing Tales Of WWII To American Radios And Bookshelves

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Fine Art

An Epic Art Tale: Commissioned By Hitler, Recovered By German Police

Dutch art detective Arthur Brand helped recover the pieces — including two bronze horses that used to stand outside the Reich Chancellery and which were thought to have been destroyed in the war.

An Epic Art Tale: Commissioned By Hitler, Recovered By German Police

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How Bad Risotto Led To A House 'Full Of Yogis': A Critic's Childhood Story

Brahma Kumaris fill Will Hodgkinson's suburban living room on a Saturday in 1982. Liz Hodgkinson /Courtesy of Will Hodgkinson hide caption

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Liz Hodgkinson /Courtesy of Will Hodgkinson

Author Interviews

How Bad Risotto Led To A House 'Full Of Yogis': A Critic's Childhood Story

When Will Hodgkinson was a kid, his father, a journalist, was hit with a bad case of food poisoning. Over the long recovery period, he rethought his life — and decided to join the Brahma Kumaris.

How Bad Risotto Led To A House 'Full Of Yogis': A Critic's Childhood Story

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CBS' Bob Schieffer Retires Sunday As Last Of The Old-School TV Anchors

Bob Schieffer on the set of Face the Nation in September. Chris Usher/CBS hide caption

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Chris Usher/CBS

The Two-Way

CBS' Bob Schieffer Retires Sunday As Last Of The Old-School TV Anchors

Bob Schieffer, anchor of CBS' Face the Nation, retires Sunday after 46 years at the network. NPR TV Critic Eric Deggans says Schieffer is the last among a vanished breed of traditional news anchors.

CBS' Bob Schieffer Retires Sunday As Last Of The Old-School TV Anchors

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'Heaven Knows What' Adds New Wrinkles To The Street Junkie Narrative

Heaven Knows What stars Arielle Holmes and is based on her experience as a homeless heroin addict in New York City. Courtesy of Radius-TWC hide caption

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Courtesy of Radius-TWC

Review

Movie Reviews

'Heaven Knows What' Adds New Wrinkles To The Street Junkie Narrative

The film slightly fictionalizes the experience of Arielle Holmes, a young homeless addict whom filmmakers Josh and Benny Safdie first encountered in Manhattan's Diamond District.

'Heaven Knows What' Adds New Wrinkles To The Street Junkie Narrative

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Television

Are DVD Box Sets A Dying Business? Studios Hope The Answer Is 'Not Yet'

As viewers turn to streaming sites to watch old TV shows, studios are issuing new DVD box sets of classic shows to a shrinking market. Critic Dave Bianculli suggests a few sets that are worth buying.

Are DVD Box Sets A Dying Business? Studios Hope The Answer Is 'Not Yet'

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