Arts News

Scholar Says 'Lost' Shakespeare Play Is No Hoax
Performed in 1727, Double Falsehood was purported to be a "lost" play by Shakespeare. Critics dismissed it as a fake, and it was quickly forgotten. But professor Brean Hammond says the "rattling good yarn" has Shakespearean roots.
Seven Days In Seven Lives: 'A Week In December'
Sebastian Faulks' satirical novel is a weeklong tour of modern London, woven together in Dickensian style. Dickens' 19th century characters dealt with class conflict, wealth, poverty and true love. Faulks' contemporary characters deal with terrorism, greed, the Internet and — because some things never change — true love.
'So Much' For Paradise: Battered By Bad Insurance
Lionel Shriver's novel So Much for That tells the story of Shep Knacker, who is about to retire to a tropical island when his wife gets diagnosed with cancer. To keep his insurance, Shep has to keep his hated job, but he soon discovers that even the full coverage of the fully employed may not be enough to keep him afloat.
Tehran Halts Travel By Poet Called 'Lioness Of Iran'
Simin Behbahani, Iran's most prominent poet, was about to board a flight to Paris when police seized her passport. Behbahani, 82 and nearly blind, has not been charged with any crime. Many fear her treatment may signal a rise in repressive tactics by Iran's government.
Karl Rove 'In The Fight' Again With New Memoir
The book by the conservative strategist is called Courage and Consequense: My Life as a Conservative in the Fight. Rove tells Fresh Air the decision to go to war in Iraq in 2003 was not based on wrong information from the Bush administration, but was based on wrong information from the intelligence community.
'Dragon Tattoo' Has Designs On U.S. Audiences
The movie version of Steig Larsson's best-selling thriller has already broken box-office records in Scandinavia. Now it's headed for the U.S., where the sexy, violent novel was a No. 1 best-seller. Will fans be as willing to squint at subtitles as they were to read a translated book?
Authors Debate The Merits Of Parenting Advice
Ada Calhoun, author of Instinctive Parenting, makes the case that children will turn out fine if parents simply trust their gut. But Po Bronson, co-author of NurtureShock, begs to differ — he says instincts may tell parents when something needs to be done, but not how to do it. He maintains experts are still relevant for that.
Elmore Leonard, At Home In Detroit
The crime writer has more than 40 books to his name and dozens of films made from that source material. Leonard gives NPR's Noah Adams a tour of his hometown, with stops at some of the places that taught the writer about the language of crime, and at his writing desk at home.
The 'Great American School System' Flunks Out
Diane Ravitch's Death and Life of the Great American School System is a scathing report card of U.S. education. The former assistant secretary of education hands down a withering critique of the nation's schooling efforts — from charter schools, to No Child Left Behind, to Teach for America.
A 'Justified' Outing For A Loose-Cannon Lawman
Starting tonight on the FX cable network, Deadwood star Timothy Olyphant is back playing another man with a badge — this time in Justified, a modern-day Western based on stories by Elmore Leonard. TV critic David Bianculli reviews the new series for Fresh Air.
How A Few Made Millions Betting Against The Market
Michael Lewis' new book The Big Short chronicles the 2008 financial collapse through the investors who realized what was happening to the U.S. economy while it was happening — and then made a fortune by betting against the markets.
What We're Reading, March 16 - 22
Linda Wertheimer hails a Dickensian novel of London in the boom days of 2007, before the banking bust. An encore by child detective Flavia de Luce (Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie) is both creepy and laugh-out-loud funny. And So Much for That finds the hilarity in a relentless tale of runaway health care costs.
Nigella's St. Patrick's Baking Tip: Just Add Guinness
There's so much more to St. Patrick's Day food than Irish soda bread and corned beef and cabbage. Celebrity chef Nigella Lawson shares some delectable recipes for a holiday feast you'll want to raise a glass to.
The Outsiders Who Foresaw The Subprime Crisis
Michael Lewis, who wrote the best-seller Liar's Poker, is back with a new book examining those who profited from shorting subprime mortgages. In The Big Short, Lewis profiles extreme characters — outsiders — who are the sane people in an insane world.
'Top Secret': The Power And Struggle Of The Press
The New York Theatre Workshop's production of Top Secret: The Battle for the Pentagon Papers examines the gray area between the rights of the press to publish and those of the government to protect its secrets.