Arts & Culture Stories from NPR

• Futuristic Dreams Turn To Nightmare In 'Electric State'
  In his latest book, Swedish artist Simon Stålenhag uses his ghostly photorealism to create an alternate America overcome by an addiction to technology, by drought, by war and loss and loneliness.
• In 'She Wants It,' Jill Soloway Gets Transparent About Their Life And Work
  The creator of the hit show about a trans woman and her family says patriarchy and white supremacy have a hold on storytelling in Hollywood — and other people want a chance to speak.
• Barbara Kingsolver Captures The Feeling Of Being 'Unsheltered'
  Kingsolver's new novel opens with a family suffering a slew of disappointments — job losses, aging parents and kids returning home — then jumps back in time to draw subtle parallels with the past.
• 'The Hate U Give' Star Says The Novel Was Like 'Reading My Own Diary'
  Like protagonist Starr Carter, Amandla Stenberg grew up in a black neighborhood, but attended an overwhelmingly white school. She stars in the adaptation of the novel about a fatal police shooting.
• Prejudice Complicates The Course Of Love In 'A Very Large Expanse Of Sea'
  Tahereh Mafi's new novel follows a young Muslim teenager in the years just after 9/11, and what happens when a popular boy in her class falls for her — will she choose love, or self-preservation?
• She's Mom To A Headstrong Teen — Who Happens To Be Joan Of Arc
  In Mother of the Maid, Glenn Close returns to the New York stage to portray a 15th-century peasant woman with a remarkable adolescent daughter she loves — and can't protect.
• A Great African Kingdom Tells Its History In Fabulous Royal Clothes
  An exhibition at the Baltimore Museum of Art finds political power in dizzying patterns from the Kuba Kingdom — located in what is now the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
• You Can 'Destroy All Monsters,' But You Can't Kill Rock And Roll
  Author and musician Jeff Jackson's new novel paints a nightmarish world where the debate over authenticity and selling out has lead to an epidemic of musicians being killed on stage, mid-performance.
• An Urban Ink Forager Explains How To Paint With All The Colors Of The Alley
  Concerned about keeping toxic art supplies around his kids, Jason Logan began making his own all-natural inks. He shares his process in a new book — and on a gathering expedition in Washington, D.C.
• This 'Halloween,' Jamie Lee Curtis Reckons With 40 Years Of Trauma
  Michael Myers is back and, so is Laurie Strode. Jamie Lee Curtis was 19 when she starred in the original Halloween. This sequel ignores the others to focus on what has happened to Laurie since 1978.