MEMETERIA by Thomas May

Arts & Culture Stories from NPR

• ABBA Silver: 'Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again'
  Return with us now to the enchanted isle of Kalokairi, where the sun shines, the water gleams and the populace is unnervingly obsessed with '70s Swedish power-pop — albeit the B-sides, this time out.
• On The Seventh Day, They Played Soccer
  Jim McKay makes movies about New Yorkers who don't often make it to the big screen. His newest, En el Séptimo Día, is about Mexican undocumented workers who gather on the pitch on their only day off.
• Director Bo Burnham On Growing Up With Anxiety — And An Audience
  The former YouTube star explores adolescence in the age of social media in his film Eighth Grade. "This awful D-list celebrity pressure I had experienced onstage has now been democratized," he says.
• In 'Crux,' A Journalist Investigates The Troubled Life Of Her Own Father
  At age 11, Jean Guerrero's mother told her that her dad had schizophrenia. Years later, the author is unable to verify the diagnosis — and refuses to accept it.
• Put Your Face In It: How Gaming Helped Me Understand My Dog
  If you want to know how a dog sees the world, ask yourself how you explore virtual spaces with your controller. No, really!
• Nelson Mandela's Prison Letters: 'One Day I Will Be Back At Home'
  The late South African leader would have turned 100 on Wednesday. As part of the commemorations, a new book brings together many of the deeply personal letters he wrote during his 27 years in prison.
• How Dark Money, Gerrymandering And Democratic Complacency Altered Wisconsin Politics
  Dan Kaufman, author of The Fall of Wisconsin, says the state's experienced a conservative transformation in recent years — despite a tradition of progressive politics dating back to the 19th century.
• The Science Of Female Anger And Ambition, In 'Give Me Your Hand'
  Megan Abbott's new novel follows two women with a troubled past who meet again, working in the lab of a powerful scientist. It's a slow-burning story whose final explosion is a true surprise.
• Thoughtful Documentary Brings Viewers 'Inside' The Mind Of Robin Williams
  A new HBO documentary explores great work — and complicated private life — of the late actor and comedian. Critic David Bianculli says Robin Williams: Come Inside My Mind is best when it gets serious.
• Punk Legend And Memoirist Viv Albertine On A Lifetime Of Fighting The Patriarchy
  "What we conjured up ... was that we weren't going to try and be this constructed ideal of femininity," Albertine says of her band's approach. She recently released a memoir, To Throw Away Unopened.