MEMETERIA by Thomas May

Arts & Culture Stories from NPR

• 'The New Me' Is Meh About Ambition And Adulthood
  Halle Butler's new novel explores what it's like to work in a dead-end office job. Her satirical story focuses on a 30-year-old woman named Millie who wanders from temp job to temp job.
• Road Trip With 'Zora And Langston' In This Real-Life Literary Adventure
  Squeeze into the rumble seat — Yuval Taylor brings readers along on a 1927 summer road trip taken by Zora Neale Hurston and Langston Hughes. Their friendship turned out to be a very bumpy ride.
• Sex, Empathy, Jealousy: How Emotions And Behavior Of Other Primates Mirror Our Own
  Primatologist Frans de Waal believes that the way humans experience emotion is not unique: "That's a spectrum of behavior that we have, and the same thing is true for many other species."
• For March, 3 Romances That Fight For Love
  True love finds a way amid food trucks, ice skates and ... knife throwing? In other words, March is just another month in Romancelandia, and we've got three stories of people fighting hard for love.
• 'Kushner, Inc.' Adds Little To The Canon On Jared And Ivanka
  Other journalists have previously reported many of the serious claims presented in Vicky Ward's book; her own yields generally feel meager, wrapping even the smallest scoops in a fog of insinuation.
• 'Lot' Paints An Unforgettable Portrait Of Houston And Its People
  Bryan Washington's debut story collection brings the Texas city to life in all its struggle and imperfect glory.
• Marcelo Gleiser Wins Templeton Prize For Quest To Confront 'Mystery Of Who We Are'
  The prestigious award comes with nearly $1.5 million in winnings. The physicist, who teaches at Dartmouth and has written for NPR, says he's driven by the "many questions we still have no clue about."
• Former Physician At Rikers Island Exposes Health Risks Of Incarceration
  Dr. Homer Venters describes a number of traumatic outcomes related to subpar medical care inside the New York City jail complex, including the death of a man who was denied insulin during intake.
• A Parable Of International Development From Dave Eggers
  In a slim novel called The Parade, two mismatched men are sent to a war-torn country to pave a highway in 12 days. "But ultimately," the author says, "it's not really about either one of these guys."
• Aidy Bryant Is Brilliant In The Funny, Smart And Thoughtful 'Shrill'
  Shrill, starring Aidy Bryant as a character inspired by Lindy West's book of the same name, is funny and smart, empathetic and biting, and a great example of mixing comedy with emotion.