MEMETERIA by Thomas May

Arts & Culture Stories from NPR

• An Ancient Curse Awakens In 'The Suffering Tree'
  A family curse, a resurrection and a vengeful witch are at the center of Elle Cosimano's Southern Gothic chiller The Suffering Tree. But the book elides its setting's history of racial violence.
• 'But Seriously,' Tennis Great John McEnroe Says He's Seeking 'Inner Peace'
  Known for his on-court outbursts, McEnroe famously yelled, "You cannot be serious!" at one official. Now, decades later, he says it's a "miracle" if he goes a full day without hearing that line.
• 'Interlaced Fingers' Traces Roots Of Racial Disparity In Kidney Transplants
  When Dr. Vanessa Grubbs fell in love with a man whose kidneys were failing, he'd been waiting for a transplant for years. Her book explores the ways racial inequity is embedded in the system.
• Not My Job: Eddie Izzard Gets Quizzed On King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard
  We'll ask the comedian three questions about the Australian psychedelic rock band. Izzard has a new book called Believe Me: A Memoir of Love, Death and Jazz Chickens.
• 'Too Fat, Too Slutty' Challenges Cultural Expectations Of Women
  Anne Helen Petersen's new book is a thoughtful consideration of several public women — from Nicki Minaj to Hillary Clinton — who've run up against the invisible expectations our culture has of them.
• Unconscious Prejudice Meets Real-World Horror In 'The Exception'
  David Leveaux's new film follows exiled German emperor Kaiser Wilhelm II as he realizes that the new Germany of National Socialism has nothing at all in common with the Germany of his memories.
• 'The Force' Is Basically 'Game Of Thrones' With Cops — And That's Pretty Great
  Don Winslow's new novel is packed with crooked cops and crookeder crooks, all defending their territories and trying to maintain a status quo where everyone earns, everyone eats and no wars break out.
• Imagining Daniel Day-Lewis In A Life Without Acting
  Daniel Day-Lewis says he is no longer going to act. Weekend Edition guest host Melissa Block remembers an interview she had with him that might shed some light on what he'll do next.
• Shakespeare Companies Suffer Backlash After 'Julius Caesar' Controversy
  The uproar over the New York Shakespeare in the Park production of Julius Caesar has spread to other cities. And it appears to be only because they are companies with the word "Shakespeare" in their name. Staff at Shakespeare Dallas have received death threats, even though the company isn't performing Shakespeare at the moment.
• Garish Melodrama Becomes Universal Tragedy 'The Beguiled'
  Sofia Coppola has taken a 1971 Southern Gothic psychodrama directed by a man and remade it from a female perspective — and the result is powerful.