MEMETERIA by Thomas May

Arts & Culture Stories from NPR

• Baz Luhrmann's gaudy 'Elvis' is a shapeless blur of a musical biopic
  Elvis' longtime manager Col. Parker plays an oversized role, but that's not this film's only problem. There may be a great movie hiding in Elvis, but it's buried under an awful lot of visual clutter.
• Fasten your seat belts, flight attendant-turned-novelist shares stories from the sky
  T.J. Newman began writing the hijack thriller Falling while she was a flight attendant. She'd jot down ideas on paper napkins in the quiet moments on red-eye flights. Originally broadcast July 2021.
• 'Learning To Talk' focuses on growing up in mid-20th-century England
  It's a testament to Hilary Mantel's brilliance as an author that even though the moments in these stories are subtle, the book somehow feels epic in its own way.
• MUNA's new album features growth and an 'astral projection anthem'
  NPR's Leila Fadel talks to Naomi McPherson, Katie Gavin and Josette Maskin of the band MUNA about their third album: MUNA.
• Frustrated by society's erasure, the Lesbian Avengers fought back
  They were secretaries, cab drivers, teachers and artists — brought together on a mission for lesbian visibility and political change.
• Gabby Giffords documentary comes as gun debates stay on center stage
  The film on the former Arizona congresswoman and her recovery from the 2011 shooting explains how she navigated gun control campaigns and later a Senate campaign.
• An Aquinnah Wampanoag elder is restoring some land to what it was before colonists
  On the island of Martha's Vineyard in Massachusetts, members of the Aquinnah Wampanoag tribe are trying to restore land to the way it looked, smelled and sounded pre-colonialism.
• Why overturning Roe isn't the final goal of the anti-abortion movement
  Law professor Mary Ziegler explains how the anti-abortion movement upended the GOP establishment and helped push the courts to the right. Her new book is Dollars for Life.
• In 'Elvis,' an icon remains an icon, and little else
  Baz Luhrmann's latest spectacle tackles the life of Elvis Presley, as filtered through his shady longtime manager.
• Encore: Exhibit takes visitors closer to the National Museum of the American Latino
  The National Museum of the American Latino in Washington won't be finished for a decade. For now, a pop-up exhibit at the National Mall highlights Latino history. (Story aired on WeSAT on 6/18/22.)