Sacha Baron Cohen plays Admiral General Aladeen, the authoritarian, anti-Semitic and unexpectedly sympathetic protagonist of The Dictator.
'The Dictator' Rules With A Satirist's Fist
()There was Ali G, Borat and Bruno — and now, in The Dictator, Sacha Baron Cohen has a new character to add to his repertoire: the capricious ruler of an oil-rich country who travels to the U.N. to assert his right to have nuclear warheads.
Remembrances
A Fleeting Memory Of Carlos Fuentes()
The Mexican literary legend's passing this week spurred a particular recollection from NPR's Linton Weeks, who spent time with him in 1995.
Book Reviews
'The Chemistry Of Tears' And The Art Of Healing()
After a museum conservator's lover dies, she becomes consumed with reanimating a 19th-century silver swan automaton. Critic Heller McAlpin says that Peter Carey's new novel is part historical, part fanciful and completely wonderful.
Remembrances
In Writing, Fuentes Shed Light On Poverty, Inequality ()
Carlos Fuentes, one of the most influential Latin American writers, died Tuesday at a hospital in Mexico City at the age of 83. He was instrumental in bringing Latin American literature to an international audience, and he used his fiction to address what he saw as real-world injustices.
Monkey See
Fox Rolls Out Its New Fall Shows, Including One From Mindy Kaling()
May 15, 2012 Fox doesn't have as many holes to fill as the other networks, but they've still got a handful of new fall shows.
Theater
Audra McDonald: Shaping 'Bess' On Broadway()
May 15, 2012 The actress is nominated for her fifth Tony Award for the Broadway musical Porgy and Bess. "There's very few quiet moments for Bess," she says. "They're all very big, very emotional. ... And to commit to that night after night after night is very difficult."
The Salt
Vermont Beer Makers Bring Back Old-Time Maple Sap Brews()
May 15, 2012 VPRBoiling down the last of the season maple sap and brewing a strong dark beer to share in the summer was a common tradition on Vermont farms a couple of generations ago. The practice had all but died out but is being revived now, thanks to a handful of local brewers.
Monkey See
Home Video Picks: 'Being John Malkovich'()
May 15, 2012 Bob Mondello recommends the Criterion Collection's Blu-ray release of Being John Malkovich, directed by Spike Jonze and starring Malkovich, John Cusack, Cameron Diaz, and Catherine Keener.
Book Reviews
'Home': Toni Morrison's Taut, Triumphant New Novel()
May 15, 2012 Toni Morrison's latest novel revisits the story of the prodigal son, as a Korean War veteran returns to his hometown in the pre-civil rights era South. Critic Heller McAlpin says Home is as accessible and visceral as anything Morrison has written.
Monkey See
Long-Term Investments On Shaky Stocks: 'New Girl' And 'Smash' End Their Seasons()
May 14, 2012 Commentator Marc Hirsh considers the viewer investment required to let an uneven pilot develop as a series, and how that process went very differently for two of this season's most hyped shows.
Your Health
Pounding Away At America's Obesity Epidemic()
May 14, 2012 One-third of Americans today are obese, and another third are overweight. A new HBO documentary series, The Weight of the Nation, explores how our country got this way and what can be done to tackle the growing national health crisis.
Television
Johnny Carson Gets The 'Masters' Treatment()
May 14, 2012 Monday night on PBS, American Masters presents a two-hour biography of Johnny Carson. Carson retired 20 years ago this month, and vacated a throne that TV critic David Bianculli says no one has managed to claim since.
Fine Art
Even Under Threat, Syrian Artists Paint In Protest()
May 14, 2012 In Syria, anyone who speaks out against the regime of President Bashar Assad risks harassment, detention or worse. A gallery in Beirut recently featured artwork smuggled out of the country — much of it inspired by the Arab uprisings.
Monkey See
NBC Upfronts: Six New Shows, And 'Community' On Fridays()
May 14, 2012 We look at what's ahead on NBC this fall, including another attempt to reboot Matthew Perry and a show taking the position that men raising kids is inherently hilarious.
Books
Exclusive First Read: 'Gone Girl' By Gillian Flynn()
May 14, 2012 Darkly funny, suspenseful and cunningly plotted, Gillian Flynn's Gone Girl will be published June 5. In this exclusive selection from the book's opening, we meet Nick and Amy, the seemingly perfect couple whose alternating chapters soon reveal them to be unreliable narrators — and spouses.
Television
Johnny Carson: 'King Of Late Night,' A Man Unknown()
May 13, 2012 This year marks the 50th anniversary of when Johnny Carson took over The Tonight Show. For 30 years, Carson reached a nightly audience 15 million people, but he was also intensely private. Guy Raz talks with Peter Jones, director of a documentary looking at the Carson's public and personal lives.
You Must Read This
Mamma Mia! A Mother Tougher Than The Godfather()
May 14, 2012 Mario Puzo isn't known for his strong female characters — but if you've read his pre-Godfather work, The Fortunate Pilgrim, you might think otherwise. Author Zoe Ferraris recommends this book, which is based on Puzo's own mother. Do you have a favorite literary matriarch? Tell us in the comments.
