PBS News Hour - Art Beat - Photojournalists reflect on capturing 2025’s most impactful images

We are taking our annual look back at some of the year's biggest images. We hear from four photojournalists who documented life on the frontlines in Ukraine, major changes in immigration enforcement in the U.S., the historic election of a new pope and more. It's part of our arts and culture series, CANVAS. PBS News is supported by - https://www.pbs.org/newshour/about/funders. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy

PBS News Hour - Art Beat - Chloe Flower fuses classical and contemporary music in a style coined ‘popsical’

American pianist and composer Chloe Flower is on a mission to get young people into classical music. She's doing it by collaborating with rap, house and pop stars, and creating her own genre of music, a style she's coined "Popsical." Independent Television News correspondent Amelia Jenne reports. PBS News is supported by - https://www.pbs.org/newshour/about/funders. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy

NPR's Book of the Day - In ‘A Guardian and a Thief,’ a mother’s love for her family threatens her own morals

As 2025 comes to a close, we're revisiting interviews with this year's nominees and winners of some of the biggest prizes in literature. Megha Majumdar’s novel A Guardian and a Thief, a finalist for the 2025 National Book Award, takes place in a near-future Kolkata struck by climate change. There, one family’s possibility of escape is put in jeopardy when their passports are stolen. In this conversation with Here & Now, Majumdar tells Jane Clayson that hope isn’t always noble in situations of crisis.


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NPR's Book of the Day - A new novel from Karen Russell is a sprawling story set during the Dust Bowl

As 2025 comes to a close, we're revisiting interviews with this year's nominees and winners of some of the biggest prizes in literature. Karen Russell’s novel The Antidote is set during the Dust Bowl – a period when poor farming practices and drought led to a wave of severe and damaging dust storms. In this bleak setting, we’re introduced to a cast of characters, including a woman who stores other people’s memories and a photographer tasked with documenting the crisis. In today’s episode, Russell speaks with NPR’s Scott Simon about the inspiration behind The Antitode’s core characters, including the work of photographer Gordon Parks and an image that came to Russell as she finished her first novel.


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NPR's Book of the Day - In Rabih Alameddine’s new novel, a mother and son share a tiny Beirut apartment

As 2025 comes to a close, we're revisiting interviews with this year's nominees and winners of some of the biggest prizes in literature. First up: Raja teaches philosophy to high schoolers and shares an apartment with his 82-year-old mother, Zalfa. Rabih Alameddine explores their relationship – and other forms of intimacy – in his new novel The True True Story of Raja the Gullible (and His Mother). In today’s episode, the author joins NPR’s Scott Simon for a conversation about Raja’s self-deprecation, Zalfa’s relationship with another older woman, and Alameddine’s mother’s memory loss.

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PBS News Hour - Art Beat - A look back at 2025’s chart-toppers, best songs and standout artists

Music in 2025 has had it all, from breakout new artists and big stars continuing to top the charts, to AI-generated artists igniting fierce debate online. To help us sift through the year in music, Stephanie Sy speaks with freelance music writer and critic Maura Johnston and freelance music journalist Candace McDuffie. PBS News is supported by - https://www.pbs.org/newshour/about/funders. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy

PBS News Hour - Art Beat - Film critics look back at 2025 and name their picks for the year’s best

The holidays are a great time to catch up on the year's best films, whether streaming at home or heading to the theater. Jeffrey Brown sat down with two film critics who shared their top picks. It's part of our arts and culture series, CANVAS. PBS News is supported by - https://www.pbs.org/newshour/about/funders. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy

PBS News Hour - Art Beat - British panto production blends holiday tradition with Muslim culture and humor

Pantomime, or panto, is a family comedy filled with fairy tales, music, slapstick and audience participation and is a holiday season staple across the UK. This year, one production is selling out a retelling of "Snow White" that blends classic panto with Muslim culture and humor, and even teases its online trolls. Independent Television News correspondent Minnie Stephenson reports. PBS News is supported by - https://www.pbs.org/newshour/about/funders. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy

NPR's Book of the Day - Dorie Greenspan and Paul Hollywood discuss their new and nourishing cake cookbooks

If you’re feeling burnt out from your annual holiday cookie-baking marathon, don’t fear. There’s hope on the other side… in the form of cake. In today’s episode, Here and Now's Robin Young speaks with two authors and bakers about their newest cookbooks focused on cake. First, she joins Dorie Greenspan to discuss Dorie’s Anytime Cakes, a beginner-friendly collection of comforting cake recipes. Then, Young talks with The Great British Baking Show’s Paul Hollywood about Celebrate, his volume of cakes meant to inspire joyful, low-stakes baking with the whole family.

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