 | 2009 JULY
July 9, 2009
Conversation: Chimamanda Adichie, Author of 'The Thing Around Your Neck'
In her new short story collection, "The Thing Around Your Neck," Nigerian author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie moves back and forth between two continents the way she has in real life. Adichie depicts contemporary middle class Nigeria, as well as the lives of Nigerian women newly arrived in the United States.
 
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| July 8, 2009
Weekly Poem: 'Re: Happiness, in pursuit thereof'
C.D. Wright has published 13 collections of poetry and prose. "Re: Happiness, in pursuit thereof" is taken from her most recent book, "Rising, Falling, Hovering" (Copper Canyon, 2008), which in June won Canada's Griffin Poetry Prize, bestowed by the Griffin Trust for Excellence in Poetry.
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| July 7, 2009
Fans Bid Final Farewell to 'King of Pop'
Michael Jackson fans around the world paid a final tribute to the "King of Pop" on Tuesday, as the fallen singer was laid to rest following a star-studded memorial service. Jeffrey Kaye reports from Los Angeles.
 
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| July 7, 2009
Jackson Fans Around the World Say Farewell
Eyes around the world are focusing on a sports arena in Los Angeles, as hundreds of thousands of fans congregate for the final salute to the man known as the "King of Pop." Up to one billion people are expected to tune in Tuesday for the televised remembrance spectacle for Michael Jackson.
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| July 6, 2009
McNamara's Life Marked by Complex Vietnam Legacy
Robert McNamara, one of the primary architects of the Vietnam War, died Monday at age 93. Jim Lehrer talks to Deborah Shapely, the author of a McNamara biography, and Errol Morris, the documentarian who made "Fog of War" about the former defense chief's legacy.
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| July 6, 2009
Conversation: Stuart Eizenstat, U.S. Delegate, Holocaust Era Assets Conference
Delegates from 50 countries just gathered in Prague to discuss the status of property looted by the Nazis during World War II, including hundreds of thousands of art works.
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| July 3, 2009
Around the Nation, Friday Roundup
Here are some of this week's arts and culture headlines from public broadcasters around the nation.
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| July 2, 2009
The 1-Dress Sustainability Solution
How will the future of fashion -- one predicated on continual consumption -- survive in a world of limited resources? Can fashion -- the cultural apex of illimitable desire -- ever be sustainable? Sheena Matheiken is attempting to answer those questions -- one outfit at a time.
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| July 1, 2009
Oscar-winning Actor Karl Malden Dies at 97
Actor Karl Malden, who won a best supporting actor Oscar for his role as Mitch in the 1951 film "A Streetcar Named Desire," died Wednesday at age 97.
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| July 1, 2009
Kernis Takes On Ibn Gabirol in 'Meditations'
What do you get when you pair an 11th century Spanish poet with a modern American composer? Last week, the audience at the Seattle Symphony found out at the world premiere of Aaron Jay Kernis' "Symphony of Meditations," based on the poems of Solomon Ibn Gabirol.
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| JUNE
June 30, 2009
Conversation: Werner Herzog
In the early 1980s in the Peruvian jungle, Werner Herzog was making a film about an opera fanatic who would do anything to bring music to his remote city: Fitzcarraldo and his small crew face deadly river rapids, indigenous tribes with spears and the impossible task of hauling a steamship over a mountain.
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| June 29, 2009
Weekly Poem: 'Myth'
Natasha Trethewey won the Pulitzer Prize for poetry in 2007 for her book, "Native Guard," written about her mother and black Civil War soldiers on the Mississippi coast.
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| June 26, 2009
Jackson's Musical Legacy Rings Clear Amid Troubled Life Story
The unexpected death of pop music icon Michael Jackson touched off a worldwide wave of mourning and celebrations of his life Friday. Jeffrey Brown talks to a music writer and a disc jockey about the musical legacy Jackson leaves behind.
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| June 26, 2009
In Death, as in Life, Jackson Owns Spotlight
Fans across the globe mourned the death of pop icon Michael Jackson, who died at the age of 50 Thursday following an apparent heart attack. Jeffrey Brown reports on the worldwide response to the passing of the King of Pop.
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| June 26, 2009
Michael Joseph Jackson, 1958-2009
It took the King of Pop's death to bring him back into the mainstream. Less than a day after his death at the age of 50, there are countless things being said about Jackson, praising his musical talent and also reflecting on his legal troubles and on his bizarre life.
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| June 26, 2009
Conversation: Quincy Jones, Michael Jackson
Quincy Jones, who was Michael Jackson's longtime friend and record producer, joined me by phone Friday afternoon to talk about Jackson's life and legacy.
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| June 26, 2009
Remembering Michael Jackson, the King of Pop
Pop music icon Michael Jackson was pronounced dead Thursday, leaving behind an artistic legacy that began as a child in the Jackson Five and ended on the cusp of a 50-concert comeback effort.
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| June 25, 2009
Michael Jackson, King of Pop, Dies at Age 50
Pop star Michael Jackson died Thursday evening after arriving at a Los Angeles hospital in a deep coma. Jim Lehrer talks to USA Today music critic Steve Jones about the singer's career.
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| June 25, 2009
Michael Jackson, King of Pop, Dies at 50
Pop star Michael Jackson died Thursday afternoon of an apparent cardiac arrest, the Los Angeles Times reported. He was 50. Jackson was rushed to the UCLA Medical Center by the paramedics after they found him at his home not breathing and tried to administer CPR.
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| June 24, 2009
National Symphony Orchestra Tours China
China is home to stars like the pianist Lang Lang, it has vast numbers of music students, it's the world's largest exporter of musical instruments, and it's building new venues to hear music all the time. It's also become a magnet for prominent western orchestras, and Washington's National Symphony Orchestra just made the trip.
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| June 24, 2009
Kodak Retires Iconic Kodachrome Film
Eastman Kodak Co. announced this week that it was retiring its iconic Kodachrome film because of declining demand. Introduced in 1935, Kodachrome became the world's first commercially successful color film.
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| June 23, 2009
Tonight Show's Ed McMahon Dies at Age 86
Ed McMahon, television's most famous late-night sidekick, died Tuesday in Los Angeles, surrounded by his wife Pam and others. The cause has not been released, though a friend reported he had been suffering from bone cancer, as well as other illnesses, for the last few years. He was 86.
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| June 22, 2009
For Washington Writers, a Creative Calling
In the backroom of a popular restaurant in Washington, D.C., a group of teenagers are getting ready to take the stage for their first public appearance as published writers. The room is abuzz -- families congregate, babies laugh, each teenager enclosed in his or her own entourage, glancing nervously at the empty stage.
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| June 22, 2009
Weekly Poem: 'Graffiti'
Javairia Henry recently graduated from Cardozo High School in Washington, D.C. Her poem, "Graffiti," is taken from 'The Way We See It: Complete Coverage of the Nation's Capital From the Inside Out,' presented by the Capitol Letters Writing Center.
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| June 19, 2009
Forum: Submit Questions for Werner Herzog
Next week, filmmaker Werner Herzog will be speaking with Jeffrey Brown for Art Beat about "Conquest of the Useless." If you have any questions you'd like us to ask him, please send them to artbeat@newshour.org before Wednesday.
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| June 19, 2009
Conversation: Filmmaker Albert Maysles
Albert Maysles has spent much of his life behind a camera catching intimate glimpses of the lives of others. A pioneer in the American "direct cinema" movement, he helped create and define documentary style as the genre exploded in the 1960s and '70s through to today.
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| June 18, 2009
Guggenheim Celebrates 50th With a Look Back
This summer, the Guggenheim Museum in New York is going back to its roots. To celebrate the 50th anniversary of the opening of its landmark building on Fifth Avenue, designed by Frank Lloyd Wright,, the museum is displaying a selection of works from its inaugural exhibition in 1959.
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| June 18, 2009
'The Sweeney Decade' at the Guggenheim Museum
Tracey Bashkoff, Associate Curator for Collections and Exhibitions at the Guggenheim, discusses "The Sweeney Decade," an exhibition celebrating the 50th anniversary of the museum.
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| June 17, 2009
SILVERDOCS Festival Opens With a Slam
Called the "premier showcase for documentary films" by the Hollywood Reporter, the American Film Institute's SILVERDOCS festival brings a full slate of documentary films and the International Documentary Conference to Silver Spring, Md., for the seventh year.
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| June 17, 2009
Jazzy Start for the White House Music Series
The East Room of the White House sounded more like a high school music room Monday when more than 140 student musicians attended the first installment of a new educational music series. It drew kids from around the country for workshops and master classes.
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| June 16, 2009
Artomatic: For the People, By the People
It's easy to walk into any of the myriad free art museums here in Washington and find days' worth of great stuff to see. But what about the possibility of you getting your artwork up in one of those museums? Fat chance!
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| June 15, 2009
Congo's Civil War is Rich Seam for Pulitzer Prize-Winning Playwright
Playwright Lynn Nottage talks to Jeffrey Brown about her Pulitzer Prize-winning drama, "Ruined," set during Congo's civil war.
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| June 15, 2009
Extended Interview: Lynn Nottage
It's set in a small bar in the Congo, but Lynn Nottage's recent Pulitzer Prize-winning play, 'Ruined,' tells an epic story about the ravages of war, especially its impact on women. An extended interview with Nottage and a scene from her play, "Ruined," are below.
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| June 15, 2009
Weekly Poem: From 'Fundamentals of Esperanto'
"Fundamentals of Esperanto" is from "Facts for Visitors" by Srikanth Reddy, an assistant professor of English at the University of Chicago. "Fundamentals of Esperanto" is also included in the Poetry Foundation's Chicago Poetry Tour.
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| June 12, 2009
Conversation: Historian Simon Schama
Historian Simon Schama is well-known for his books and television documentaries on art and a wide range of other subjects. A native of England, he's lived and taught in the United States for several decades. And it is this country that is the subject of his new book. It's called "The American Future: A History."
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| June 11, 2009
Architect Renzo Piano on the Modern Wing of the Art Institute of Chicago
Architect Renzo Piano speaks with Jeffrey Brown about his work building the new modern wing to the Art Institute of Chicago.
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| June 11, 2009
Extended Interviews: Art Institute of Chicago
Three extended interviews with architect Renzo Piano, Chicago Art Institute director James Cuno and Chicago Tribune architecture critic Blair Kamin.
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| June 10, 2009
Slide Show: Scenes from the Venice Biennale
Held every two years, the Venice Biennale is the oldest and one of the largest contemporary art exhibitions in the world. This year's biennial, "Making Worlds," is the 53rd exhibition.
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| June 10, 2009
Scenes From the Venice Biennale
Held every two years, the Venice Biennale is the oldest and one of the largest contemporary art exhibitions in the world. This year's biennial, "Making Worlds," is the 53rd exhibition.
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| June 9, 2009
In Science and Jazz, Father and Son Find Common Bonds
A rare disciplinary cross-pollination performance piece, "Genes and Jazz" is a concert that pairs a Nobel laureate's considerable medical expertise with his son's original jazz pieces.
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| June 8, 2009
Weekly Poem: 'Luminous Great Mass'
"Luminous Great Mass" is from Peter O'Leary's collection, "Watchfulness" (Spuyten Duyvil, 2001). The poems is also included in the Poetry Foundation's Chicago Poetry Tour, a multimedia tour of poetry written in and about Chicago.
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| June 8, 2009
Conversation: Terry Teachout Recaps the Tony Awards
It was a big night for "Billy Elliot" as the theater world celebrated Broadway at the Tony Awards. In a first, the three teenage boys who rotate in the role of Billy Elliot shared the Tony for best performance by a leading actor in a musical. In all, the play took home 10 honors, including best musical.
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| June 5, 2009
Friday on the NewsHour: Tony-Award Winning Signature Theatre Has Rich Past
Profile of the Signature Theatre.
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| June 5, 2009
Tony-Award Winning Va. Theater Sprouted From Garage
Arlington, Va.'s Signature Theater won a 2009 Tony Award as one of the nation's best regional theaters. Jeffrey Brown explores the theater's history and humble beginnings.
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| June 5, 2009
Conversation: Michael John LaChiusa
Michael John LaChiusa is one of today's leading musical theater composers whose shows have appeared on and off Broadway. His musical, "Giant," based on the 1952 Edna Ferber novel, made its world premiere at the Signature Theater, the Tony Award-winning theater profiled by Jeffrey Brown on Friday's NewsHour.
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| June 5, 2009
Around the Nation, Friday Round-up
Here are some of this week's arts and culture headlines from public broadcasters around the nation.
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| June 5, 2009
How Publishers Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the E-Book
To "e-read," or not to e-read? That was the question on the minds of publishers, authors and librarians gathered in New York City last weekend for the industry's massive annual trade show, BookExpo America.
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| June 4, 2009
Poetry of Rumi Spans Across Centuries, Cultures
Afghan-born 13th century Sufi mystic poet Jalaluddin Rumi is the national poet of Afghanistan, as well as a much-loved poet in America. Jeffrey Brown reports on what's behind the popularity of Rumi's poems.
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| June 4, 2009
Conversation: Alligator Records' Bruce Iglauer Reflects on Legacy of Koko Taylor
In 1975, Koko Taylor signed with on with Chicago-based Alligator Records. She went on to record numerous albums with the label, including her final recording, "Old School," from 2007. Alligator founder Bruce Iglauer, Taylor's longtime producer and friend was among the family and friends by her side Wednesday.
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| June 4, 2009
Koko Taylor, 'Queen of the Blues', Dies at 80
Koko Taylor, the soulful blues songstress, died Wednesday in Chicago at the age of 80, due to complications from a stomach surgery. Her zeal for recording and performing, often with more than 100 performances a year, earned Taylor many accolades.
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