May 12 Watch 4:59 Photographer Alec Soth looks for where Americans find community By PBS News Hour What does community look like in America today? Photographer Alec Soth spent two years crisscrossing the country, capturing images of Americans finding connection. Jeffrey Brown talks to the Minnesota photographer about his new book, titled “Songbook,” plus going back to… Continue watching
May 12 Vienna installs gay-themed crosswalk signals ahead of Eurovision song contest By Joshua Barajas In preparation for the Eurovision Song Contest, Vienna has outfitted its traffic lights throughout the city with figures of same-sex couples, replacing the single, gender-neutral figures typically seen at pedestrian crossings. Continue reading
May 11 Poet Wo Chan uses words to fight oppression By Corinne Segal “Poetry is this great tool of disruption for monolithic power,” says poet Wo Chan. “Language is what we see the world through [and] poetry gets right to the core of it.”… Continue reading
May 08 Watch 5:28 Novelist Paul Beatty pokes fun at how we talk about race in America By PBS News Hour Paul Beatty’s new book “The Sellout” offers a satirical skewering of racial politics in America. Jeffrey Brown speaks with the author about not being afraid to say taboo things and the ways the U.S. is still segregated. Continue watching
May 08 'Just me and Allah': Photographer seeks to capture diversity of Islam By Elisabeth Ponsot Photographer and editor Samra Habib's work is chronicled on the Tumblr, "Just me and Allah" and is being showcased at an exhibit this weekend at the Brooklyn Community Pride Center in New York City. Continue reading
May 08 Big Bird puppeteer tugs at heartstrings with poignant memories in Reddit AMA By Joshua Barajas Caroll Spinney, the puppeteer behind Big Bird and Oscar the Grouch on “Sesame Street,” did a Reddit AMA session Friday, where he fielded questions about his decades-long career with the PBS children’s television show. Continue reading
May 07 Watch 6:13 Destruction of Nepal's temples puts spiritual culture at risk By PBS News Hour Since a massive earthquake struck last month, Nepal has been overwhelmed by the unfolding humanitarian crisis, as well as a culture crisis. Home to a rich heritage of art and architecture, the mountainous, remote country has suffered significant damage to… Continue watching
May 05 Watch 6:42 After her husband's sudden death, Elizabeth Alexander writes their love story By PBS News Hour Continue watching
May 05 Child's toy or the voice of nightmares? Listen to the Edison talking doll By Joshua Barajas One of the earliest known milestones in recorded history was nestled into an 18-inch doll. Inventor Thomas Edison embedded small phonographs inside the metal torsos of thousands of dolls that “talked” or played fragments of nursery rhymes, including “Twinkle, Twinkle,… Continue reading