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Africa
4:53 am
Sat August 4, 2012

Mali's Cultural Heritage, Old And New, Faces Threats

Originally published on Sun August 5, 2012 10:43 am

Mali is a country rich in culture, both old and new.

The banging of hammers on silver echos through the main crafts market in Bamako, Mali's capital. It's usually teeming in a place where you can buy anything, from silver earrings to batik fabric, all of it handmade.

And despite its remote location, Mali has enhanced its cultural reputation in recent years with an annual international music and arts festival in the Sahara Desert near Timbuktu, drawing both African and Western artists.

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Americandy: Sweet Land Of Liberty
4:53 am
Sat August 4, 2012

Grand Ole Goo Goo Sweetens Fans Old And New

Originally published on Sun August 5, 2012 10:43 am

No one's entirely sure where the Southern treat called the Goo Goo Cluster got its name.

The iconic candy from Nashville, Tenn., celebrates its 100th birthday this year. The confection of marshmallow, peanuts and caramel wrapped in milk chocolate may owe its longevity in part to another Nashville icon: the Grand Ole Opry.

Goo Goo Cluster sponsored the venue's radio broadcasts from 1966 until 2006. In one popular advertisement, stage performers crooned, "Go get a Goo Goo ... it's gooooooood!"

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Wait Wait...Don't Tell Me!
10:23 pm
Fri August 3, 2012

Dax Shepard And Kristen Bell Play Not My Job

Credit Chris Pizzello / AP

Originally published on Sat August 4, 2012 11:36 am

Real-life Hollywood couple Kristen Bell and Dax Shepard are a.) famous b.) adorable c.) funny d.) the stars of Hit and Run, a new movie they made together, and e.) amazingly, all of the above.

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Movie Interviews
4:05 pm
Fri August 3, 2012

Friends With Your Ex? Rashida Jones Understands

Originally published on Fri August 3, 2012 5:06 pm

Don't be fooled by the title of Rashida Jones' new movie: It's called Celeste and Jesse Forever, but Celeste and Jesse, played by Jones and Andy Samberg, are not forever — in fact, they're getting divorced. And they have a weird way of dealing with it: They keep spending time together as if they were best friends.

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Movies
3:54 pm
Fri August 3, 2012

Franchises Age, But Their Stars Stay Forever Young

Originally published on Fri August 3, 2012 5:06 pm

The Bourne Legacy, which opens in theaters this week, is the fourth thriller in the series, and the first without either Jason Bourne or the star playing him, Matt Damon. They're suddenly not necessary, even though the series is named for Bourne? Why am I not surprised?

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Arts & Life
3:44 pm
Fri August 3, 2012

Monroe's Legacy Is Making Fortune, But For Whom?

Originally published on Fri August 3, 2012 5:06 pm

Marilyn Monroe, a global symbol of beauty, glamour and sex, died on Aug. 5, 1962. Fifty years later, she's still in style — and making more money than ever. Monroe's come-hither expression is emblazoned on posters, T-shirts and refrigerator magnets. She's become a multimillion-dollar brand, but that may never have happened if not for the will she left behind, a document that reveals a much quieter — and more complicated — side to her legacy.

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Monkey See
12:30 pm
Fri August 3, 2012

The Responsibilities Of Being The Greatest Film Of All Time

Credit Creative Commons
Alfred Hitchcock's 1958 film Vertigo topped this decade's Sight & Sound poll as the best movie of all time. Citizen Kane, the top film for the past 50 years, dropped to the number two spot.

The internet age has only confirmed humanity's love affair with lists, not to mention multiplied how many we write. Lists simplify, they spark arguments and they establish canons. They're the least subtle form of criticism but nevertheless an important part of it. No more buts, maybes or howevers: With lists, critics have to make choices.

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Remembrances
12:09 pm
Fri August 3, 2012

Fresh Air Remembers Writer And Critic Gore Vidal

Credit AP
Gore Vidal authored the historical novels Burr and Lincoln, wrote plays and provocative essays, ran for office twice — and lost — and frequently appeared on TV talk shows. His play The Best Man currently has a revival on Broadway.

Originally published on Fri August 3, 2012 2:03 pm

In Gore Vidal's New York Times obituary, Charles McGrath described the writer as "the elegant, acerbic all around man of letters who presided with a certain relish over what he declared to be the end of American civilization." Vidal died Tuesday at the age of 86.

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Author Interviews
11:41 am
Fri August 3, 2012

Crum: Lee Maynard's 'Love Letter' To His Hometown

Credit

Originally published on Fri August 3, 2012 2:10 pm

Lee Maynard's 1988 semi-autobiographical novel Crum is set in the small, poor West Virginia town where he grew up. The people of Crum who know the book tend to love it or hate it. It was even banned for several years in a state-run store. The sequel, Screaming With the Cannibals, which came out five years later, got his protagonist Jesse Stone out of West Virginia, across the Tug River into Kentucky.

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Hardcover Nonfiction Bestsellers
10:14 am
Fri August 3, 2012

NPR Bestsellers: Hardcover Nonfiction, Week Of August 2, 2012

Credit

Days Of Destruction, Days Of Revolt is a scathing portrait of American poverty. It debuts at No. 4.

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