The first truly competitive presidential election in Egypt's history is just two weeks away. The campaign has sparked lively interest around the country, as the candidates appear at campaign rallies and on televised talk shows. The election is also the major topic of conversation in many Egyptian living rooms.
A new novel from writer Leonard Pitts Jr. jolts you back to the chaos of post-Civil War America. At a time when families of slaves were freed — but not necessarily together.
In hope of reuniting with their families, some freed slaves placed classified ads in newspapers:
Muslim and Christian women team up to try everything imaginable to distract their men from war in the Lebanese film Where Do We Go Now? Director and actress Nadine Labaki plays the lead role of Amale.
Credit Rudy Bou Chebel / Sony Pictures Classics
"Laughter and humor is important to start the healing process," says Nadine Labaki, "because it's really when you laugh about your flaws that you start understanding that maybe you should change something about it."
Where Do We Go Now? is the brainchild of bloodshed. The film, which has been a megahit in the Middle East, is a bittersweet comedy about a group of women determined to stop their hotheaded men from starting a religious war. It's the second feature film from Lebanese director Nadine Labaki.
When violence erupted on the streets of Beirut in 2008, Labaki saw neighbors, friends, people who were practically brothers turn against each another. As the world around her spiraled out of control, Labaki discovered she was having a baby.
It's ALL THINGS CONSIDERED, from NPR News. I'm Audie Cornish.
MELISSA BLOCK, HOST:
And I'm Melissa Block, with news tonight that six-term veteran Republican Sen. Richard Lugar has been defeated. The Indiana politician lost the Republican primary there to State Treasurer Richard Mourdock, who was backed by the Tea Party - and who said that Lugar was not conservative enough.
Before Paul Thorn made his living as a singer, he was a professional boxer. He also spent 12 years working at a furniture factory in his hometown of Tupelo, Miss.
For reaction now, we turn to writer and political blogger Andrew Sullivan. He is gay and married, and for years has been a leading advocate of same-sex marriage. He's the editor of the blog "The Dish" at The Daily Beast website. And, Andrew, I take it from what I've seen on your blog this afternoon you have mixed feelings about this development.
Manuel Munoz's first novel is What You See in the Dark.
Think Julianne Moore's take on Sarah Palin, or Meryl Streep's depiction of Margaret Thatcher.
Actors in biopics have a major leg up on writers when it comes to developing character. Even casual viewers can judge the performance a success if it mimics what we remember of the public persona.
Kelle Hampton is the author of the memoir Bloom: Finding Beauty in the Unexpected.
"See that right there?" the obstetrician asked as she glided the sonogram wand across my middle and pointed to a blurry image on the monitor. "It's a girl," she announced.
Chicha is a corn-derived liquor native to the South American Andes since ancient times. It's also a quirky style of pop music that developed in the Peruvian Amazon in the 1960s and '70s. All of that provides inspiration for the Brooklyn band Chicha Libre, which has just released its second album, Canibalismo.
Founder Olivier Conan developed a passion for chicha music while crate-digging through old vinyl in Peru. He says all pop-music innovators are really sonic predators.
