Kyoto may be the 1200-year-old home of Japanese classical arts, but you wouldn't know it when you first get here.

Built in 1997 by Hiroshi Hara, Kyoto Station is a stunning living monument to modern Japan.  A hub for multiple regional and local train lines, it's also home to great ...

For Tokyo's size, density, and sprawl (those last 2 things might sound contradictory, but here they're not), it has tons of parks -- big parks, that are astounding both in how carefully they're kept, and in their ability to block out the bustling city around them. Take Yoyogi Park in ...

After 14 hours on the plane (and nearly 2 hours on the "Limo Bus"), 360 Team Japan is officially in Tokyo. We're staying in the heart of Shibuya, the hip and happening "ground zero for youth culture." (so says LP, and we're happy to confirm!) Neon, crowds, aesthetic delights overwhelm ...

Gina Fattore writes for Showtime's racy "Californication," but she learned about love from Jane Austen. Fattore was a newspaper copy editor when she saw "Clueless" (a Beverly Hills version of Austen's "Emma") and decided to change her path. Produced by Studio 360's

Pulitzer prize-winner William Faulkner once called his novel The Sound and the Fury his "most splendid failure." It may be a tough read, but it’s also been called a masterpiece. A downtown theater company called the Elevator Repair Service thinks that putting the book on stage will shed new light ...

To see S. Epatha Merkerson be tough, just turn on a TV and look for "Law and Order"'s Lt. Anita Van Buren. But to see her smile, you’ll have to catch her in the Broadway revival of "Come Back, Little Sheba."

Did you know the United States of America has a National Theater? Right here in New York City? It’s not what you’d expect. The National Theater of the United States of America is an Obie award-winning avant-garde theater troupe. Its 7 young artists are known for transforming unconventional spaces – ...

The French singer and cultural icon had a tumultuous life, as moviegoers are seeing in the Oscar-nominated biopic, "La Vie En Rose." Marion Cotillard’s extraordinary portrayal of Piaf prompted Studio 360 listener Bill Mankin to write us about how he fell for her. ...

For 10 years, the actor Scott Shepherd dreamed of playing Hamlet. He got his chance in a highly experimental “duet,” reciting Richard Burton’s lines, and moving Burton’s moves, while the 1964 film plays behind him. But he doesn’t like his co-star. Produced by ...

When Studio 360 listener John Simmons was a kid, he loved insects and reptiles and even turned his parents’ basement into a natural science museum. He recently retired as a museum collections manager in Lawrence, Kansas, and he says his life-long passion for science and exploration all ...

When Richard Rifkind was a kid, Hollywood made dramatic biopics about scientific pioneers like Paul Erlich, who invented an early cure for syphilis -- impressive men with impressive beards and German accents. Rifkind became a scientist himself, a leading cancer researcher. His treatment for lymphoma, 40 years ...

Kurt considers the shockwaves surrounding the final installment of modern literature’s most beloved English school boy, Harry Potter. Will JK Rowling really bump off the little wizard? We'll hear from obsessive pre-teens, child psychologist Wendy Mogel, and Sara Nelson, the editor of Publishers Weekly, ...