Elizabeth Blair

The Grand Budapest Hotel might take place in a fictional world, but Oscar-nominated composer Alexandre Desplat was there to make it feel authentic.

Love relationships have long been fodder for comedians. So on this Valentine's Day, a few of them explain why romance — or the lack of it — is so funny.

Marina Franklin, who's African-American, finds humor in the different nationalities and races of the guys she's dated.

"Whenever I date ...

In The Slap, NBC takes on the touchy issue of corporal punishment. The show begins at a Brooklyn barbecue with a dad hitting another parent's out-of-control 5 year old.

The four Grammys awarded Sunday night to Sam Smith are good news not just for Sam Smith, but for Tom Petty, too. Petty and another songwriter will get a quarter of the royalties from ...

American Sniper, based on the life of Navy SEAL Chris Kyle, has been a surprise hit at the box office. But as NPR's Elizabeth Blair reports, some say the movie misrepresents Kyle and glorifies war.

Despite being long, convoluted and sometimes sleep-inducing, Swan Lake is a reliable ticket seller for dance companies. The version most often performed today premiered in Russia in 1895.

"Research among U.S. populations of kids indicates that this ability to articulate a moral theme develops fairly slowly, emerging only around age 9 or 10," says researcher Seeta Pai.

The French magazine responded to a 2011 firebombing of its offices with a cover that showed a Muslim and an editor making out. Its lead editor, described by a peer as fearless, was killed Wednesday.

NPR's Elizabeth Blair polled comedy-industry insiders to find out their favorite jokes of 2014. The results range from supermarket-checkout observations to a historically hysterical take on Oprah.

Maggie Gyllenhaal says she had reservations about taking on the role of Nessa Stein in the Sundance series. The conflict in the Middle East is "really complicated and it goes back so far," she says.

So far Disney's Big Hero 6 is a winner and DreamWorks' Penguins of Madagascar is not. Studios look closely at opening weekend. In December, Night at the Museum 3 will compete with Ann...

Elizabeth Blair visits Belle Glade, Fla., where Edward R. Murrow's film crew recorded migrant farm workers. (This piece was originally broadcast on Weekend Edition Saturday on May 31, 2014.)

An estimated 46 million Americans will take to the road this Thanksgiving. We survey some of the best recorded comedy and audiobooks so you can laugh away the tension if you're stuck in traffic.

Vimeo's first foray into original Web TV follows a nameless pot delivery dude who engages in oddly intimate business transactions.

Red means stop; green means go. You live in a red state or a blue state. Elizabeth Blair kicks off NPR's color series with a look at the way color organizes our lives — in ways we don't even realize.

A federal judge in Detroit ruled favorably on the city's "grand bargain" on Friday, approving the city's exit from Bankruptcy. We look at the role foundations played in bringing it ab...

Baymax, the lovable robot in the new Disney movie, was inspired by inflatable robots being developed at the Robotics Institute at Carnegie Mellon University.

On Tuesday night, Sotheby's brought in its highest total yet for a single auction: more than $422 million dollars. The record total owed a lot to the sale of two works — a Giacometti ...

De Lavallade's husband of 59 years, dancer Geoffrey Holder, died on Oct. 5. "He was my biggest fan and I was the same way with him," she says. De Lavallade's one-woman show is called As I Remember It.

Peña's fans, lamenting her death on Latino social media, expressed frustration that such a talented actress could not break away from stereotypical roles.