Reverbiage: Stories from NPR tagged 'fantasy'

A 'Dream Team' Cabinet For New White House

Tue, 28 Oct 2008 11:20:00 EDT

No matter who wins on Election Day, the search will soon be on for the perfect new cabinet for the next administration. Blake Hounshell, online editor for Foreign Policy, discusses a potential "fantasy cabinet" of advisers for the next president.

'Artemis Fowl' Author To Write 'Hitchhiker' Sequel

Sat, 20 Sep 2008 17:29:00 EDT

A new Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy book will be published next year — but it won't be by Douglas Adams, who passed away in 2001. Book publisher Hyperion has tapped Eoin Colfer, author of the popular teen sci-fi fantasy series Artemis Fowl, to continue the Adams legacy.

Rushdie On Calvino's Absurd, Charming Masterpiece

Fri, 19 Sep 2008 12:12:00 EDT

The 12 short stories that make up Italo Calvino's Cosmicomics mix scientific erudition and wild fantasy to tell a wonderfully unique story of creation. Salman Rushdie calls it "possibly the most enjoyable story collection ever written."

'Pushing Daisies,' Alive With Fantasy, Mystery

Fri, 19 Sep 2008 10:42:00 EDT

In the ABC series, Pushing Daises, co-executive producers Barry Sonnenfeld and Bryan Fuller combine romance, fantasy and mystery to tell the story of a man who can bring the dead back to life. The first season of the show is now out on DVD.

Giants Host Redskins In NFL Opener

Thu, 04 Sep 2008 06:00:00 EDT

For fans and fantasy league wonks, it's the time of year that they begin to hum the tune: "Are You Ready for Some Football?" The NFL kicks off its season Thursday night. Bill Curry, former NFL player and college coach, talks with Steve Inskeep about the start of the season.

Beautiful, Graphic 'Flights' Of Fantasy

Wed, 13 Aug 2008 10:27:00 EDT

The latest volume in a spellbinding series of lush, graphic short-story collections melds diverse influences into modern fairy tales of vision and wonder.

Three Sizzling, Sexy South Beach Books

Wed, 06 Aug 2008 16:05:00 EDT

South Beach is just as tantalizing today as it was in the days of Miami Vice. Mix one part Art Deco, one part Cubanita culture, one part surreal fantasy and you've got a book — or three.

Rushdie's 'Enchantress' Conjures Fanciful Voyage

Tue, 15 Jul 2008 20:34:00 EDT

In his new novel, The Enchantress of Florence, Salman Rushdie blends history and fantasy to recount the tale of a lost princess. The lavish epic spans multiple decades and continents.

'Baby Borrowers' Need a Reality Check

Wed, 25 Jun 2008 13:00:00 EDT

In NBC's new reality series, The Baby Borrowers, teenagers are given actual babies to take care of as part of a crash course on parenting. A new first-time dad says the show is saturated with fantasy.

Gentle Wisdom from a Graphic-Novel 'Cat'

Wed, 25 Jun 2008 00:05:00 EDT

If you're used to comics smacking you over the head with superheroes and fantasy, prepare to be seduced and charmed by Joann Sfar's graphic novel, The Rabbi's Cat 2.

Shyamalan Turns to Environment for Thriller Plot

Fri, 06 Jun 2008 09:53:00 EDT

Film writer and director M. Night Shyamalan discusses The Happening, his upcoming spooky thriller about people trying to save themselves from a worldwide environmental catastrophe. He talks with host Ira Flatow about the intersection between real-world environmental issues and fantasy.

Talking Neil Gaiman at the BPP Book Club Meeting

Wed, 04 Jun 2008 11:21:00 EDT

In Anansi Boys, Neil Gaiman spins a world where reality and fantasy comfortably co-exist, where a loser is revealed as a god. BPP Book Club moderator Sarah Goodyear kicks off the discussion of this month's selection.

London, New York Connected by Fantasy Tunnel

Mon, 26 May 2008 09:34:00 EDT

No one marvels anymore at Skype or teleconferencing. But people in London and New York are giddy over a mysterious contraption right out of Jules Verne. The "telectroscope" involves two giant copper and wood lenses pushing their way out of the earth at the Brooklyn Bridge and at the Thames. Artist Paul St. George claims a giant tunnel connects them ... and the excited crowds peering and waving at each other across the Atlantic.

Narnia Adapted for the Screen in 'Prince Caspian'

Sun, 11 May 2008 17:49:00 EDT

The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian is the latest film adaptation of C.S. Lewis' fantasy series. Director Andrew Adamson talks with host Andrea Seabrook about the challenges of translating the beloved Narnia series onto the screen.

'Story of Forgetting' a Tale of Loss and Love

Sat, 19 Apr 2008 08:00:00 EDT

In his debut novel, author Stefan Merrill Block tells the story of an aging hunchback and a pimply teenager who live hundreds of miles apart in Texas. The two characters are united by early onset Alzheimer's and by a shared fantasy world.

'The Forbidden Kingdom'

Fri, 18 Apr 2008 00:00:00 EDT

Theoretically based on a Chinese epic, this brightly idiotic fantasy is basically The Wizard of Oz in martial-arts drag. A kung-fu movie buff, hunting for DVDs in Chinatown, gets transported to ancient China to free a warrior from the evil Jade Warlord.

U.K. Tabloids Engrossed by Nazi Sex Scandal

Thu, 10 Apr 2008 17:33:00 EDT

Max Mosley, president of autoracing's Formula One Federation, is fighting to keep his job after a video surfaced allegedly showing him consorting with prostitutes in a Nazi concentration camp fantasy. Mosley, whose father was leader of Britain's fascist movement before World War II and a friend of Adolf Hitler, strongly denies the allegations and refuses to step down.

N.C. Man Wins $100,000 Fantasy Fishing Prize

Thu, 10 Apr 2008 11:42:00 EDT

Reginald Pickett of North Carolina won $100,000 in a fantasy fishing tournament. Fantasy fishing is like other online fantasy sports: you don't play it on the computer. The competition comes from choosing the best players -- real professional anglers.

A Memorable 'Story of Forgetting'

Mon, 07 Apr 2008 17:58:00 EDT

Alan Cheuse reviews Stefan Merrill Block's debut novel The Story of Forgetting, which intertwines three narratives -- of memory, loss and fantasy -- in a family coping with early-onset Alzheimer's disease.

Remembering a Visit with the Dungeon Master

Sun, 16 Mar 2008 09:59:00 EDT

Writer David Kushner remembers the late Gary Gygax, co-creator the role-playing and fantasy game Dungeons and Dragons. Kushner visited Gygax at his home last summer and joined in a game with the master himself.

Gygax, 'Dungeons and Dragons' Co-Creator, Dies

Tue, 04 Mar 2008 16:52:00 EST

E. Gary Gygax, the co-creator of the fantasy role-playing game Dungeons and Dragons has died. He was 69. Dungeons and Dragons is considered the granddaddy of such board games, and still lives online today.

A Portfolio Check-Up During Tough Times

Thu, 28 Feb 2008 16:17:00 EST

David Gardner, co-founder of the Motley Fool, talks about how to navigate the stock market in today's turbulent economy. He also checks in on the $10,000 imaginary dollars in Neal Conan's fantasy stock portfolio. Is it time to reconsider Talk of the Nation's investments?

Terry Riley, Composing on 'The Cusp of Magic'

Sun, 17 Feb 2008 17:37:00 EST

With peyote rattles, lullabies, wedding music and toy instruments, composer Terry Riley has created a new work for the Kronos Quartet and Chinese lute player Wu Man, which explores the magical area between fantasy and reality.

'Second Life' Players Face Real Financial Losses

Sat, 09 Feb 2008 08:55:00 EST

If you find recent economic news depressing, imagine what your avatar might be going through. The online fantasy game Second Life has shut down its virtual banks. The closure has had some genuine economic consequences for players, who invest real money into the fantasy lives of their alternative selves, or avatars.

Ridley Scott Refines His Vision of 'Blade Runner'

Mon, 17 Dec 2007 17:17:00 EST

Few modern American films have achieved the cult status of Ridley Scott's Blade Runner. On the eve of the release of a new, final cut of the movie, the director discusses how the dystopian fantasy's path to film legend was anything but straight.