From the Islamic Center of Chicago
Mazher Shah-Khan speaking from the Islamic Center of Chicago.
View ArticleMosque Architecture in America
Maryam Eskandari is a mosque architect and founder of MIIM Designs. She say most non-Muslims think designing a mosque is full of rules. But it’s not. She told Charles Monroe-Kane that the only rule is...
View ArticleBuilding a Mosque In America
There's more to building a mosque in America than architecture and theology -- there's also politics. Back in 2004, Malik Ali and Dr. Muhamad Krad teamed up to construct a mosque in Orland Park, just...
View ArticleThe Burj Khalifa, the Tallest Building in the World
Dubbed a secular mosque for the Arab world, the Burj Khalifa dominates the Dubai skyline. As it should: it's by far the tallest building in the world. It's so tall that during Ramadan, Muslims living...
View ArticleAn Architect Under Siege in Syria
Not all architecture in the Arab world glitters like a golden dome. Some are being shelled to dust by war. Such is the horrifying story of Homs, Syria. Once a cosmopolitan and tolerant city of more...
View ArticleMake It Strange
Philosopher Alva Noe has a theory about art. He says art is like philosophy, and the best art is disorienting and uncomfortable. It takes you into a space you didn't even know was there.
View ArticleA Thousand Times No
How do you join a revolution? Egyptian artist Bahia Shehab says she was too quiet to shout in the streets during the uprising in Cairo, so she started spraying graffiti with the word "no" in Arabic. No...
View ArticleFrank Stella, Printmaker
The legendary artist Frank Stella keeps a Ferrari in his studio as a reminder that his art better measure up to his race car. He's a racing enthusiast and one of his favorite quotes is from Mario...
View ArticleArt as Therapy
Maybe you're familiar with art therapy - making art to cope with pain. Philosopher Alain de Botton has a different idea. He thinks just looking at great art can be therapeutic.
View ArticleBookMark: Bill T. Jones on "Seeing is Forgetting the Name of the Thing One Sees"
Choreogapher Bill T. Jones recommends Lawrence Weschler's "Seeing is Forgetting the Name of the Thing One Sees."
View ArticleThe Radical Artist
"I can't remember a time when I wasn't drawing," says Molly Crabapple. "I can't not draw. It's how I relate to the world." And Crabapple's art - her drawings, paintings and posters - have ignited...
View ArticleWhit Stillman on Jane Austen
Jane Austen abandoned her novel "Lady Susan," but filmmaker Whit Stillman has revivied it - in a new film and novel, both called "Love and Friendship." He talks about why he loves Austen and the 18th...
View ArticleThe Aesthetic Beauty of War Photography
There are moral and ethical issues that come up around war photography. Writer David Shields charged the New York Times with glamorizing war in photographs. Shields analyzed 100’s of pictures...
View ArticleRevisiting Susan Sontag On the Pain of Others
Taking pictures of war is complicated. The late philosopher Susan Sontag thought a lot about the moral implications of taking and looking at photos of human conflict. She wrote a classic book on the...
View ArticlePhotography Beyond Tragedy
The stereotype of photojournalists is that they’re adrenaline junkies. Risk takers. But they're often surprisingly humble about their work -- maybe because their job is to erase themselves, to become...
View ArticleIs the Risk of Photojournalism Worth It?
This week all of us – public radio listeners and producers -- were shocked and saddened by the death of NPR photojournalist David Gilkey. He and his translator, Zabihullah "Zabi" Tamann, were killed...
View ArticleJames Nachtwey on Covering Conflicts on the Ground
Great war photographers bring a tremendous sense of mission to their work. Most of them believe the right image seen by enough people at the right time can change the world. Maybe not right away –...
View ArticleCapturing Manufactured Landscapes
Anyone who works in news will tell you that photographs drive attention. That a great photograph can propel a story or an issue from the sidelines to the center of a public conversation. Large-scale...
View ArticleKip Winger Goes Classical
In the mid-80's the metal band Winger topped the charts with hits like "Seventeen." Then Grunge came along and left bands like Winger in the dust. Now, Kip Winger is back on top with a new CD that...
View ArticleArt and Music in Rothko Chapel
Houston's Rothko Chapel is a shrine to the transformative power of art. Abstract artist Mark Rothko created 14 enormous paintings for this sacred space. Pianist Sarah Rothenberg tells us the history...
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