All Of It with Alison Stewart

Indian epic "RRR" will vie for Best Original Song at the Oscars on March 12. Its nominated breakout song, "Naatu Naatu," has become a hit thanks in part to a visually spectacular dance sequence, led by the film's two stars. One of them, Ram Charan, joins us ahead of the ceremony to discuss his role.

For over thirty years, the work of the Booker Prize winning British-Nigerian author Ben Okri, known for his 1991 novel, The Famished Road, has gone unpublished in the U.S. Recently, two of Okri's works have been published in this country, including his latest poetry collection, A Fire in My Head. The collection includes poems about 2020's racial justice protests, the Grenfell Tower disaster, and the pandemic. Okri joins to discuss and read from the collection.

In late 2020, The Frick Collection decided to take up residence in the Whitney’s former Madison Avenue home and The Frick Madison was born. Now, the local arts museum is shaking things up a bit. We receive updates from Aimee Ng, curator at The Frick Collection, about current exhibitions, changes to their programming and their expansion on Manhattan’s Upper East Side.

In continuing our Big Picture series, we speak with Mandy Walker, the only female cinematographer nominated for an Oscar this year. She is nominated for her work on "Elvis," and joins us to discuss.

In the new film "Inside," a renowned art thief (Willem Dafoe) becomes trapped in a luxury penthouse when an art heist goes awry. Dafoe, director Vasilis Katsoupis, and art curator Leonard Bigazzi join us to discuss this unusual survival thriller. "Inside" is in theaters March 17.

NPR's Ari Shapiro is scheduled to join Alan Cumming for a residency at the Carlyle Hotel in April, but before that, he's on tour promoting his memoir The Best Strangers in the World. He'll join to discuss both, plus take listener calls.

Actor Hong Chau has had a big year, with scene stealing performances in "The Menu" and "The Whale." The latter has earned her an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress. Chau joins us to discuss both films.

March is Women's History Month, and every Monday this month, the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture is hosting its annual Women's Jazz Festival, featuring performances from female jazz artists. The first show features drummer and composer Shirazette Tinnin. Tinnin joins to talk about her sound alongside Novella Ford, Schomburg programming and exhibitions curator, to preview the Women's Jazz Festival.

We speak to the winners of the Public Song Project and hear to their submissions. Kat Lewis discusses her summer-fun rewrite of “(I Scream, You Scream, We All Scream for) Ice Cream.” Alice Lee explains her modern take on the archetypal country hit, “The Prisoners Song.” And Chloe and Lily Holgate, who perform as sybil, share the inspiration for their musical setting of the Edna St Vincent Millay poem, “Afternoon on a Hill.”

Then we take a tour through highlights from the just-launched listener-generated WNYC Public Songbook, and hear more creative submissions. Public Song judges Paul Cavalconte (host of New Standards), Shanta Thake (chief artistic officer of Lincoln Center), and musician DJ Rekha join us to reflect on the project and some favorite tunes.

NOTE: This segment has been edited to remove an instance of a song that was mistakenly played twice on the air.

Priscilla Gilman is the daughter of writer and theater critic Richard Gilman and famed literary agent Lynn Nesbit. When she was ten years old, her parents' marriage abruptly dissolved, leaving Priscilla with questions about her parents' true identities and the secrets they kept from her, and from each other. Gilman joins us to discuss her new memoir on the subject, The Critic's Daughter.