Ann Heppermann
American Icons: Georgia O’Keeffe’s skull paintings
How Georgia O’Keeffe found her inspiration in the deserts of New Mexico.
Reconstructing Viruses
Why do scientists want to recreate viral monsters like the 1918 Spanish flu? And if they do, should they be allowed to publish the instructions?
The Flame Alphabet
In his novel “The Flame Alphabet,” Ben Marcus imagines what would happen if children’s speech made their parents sick.
American Icons: "Untitled Film Stills"
Photographer Cindy Sherman’s pioneering series "Untitled Film Stills" transformed what self-portraits could be.
American Icons: Untitled Film Stills
In the 1980s, Cindy Sherman began taking self-portraits that showed her in costumes and scenarios that looked just like movie stills, although they were her own inventions. In a media...
Imaginary Friends Forever
Marjorie Taylor, a psychology professor at the University of Oregon, has been looking at imaginary friends and the children who have them.
American Icons: Georgia O'keeffe's Skull Paintings
'The men were all talking about the great American novel, the great American play,...the great American everything,' said Georgia O'Keeffe, who fled the East Coast art world for New Mexico. 'So I thought . . . I'll make it an American painting.'
American Icons: Georgia O'Keeffe's Skull Paintings
American Icons: Georgia O’Keeffe’s Skull Paintings
Federal Property
Back in the 1930s, as part of the Federal Art Project, the government paid artists to make thousands of paintings, from famous murals to little landscapes. It wasn't possible to keep track of it all, and some ended up in private hands. Once in a while, a canvas turns up, and when it does, the Feds sometimes take an interest. Produced by Ann Heppermann and Kara Oehler.