Kurt Andersen and his guest, historian Gary Cross, examine our attraction, and occasional aversion to things that are cute. We’ll explore whether cuteness in Japanese art may be masking anxieties about the bomb. Plus: Kurt talks with novelist Walter Mosley about his new novel Fortunate Son.
Kismet with Cynthia Breazeal, postdoctoral fellow at the MIT Artificial Intelligence Lab working in the Humanoid Robotics Group. Anne Foerst worked with Breazeal on designing the robot."
(Donna Coveney)
Guests:
Gary Cross
Big Eyes
Big eyes are appealing on anything -- babies, puppies, cartoon characters, Jake Gyllenhaal. But our fondness for big eyes is the work of nature, not Disney. Studio 360's Eric Molinsky found out how evolutionary psychology butts into pop culture.
Hello Kawaii
Japan has embraced cuteness with a vengeance, from the ubiquitous Hello Kitty to the successful artist-designer Takashi Murakami, the Andy Warhol of Japan. Sarah Lilley tries to figure out why an ancient culture like Japan's would strive to be super adorable.
Hate Cute?
Cute is supposed to appeal universally, but some people just don't get it. Tamar Brott has some thoughts to share about being cute-averse in a too-cute world.
Fortunate Son
Walter Mosley is best known for his Easy Rawlins detective novels, which incorporate an African-American perspective and an historic sense of race relations into the classic hard-boiled genre. Mosley talks with Kurt Andersen about his remarkable career and his new novel Fortunate Son, which ...
Featured Comments
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A very interesting story and exhibit. As a painter myself, I use mathmatics in all of my paintings. Although not ...
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Eve Beglarian's Mississippi experience music touched me deeply.
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