Arts

Round 9 of Three-Minute Fiction has closed and the judging process is now under way. Susan Stamberg reads an excerpt from one standout story, Butterflies, written by Jennifer Dupree. You can read the full story below along with other stories at www.npr.org/threeminutefiction.

ESPN writer Kevin Seifert recently described Minnesota Vikings punter Chris Kluwe this way: "Kluwe would fit in perfectly in a group of impossibly smart California mensas who spend half their time working out and (most of) the rest playing video games." Which leads us to believe Kluwe's either the nerdiest player in the NFL, and/or the most athletic nerd in history.

We've invited Kluwe to play a game called "Eureka! I have found it!" Three questions about the 2012 Ig Nobel prizes, which honor some of the more ridiculous breakthroughs in science.

Transcript

SCOTT SIMON, HOST:

Transcript

SCOTT SIMON, HOST:

Writing's often depicted as a private act - scribbling, crossing out, then crumpling two sheets into a fireplace; trial, error and angst - all of which is best kept private. Silvia Hartmann is now writing on a kind of electronic stage - in an open document, a Google doc - so that readers can see her story appear line by line, edit by edit. Silvia Hartmann joins us from the south coast of England. Thanks so much for being with us.

SILVIA HARTMANN: Hi.

SIMON: So what are you trying to do here, write a novel?

The southern French city of Marseille on the Mediterranean Sea has long been famous for its spicy fish soup, known as bouillabaisse. The soup started as a poor man's meal, made with leftover fish scraps, but these days, it's evolved to the point that it can run connoisseurs about $75 for a generously sized meal.

There weren't a whole lot of upset winners at last Sunday's Emmy Awards, but one of the few was Homeland star Damian Lewis, who beat out, among others, Mad Men's Jon Hamm and three-time winner Bryan Cranston of Breaking Bad to take home the award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series. Lewis' co-star, Claire Danes, won for her lead performance as well, and the show ended a four-year Mad Men streak when it was named Outstanding Drama Series.

Today at All Things Considered, we continue a project we're calling NewsPoet. Each month, we bring in a poet to spend time in the newsroom — and at the end of the day, to compose a poem reflecting on the day's stories.

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MELISSA BLOCK, HOST:

Symphony orchestras have seen a lot of labor disputes recently due to financial troubles. Musicians are on strike in Chicago. In Atlanta, they've been locked out. Contracts for both the Minneapolis Orchestra and the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra expire Sunday with no immediate sign of settlements. Then there's the Dayton Philharmonic. As Emily McCord of member station WYSO reports, it seems to have solved its budget woes by merging with the city's opera and ballet.