Arts

From left: Serial homepage offenders Taylor and Elon, and ... Elmo?

What are Taylor and Elon doing now, and why is Elmo here? Find out in the quiz

5:00am February 02, 2024

by Holly J. Morris

Serial newsmakers Taylor Swift and Elon Musk made more headlines this week, but they were also joined by goats, a helicopter and a very intriguing blurry image.

Donald Glover and Maya Erskine star as John and Jane in Mr. & Mrs. Smith.

Arts

'Mr. & Mrs. Smith' are back — so are the fights and bewitching on-screen chemistry

8:30pm February 01, 2024

by Linda Holmes

The new Prime Video series goes undercover with a pair of strangers, played by Donald Glover and Maya Erskine, who pretend to be a normal couple but are actually adventurous spies.

Arts

The NAACP publication that was once a major source of news, poetry and essays

5:11pm February 01, 2024

by Alana Wise

W.E.B DuBois started The Crisis magazine as an organ of the NAACP. At it's most popular time it took on politics, essays and the writings of creatives like poet Langston Hughes.

A group advocating AIDS research marches down Fifth Avenue during the Lesbian and Gay Pride parade in New York, June 26, 1983.

'Blindspot' podcast offers a roadmap of social inequities during the AIDS crisis

2:31pm February 01, 2024

by Tonya Mosley

Kai Wright's podcast revisits the early years of the HIV/AIDS epidemic, focusing in particular on populations that are frequently overlooked — including the pediatric patients at Harlem Hospital.

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Actors Susan Lawson-Reynolds, Beth Angus, Deborah Ayorinde, and Bethany Antonia in Hallmark's adaptation of Jane Austen's Sense and Sensibility.

Arts
Books

Hallmark recasts 'Sense and Sensibility' and debuts other Austen-inspired films

1:07pm February 01, 2024

by Carole V. Bell

This month, the network debuts Loveuary, a quartet of films inspired by the creativity and fandom of Regency-era novelist Jane Austen, including Sense and Sensibility with a mostly Black lead cast.

TikTok removes music from UMG artists, including Olivia Rodrigo and Taylor Swift

12:14pm February 01, 2024

TikTok has removed all Universal Music Group music from its platform, according to a spokesperson for the company. UMG argues, among other things, that TikTok is not compensating its artists fairly.

Brittni Robertson Powell, with the New Orleans-based bookstore Baldwin & Co. looks through her choice for Black History Month: I Am Ruby Bridges.

6 books to help young readers learn about Black history

5:00am February 01, 2024

Five authors, librarians and book shop owners suggest turning to literature to help teach kids about Black history, culture and themes for this Black History Month.

Actor Alec Baldwin has pleaded not guilty to an involuntary manslaughter charge in the fatal shooting of a cinematographer during a rehearsal on a movie set in New Mexico.

Alec Baldwin pleads not guilty to involuntary manslaughter in fatal film set shooting

9:48pm January 31, 2024

by The Associated Press

A grand jury in Santa Fe indicted Baldwin in January after prosecutors received a new analysis of a gun the actor pointed at cinematographer Halyna Hutchins during rehearsal for the film Rust.

A grid of streaming service logos including: YouTube TV, Netflix, Paramount +, Max, Hulu, Prime, Fubo, Apple TV and Peacock all in front of a gradient background.

Arts

How to choose the streaming services that are right for you

7:26pm January 31, 2024

by Eric Deggans

Costs have gone way up and there are so many options — but we are here to help. NPR TV critic Eric Deggans suggests some streaming strategy best practices and looks carefully at the major providers.

Have a seat on my couch: When the beloved children's character Elmo asked people how they were doing, the responses came from far beyond Sesame Street.

Elmo takes a turn as a therapist after asking, 'How is everybody doing?'

7:22pm January 31, 2024

by Bill Chappell

When the beloved red Muppet asked people how they were doing, they responded with honesty — and, in some cases, despair. Elmo replied to many messages with encouragement and empathy.