Movies

How the Dust Bowl depiction from 'The Wizard of Oz' left a lasting impact on Kansas

6:06pm August 28, 2023

by David Condos

The Wizard of Oz and Kansas have been inseparable since farm girl Dorothy Gale first skipped down the yellow brick road. But a Dust Bowl 1930s image may also hold Kansas back from what it wants to be.

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Helen Mirren, Rami Heuberger, Lior Ashkenazi and Dvir Benedek in Bleecker Street/ShivHans Pictures' Golda. The movie, which follows Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir through the 1973 Yom Kippur War, hits theaters Friday.

World News

'Golda' depicts a key moment in Israeli history. Its director sees parallels to today

4:10pm August 25, 2023

by Rachel Treisman

The biopic Golda stars Helen Mirren as Israel's first female prime minister, leading the country through the pivotal, 19-day Yom Kippur War in 1973. Its director says it's especially relevant today.

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Wayne Shorter performs during the Marciac Jazz festival in southern France in 2005. Two recent tribute projects each aim to capture the wandering spirit of the late saxophonist.

Music & Culture

Wayne Shorter, From Here to Eternity

1:41pm August 25, 2023

by Nate Chinen

Nearly six months after his death, a tribute concert and a documentary attempt to capture the spirit of the perpetually exploring saxophonist and composer.

David Bowie: The 'Fresh Air' interview

1:21pm August 25, 2023

by Terry Gross

It's been 50 years since Bowie performed as his alter ego Ziggy Stardust. The film, Ziggy Stardust and The Spiders From Mars, has recently been reissued. Originally broadcast in 2002.

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Arts

'Bottoms' offers an over-the top mix of teen realism and comic exaggeration

1:21pm August 25, 2023

by Justin Chang

Two queer best friends start a self-defense class for girls as a ruse to hook up with cheerleaders in a film that's both a disarmingly sweet love story and a merciless comic pummeling.

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National

Review: 'Scrapper' is a sort of adolescent coming-of-age story turned upside down

5:29pm August 24, 2023

by Bob Mondello

In Scrapper, a plucky 12-year-old girl is living on her own, making rent money by stealing bicycles.

Blue Beetle (Xolo Maridueña) looks to the future. So does the movie he's in.

Arts
Books

'Blue Beetle' offers a 3-step cure for superhero fatigue

5:00am August 24, 2023

by Glen Weldon

The current state of superhero cinema may look bleak, but the latest DC film adopts an approach that wrings new life and humor out of a tired formula.

National

A pioneering casting director reflects on diversity in Hollywood

7:21pm August 23, 2023

NPR's Ailsa Chang talks with host of The Academy Museum Podcast, Jacqueline Stewart, and casting director Reuben Cannon about the art of casting in Hollywood.

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The 'Barbie' movie's success puts her among history's top-20 films

7:26am August 23, 2023

by Neda Ulaby

When Barbie brought close to $1.3 billion at the worldwide box office, it became one of the only female-dominated movies among the top-grossing films of all time.

Ayo Edebiri as Josie and Rachel Sennott as PJ in Bottoms.

Arts

'Bottoms' is an absurdist high school sex comedy that rages and soars

3:17pm August 22, 2023

by Aisha Harris

The cheeky black comedy stars Rachel Sennott and Ayo Edebiri as teens who start a fight club to get laid.