Pop Culture

Children make an image of the Earth with green materials at a kindergarten on the 52nd Earth Day on April 22 in Changxing County, Zhejiang Province of China.

Looking For A Way To Mark Earth Day? Try These Movies, Songs, Books And More

2:45pm April 22, 2021

by NPR Staff

When you come back inside after celebrating Earth with a walk or by planting some trees, check out these ways NPR's Arts & Culture team has connected with our Mother Earth via the arts.

Jim Steinman speaks onstage at the Songwriters Hall of Fame induction and awards in 2012.

Music & Culture

Jim Steinman, Writer Of Operatic Rock Hits For Meat Loaf And Celine Dion, Dies At 73

4:15pm April 21, 2021

by Elizabeth Blair

Closely associated with Meat Loaf, Jim Steinman also wrote over-the-top hits for Bonnie Tyler, Air Supply and Celine Dion, as well as music for the stage.

Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga pushes pageantry over the top while still generating material that would thrive on a real-life Eurovision stage.

Music & Culture

The 2021 Oscars' Best Original Song Nominees, Cruelly Ranked

2:03pm April 21, 2021

by Stephen Thompson

This year's choices include Diane Warren's 12th Oscar nomination, a show-stopper from Eurovision Song Contest and three entries in a subgenre we call "Glorycore."

'Renegades' Podcast With Obama And Springsteen Is Interesting ... Enough

1:32pm April 20, 2021

by Nick Quah

There's clearly a limit to what the former president will say --even on his own platform. Obama's conversation with the Boss is at its most fluid and introspective when the two discuss masculinity.

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People wearing protective face masks walk by the closed Cinerama Dome theater during the coronavirus pandemic on April 18, 2020, in Los Angeles.

Cinerama Dome Among ArcLight, Pacific Theaters To Close Due To Pandemic Losses

12:31pm April 13, 2021

by Bob Mondello

With the closing of 300 screens, Hollywood laments the loss of the iconic Cinerama Dome; it opened in 1963 with the premiere of Stanley Kramer's wide-screen comedy It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World.

Arts

How Yahoo! Answers Shaped The Internet

8:00am April 11, 2021

Yahoo! Answers is shutting down in May. From sex education to homework help, users of the forum remember how it shaped early Internet culture.

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Amalia True (Laura Donnelly) leads a rag-tag team of women imbued with mysterious powers in The Nevers.

Arts

'The Nevers': When Steampunk Gets Foggy

9:00am April 09, 2021

by Glen Weldon

A surfeit of characters, ideas, themes — and familiar writerly tics — obscures the storytelling in the opening episodes of HBO's new series about Victorian women granted special powers.

Gracie Emory (Melody Hurd) and Lucky Emory (Deborah Ayorinde) confront their traumas in Them.

Arts

'Them': The Trauma, The Trauma

9:38am April 08, 2021

by Aisha Harris

Amazon's new anthology series, executive produced by Lena Waithe, unrelentingly explores "terror in America."

Saks Fifth Avenue is joining a growing list of retailers and brands to phase out animal fur.

Saks Says No To Fur, The Latest Fashion Seller To Go Fur-Free

3:28pm April 07, 2021

by Alina Selyukh

Saks Fifth Avenue will phase out sales of animal-fur products, joining other retailers such as Macy's that are responding to growing anti-fur sentiment among shoppers.

At the start of Disco Elysium, you wake up in a crummy hostel room, without your memories — and without your pants.

Arts

'Disco Elysium: The Final Cut' Is A Grimly Gorgeous Genre-Bender

12:00pm April 07, 2021

by Keller Gordon

In Disco Elysium, you play as an unnamed detective figuring out the story behind a dead body in a windswept, wintry city. The new Final Cut edition features extra quests and a fully-voiced script.