Pop Culture

'SNL' Star Bowen Yang Discusses Diversity, Queer Identity On Show

5:08am October 02, 2020

by Sam Sanders

NPR's Sam Sanders recently caught up with comedian Bowen Yang. They talk comedy, the upcoming season of Saturday Night Live, and navigating queer and Asian identity on the show.

"Mirror, mirror, on the wall, who's the fairest ... you know what, never mind. I'm good." Michael (Jim Parsons) and Donald (Matt Bomer) in The Boys in the Band.

Arts

'The Boys In The Band': Raging Gracefully

5:02pm September 30, 2020

by Glen Weldon

Netflix's adaptation of Mart Crowley's 1968 play about a gay birthday party that goes off the rails features hard liquor, sharp tongues and broad types.

Music & Culture

How TikTok Has Changed The Music Industry

7:42am September 27, 2020

TikTok's fate in the U.S. is unclear, but one thing is: the video-sharing app has been good for emerging artists. NPR's Lulu Garcia-Navarro talks with LA Times pop music critic Mikael Wood.

Queue Listen Now

Rita Wilson Wants You To Get Your Flu Shot

7:47am September 26, 2020

NPR's Scott Simon speaks to Rita Wilson about her recovery from COVID-19, and about her campaign to get 200 million Americans over the age of 50 to get flu shots this year.

"I'm not sure how the country will survive," said Alexandre Garnizé, 48, a historian and musician who plays African and Brazilian percussion.

Rio's Joyous Carnival, The World's Largest, Is Postponed Due To COVID-19

3:09pm September 25, 2020

by Marisa Peñaloza

The postponement will cause financial hardship for people who depend on the celebration — but "financial loss doesn't justify human loss," says one musician. Brazil has been hit hard by the virus.

Sir David Attenborough, shown here during a ceremony last September, broke the world record on Thursday for the fastest time to reach one million followers on Instagram.

Sir David Attenborough Reaches 1M Instagram Followers In Hours, Breaking World Record

12:50pm September 25, 2020

by Reese Oxner

The famed naturalist and broadcaster beat out actress Jennifer Aniston for fastest time to reach one million followers on Instagram, according to Guinness World Records.

(Center to Right): Samantha (Jessica Rothe), Becky (Ashleigh LaThrop), Ian (Dan Byrd) and Wilson (Desmin Borges) are bunker buddies in Utopia.

Arts

Amazon's Violent, Cynical 'Utopia' Just Wasn't Made For These Times

5:00am September 25, 2020

by Glen Weldon

The US adaptation of a 2013-14 British series about comic book nerds attempting to save the world from a viral pandemic dials back the humor and cranks up the violence.

Chris Tomkinson — known online as ShinyZeni — streaming a speedrun of Super Metroid.

Arts

You Think Your Favorite Video Game Is Hard? Try Speedrunning It

3:22pm September 24, 2020

by Keller Gordon

Speedrunning is the quirky subculture dedicated to playing through video games as fast as is humanly possible, exploiting glitches in game code and advanced techniques to barrel ahead.

"The train's afoot!": (L to R) Sherlock (Henry Cavill) and Mycroft (Sam Claflin) literally look down on their younger sister Enola (Millie Bobby Brown) in Netflix's Enola Holmes.

Arts

In The Lively 'Enola Holmes,' Sherlock's Little Sister Goes Sleuthing

10:50am September 23, 2020

by Glen Weldon

This bright and breezy Netflix adaptation of a YA novel finds Millie Bobby Brown starring as the brilliant, fourth-wall-busting little sister of Sherlock Holmes.

From 'SNL' To Workout Videos, How RBG Became A Pop Culture Icon

11:56am September 22, 2020

by Andrew Limbong

Outside the Supreme Court, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg had another life in pop culture as a symbol of dissent and feminism. The Notorious RBG was celebrated in memes, movies, T-shirts and tote bags