Pop Culture

Nick Offerman and Amy Poehler would never breathe on each other like this (an earlier moment in the series) in the new Parks and Recreation special, but at least they can talk on video.

Arts

From 'Parks And Recreation,' A Brief But Delightful Return To Pawnee

9:02pm April 30, 2020

by Linda Holmes

Thursday night's special may not have been a narrative necessity, but it was a welcome joy to visit with Leslie Knope, Ron Swanson and the rest of our old pals.

Kris (Amber Havard), a directionless 14-year-old, finds a possible purpose in Bull.

Arts

Troubled Teen Finds New Direction In Clear-Eyed 'Bull'

5:00pm April 30, 2020

by Scott Tobias

A 14-year-old girl finds herself drawn to bull riding in this "humble and low-key to a fault" debut feature.

Paul Mescal and Daisy Edgar-Jones play Connell and Marianne, the two closely bonded characters at the center of Sally Rooney's novel Normal People.

Books
Arts

'Normal People' Is A Love Story To Cherish

12:01pm April 29, 2020

by Linda Holmes

The Hulu adaptation of Sally Rooney's novel is gently romantic, wise and sometimes sad, and made with the care that an adaptation of a beloved book deserves.

National

Shaggy Hair Blues During Lockdown

5:17pm April 26, 2020

by Chloe Veltman

Forced to take hair care into their own hands, people are cutting, dying and hiding their heads until they can get back to the salon or barbershop.

Queue Listen Now

Chris Evans Plays A Prosecutor In 'Defending Jacob' Series

3:54pm April 24, 2020

by Eric Deggans

Superhero movie star Chris Evans plays a more down-to-earth role of a prosecutor whose 14-year-old son is accused of a murder in Defending Jacob, a limited series on Apple TV+.

Jonny Sun speaks at TED2019: Bigger Than Us. April 15 - 19, 2019, Vancouver, BC, Canada. Photo: Bret Hartman / TED

Books
Arts

Jonny Sun: You're Not Alone In Feeling Lonely

9:13am April 24, 2020

by NPR/TED Staff

For Jonny Sun, loneliness felt like being an alien on a distant planet, alone in the universe. But when he shared those feelings online, he found a community of people who felt precisely the same way.

Queue Listen Now

For years, Karen and Barry Mason ran a Los Angeles bookshop that sold and distributed gay pornography.

Books
Arts

The Mom-And-Pop Bookstore That Sold Gay Porn: 'Circus Of Books'

8:51pm April 23, 2020

by Scott Tobias

Rachel Mason and her siblings grew up unaware that their parents ran a gay bookstore. Her "affectionate but thinly realized" documentary skims the surface of stories that deserve deeper dives.

Outlaw Ned Kelly (George Mackay) slings his guns in True History of the Kelly Gang.

Arts

Portrait Of The Outlaw As A Young Man: 'True History Of The Kelly Gang'

5:16pm April 23, 2020

by Ella Taylor

This slyly subversive revisionist take on an infamous Australian outlaw presents the burnished popular myth and a darker, brutal and tragicomic take alongside one another.

Georges (Jean Dujardin) goes beyond the fringe in Deerskin.

Arts

'Deerskin' Is Buckwild

5:00pm April 23, 2020

by Mark Jenkins

A man (Jean Dujardin) becomes obsessed with a deerskin jacket — and pretending to be a film director — in a dark comedy that is "both outlandish and slight."

You'll die a lot in the mountain-climbing platformer Celeste — but the journey is worth it.

Arts

6 Great Indie Games To Play While You Wait ... And Wait ... For 'The Last Of Us 2'

10:00am April 23, 2020

by Kaity Kline

This was a big spring for mainstream game studios — but summer was looking dry even before the pandemic upended everything. So it's a great time to check out some independent games.