Pop Culture

Illustration of Misha Euceph, host of KPCC's "Tell Them I Am," and Tan France from "Queer Eye."

The Ramadan Podcast Where Muslims Take It Up A Notch From 'Islam 101'

1:02pm June 03, 2019

In the KPCC podcast "Tell Them, I Am," host and producer Misha Euceph aims to give Muslims a space to define their identities outside of stereotypes and broad generalizations.

How Instagram Impacted The Fight Over Johnny Hallyday's Estate

8:48am June 01, 2019

New York Times contributing opinion writer Pamela Druckerman tells NPR's Scott Simon why musician Johnny Hallyday's children have been in court over their father's estate.

Charli XCX's latest single is "Spicy," a Spice Girls tribute in which she collaborates with Herve Pagez and Diplo.

Music & Culture

This Week, Everyone Tried To Put Out The Song Of The Summer

6:00am June 01, 2019

by Stephen Thompson

Summer pop bangers have been dropping by the bushel, giving you an insistent soundtrack to this weekend — and, if folks like Cardi B and Katy Perry have their say, every day 'til autumn.

Randall Park and Ali Wong star in Netflix's Always Be My Maybe.

Arts

Love Finds Ali Wong And Randall Park In 'Always Be My Maybe'

9:46am May 31, 2019

by Linda Holmes

Randall Park and Ali Wong star in a Netflix romantic comedy about two young friends who grow up and grow apart, only to find each other again as adults. Also, there's Keanu Reeves.

Quebec TV personality Maripier Marin makes her big screen debut in Canadian crime thriller The Fall of the American Empire.

Arts

There Is Honor Among Thieves In 'The Fall Of The American Empire'

9:32am May 31, 2019

by Mark Jenkins

Director Denys Arcand continues a series about the discontents of Montreal intellectuals with The Fall Of The American Empire. While it elides some complications, its range of references feels fresh.

Samin Nosrat, author of the cookbook Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat: Mastering the Elements of Good Cooking.

Samin Nosrat Is Making Space At The Table

8:55pm May 30, 2019

by Karen Grigsby Bates

Nosrat is that rare thing: a woman of color in the upper echelons of the hypercompetitive food world. She is acutely aware of her unicorn status — and taking steps to try to change that.

Queue Listen Now

Stranger Things star Millie Bobby Brown makes her big-screen debut in Godzilla: King of the Monsters.

Arts

You Won't Get Much Fire From 'Godzilla: King Of The Monsters'

7:12pm May 30, 2019

by Chris Klimek

The sequel to the 2014 Godzilla finds two scientists and a bunch of monsters stranded in an undercooked story about an underdeveloped monster.

Octavia Spencer stars as the vengeful Sue Ann in "Ma," directed by Tate Taylor.

Arts

This Time, Octavia Spencer Takes Something For Herself In 'Ma'

5:00pm May 30, 2019

by Andrew Lapin

After a career often spent in roles of kind caretakers, Octavia Spencer sinks her teeth into the part of a woman who draws a group of teenagers into her basement.

Game of Thrones actor Nikolaj Coster-Waldau stars in crime thriller Domino, the latest from director Brian De Palma.

Arts

Terrorism Is Filmmaking In Brian De Palma's 'Domino'

5:00pm May 30, 2019

by Scott Tobias

The director who has boomeranged from better-regarded films to ones treated much less kindly barely wants to own this crime thriller. But for fans of his work, there are sequences to admire.

Dancing on the Escalator of Life (on the head of pin): The demon Crowley (David Tennant) and the angel Aziraphale (Michael Sheen) conspire to stave off the end of the world in Good Omens.

Books
Arts

'Good Omens' Serves Up A Cozy, Strangely Heartwarming Apocalypse

4:11pm May 30, 2019

by Glen Weldon

Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman's 1990 novel about an angel and demon striving to prevent the end of the world becomes a charming, very British series that turns the apocalypse into a spot of bother.