Pop Culture

Han Seohee (right) and fellow North Korean defectors Lee Gwang-sung (left) and Hwang Soyeon (center) are regulars on Moranbong Club, a South Korean talk show featuring North Korean defectors. "There's a lot of prejudice toward North Korean defectors in So

South Korea's Newest TV Stars Are North Korean Defectors

10:12pm January 31, 2016

by Elise Hu

North Korean defectors star on talk shows, dating shows and compete in campy challenges. They're giving South Koreans an unprecedented glimpse of the North's experience. But it's not the full picture.

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Arts

Following The Fad, Live 'Grease' Hits The Silver Screen

7:10pm January 31, 2016

by Linda Holmes

A new, live TV performance of the hit musical Grease airs this weekend. Rachel Martin talks about it with Linda Holmes, host of NPR's Pop Culture Happy Hour.

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'American Crime Story' Finds Plenty Of New Material In 20-Year-Old O.J. Simpson Trial

5:31pm January 31, 2016

by Eric Deggans

American Crime Story: The People v. O.J. Simpson starts Tuesday on FX. NPR TV Critic Eric Deggans offers this review.

Sports

Barbershop: The New 'Birth Of A Nation,' Cam Newton And Beyonce

5:12pm January 30, 2016

by Michel Martin

Blogger and writer Kara Brown, radio host Farajii Muhammad and The Root's Danielle Belton talk about the new film The Birth of a Nation, Cam Newton, and Beyonce and Chris Martin's new music video.

Arts

Carol Burnett: The 'Fresh Air' Interview

1:45pm January 29, 2016

The Emmy Award-winning host of The Carol Burnett Show receives a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Screen Actors Guild on Saturday. In 2003, Burnett spoke to Fresh Air about life and comedy.

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Macklemore performs onstage during the Capital One Orange Bowl Beach Bash in December in Miami Beach.

Music & Culture

I Guess We Gotta Talk About Macklemore's 'White Privilege' Song

12:08pm January 29, 2016

by Gene Demby

You won't have any thoughts about the rapper's new song about racial inequality, and his place as a white dude in hip-hop, that you didn't have before, in part because he plays it so safe.

In the ABC miniseries Madoff, actor Richard Dreyfuss plays the former Nasdaq chairman who perpetrated one of the largest Ponzi schemes in U.S. history.

Arts

Richard Dreyfuss: Like It Or Not, There's A Bit Of Bernie Madoff In All Of Us

10:30am January 29, 2016

by NPR Staff

"He was a completely despicable human being, but in order to achieve that he had to be lovable," says Dreyfuss, who plays the Ponzi-scheme perpetrator in an upcoming two-part ABC miniseries.

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Arts

Pop Culture Happy Hour: In Conversation With Fred Armisen And 'Welcome To Night Vale'

7:00am January 29, 2016

by Stephen Thompson

The gang's been snowed in, but there's still a new episode of the show, thanks to Linda Holmes' onstage discussions — one with Armisen and one with Night Vale creators Joseph Fink and Jeffrey Cranor.

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Arts

Commentary: NBC's 'Telenovela' 'Takes Ownership' Of Latino Stereotypes

2:07pm January 28, 2016

NBC's new comedy, Telenovela, parodies a Spanish-language soap opera. Commentator Cynthia Leonor Garza says it's an attempt at bringing Latin culture into the mainstream — but it could do it better.

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Pop star and entertainer Michael Jackson performs a concert at the historic Berlin Reichstag on June 19, 1988. He died in 2009.

Let Twitter Be Your Guide Through This Michael Jackson Casting Mess

12:52pm January 28, 2016

by Leah Donnella

When the news leaves you speechless, let Twitter take the wheel.