Pop Culture

The Brink imagines how the White House situation room — and the U.S. secretary of state, played by Tim Robbins — respond when Pakistan is taken over by a certifiably crazy general.

HBO's 'The Brink' Puts The Situation Room In Situation Comedy

4:04pm June 21, 2015

by Neda Ulaby

The show is a response to the notion that sitcoms have generally ceded political satire to fake news programs. It opens with a certifiably crazy general taking control of Pakistan's nuclear arsenal.

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This is the real promo art for a real Lifetime movie starring Kristen Wiig and Will Ferrell.

Arts

The Weird — Weirder? — Thing About The Ferrell-Wiig Lifetime Movie

2:47pm June 19, 2015

by Linda Holmes

Despite the big stars, it's hard to make a straight-faced parody of something watched by people who often already think it's a joke.

Joy (Amy Poehler) and Sadness (Phyllis Smith) catch a ride on the Train of Thought in Disney and Pixar's Inside Out.

Arts

Pop Culture Happy Hour: 'Inside Out' And Moms And Dads In Love

9:30am June 19, 2015

by Linda Holmes

On this week's show, we explore Pixar's new exploratory movie about a girl's brain, and we talk about why pop culture often struggles to give parents rich, satisfying romantic lives.

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In Ballers, Dwayne Johnson (left) plays an ex-Dolphin who is trying to make the transition from pro football player to financial planner for wealthy athletes. His boss is played by Rob Corddry, from The Daily Show.

Arts

HBO's New Sunday Lineup Is Full Of Pleasant Surprises

5:55pm June 18, 2015

by David Bianculli

Ballers feels like the football equivalent of the hip-hop world of Empire, and The Brink is reminiscent of Dr. Strangelove, but has its own modern take on the nonsense of war.

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NBC's Brian Williams addresses the crowd while moderating a debate in 2008.

Arts

4 Ways NBC Might Rehabilitate Brian Williams' Image

3:54pm June 18, 2015

by Eric Deggans

Now that NBC has finalized a deal to move disgraced anchor Brian Williams to MSNBC, NPR TV Critic Eric Deggans outlines some ways the network might salvage his credibility.

Extras on Game of Thrones leave a bullring in Seville, Spain in October 2014. More than 85,000 locals applied to be extras on the show.

World News

Fans Obsessed With 'Game Of Thrones' Seek Parallels In Spanish Politics

9:21pm June 17, 2015

by Lauren Frayer

"Winter is coming" to Spain this summer. That's a reference to HBO's Game of Thrones, which is partly filmed there, and a popular slogan for a left-wing, grass-roots political party.

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Sharon Horgan and Rob Delaney co-star in the new Amazon romantic comedy, Catastrophe.

Arts

Amazon's 'Catastrophe' Isn't One — Unlike Some TV Rom-Coms

8:06pm June 16, 2015

by Eric Deggans

Amazon on Friday debuts a comedy about an American man and Irish woman united by an unexpected pregnancy. NPR TV Critic Eric Deggans says it's a wonderful, fresh vision of romance on TV.

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Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard in Jurassic World.

Arts

Pop Culture Happy Hour, Small Batch Edition: 'Jurassic World'

3:48pm June 15, 2015

by Linda Holmes

The new super-mega-blockbuster dinosaur movie has fun dino stuff, a great performance from a guy in glasses, and two main characters who are severely underwritten.

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Joy (left, voiced by Amy Poehler) and Sadness (voiced by Phyllis Smith) catch a ride on the Train of Thought in Pixar's Inside Out. The movie opens in theaters nationwide June 19.

Science Of Sadness And Joy: 'Inside Out' Gets Childhood Emotions Right

2:26pm June 15, 2015

by Jon Hamilton

Pixar's animated fantasy takes viewers inside the mind of an 11-year-old girl named Riley. Psychologists say the film offers an accurate picture of how emotions and memories help make us who we are.

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Arts

German Cold War Drama Comes To American TV

11:02am June 14, 2015

The German TV show Deutschland '83, about spies in East Germany during the Cold War, premieres on American television soon. NPR's Rachel Martin talks with its creators, Anna and Joerg Winger.

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