Pop Culture

Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson star in HBO's True Detective.

Arts

Deggans: 'Fargo,' 'True Detective,' 'Transparent' Top Best TV Of 2014

11:44am December 17, 2014

by Eric Deggans

At a time when there is so much good TV around, NPR TV critic Eric Deggans says, any Top 10 list says as much about the critic as about the shows he is picking.

Billie Joe Armstrong (left) and Mike Dirnt of Green Day play the Reading Festival. Green Day and five other acts will join the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame next year.

2015 Rock Hall Of Fame Class Includes Lou Reed, Joan Jett, Green Day

8:49am December 16, 2014

by Bill Chappell

The Smiths and N.W.A. were left off of the list of inductees for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, as Hall voters opted for acts such as Bill Withers and Joan Jett and the Blackhearts.

Denzel Washington in The Great Debaters.

What The Movies Taught Us About Teaching

2:09pm December 15, 2014

by Bob Mondello

As part of the 50 Great Teachers series, NPR's Bob Mondello looks at what Hollywood has taught us about teachers.

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Hank Magnuski (left) feeds hikers at his pop-up Sonora Pass Cafe. Some of his diners also took the opportunity to use his wi-fi.

A Pop-Up Cafe Caters To Hikers Along The Pacific Crest Trail

1:47pm December 15, 2014

by Lisa Morehouse

The 2,650-mile trail is grueling. But for a few weekends each season, hikers on the stretch near California's Sonora Pass encounter a hiker's dream: fresh fruit, cakes and other goodies for the weary.

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The Fuller family's Christmas light display in Clayton, N.C.

Arts

Watts Going On: The Gaudy Excess Of 'The Great Christmas Light Fight'

12:11pm December 15, 2014

by Linda Holmes

If you've never seen hundreds of thousands of lights used to do things like animate wire-frame animals, you're going to love this bonkers piece of television.

Joaquin Phoenix stars as Larry "Doc" Sportello, a private investigator with a pot-smoking habit, in Inherent Vice, Paul Thomas Anderson's film adaptation of the novel by Thomas Pynchon.

Arts

Adapting 'Inherent Vice' Made Director Feel Like A Student Again

6:40pm December 13, 2014

by NPR Staff

Paul Thomas Anderson is the first to make a novel by reclusive author Thomas Pynchon into a film. He says he studied the book, about a stoner detective, intensely and treated it as his Bible.

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Miss Philippines, Megan Young, sends a kiss to the audience after winning the Miss World title in last year's competition. She's helped raise money for typhoon victims in her homeland.

A Reason To Respect The Miss World Pageant

3:43pm December 13, 2014

by Linda Poon

They parade in swimsuits. They swan in evening gowns. And they bring global health issues into the spotlight.

World News

Lost Disney Film, Featuring Oswald The Lucky Rabbit, Found In Norway

3:34pm December 12, 2014

by Krishnadev Calamur

Archivists at Norway's National Library, at its vault in the Arctic Circle, found an almost complete version of Empty Socks, featuring the character who preceded Mickey Mouse.

Arts

Funny, Dirty, Sad: The 'Holy Trinity' For 'Transparent' Creator Jill Soloway

1:32pm December 12, 2014

When writer Jill Soloway's father came out as a trans woman, Soloway says, it was a huge relief. And it helped her create the series Transparent about "boundaries, legacy, gender, family."

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Arts

The Great 'Parks And Rec' Clip War Of 2014

9:41am December 12, 2014

by Linda Holmes

When critics are anticipating the end of a show they've liked a lot, strange things happen.