Pop Culture

Arts

'Dead Eyes,' but tons of heart: This small podcast is among the year's best

1:27pm December 28, 2022

by Nick Quah

The podcasts that spoke to me the most this year tended to be small and scrappy. The best was Dead Eyes, Connor Ratliff's quixotic quest to reconcile himself with the frustrations of life in show biz.

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A still from the CBS drama series 'Fire Country'

Arts

How Hollywood gets wildfires all wrong — much to the frustration of firefighters

4:29pm December 27, 2022

by Chloe Veltman

In a time of accelerated climate change, there's a big disconnect between the portrayal of fires on-screen and the reality of the brave people who fight them in real life.

Clockwise from top left: The Gilded Age, Fire Island, Mood, The Flight Attendant, Heartstopper and Everything Everywhere All at Once.

Arts

50 wonderful things from 2022

9:43am December 27, 2022

by Linda Holmes

Pop culture critic Linda Holmes has been making annual lists of wonderful things since 2010. The recommendations this year are big and small, inspirational and silly, very popular and totally obscure.

Anitta performs at the Village Festival in Rio de Janeiro on Dec. 4.

How Anitta, the 'Girl from Rio,' went global

6:01am December 24, 2022

by Carrie Kahn

NPR catches up with Anitta, the most popular singer to come out of Brazil in years, who's up for a Grammy for Best New Artist.

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Son Ye-jin as Yoon Se-ri and Hyun Bin as Ri Jeong-hyeok in Crash Landing on You.

What's making us happy: A guide to your weekend viewing and listening

5:00pm December 23, 2022

Each week, the guests and hosts on NPR's Pop Culture Happy Hour share what's bringing them joy. This week: The Blamo! podcast, Paris Is Burning, Sheryl Lee Ralph's Sleigh and Crash Landing on You.

Arts

How to share your favorites with loved ones — and have everyone go home happy

3:59pm December 23, 2022

by Linda Holmes

As families gather for the holidays, you may find yourself talking television, film, books or podcasts. Pop culture critic Linda Holmes — who shares her favorite things for a living — has some tips.

California law allowed prosecutors to establish a pattern in Harvey Weinstein's trial

4:23pm December 20, 2022

NPR's Mary Louise Kelly talks with former sex crimes prosecutor Jane Manning about Harvey Weinstein's recent charges and the difficulties in prosecuting sex crimes like his.

The mechatronic model features 85 points of movement.

Arts

An original model of E.T. is sold at auction for $2.56 million

1:02pm December 20, 2022

by Ashley Ahn

The original mechatronic model of the alien from Steven Spielberg's 1982 classic E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial headlined a weekend auction of Hollywood artifacts.

The FTC says nearly half of Epic Games' $520 million settlement will go to "refunds for tricking" Fortnite "users into making unwanted charges."

Arts

Could you be eligible for a Fortnite refund?

12:44pm December 20, 2022

by Elizabeth Blair

Epic Games has agreed to pay the Federal Trade Commission $520 million over allegations of privacy violations and unwanted charges. Nearly half of the money will go to refund consumers.

For more than a month, witnesses gave graphic testimony of how former film producer Harvey Weinstein would lure women to private meetings in hotel rooms that quickly turned violent.

Harvey Weinstein found guilty on 3 of 7 charges in Los Angeles

7:32pm December 19, 2022

by Mandalit del Barco

Weinstein's legal trouble is far from over. In London, he faces criminal charges of indecent assault of a woman in 1996.