Television

Workers prepare for the 2017 Eurovision Song Contest at the International Exhibition Center in Kiev on April 11, 2017.

Music & Culture

Eurovision Again Struck By Controversy As Russia Says It Won't Broadcast

10:26am April 15, 2017

by Andrew Flanagan

After a year of tumult, Russia has doubled down, saying it won't broadcast this year's contest after its competitor, Yuliya Samoylova, was denied entry into Ukraine.

Arts

For Christopher Eccleston, Co-Starring On 'The Leftovers' Meant Rethinking His Faith

1:46pm April 14, 2017

by Terry Gross

The British actor plays a reverend in The Leftovers, the HBO series about what happens after 2 percent of the world's population vanishes in a mysterious event. Originally broadcast July 11, 2016.

Queue Listen Now

Detail of cover of America #2, by Gabby Rivera and Joe Quinones, starring America Chavez, Marvel's lesbian Latina superhero.

Books
Arts

Pop Culture Happy Hour: Diversity In Comics And 'RuPaul's Drag Race'

11:09am April 14, 2017

by Linda Holmes

This week, while we recover from our live show, we bring you a segment from Code Switch about diversity in comics and we revisit our segment on RuPaul's Drag Race.

Nathaniel Martello-White, Freida Pinto and Babou Ceesay star in John Ridley's new series Guerilla. The show explores the way humiliation and marginalization can lead to violence.

Arts

Set 40 Years In The Past, 'Guerrilla' Speaks Strongly To Today

6:08am April 14, 2017

by Steve Inskeep

Oscar-winning screenwriter John Ridley's new series is set in the U.K. during the 1970s, when immigrants of color from former colonies were coming there for work, but finding little opportunity.

Queue Listen Now

Arts

To Get To 'SNL,' Comic Sasheer Zamata 'Followed The Fun'

1:35pm April 13, 2017

by Ann Marie Baldonado

Zamata says her path from beginner to working comic happened in the best possible way: "I just followed the things I was really interested in, and it turned out to be what I needed to do."

Queue Listen Now

A Review As 'Veep' Returns To HBO For A Sixth Season

5:19am April 13, 2017

by Eric Deggans

The hit HBO comedy Veep returns Sunday for its sixth season. At a time when real-life Washington seems more absurd than any TV show, Veep succeeds by satirizing the venality of political culture.

You can expect more Crow and Tom Servo, as well new faces like Jonah Ray, in the new Mystery Science Theater 3000.

Arts

New 'Mystery Science Theater' Coming To Netflix In The Not-Too-Distant Future

5:27pm April 12, 2017

by Tim Greiving

The show originally aired in the '90s and helped spawn the entire attitude of the Internet. Sure, it had a silly premise — but it also had a cult following. The reboot's first season drops on Friday.

David Letterman, right, the host of The Late Show with David Letterman on CBS, and his mother Dorothy Mengering share a laugh during the dedication of the $21 million David Letterman Communication and Media Building on the campus in Muncie, Ind., in 2007.

National

David Letterman's Mother, Dorothy Mengering, Dies At 95

2:46am April 12, 2017

by Doreen McCallister

Dorothy Mengering became a hit with viewers when her son put her on his Late Show on CBS. She baked and appeared via satellite in her Indiana kitchen for a segment called "Guess Mom's Pies."

John Clarke, a comedian and political satirist beloved in Australia and New Zealand, has died at age 68. He's seen here in an undated photo provided by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.

John Clarke, Who Made Fake News Hilarious, Is Mourned In Australia And New Zealand

2:00pm April 10, 2017

by Bill Chappell

Satirist John Clarke's pitch-perfect portrayal of an Australian senator denying the impact of an oil spill once prompted a Snopes fact-check report.

Bob Odenkirk plays the ethically flexible lawyer Jimmy McGill on the AMC series Better Call Saul.

Arts

'Better Call Saul' Launches Its 3rd Season, Still The Best Drama Series On TV

1:26pm April 10, 2017

by David Bianculli

The Breaking Bad spinoff returns Monday, telling more of the origin story of lawyer Jimmy McGill (aka Saul Goodman). Critic David Bianculli says the series "more than stands on its own."

Queue Listen Now