They range in themes, languages and political urgency, but this year's stellar five nominees for the Best International Feature Film Oscar are each deserving of your time for their distinct pleasures.
In 1980, NBC's Shōgun miniseries told the story of an English sea pilot's adventures in Japan in the year 1600. Now, FX's remake is even more thought-provoking and stunning than the original.
Philipps plays Mrs. George, a "cool mom" seeking the approval of her teen daughter in the new movie musical version of the 2004 film. Philipps got her start as a teen on the series Freaks and Geeks.
Da'Vine Joy Randolph just keeps winning — she's won best supporting actress for her role in The Holdovers at the BAFTAs, the Golden Globes, and Critics Choice Awards, and now she's up for an Oscar. And her performance as Mary Lamb, the head cook at a boy's boarding school in 1970's Massachusetts, really is awards worthy. Mary is no-nonsense, but loving, and grieving a son who's been killed in the Vietnam War. It's a moving and subtle portrayal of grief. Da'Vine says part of the success of her performance is owed to the quality of the script and of her collaborators, but she also has an awe-inspiring character creation process. Host Brittany Luse sat down with Da'Vine to chat about how she conveys a character's spirit – and the personal stories she drew from to build this particular performance - while at the same time battling Hollywood stereotypes about curvy Black women.
The animated series Avatar: The Last Airbender is regarded as a classic. Now, it's gotten a live-action adaptation on Netflix. The series tells the story of a boy named Aang (Gordon Cormier) who must learn how to harness the power of air, water, earth, and fire — and ultimately save the world. But how does the new show hold up to the beloved original?
An eloquent indictment of the effects of the massacre, dislocation and forced assimilation of Native Americans, it is also a heartfelt paean to the importance of family and of ancestors' stories.
Popular culture is filled with stories of the underground railroad - the legendary secret network that helped enslaved people escape from southern slave states to free states in the north.
Harriet Tubman is the underground railroad's best known conductor. Tubman, who was a Union spy during the Civil War, escaped slavery in Maryland, but returned again and again, risking her own freedom to help free others, including members of her family.
Inevitably there's much we don't know ...including how the term, the Underground Railroad, came to be.
Journalist Scott Shane, stumbled on the answer while he was writing his book "Flee North: A Forgotten Hero and the Fight for Freedom in Slavery's Borderland."
His book tells the story of Thomas Smallwood, an activist and writer who's story and the key role he played in the abolition movement has mostly been lost to history.
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Gillis didn't spend much time joking about the controversy that got him fired from the show. Instead, his opening monologue felt like an attempt to insulate himself from criticism and avoid backlash.
Charan Ranganath recently wrote an op-ed about President Biden's memory gaffes. He says forgetting is a normal part of aging. His new book is Why We Remember.
Philip Gefter's Cocktails with George and Martha traces the evolution of Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? — from Broadway sensation, to Oscar-winning film starring Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton.
Danai Gurira and Andrew Lincoln are back as Michonne and Rick Grimes in the new spinoff. But will a new audience show up for a franchise that is nearly 14 years old?
Why do we have leap years, and what are we supposed to do — or not do — with our rare extra day? NPR's Morning Edition spoke with experts in astronomy, history and economics to find out.
Writer and podcaster Kara Swisher wrote her memoir, Burn Book, about her disillusionment with many tech moguls. It recounts more than three decades covering the tech industry.
Oppenheimer tells the story of the brilliant physicist (Cillian Murphy) who oversaw the construction of the first atomic bomb. It goes on to chart the dark, complicated legacy of what he made – a technology that has gone on to irrevocably change the world, and that retains the real possibility of ending it. Christopher Nolan's film was a blockbuster hit last summer, and it earned 13 Oscar nominations – including best picture and best director. Today, we are revisiting our conversation about the movie.
The improv and comedy organization that famously shuns New York City has just opened in Brooklyn — with a 200-seat mainstage, a 60-seat second stage, classrooms and a restaurant.