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How 'Hot Ones' took wing(s)

Comedian Conan O'Brien at TBS Night Out in 2016. He recently appeared on YouTube show, Hot Ones. Paul Zimmerman/Getty Images for TBS hide caption

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Paul Zimmerman/Getty Images for TBS

Review

Pop Culture Happy Hour

How 'Hot Ones' took wing(s)

Hot Ones is the YouTube show where famous people answer questions while eating increasingly hot chicken wings. Hosted by Sean Evans, the series is a phenomenon. And Conan O'Brien is its most recent high achiever, and possibly the best guest ever. What exactly makes a good Hot Ones guest?

How 'Hot Ones' took wing(s)

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'X-Men '97' validates your nostalgia while looking to the future

Jean Grey and Cyclops in the new Disne series X-Men '97. Marvel Animation/Disney hide caption

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Marvel Animation/Disney

Review

Pop Culture Happy Hour

'X-Men '97' validates your nostalgia while looking to the future

For millions of kids, the popular 1990s X-Men animated series served as a gateway drug into the world of the X-Men and comics in general. Now, the new Disney+ series X-Men '97 picks up right where the original ended. But changes are also taking place: secrets get revealed, the team roster gets shuffled, and characters meet shocking fates. What hasn't changed is everything fans expect from the X-Men: big fights, big powers, and lots of mutant melodrama.

'X-Men '97' validates your nostalgia while looking to the future

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A first date turns into a whodunit in 'Diarra from Detroit'

Diarra Kilpatrick stars as a school teacher-turned-mystery solver in Diarra from Detroit. BET Network hide caption

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BET Network

A first date turns into a whodunit in 'Diarra from Detroit'

Fresh Air

Growing up, when Diarra Kilpatrick watched murder mystery shows with her grandmother, she never saw Black women driving the narrative. She seeks to change that in her new new BET+ series.

A first date turns into a whodunit in 'Diarra from Detroit'

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Colin Farrell unravels mystery of the missing woman and himself in neo-noir 'Sugar'

Colin Farrell patrols Los Angeles in style as private eye John Sugar in new series, Sugar. Sugar/Apple TV+ hide caption

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Sugar/Apple TV+

Colin Farrell unravels mystery of the missing woman and himself in neo-noir 'Sugar'

NPR's Scott Simon talks with the Oscar-nominated actor about his new Apple TV+ series, Sugar. Like his character, Farrell says he used to play film clips in his head.

Colin Farrell unravels mystery of the missing woman and himself in neo-noir 'Sugar'

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Netflix's 'Good Times': An explicit revival which feels calculated to offend

The Evans family in Netflix's Good Times: Jay Pharoah as Junior, Marsai Martin as Grey, Yvette Nicole Brown as Beverly, Gerald Anthony "Slink" Johnson as Dalvin and J.B. Smoove as Reggie. Netflix hide caption

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Netflix

Review

TV Reviews

Netflix's 'Good Times': An explicit revival which feels calculated to offend

The new animated TV show is packed with the kind of stereotypical characters and imagery that seem sure to anger fans of the original, groundbreaking series.

The car culture wars; plus, the problem with child stars

What's behind the EV culture war? Plus, former child stars including Drake Bell come forward about abuse in 'Quiet on Set.' FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP via Getty Images/Mark Mainz/Getty Images hide caption

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FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP via Getty Images/Mark Mainz/Getty Images

It's Been a Minute

The car culture wars; plus, the problem with child stars

President Biden has been pushing new regulations to promote electric vehicle production to combat the climate crisis — and former president Trump is using those regulations as a talking point against Biden. To break down how cars became the latest weapons in the culture wars, host Brittany Luse is joined by NPR's transportation correspondent Camila Domonoske and Dan Brekke, a reporter and editor at KQED in San Francisco who covers transit. Together, they talk about why Americans are so invested in their cars — and how cars became more than just a policy battle.

The car culture wars; plus, the problem with child stars

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Women's NCAA championship TV ratings crush the men's competition

An average of about 18.7 million viewers tuned in to watch the South Carolina Gamecocks triumph over the Iowa Hawkeyes in the 2024 NCAA Women's Basketball National Championship on Sunday. Morry Gash/AP hide caption

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Morry Gash/AP

Sports

Women's NCAA championship TV ratings crush the men's competition

At its peak, 24 million basketball fans tuned in to watch the women's championship between Iowa and South Carolina, making it the most-watched basketball game since 2019.

'Shōgun' is a fascinating epic about power and honor

Hiroyuki Sanada in FX's Shogun. Katie Yu/FX hide caption

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Katie Yu/FX

Review

Pop Culture Happy Hour

'Shōgun' is a fascinating epic about power and honor

The sweeping historical epic has roared back with Shōgun. The FX miniseries takes place beginning in 1600, in a fictionalized but historically inspired feudal Japan, where the previous ruler has died with an heir not yet old enough to be in power, and everything has become chaotic. Shōgun has war, power struggles, violence, impossible love, beautiful naked people, and thorny questions about whose story it really is.

'Shōgun' is a fascinating epic about power and honor

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A guide to Stephen King

Stephen King at a press conference in 2013, in Paris. Eric Feferberg/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

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Eric Feferberg/AFP via Getty Images

Review

Pop Culture Happy Hour

A guide to Stephen King

Stephen King is one of the most successful living writers. He's written more than 50 books that have sold hundreds of millions of copies. And his works have been adapted into a number of classic films, including The Shining, The Shawshank Redemption, and It. This month marks the 50th anniversary of his first novel, Carrie, so we are revisiting our guide to Stephen King.

A guide to Stephen King

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Don't call him a sociopath: Here's how Andrew Scott humanizes 'Ripley'

Andrew Scott, above, says he tried to "unlearn the stuff" he knew from previous adaptations of the Highsmith novel, including the 1999 film adaptation of The Talented Mr. Ripley, starring Matt Damon. Philippe Antonello/Netflix hide caption

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Philippe Antonello/Netflix

Don't call him a sociopath: Here's how Andrew Scott humanizes 'Ripley'

Fresh Air

Scott (who you may know as "hot priest" from Fleabag) plays con man Tom Ripley in the Netflix adaptation of The Talented Mr. Ripley. He says his job is to advocate for his characters, not judge them.

Don't call him a sociopath: Here's how Andrew Scott humanizes 'Ripley'

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'Ripley' returns in black and white — and is so much better for it

The new Netflix adaptation of The Talented Mr. Ripley is brilliantly shot in black and white. It's a meticulously built piece of filmmaking and looking at it shot by shot is a profound pleasure. Maurizio Lombardi/Netflix hide caption

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Maurizio Lombardi/Netflix

Review

Pop Culture Happy Hour

'Ripley' returns in black and white — and is so much better for it

The Netflix adaptation of The Talented Mr. Ripley is brilliantly shot in black and white. It's a meticulously built piece of filmmaking and looking at it shot by shot is a profound pleasure.

Netflix's stylish 'Ripley' stretches the grift — and the tension — to the max

Director Steven Zaillian and cinematographer Robert Elswit make the most of the Ripley's black and white aesthetic, presenting stunning images of Italian landscape. Lorenzo Sisti/Netflix hide caption

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Lorenzo Sisti/Netflix

Review

TV Reviews

Netflix's stylish 'Ripley' stretches the grift — and the tension — to the max

Fresh Air

Andrew Scott stars as a grifter who's always ready to swindle, seduce or murder in a new eight-part miniseries based on 1955 novel. Ripley combines a bold narrative with visual surprises throughout.

Netflix's stylish 'Ripley' stretches the grift — and the tension — to the max

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'Ripley' offers a novel take. Literally.

Andrew Scott as Tom Ripley in Ripley. Philippe Antonello/Netflix hide caption

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Philippe Antonello/Netflix

Review

Pop Culture Happy Hour

'Ripley' offers a novel take. Literally.

Tom Ripley is back — and still can't be trusted. The character — created by novelist Patricia Highsmith — was made indelible by Matt Damon in the film The Talented Mr. Ripley. Now, he's played by Andrew Scott on a Netflix series called simply Ripley. Tom once again worms his way into the life of one Dickie Greenleaf and attempts to sabotage his luxurious life in the Italian countryside.

'Ripley' offers a novel take. Literally.

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'SCTV' star and comedian Joe Flaherty dies at 82

Former cast members of SCTV Dave Thomas (from left), Joe Flaherty, Catherine O'Hara, Andrea Martin, foreground, Harold Ramis, Eugene Levy and Martin Short, pose at the U.S. Comedy Arts Festival on March 6, 1999, in Aspen, Colo. Flaherty, a founding member of the Canadian sketch series "SCTV," died Monday at age 82. E Pablo Kosmicki/AP hide caption

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E Pablo Kosmicki/AP

Obituaries

'SCTV' star and comedian Joe Flaherty dies at 82

The Emmy winner starred with John Candy and Catherine O'Hara in "SCTV,″ about a fictional TV station. Flaherty's characters included network boss Guy Caballero and the vampiric TV host Count Floyd.

Dystopias are so 2020. Meet the new protopias that show a hopeful future

Ari Wallach interviews Andrea Kritcher at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. BetterTomorrows/PBS hide caption

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BetterTomorrows/PBS

Culture

Dystopias are so 2020. Meet the new protopias that show a hopeful future

A Brief History of the Future, on PBS, is an example of a "protopian" show from a new production studio helmed by Kathryn Murdoch. She believes we need more hopeful stories abut the future.

Dystopias are so 2020. Meet the new protopias that show a hopeful future

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In AMC's 'Parish,' actor Giancarlo Esposito drives the story

Giancarlo Esposito as Gracian (Gray) Parish. Eliot Brasseaux/AMC hide caption

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Eliot Brasseaux/AMC

In AMC's 'Parish,' actor Giancarlo Esposito drives the story

Giancarlo Esposito calls his newest role "the highlight" of a decades-long career. He's known for playing a drug kingpin on Breaking Bad.

In AMC's 'Parish,' actor Giancarlo Esposito drives the story

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New Steve Martin documentary spotlights a comedy legend with nothing left to prove

Steve Martin in the Apple TV+ documentary STEVE! Apple TV+ hide caption

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Apple TV+

Review

TV Reviews

New Steve Martin documentary spotlights a comedy legend with nothing left to prove

Filmmaker Morgan Neville dives into a surprisingly enigmatic comic in his two-part Apple TV+ documentary.

New Steve Martin documentary spotlights a comedy legend with nothing left to prove

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