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Illusion And Identity: 'Derek DelGaudio's In & Of Itself'

Derek DelGaudio on stage during In & Of Itself, now streaming on Hulu. Matthew Murphy/Hulu hide caption

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Matthew Murphy/Hulu

Review

Pop Culture Happy Hour

Illusion And Identity: 'Derek DelGaudio's In & Of Itself'

February 1, 2021 • The off-Broadway show In & Of Itself, performed by Derek DelGaudio, was a one-man show, a magic act and a piece of interactive theater. The show is now available on Hulu and it showcases a series of storytelling vignettes that are punctuated by different illusions. One has card magic, a couple have interactions with the audience, but the focus is really on identity.

Illusion And Identity: 'Derek DelGaudio's In & Of Itself'

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'Robin Hood' Groups Win New Fans, Thanks To GameStop Controversy

Angry online traders looking for the Robinhood stock app should also not cast blame on the 1938 movie The Adventures of Robin Hood, starring Errol Flynn and Olivia de Havilland. FilmPublicityArchive/United Archives via Getty Images hide caption

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FilmPublicityArchive/United Archives via Getty Images

Technology

'Robin Hood' Groups Win New Fans, Thanks To GameStop Controversy

January 29, 2021 • The Robin Hood anti-poverty charity in New York City, for example, says it's seeing a new boost in donations this week. In some cases, donors said the money came from their GameStop stock profits.

Omar Sy plays Assane Diop in Netflix's new French series Lupin. Emmanuel Guimier/Netflix hide caption

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Emmanuel Guimier/Netflix

Review

Pop Culture Happy Hour

Oui, We Love 'Lupin'

January 29, 2021 • Lupin is a smart and twisty French series that's new to Netflix. It's about a young Parisian man named Assane, played by Omar Sy, who molds his life on classic French tales about a fictional gentleman thief and master of disguise named Arsène Lupin.

Oui, We Love 'Lupin'

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'This Is Our Dream': A Crowdsourced Poem To Inspire Hope

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Arts & Life

'This Is Our Dream': A Crowdsourced Poem To Inspire Hope

January 28, 2021 • NPR poet-in-residence Kwame Alexander's latest community poem started with a request to consider what follows after the words "I dream a world."

'This Is Our Dream': A Crowdsourced Poem To Inspire Hope

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'All Creatures' Is Still The Pastoral Pleasure We Needed

Samuel West, Nicholas Ralph, Callum Woodhouse, and Anna Madeley star in the new All Creatures Great And Small on PBS's Masterpiece. Matt Squire/Playground Television (UK) Ltd./PBS hide caption

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Matt Squire/Playground Television (UK) Ltd./PBS

Review

Pop Culture Happy Hour

'All Creatures' Is Still The Pastoral Pleasure We Needed

January 28, 2021 • The writer and veterinarian James Herriot wrote a series of beloved books about his adventures as a vet in Yorkshire beginning in the 1930s. They were adapted with great success into a series called All Creatures Great And Small, which ran on the BBC and PBS. Now, there's a new take airing on PBS with a whole new cast.

'All Creatures' Is Still The Pastoral Pleasure We Needed

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Actress Cloris Leachman, Who Played Both Silly And Serious, Dies At 94

Cloris Leachman, pictured in 1974, seemed game for anything, from playing a creepy housekeeper in Mel Brooks' Young Frankenstein to competing on ABC's Dancing With the Stars. George Brich/AP hide caption

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George Brich/AP

Obituaries

Actress Cloris Leachman, Who Played Both Silly And Serious, Dies At 94

January 27, 2021 • The actress seemed game for anything: She played a heartbroken lover in The Last Picture Show, a creepy housekeeper in Young Frankenstein and even competed on Dancing With the Stars.

Actress Cloris Leachman, Who Played Both Silly And Serious, Dies At 94

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'Resident Alien': The Truth Is Way, Way Out There

Alan Tudyk plays an alien who's not comfortable in his (human) skin in SYFY's Resident Alien. James Dittinger/SYFY hide caption

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James Dittinger/SYFY

Review

Pop Culture Happy Hour

'Resident Alien': The Truth Is Way, Way Out There

January 27, 2021 • The great Alan Tudyk gets a role he can sink his sharp pointy alien teeth into on a darkly funny series boasting an ensemble cast of characters with surprisingly nuanced interpersonal histories.

20 Years Later, 'Almost Famous' Is Still A Golden God

Patrick Fugit and Kate Hudson in Cameron Crowe's 2000 film Almost Famous. Neal Preston/Dreamworks Llc/Kobal/Shutterstock hide caption

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Neal Preston/Dreamworks Llc/Kobal/Shutterstock

Review

Pop Culture Happy Hour

20 Years Later, 'Almost Famous' Is Still A Golden God

January 27, 2021 • The film Almost Famous recently turned 20. Writer and director Cameron Crowe looks at the ecosystem surrounding a rising rock band in the early '70s. Starring Patrick Fugit, Kate Hudson, Billy Crudup, Frances McDormand, and so many more, it's a coming-of-age story that touches on journalism, sex, rock and roll, parenthood, and the perils of trying to be cool.

20 Years Later, 'Almost Famous' Is Still A Golden God

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Meredith Hagner, John Early, Alia Shawkat and John Reynolds star in Search Party. Mark Schafer/Warner Media hide caption

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Mark Schafer/Warner Media

Review

Pop Culture Happy Hour

Should You RSVP To 'Search Party'?

January 26, 2021 • In the dark comedy Search Party, four narcissistic millennials become amateur sleuths following the disappearance of a former classmate. Alia Shawkat plays Dory, the ringleader whose growing obsession with solving the mystery eventually entwines them all in a murder investigation. The fourth season has found new ways to dial up the absurdity while bringing in new guest stars like Busy Phillips and Susan Sarandon.

Should You RSVP To 'Search Party'?

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Book Concierge: Great Books About Families

Becky Harlan/NPR

Review

Pop Culture Happy Hour

Book Concierge: Great Books About Families

January 25, 2021 • Every year, NPR brings together some of the best books of the year in a searchable, explorable guide called the Book Concierge. Today, we're highlighting three great 2020 books about families from year's guide.

Book Concierge: Great Books About Families

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Desi Arnaz, seen in 1955, was one of the first characters to speak Spanish on English-language television. nc/AP hide caption

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nc/AP

Planet Money

How Desi Invented Television

January 22, 2021 • The television was invented by Philo Farnsworth in 1927. TV was invented by Desi Arnaz in 1951.

How Desi Invented Television

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Let HBO's 'Painting With John' Gouache Over You

John Lurie grumbles about art and life while painting watercolors as tree-frogs croak in the tropical night. It's weirdly calming. HBO hide caption

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HBO

Review

Pop Culture Happy Hour

Let HBO's 'Painting With John' Gouache Over You

January 22, 2021 • Watching musician/actor John Lurie paint and grumbly pontificate in an unnamed tropical locale is sometimes puzzling, often intriguing and always soothing.

'In & Of Itself' Is A Study Of Identity And Magic

Derek DelGaudio uses a little magic and a lot of storytelling to talk about identity in In & Of Itself. Matthew Murphy/Hulu hide caption

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Matthew Murphy/Hulu

Review

Pop Culture Happy Hour

'In & Of Itself' Is A Study Of Identity And Magic

January 22, 2021 • Derek DelGaudio's successful off-Broadway show has been given a marvelous film adaptation that captures the stage production's delicate and humane tone.

'WandaVision' Traps Its Stars In An Ever-Changing Sitcom

Elizabeth Olsen and Paul Bettany star as Wanda Maximoff and Vision in WandaVision. Courtesy of Marvel Studios hide caption

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Courtesy of Marvel Studios

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Pop Culture Happy Hour

'WandaVision' Traps Its Stars In An Ever-Changing Sitcom

January 22, 2021 • Disney Plus has big plans for the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and the first show to arrive from its slate of Phase Four projects is WandaVision. Wanda's got magic powers, Vision's a synthetic android and together, they're trapped in a series of simulations of comedies from decades past. However, slowly but surely, the superhero world you know and love begins to creep back in.

'WandaVision' Traps Its Stars In An Ever-Changing Sitcom

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Photos: The Internet's Favorite Inauguration Day Fashions

President-elect Joe Biden greets singer Lady Gaga during the inauguration. Susan Walsh/AP/Bloomberg via Getty Images hide caption

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Susan Walsh/AP/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Inauguration Day: Live Updates

Photos: The Internet's Favorite Inauguration Day Fashions

January 21, 2021 • From stepchildren to senators, attendees flocked to the Capitol in both muted and flashy garments, sending Twitter into a frenzy over standout styles.

The Agony And Subversion Of The 'Promising Young Woman' Ending

Carey Mulligan plays Cassie in Emerald Fennell's subversive revenge thriller Promising Young Woman. Focus Features hide caption

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Focus Features

Pop Culture Happy Hour

The Agony And Subversion Of The 'Promising Young Woman' Ending

January 21, 2021 • Emerald Fennell's scathing revenge thriller is shocking and deliberately unsatisfying.

'Cobra Kai' Is Eighties Nostalgia Done Right

William Zabka and Ralph Macchio star as Johnny Lawrence and Daniel LaRusso in Cobra Kai's second season. Guy D'Alema/Netflix hide caption

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Guy D'Alema/Netflix

Review

Pop Culture Happy Hour

'Cobra Kai' Is Eighties Nostalgia Done Right

January 20, 2021 • When The Karate Kid ended with a crane kick in 1984, it seemed like it was all over. But then came sequels. Then came a remake. And now we have Cobra Kai, a surprisingly good series that catches up with the film's hero Daniel and villain Johnny many years later. In this encore episode, we revisit our conversation about Cobra Kai from back in 2018 when it premiered on YouTube Red. The show just dropped its third season earlier this month Netflix.

'Cobra Kai' Is Eighties Nostalgia Done Right

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How 'Promising Young Woman' Subverts The Revenge Thriller

Carey Mulligan stars as Cassie in Promising Young Woman. Courtesy of Focus Features hide caption

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Courtesy of Focus Features

Review

Pop Culture Happy Hour

How 'Promising Young Woman' Subverts The Revenge Thriller

January 19, 2021 • Promising Young Woman is a revenge thriller, and a dark comedy, and a few other things, too. It stars Carey Mulligan as a woman who spends her evenings in bars being picked up by men who misunderstand who they're dealing with. Directed by Emerald Fennell, the film has been billed as a #MeToo tale, but its perspective feels timeless, and there are surprises each step of the way.

How 'Promising Young Woman' Subverts The Revenge Thriller

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'WandaVision': The Next Era Of The MCU Will Be Televised

In Disney+'s WandaVision, Wanda (Elizabeth Olsen) and Vision (Paul Bettany) find themselves in a disturbing situation ... comedy. Marvel Studios hide caption

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Marvel Studios

Review

Pop Culture Happy Hour

'WandaVision': The Next Era Of The MCU Will Be Televised

January 15, 2021 • The latest entry in the Marvel Cinematic Universe has been downsized to fit the television screen — and pay loving, sharply observed homage to TV sitcoms of different eras in the process.

'MLK/FBI' Humanizes A Civil Rights Icon's Legacy

Martin Luther King Jr. in Sam Pollard's MLK/FBI. Courtesy of IFC Films. An IFC Films Release. hide caption

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Courtesy of IFC Films. An IFC Films Release.

Review

Pop Culture Happy Hour

'MLK/FBI' Humanizes A Civil Rights Icon's Legacy

January 15, 2021 • Sam Pollard's documentary deftly examines the FBI's intense surveillance of Martin Luther King Jr. in the final years of his life.

Leslie Odom Jr., Eli Goree, Kingsley Ben-Adir and Aldis Hodge in One Night In Miami. Courtesy of Amazon Studios hide caption

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Courtesy of Amazon Studios

Review

Pop Culture Happy Hour

'One Night In Miami' Humanizes 4 Icons

January 15, 2021 • Regina King has won an Oscar and a collection of Emmys as an actor. Now, she's making her debut as a feature film director with One Night In Miami. The film imagines what might have happened in a real night in 1964 when Malcolm X, Sam Cooke and Jim Brown hung out with Cassius Clay. The men talk about success, celebrity, responsibility and history.

'One Night In Miami' Humanizes 4 Icons

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For The Kid In Your Life, 3 Video Games That Play Like Storybooks

Explore Nordic forests (okay, and some monsters) in R?ki. Polygon Treehouse hide caption

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Polygon Treehouse

Join The Game

For The Kid In Your Life, 3 Video Games That Play Like Storybooks

January 14, 2021 • Explore alien worlds, Nordic forests, and European countrysides in these point-and-click games — which may not have been designed specifically for kids, but will definitely keep them entertained.