Movies

Clockwise from left: Brad Mehldau, Maryam Keshavarz, Samantha Irby, Lauren Fleshman, Ke Huy Quan and Christian Cooper.

'Fresh Air' staffers pick the 2023 interviews you shouldn't miss

9:18am December 29, 2023

Interviews with actor Ke Huy Quan, pianist Jason Moran, humorist Samantha Irby, and media critic Brian Stelter are among the conversations that stuck with the staff of Fresh Air this year.

Mark Kistler, aka Commander Mark, stars in a new documentary, The Secret Cities of Mark Kistler, that tells the story of Kistler's legacy and how it all happened.

Learning to love to draw with Commander Mark, the Bob Ross of drawing

9:23pm December 28, 2023

by LA Johnson

A new documentary celebrates how millions of children learned the power of drawing from PBS television art educator Mark Kistler.

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A look at the excellence celebrated in tonight's airing of Kennedy Center Honors

6:11pm December 27, 2023

by Elizabeth Blair

The Kennedy Center Honors will broadcast on CBS Wednesday evening. This year's Honorees are Dionne Warwick, Billy Crystal, Renee Fleming, Barry Gibb and Queen Latifah.

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Clockwise from left: Cocaine Bear, Luke Macfarlane in Platonic, Danielle Brooks and Fantasia Barrino in The Color Purple, Bryce Harper of the Philadelphia Phillies, the cover of the book Starter Villain, Jessica Williams in Shrinking.

Books
Arts

The year in review: 50 wonderful things from 2023

2:21pm December 27, 2023

by Linda Holmes

Pop culture critic Linda Holmes has been making this annual list since 2010. Big, small, inspirational, silly — what these items have in common is that they are all wonderful and brought her joy.

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Actor Lee Sun-kyun of Oscar-winning film 'Parasite' is found dead in Seoul

10:21am December 27, 2023

by Se Eun Gong

South Korean actor Lee Sun-kyun, who played a rich entrepreneur in the Oscar-winning film Parasite, was found dead on Wednesday. Police suspect he died by suicide.

World News

Director Andrew Haigh talks about love and loneliness in 'All of Us Strangers'

5:53pm December 26, 2023

Director Andrew Haigh speaks with NPR's Ari Shapiro about his new film All of Us Strangers.

Sofia (Danielle Brooks) and Celie (Fantasia Barrino) in the 2023 film reincarnation of The Color Purple.

'The Color Purple' is the biggest Christmas Day opening since 2009

5:01pm December 26, 2023

by Bob Mondello

The Color Purple is now the second biggest Christmas Day opening in history — $18 million on day one of its release.

Fans of 'Home Alone 2' can own 4-story NYC brownstone for $6.7 million

7:19am December 26, 2023

In the film, Macaulay Culkin's character makes his way to a house at 51 West 95th Street, where he battles bandits. Scenes were shot at a studio but tourists take photos in front of the real building.

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What makes a good Christmas movie

5:24pm December 24, 2023

by Linda Holmes

As families around the country watch their favorite Christmas films, NPR's Scott Detrow finds out what makes for a good Christmas movie.

The obsession with demonic possession on screen

5:38pm December 23, 2023

by Marc Rivers

Tuesday marks 50 years since The Exorcist came out and shocked audiences with its depiction of a possessed 12-year-old girl. Its release kicked off an obsession with films about demonic possession.