Pop Culture

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio tries his hand at some racial humor at the 94th annual Inner Circle Dinner in New York.

When It Comes To Terms Like 'Colored People's Time,' Context Matters

3:48pm April 13, 2016

by Karen Grigsby Bates

Bill de Blasio's been getting dragged for joking about "CPT." Once more, with gusto: When it comes to terms like this, context matters. Who's saying it, where and to whom?

National

Voice Of Lucky Charms Leprechaun, Arthur Anderson, Dies At 93

9:04am April 13, 2016

by Doreen McCallister

Besides making a living voicing the breakfast cereal leprechaun, he appeared in a radio show and on Broadway and was in TV shows including episodes of Car 54, Where Are You? and Law & Order.

Nadia Manzoor and Radhika Vaz star in the Web sketch-comedy show Shugs & Fats. Season 3 of the show will premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival on April 14 and will be available online on April 15.

Arts

A Web Comedy Series Is 'Walking The Line Between Hipsters And Hijabis'

5:17pm April 12, 2016

Comics Nadia Manzoor and Radhika Vaz play Muslim immigrants dealing with speed dating, catcalls and other aspects of life in secular New York in their sketch-comedy series Shugs & Fats.

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Rob Delaney and Sharon Horgan in Catastrophe.

Arts

A Good Fit: Why The Best Thing About 'Catastrophe' Is People Laughing

11:28am April 11, 2016

by Linda Holmes

Catastrophe, starring Rob Delaney and Sharon Horgan, is a romantic comedy that wisely lets its lead characters consider each other deeply and enchantingly funny.

National

With Hollywood's Advanced Digital Face-Lifting, Do We Even Need Actors?

12:27pm April 10, 2016

You can now digitally replace just about anything on an actor's body — including the actor himself. Journalist Logan Hill explains this practice of often invisible digital retouching in media.

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Arts

Will Superhero Movies Go The Way Of Old Westerns?

6:26pm April 08, 2016

Western movies once ruled Hollywood the way comic book movies seem to now. NPR's Audie Cornish talks with Brooks Hefner of James Madison University about how Westerns faded from popularity, and whether the same thing will happen to superhero movies.

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Helen Hunt and Bill Paxton star in Twister.

Arts

Pop Culture Happy Hour: Best Bad Movies And A Punishing Quiz

9:39am April 08, 2016

by Linda Holmes

On this week's show, original PCHH panelist Trey Graham returns to chat about bad movies and to be less humiliated than the rest of us by a quiz about pop culture returns.

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Samantha Bee's political satire Full Frontal premiered in February.

Samantha Bee On 'Full Frontal,' Feminism And The Freedom Of Her 40s

9:39am April 08, 2016

Since leaving The Daily Show, Bee has been busy with two new TBS shows. "I knew that there was something else that I wanted to do," she says. "It's very good for me to be creating my own thing."

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How Janice Min Transformed 'The Hollywood Reporter' Into A Glamorous Weekly

5:38pm April 07, 2016

by David Folkenflik

And they said print is dead. Janice Min turned around Us Weekly and now The Hollywood Reporter — transforming a trade daily into a glossy magazine relevant to advertisers and the movie community.

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Kelly Clarkson won the first season of American Idol in September 2002 over Justin Guarini, in front of co-hosts Ryan Seacrest and Brian Dunkleman, who almost looks aware that this would be his only season.

Arts

A Fond (No, Really!) Farewell To 'American Idol'

1:35pm April 07, 2016

by Linda Holmes

Built on telephone dialing and the sting of a British tongue, American Idol shuffles off this mortal coil on Thursday night, having provided just enough good moments to survive.