Pop Culture

The cast of Mad Men: January Jones (from left), Jon Hamm, Elisabeth Moss, Vincent Kartheiser, Christina Hendricks and John Slattery

Arts

'Mad Men' Finale: A Love Letter To Fans Filled With Mostly Happy Endings

9:13pm May 18, 2015

by Eric Deggans

AMC's Mad Men ended its seven-season run on Sunday. Fans may have loved how characters' stories were resolved, but critics may question how writers got them there.

Queue Listen Now

The 'Mad Men' Ending: A 'Twisted' And 'Perfect' Conclusion

5:36pm May 18, 2015

by David Bianculli

After all eight seasons of drama, the TV series about men and women in advertising ended with a full-length ad. TV critic David Bianculli says the conclusion was "so unexpected, yet so appropriate."

Queue Listen Now

Arts

'Mad Men' Ends, Singing A Familiar Song

2:48pm May 18, 2015

by Linda Holmes

The multiple-Emmy-winning drama series ended on Sunday night with a finale that saw change in some corners and a total lack of change in others.

In Chad Hodge's new Fox series, Secret Service agent Ethan Burke (Matt Dillon) travels to Wayward Pines, Idaho, in search of two missing federal agents.

Arts

TV Thriller 'Wayward Pines' Offers Suspense — And An Ending

8:56pm May 17, 2015

by NPR Staff

Chad Hodge, the creator of the 10-episode limited series, promises that it won't leave viewers hanging. "One thing that I really wanted to do with this show is not cheat you as a viewer," he says.

Queue Listen Now

Watching Joan (Christina Hendricks, left) and Peggy (Elisabeth Moss) navigate the sexism of a 1960s ad agency is part of what has kept audiences hooked on Mad Men.

Arts

'Mad Men' Writer: Show's Female Characters Aren't Thinking About Feminism

10:44am May 17, 2015

by NPR Staff

"They're very much in their own lives," says Semi Chellas, who is also the show's co-executive producer. The AMC period drama ends its seventh and final season on Sunday.

Queue Listen Now

Matthew Weiner and Ask Me Another host Ophira Eisenberg.

Arts

Matthew Weiner: No Longer Linda's Loser Husband

6:22am May 17, 2015

Mad Men creator Matthew Weiner joins us in Santa Barbara, Calif., to talk screenwriting, life before success, and his secret past as a Jeopardy! champion.

Queue Listen Now

Arts

Pop Culture Happy Hour: 'Pitch Perfect 2' And Summer Movies

9:48pm May 15, 2015

by Linda Holmes

On this week's show: Pitch Perfect 2 is just the beginning of our summer movie preview. Plus, books and music make an appearance as we talk about what's making us happy.

Queue Listen Now

Anna Kendrick and her compatriots in the Barden Bellas are back for a second installment of a cappella excitement in Pitch Perfect 2. It's also Elizabeth Banks' first major movie as a director.

Arts

Yo Aca-Adrian! Elizabeth Banks Says 'Rocky IV' Inspired The New 'Pitch Perfect'

6:58pm May 15, 2015

by NPR Staff

Banks makes her directorial debut with Pitch Perfect 2; she talks to NPR's Audie Cornish about breaking into directing, the true meaning of a cappella, and how the Barden Bellas are really Rocky.

Queue Listen Now

Charlize Theron as Furiosa, alongside Tom Hardy's Max Rockatansky in the new Mad Max: Fury Road.

Arts

The Women Pull No Punches In Fiery, Feminist 'Mad Max'

1:06pm May 15, 2015

by Mandalit del Barco

Mad Max: Fury Road reboots a testosterone-fueled franchise with some tough new female characters. Director George Miller says women were an organic element as he rethought the original movies.

Queue Listen Now

Boxing puppets of Newt Gingrich and Mitt Romney in January 2012.

Mitt Romney To Fight Evander Holyfield. You Read That Right

11:34am May 15, 2015

by Jessica Taylor

Former 2012 Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney is picking another fight — with Evander Holyfield, the former heavyweight champion of the world. It's all for a good cause.