Pop Culture

Guy Pearce (front left) plays Jack Irish in TV movie adaptations of two Peter Temple novels. The films, Bad Debts and Black Tide, are broadcast by digital provider Acorn TV.

Arts

Aussie Detective Jack Irish Is More Than Old-School Macho

4:28pm August 22, 2013

by John Powers

The fictional Australian hard-boiled detective is the star of several sharp, funny novels by Peter Temple. Two of those books have recently been adapted into TV movies starring Guy Pearce. Critic-at-large John Powers says Pearce perfectly conveys a complex blend of old and new masculinity.

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Mexican detective Marco Ruiz (Demian Bichir) teams up with his American counterpart, Sonya Cross (Diane Kruger), to solve a murder in FX's The Bridge.

Arts

'Bridge' Actor Demian Bichir On Portraying Border Life

1:34pm August 21, 2013

In the new FX series, Bichir plays a Mexican detective who teams up with an El Paso cop to solve a series of murders. He tells Fresh Air's Dave Davies that The Bridge aims to give equal treatment to both sides of the border.

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Microwave pralines are easier to make than stovetop pralines, and just as tasty.

'Treme' Cookbook Captures The Flavor Of A Show And A City

11:34am August 21, 2013

by Melissa Block

Melissa Block talks with Lolis Eric Elie, a writer and editor behind the HBO series Treme about a new cookbook written in the voices of the show's characters. Elie says it reflects both old New Orleans traditions and more recent influences.

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Reggie Shaw killed two men while he was texting on a Utah highway. He now speaks to groups about the dangers of texting and driving.

Herzog Plumbs Guilt And Loss Wrought By Texting And Driving

4:31pm August 16, 2013

by NPR Staff

Werner Herzog's latest project is a slight departure for the acclaimed filmmaker: a 35-minute public service announcement on the dangers of texting and driving. Yes, it's long, he says, but the "inner landscape" of great suffering such accidents can cause "can only be shown if you have more time."

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Before the midseason break, Breaking Bad's Walter White (Bryan Cranston) had stashed away plenty of drug money, but may have inadvertently tipped off his DEA agent brother-in-law.

Arts

A 'Curb'-Like Comedy And The Return Of 'Breaking Bad'

1:55pm August 16, 2013

by David Bianculli

This weekend, AMC begins showing the final episodes of its acclaimed drama series, and launches a new one: Low Winter Sun. Meanwhile, HBO presents its newest made-for-TV movie — this one a comedy, starring and co-written by Larry David.

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Jenji Kohan, seen here on the set of Orange Is the New Black, began her writing career on The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.

Arts

'Orange' Creator Jenji Kohan: 'Piper Was My Trojan Horse'

1:32pm August 13, 2013

Orange Is the New Black's showrunner explains how a story about a privileged white woman and criminality allows her to tell "really fascinating tales" of black women, Latinas, old women and criminals. Kohan also created the Showtime series Weeds.

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David Tennant plays Detective Inspector Alec Hardy alongside Olivia Colman as Detective Sergeant Ellie Miller, investigating the murder of a young boy in the BBC crime drama Broadchurch.

Arts

Murder, Secrets And Lies By The Seaside In 'Broadchurch'

7:43am August 11, 2013

by NPR Staff

Guest-host Celeste Headlee speaks with Scottish actor David Tennant about his role as brooding detective in Broadchurch. The moody BBC crime drama follows a mismatched cop duo investigating the murder of a young boy in a British seaside town.

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Peter Capaldi is the latest actor to play the Doctor on the long-running British sci-fi show, Doctor Who.

The Doctor, An Utterly Millennial Hero

7:43am August 11, 2013

by Celeste Headlee

Doctor Who fans waited with bated breath this summer for the announcement of the latest actor to play the Doctor. But the Doctor is more than a character on a show that millions love, he's arguably the chosen hero of the millennial generation.

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Tim Curry as Pennywise in a 1990 TV adaptation of Stephen King's It. Come on, tell us you aren't just a little creeped out.

Arts

Fear Of Clowns: Yes, It's Real

12:53am August 09, 2013

by NPR Staff

Clowns are terrifying — that's pretty much a given. Even children, to whom they're supposed to appeal, are said to dislike them instinctively. Writer Linda McRobbie says darkness has always been a part of clowning.

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Poor Donna Reed: Her Mary would have ended up working in a library — shudder — if not for the matrimonial intervention of Jimmy Stewart's George Bailey. Happily, 1946's It's a Wonderful Life isn't the only lens through which pop culture assesses the w

Books
Arts

Libraries' Leading Roles: On Stage, On Screen And In Song

4:04pm August 08, 2013

by Bob Mondello

In the latest installment of our library series, NPR's Bob Mondello visits some notable libraries in popular culture: Jorge Luis Borges' Library of Babel; Lucien's Library in Neil Gaiman's The Sandman; and the stacks in Buffy, Hogwarts, Doctor Who and Fahrenheit 451.

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