Pop Culture

A portrait is projected on the walls of a building as part of a project promoting art through re-evaluating urban spaces and buildings in Sao Paulo, Brazil, on Nov. 22.

In Gritty Sao Paulo, Artists Take To The Streets

9:52pm April 22, 2013

by Lourdes Garcia-Navarro

Brazil's largest city is more about business than art. But a new crop of creators — who work in media as different as crochet, graffiti and poetry — is trying to change that by sprucing up public spaces.

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Panels from Action Comics No. 1, the first Superman comic, adorn the site of illustrator Joe Shuster's former apartment building, long since demolished.

Cleveland Celebrates Superman, Its Hometown Hero

1:39pm April 18, 2013

by Brian Bull

Most people think of Superman as a native of Krypton, or perhaps the rural Kansas village of Smallville. Not so fast, say Clevelanders. The creators of the Man of Steel grew up in the city that steel built, and this year, Cleveland is pulling out all the stops for the superhero's 75th birthday.

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Joan Collins, John Forsythe and Linda Evans at a party celebrating the production of 150 episodes of Dynasty in 1986.

Arts

Big Hair, Big Shoulders And Big Money: Linda Evans On '80s Excess

1:34pm April 15, 2013

by Linda Holmes

Linda Wertheimer talks to Dynasty star Linda Evans about the legacy of Krystle Carrington, who lived in a greed-obsessed decade but remained surprisingly pure of heart.

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Arts

Remembering Annette Funicello, America's Mouseketeer

2:05pm April 09, 2013

Handpicked by Walt Disney to be one of the original Mouseketeers, Annette Funicello was America's girl next door. She spoke to Fresh Air in 1994 about Mickey Mouse ears and why she went public with her multiple sclerosis diagnosis. She died Monday at age 70 from complications of the disease.

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Arts

As Audiences Shift To Cable, TV Programming Changes, Too

1:20pm April 09, 2013

by Neda Ulaby

Broadcast TV used to have bigger stars, bigger audiences and bigger budgets. Cable shows were edgier, with more sex and violence than the broadcasters dared show. In the last few seasons, though, cable ratings have improved and broadcast shows have taken more risks. What's going on on TV?

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The American actress and singer Annette Funicello, photographed here circa 1960, died April 8, more than two decades after being diagnosed with multiple sclerosis.

Arts

A Tip Of The Mouse Ears To Annette Funicello, 1942-2013

9:59pm April 08, 2013

by Mandalit del Barco

The Mouseketeer and bikini-musicals actress became a pop star and made a generation of boomer boys swoon. Later she faced multiple sclerosis with equanimity — and raised awareness and money in the process.

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Richard Madden plays Robb Stark in HBO's Game of Thrones.

Arts

Pirates Steal 'Game Of Thrones': Why HBO Doesn't Mind

5:42pm April 07, 2013

by NPR Staff

More than 1 million fans illegally downloaded the first episode of Season 3 of the popular HBO series this week — within 24 hours of its premiere. The illicit popularity of the show, based on George R.R. Martin's best-selling fantasy books, has wider implications for the future of TV.

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We won't give away any of the details about his personal life, but we can say that the two-hour season premiere of Mad Men shows Don Draper (Jon Hamm, right, with John Slattery's Roger Sterling) as his silver tongue fails him.

Arts

This Spring, Rejoice At Rebirth Of 'Mad Men'

1:04pm April 03, 2013

by David Bianculli

It used to be that TV's biggest annual event was the arrival of the fall season, but these days excellent shows premiere year-round. This spring, the return of AMC's stylish drama is the best reason to celebrate the season: The two-hour premiere delivers on the show's highest ambitions.

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Listening Back To An Interview With Phil Ramone

10:15am April 02, 2013

Ramone started out as a sound engineer for Lesley Gore, and went on to work with Simon and Garfunkel, Barbra Streisand and Frank Sinatra. He died Saturday at the age of 79. Fresh Air remembers him by listening back to a 1995 interview. He talks about losing old demos and being mistaken for a member of The Ramones.

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DeGeneres performs on The Tonight Show in 1987.

Arts

How Ellen DeGeneres Helped Change The Conversation About Gays

5:59pm March 27, 2013

by Lynn Neary

In 1997, DeGeneres chose a very public forum — her television sitcom — to announce, "I'm gay." The entertainer's career has tracked the seismic shift in public opinion on gays and same-sex marriage.

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