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Culture

Saturday

Not My Job: Singer Alex Boyé Gets Quizzed On Chef Boyardee
Courtesy Alex Boyé

Wait Wait...Don't Tell Me!

Not My Job: Singer Alex Boyé Gets Quizzed On Chef Boyardee

In October, we went to Salt Lake City to record our 1,000th show and invited Alex Boyé, a former Mormon Tabernacle Choir member and YouTube star, to play our quiz.

Not My Job: Singer Alex Boyé Gets Quizzed On Chef Boyardee

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Daniel Craig: 'Knives Out' Aims To Be One Of Those 'Grand Pieces Of Entertainment'

Daniel Craig as detective Benoit Blanc in Knives Out. Claire Folger/Lionsgate hide caption

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Claire Folger/Lionsgate

Movie Interviews

Daniel Craig: 'Knives Out' Aims To Be One Of Those 'Grand Pieces Of Entertainment'

As a kid, Craig remembers Agatha Christie "event movies" such as Murder on the Orient Express and Death on the Nile. He says his new whodunit, Knives Out, strives for a similar effect.

Daniel Craig: 'Knives Out' Aims To Be One Of Those 'Grand Pieces Of Entertainment'

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'We Wanted Our Patrons Back' — Public Libraries Scrap Late Fines To Alleviate Inequity

A growing number of public libraries across the country are revising their policies to eliminate overdue fines. Connie Hanzhang Jin/NPR hide caption

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Connie Hanzhang Jin/NPR

Books

'We Wanted Our Patrons Back' — Public Libraries Scrap Late Fines To Alleviate Inequity

"There were families that couldn't afford to pay the fines and therefore couldn't return the materials," Chicago Public Library Commissioner Andrea Telli said. "So then we just lost them as patrons."

Friday

Movie Interviews

'Beautiful Day' Director On Mister Rogers' 'Radical Notion': Telling Kids The Truth

Fresh Air

Marielle Heller's film A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood centers on Fred Rogers' unlikely friendship with a cynical journalist. Originally broadcast Nov. 20, 2019.

'Beautiful Day' Director On Mister Rogers' 'Radical Notion': Telling Kids The Truth

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500 Years After Leonardo Da Vinci's Death, France Celebrates His Life And Work

When Leonardo da Vinci arrived in France in 1516, he brought three of his own paintings with him — "Virgin and Child with Saint Anne" (left), "Saint John the Baptist" (right) and the Mona Lisa. RMN-Grand Palais (Musée du Louvre)/René-Gabriel Ojéda (left) Michel Urtado (right) hide caption

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RMN-Grand Palais (Musée du Louvre)/René-Gabriel Ojéda (left) Michel Urtado (right)

World

500 Years After Leonardo Da Vinci's Death, France Celebrates His Life And Work

A new exhibition at the Louvre includes Leonardo's sketches, drawings and 11 paintings. "You can really get into his brain and try to see how he thought," says biographer Serge Bramly.

500 Years After Leonardo Da Vinci's Death, France Celebrates His Life And Work

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Play Your Cardigans Right And See 'A Beautiful Day In The Neighborhood'

Tom Hanks stars as Mister Rogers in A Beautiful Day In The Neighborhood. Lacey Terrell/Sony Pictures hide caption

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Lacey Terrell/Sony Pictures

Review

Pop Culture Happy Hour

Play Your Cardigans Right And See 'A Beautiful Day In The Neighborhood'

Who can possibly play Fred Rogers? That's a question that the new film A Beautiful Day In The Neighborhood tries to answer with a performance from Tom Hanks as the beloved TV host. In the movie a journalist played by Matthew Rhys has a transformative experience with Rogers that reshapes his relationship with his troubled father. A Beautiful Day In The Neighborhood is directed by Marielle Heller, who most recently made the Melissa McCarthy film Can You Ever Forgive Me? It uses unconventional techniques to place the journalist's story within Rogers' land of make believe.

Play Your Cardigans Right And See 'A Beautiful Day In The Neighborhood'

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Thursday

Clive James, Writer, TV Host And Cultural Critic, Dies At 80

In childhood, "telling stories was crucial to my existence and indeed to my survival," writer and cultural critic Clive James said. He died Sunday at age 80. David Levenson/Getty Images hide caption

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David Levenson/Getty Images

Obituaries

Clive James, Writer, TV Host And Cultural Critic, Dies At 80

"Fiction is life with the dull bits left out." That is just one of the many clever observations of the writer, TV host and cultural critic Clive James. He died Sunday in Cambridge, England.

Clive James, Writer, TV Host And Cultural Critic, Dies At 80

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Hoops, High Jumps, Movement Of Muscles: A Crowdsourced Poem Inspired By Sports
jamtoons/Getty Images

Hoops, High Jumps, Movement Of Muscles: A Crowdsourced Poem Inspired By Sports

Poet Kwame Alexander creates a poem from submissions about tennis, baseball, ballet, track, football, basketball and hockey, as well as themes of winning and losing and technique and talent.

Hoops, High Jumps, Movement Of Muscles: A Crowdsourced Poem Inspired By Sports

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The Dismal 'Merry Happy Whatever' Is The Downside Of Binge-Watching

Mason Davis, Elizabeth Ho, Hayes MacArthur, Lucas Jaye, Ashley Tisdale, Dennis Quaid, Brent Morin, Bridgit Mendler, Siobhan Murphy, and Adam Rose in Merry Happy Whatever. Adam Rose/Netflix hide caption

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Adam Rose/Netflix

Review

Pop Culture Happy Hour

The Dismal 'Merry Happy Whatever' Is The Downside Of Binge-Watching

You can understand why Netflix thought people might want a holiday-themed family comedy to watch this season. But unfortunately, the one they made is a big miss.

Wednesday

Edward Norton On Urban Planning And 'Slow Cooking' 'Motherless Brooklyn'

Edward Norton (shown here with co-star Gugu Mbatha-Raw) describes his Motherless Brooklyn character as a sad and lonely "street kid." Glen Wilson/Warner Bros. Pictures hide caption

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Glen Wilson/Warner Bros. Pictures

Movie Interviews

Edward Norton On Urban Planning And 'Slow Cooking' 'Motherless Brooklyn'

Fresh Air

Norton wrote, directed and starred in the film adaptation of Jonathan Lethem's novel. The movie centers on a detective with Tourette's syndrome who uncovers corruption in New York City.

Edward Norton On Urban Planning And 'Slow Cooking' 'Motherless Brooklyn'

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