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Culture

Wednesday

Journalist Investigates Amazon Warehouse Life And The Pitfalls Of 'One-Click America'

Amazon tractor-trailers line up outside an Amazon Fulfillment Center on Staten Island in New York City in April 2020. The pandemic has been good for the company's bottom line. Mark Lennihan/AP hide caption

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Mark Lennihan/AP

Business

Journalist Investigates Amazon Warehouse Life And The Pitfalls Of 'One-Click America'

Fresh Air

Alec MacGillis, author of the new book Fulfillment, says a union vote by Amazon workers in Alabama could determine "what life is going to look like for the working class in America in years to come."

Journalist Investigates Amazon Warehouse Life And The Pitfalls Of 'One-Click America'

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Poetry Challenge: Create A List Poem That Grapples With Rise Of Anti-Asian Racism
Katherine Du

Poetry Challenge: Create A List Poem That Grapples With Rise Of Anti-Asian Racism

Attacks against Asian Americans have increased since the coronavirus pandemic began. Tell us how you cope with this anti-Asian violence and discrimination in the form of a list poem.

Poetry Challenge: Create A List Poem That Grapples With Rise Of Anti-Asian Racism

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Filmmakers Call Out PBS For A Lack Of Diversity, Over-Reliance On Ken Burns

Ken Burns speaks during the PBS segment of the Summer 2019 Television Critics Association Press Tour. Amy Sussman/Getty Images hide caption

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Amy Sussman/Getty Images

Television

Filmmakers Call Out PBS For A Lack Of Diversity, Over-Reliance On Ken Burns

A group of documentarians have signed a letter to PBS expressing concerns that white stars like Ken Burns get too much airtime and resources, while filmmakers of color struggle to build careers.

Filmmakers Call Out PBS For A Lack Of Diversity, Over-Reliance On Ken Burns

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'Godzilla Vs. Kong' Is A Flawed Monster Movie Mashup

Godzilla Vs. Kong puts two franchise stars in epic battles on land and sea. Courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures and Legendary Pictures hide caption

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Courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures and Legendary Pictures

Review

Pop Culture Happy Hour

'Godzilla Vs. Kong' Is A Flawed Monster Movie Mashup

Godzilla Vs. Kong is a collision of two classic film franchises. As the sequel to 2017's Kong: Skull Island and 2019's Godzilla: King Of The Monsters, the film's excessive plot largely serves as window dressing for a heightened epic battle. However, its action-packed story also neglects to properly acknowledge the complicated layers of these two cinematic monsters.

'Godzilla Vs. Kong' Is A Flawed Monster Movie Mashup

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Tuesday

Camping Is An Adventure For All Americans In 'Fatima's Great Outdoors'

Fatima's Great Outdoors, by Ambreen Tariq and Stevie Lewis Kokila hide caption

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Kokila

Author Interviews

Camping Is An Adventure For All Americans In 'Fatima's Great Outdoors'

Ambreen Tariq's new children's book explores the immigrant experience of America's great outdoors — it's based on her own childhood experiences of family camping trips.

Camping Is An Adventure For All Americans In 'Fatima's Great Outdoors'

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Ken Burns' 'Hemingway' Docuseries Dives Into The Writer's Complicated Life

Ken Burns' three-part documentary about American writer Ernest Hemingway (shown above) premieres on PBS April 5. Bettmann Archive/Getty Images hide caption

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Bettmann Archive/Getty Images

Review

TV Reviews

Ken Burns' 'Hemingway' Docuseries Dives Into The Writer's Complicated Life

Fresh Air

A three-part PBS documentary probes deeply into Ernest Hemingway's life and his writings. Among those featured are each of his four wives, who shed light on the author's troubled personal life.

Ken Burns' 'Hemingway' Docuseries Dives Into The Writer's Complicated Life

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'Lovecraft Country' Creator Aims To Reclaim The Horror Genre For People Of Color

Jurnee Smollett, Jonathan Majors and Courtney B. Vance star in HBO's Lovecraft Country. HBO hide caption

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HBO

Television

'Lovecraft Country' Creator Aims To Reclaim The Horror Genre For People Of Color

Fresh Air

"Horror, which is my favorite genre, works best for me when there's a metaphor," Misha Green says. Her HBO series mixes the real horrors of the Black experience in the '50s with supernatural terrors.

'Lovecraft Country' Creator Aims To Reclaim The Horror Genre For People Of Color

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Not Heading To Paris This Summer? The Louvre Has Digitized 482,000 Artworks

The Apollon Gallery at the Louvre museum in Paris on Jan. 14, 2020. Stephanie de Sakutin/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

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Stephanie de Sakutin/AFP via Getty Images

Fine Art

Not Heading To Paris This Summer? The Louvre Has Digitized 482,000 Artworks

One of the world's mightiest museums has made much of its vast collection available online. The Louvre steers digital visitors well beyond marquee works like the Mona Lisa to reveal hidden treasures.

Not Heading To Paris This Summer? The Louvre Has Digitized 482,000 Artworks

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Are You Ready To Rock? Music Festivals Prepare For A 2021 Comeback

Some concert organizers are hoping to bring back festivals this year. Above, a shot of the crowd at Coachella 2019. Kevin Winter/Getty Images for Coachella hide caption

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Kevin Winter/Getty Images for Coachella

The Coronavirus Crisis

Are You Ready To Rock? Music Festivals Prepare For A 2021 Comeback

Some concert organizers are making plans to forge ahead cautiously this festival season, hoping that increased vaccination will make concerts safe and appealing.

Are You Ready To Rock? Music Festivals Prepare For A 2021 Comeback

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Hanif Abdurraqib's Rabbit Holes Into Great Black Performance

Author Hanif Abdurraqib Megan Leigh Barnard/Megan Leigh Barnard hide caption

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Megan Leigh Barnard/Megan Leigh Barnard

It's Been a Minute

Hanif Abdurraqib's Rabbit Holes Into Great Black Performance

Hanif Abdurraqib's latest book is A Little Devil in America: Notes in Praise of Black Performance. In it, Abdurraqib researches the impact of Black performers on American culture throughout the past several hundred years, touching on everything from minstrel shows to Soul Train, the concept of the "Magical Negro," and playing spades. Sam talks to Abdurraqib about lesser-known performers like Ellen Armstrong, the first Black woman magician, and they revisit the mythology of household names like Whitney Houston. Plus, they share aspects of Black performance they've missed most in this pandemic year.

Hanif Abdurraqib's Rabbit Holes Into Great Black Performance

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