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Culture

Wednesday

'Jane The Virgin' Ends On A High Note

Gina Rodriguez and Justin Baldoni as Jane and Rafael, whose wedding was the centerpiece of the finale of Jane The Virgin. Kevin Estrada/The CW hide caption

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Kevin Estrada/The CW

Review

Pop Culture Happy Hour

'Jane The Virgin' Ends On A High Note

It's hard to end a show as beloved as Jane The Virgin, but the Wednesday night finale was funny, sad, silly and ultimately hopeful.

'Jane The Virgin' Ends On A High Note

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Our Language Is Evolving, 'Because Internet'
Beth Novey/NPR

Author Interviews

Our Language Is Evolving, 'Because Internet'

Whether you're extremely online or still confused by how a simple period can be interpreted as passive-aggressive, linguist Gretchen McCulloch has a guide to how our on-screen speech is morphing.

Our Language Is Evolving, 'Because Internet'

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Queue Up Your Preschool Playlist, 'Peppa Pig' Has Just Dropped 'My First Album'

The award-winning British cartoon Peppa Pig airs in more than 180 countries. Peppa, who is voiced by 17-year-old Harley Bird, has just dropped her first album titled "My First Album." ABD Ltd/Ent. One UK Ltd 2003 hide caption

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ABD Ltd/Ent. One UK Ltd 2003

Television

Queue Up Your Preschool Playlist, 'Peppa Pig' Has Just Dropped 'My First Album'

Peppa is a 4-year-old, cartoon pig whose award-winning TV show airs in more than 180 countries. For the last 13 years she's been played by Harley Bird, who got the part when she was only 5 years old.

Queue Up Your Preschool Playlist, 'Peppa Pig' Has Just Dropped 'My First Album'

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Better Stunts & Actors, Just As Derivative: 'Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw'

Bald-faced fury: Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson and Jason Statham team up as Luke Hobbs and Deckard Shaw in this Fast & Furious spinoff directed by David Leitch. Daniel Smith/Universal hide caption

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Daniel Smith/Universal

Review

Movie Reviews

Better Stunts & Actors, Just As Derivative: 'Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw'

The "genial flexfest" of a spinoff is the "most agreeable" of the franchise, which once again slickly repackages set pieces from other, better, more innovative action films.

Hal Prince, Transformational Broadway Producer And Director, Has Died

Harold Prince poses with his Tony Award for best direction of a musical in 1980. He earned the honor for his work on Evita. Associated Press hide caption

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Associated Press

Obituaries

Hal Prince, Transformational Broadway Producer And Director, Has Died

The winner of an unprecedented 21 Tony Awards, Prince left a major impact on American musical theater. Among his shows: Cabaret, Fiddler on the Roof and The Phantom of the Opera. He was 91.

Hal Prince, Transformational Broadway Producer And Director, Has Died

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'Double Indemnity' Is 75, But Anklets (And Film Noir) Are Forever

Barbara Stanwyck and Fred MacMurray in a scene from Double Indemnity. Donaldson Collection/Getty Images hide caption

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Donaldson Collection/Getty Images

Movies

'Double Indemnity' Is 75, But Anklets (And Film Noir) Are Forever

Double Indemnity is classic film noir: Men in fedoras walk mean streets shrouded in shadow and women are sometimes the sirens to beckon them to their doom. It's a film — and a genre — that endures.

'Double Indemnity' Is 75, But Anklets (And Film Noir) Are Forever

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'Once Upon A Time In... Hollywood': Tarantino's Fairy Tale Turns Grim

Cliff Booth (Brad Pitt) and Rick Dalton (Leonardo DiCaprio) in Quentin Tarantino's film Once Upon A Time... In Hollywood. Andrew Cooper/Sony Pictures Entertainment hide caption

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Andrew Cooper/Sony Pictures Entertainment

Review

Pop Culture Happy Hour

'Once Upon A Time In... Hollywood': Tarantino's Fairy Tale Turns Grim

Once Upon A Time In... Hollywood is writer-director Quentin Tarantino's ninth film. It stars Leonardo DiCaprio as a fading western actor named Rick Dalton and Brad Pitt as his loyal stuntman Cliff Booth. It's set in the changing Hollywood of 1969, and in many ways, it's a breezy romp through studio backlots and makeup trailers — but hanging over every frame is the threat of violence, in the form of a very real historical tragedy — the brutal Manson family murders in the Hollywood Hills. It's glossy L.A. nostalgia laced with grisly violence — it's peak Tarantino, but does it work?

'Once Upon A Time In... Hollywood': Tarantino's Fairy Tale Turns Grim

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Tuesday

See-Saw Diplomacy Lets People Play Together Along U.S. Border Wall

A set of pink seesaws allowed people to share some fun along the U.S.-Mexico border wall this week. Here, a woman helps her little girls ride the seesaw that was installed near Ciudad de Juarez, Mexico. Christian Chavez/AP hide caption

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Christian Chavez/AP

National

See-Saw Diplomacy Lets People Play Together Along U.S. Border Wall

A playdate recently broke out at the fence that separates the U.S. and Mexico in an event that was "filled with joy, excitement, and togetherness."

'Cities Are Resilient,' Says Baltimore Crime Novelist Laura Lippman

Novelist Laura Lippman isn't interested in writing that sensationalizes crime. She says she aims to center her work in "a respect for victims." Lesley Unruh/Harper Collins hide caption

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Lesley Unruh/Harper Collins

Author Interviews

'Cities Are Resilient,' Says Baltimore Crime Novelist Laura Lippman

Fresh Air

Lippman's latest novel, Lady in the Lake, was inspired by two real-life Baltimore disappearances in the 1960s. She says Trump's recent tweets show a "basic disrespect" for the residents of her city.

'Cities Are Resilient,' Says Baltimore Crime Novelist Laura Lippman

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Monday

Looking Back At Human History, Archaeologist Suspects 'We're 51% Good'
Henry Holt and Company

Author Interviews

Looking Back At Human History, Archaeologist Suspects 'We're 51% Good'

Sarah Parcak has found that studying the rise and fall of civilizations has given her hope, or at least some hope. Her new book is called Archaeology from Space: How The Future Shapes Our Past.

Looking Back At Human History, Archaeologist Suspects 'We're 51% Good'

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Television

Lisa Hanawalt On 'Tuca & Bertie,' 'BoJack Horseman' And Channeling Anxiety Into Art

Fresh Air

"Drawing is way of exorcising fears, and, for me, a way of controlling them," Hanawalt says. She's the creator of the Netflix animated series Tuca & Bertie and creative designer of BoJack Horseman.

Lisa Hanawalt On 'Tuca & Bertie,' 'BoJack Horseman' And Channeling Anxiety Into Art

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