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Culture

Thursday

Late night TV hosts team up for a new podcast amid the writers strike

The late night heavyweights are putting their power into a new podcast, sharing this image on the Instagram page for the show. Instagram hide caption

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Instagram

Main Character of the Day

Late night TV hosts team up for a new podcast amid the writers strike

The biggest names in late night have turned their private group chat into a Spotify podcast. All the proceeds will go to support their staff during the writers strike.

Late night TV hosts team up for a new podcast amid the writers strike

Listen · 2:56
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'Super Mario Bros. Wonder' makers explain new gameplay — and the elephant in the room

Everyone can be an elephant in Super Mario Bros. Wonder. Nintendo hide caption

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Nintendo

Gaming

'Super Mario Bros. Wonder' makers explain new gameplay — and the elephant in the room

Nintendo's first new side-scrolling Mario game in a decade features Dark Souls-style phantoms, trippy flowers, and a pachyderm power-up that had the internet trumpeting.

Super Mario Bros. Wonder designers on first Mario game since its blockbuster movie

Listen · 5:53
Prenups aren't just for the rich and famous. Here's when to consider one
Vstock/Getty Images/VStock RF

Life Kit

Prenups aren't just for the rich and famous. Here's when to consider one

Everyone should consider a prenuptial agreement before getting married, says family law attorney Theresa Viera. Here's how to talk about it with your partner and decide whether it's right for you.

Prenups aren't just for the rich and famous. Here's when to consider one

Listen · 18:10
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NewJeans is a new kind of K-pop juggernaut

NewJeans released a new EP titled Get Up earlier this summer. ADOR hide caption

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ADOR

Review

Pop Culture Happy Hour

NewJeans is a new kind of K-pop juggernaut

In a little more than a year, NewJeans has become huge in the world of K-pop, with a reputation for upending industry conventions. They've become the fastest K-Pop act ever to reach one billion streams on Spotify, and their new EP, Get Up, just hit number one on the Billboard charts. Plus, their single "OMG" went viral on TikTok, spawning dance challenges and memes.

NewJeans is a new kind of K-pop juggernaut

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Wednesday

Kirkus Prize names Jesmyn Ward, Héctor Tobar among finalists for top literary award

2023 Kirkus Prize finalist Jesmyn Ward, pictured at the 2017 National Book Awards in New York City. Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images hide caption

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Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images

Books

Kirkus Prize names Jesmyn Ward, Héctor Tobar among finalists for top literary award

Finalists for a leading annual literary award were announced Wednesday. The Kirkus Prize awards $50,000 to writers working in the categories of Fiction, Nonfiction, and Young Readers' Literature.

Should you stand or sit at a concert? Adele fan ignites debate

Juan Lastra unabashedly stood up, sang and filmed himself during one of Adele's concerts in Las Vegas. When security tried to get him to sit down, Adele told them to leave him alone. @juanp_lastra hide caption

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@juanp_lastra

Should you stand or sit at a concert? Adele fan ignites debate

When security told Juan Lastra to sit down, Adele told them to leave him alone. The incident sparked a debate about concert etiquette. Stand when others are sitting? Tell a fan to sit down?

Should you stand or sit at a concert? Adele fan ignites debate

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HBO shines a light on scams in 'Telemarketers' and 'BS High'

Roy Johnson (right) with a Bishop Sycamore player in the HBO documentary, BS High. HBO hide caption

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HBO

Review

Pop Culture Happy Hour

HBO shines a light on scams in 'Telemarketers' and 'BS High'

HBO has two great new documentary projects about two very different scams. BS High is about a high school football team that came from what turned out to be a nonexistent high school. Telemarketers is about telemarketing scams, and how hard it is to stop them. Both stories are about not just the very colorful nitty-gritty details of a successful scam, but also the conditions and the systems that make scams possible.

HBO shines a light on scams in 'Telemarketers' and 'BS High'

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Tuesday

How K-pop took over the world — as told by one fan who rode the wave

Minji, Danielle, Hyein, Haerin and Hanni of NewJeans perform at the Lollapalooza Music Festival in 2023. Amy Harris/Invision/AP hide caption

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Amy Harris/Invision/AP

Main Character of the Day

How K-pop took over the world — as told by one fan who rode the wave

In a new podcast, Vivian Yoon dissects her personal stake in K-pop, and how her obscure childhood passion has evolved into a billion-dollar industry.

How K-pop took over the world — as told by one fan who rode the wave

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'All The Things She Said': queer anthem or problematic queerbait?
Robert Mora/Getty Images

It's Been a Minute

'All The Things She Said': queer anthem or problematic queerbait?

In September 2002, the Russian pop duo t.A.T.u. released their smash single "All The Things She Said." The song is a grungy euro-dance track, and the video features the lead singers Lena Katina and Julia Volkova dressed in schoolgirl uniforms and making out in the rain. The video was banned from UK television for being "not really suitable for children."

'All The Things She Said': queer anthem or problematic queerbait?

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Into the raunchy, violent danger zone of 'Archer' one last time

Natalie Dew and H. Jon Benjamin voice the characters Zara Kahn and Sterling Archer on FX's Archer. FX hide caption

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FX

Review

Pop Culture Happy Hour

Into the raunchy, violent danger zone of 'Archer' one last time

The FX animated comedy Archer explores the raunchy exploits of Sterling Archer (H. Jon Benjamin), who is known from Berlin to Bangkok as the world's most dangerous spy. The show is violent, smutty, and packed with profanity, wordplay, and callbacks. The final season is about to premiere, so we thought now would be the perfect time to revisit our conversation about the series.

Into the raunchy, violent danger zone of 'Archer' one last time

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Monday

Sunday

An ode to Harvey Milk for Smithsonian Folkways' 75th birthday

A new children's album on Smithsonian Folkways includes a song about gay activist and politician Harvey Milk. The album was co-written by Cass McCombs and San Francisco preschool teacher Greg Gardner. Greg Gardner hide caption

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Greg Gardner

Music Features

An ode to Harvey Milk for Smithsonian Folkways' 75th birthday

For Smithsonian Folkways' 75th anniversary, Cass McCombs and preschool teacher Greg Gardner wrote a collection of new folk songs for children. One of them is a tribute to gay activist Harvey Milk.

A groundbreaking exhibition on the National Mall shows monuments aren't set in stone

Children activating the installation America's Playground: DC by artist Derrick Adams in Constitution Gardens on the National Mall. A.J. Mitchell/Monument Lab hide caption

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A.J. Mitchell/Monument Lab

A groundbreaking exhibition on the National Mall shows monuments aren't set in stone

The first official outdoor exhibition on Washington D.C.'s National Mall showcases six artists whose monuments honor American stories missing from the heart of the country's capital.

A groundbreaking exhibition on the National Mall shows monuments aren't set in stone

Listen · 6:08
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