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Thursday

When stars are on stage, this designer makes it personal for each fan in the stadium

For Beyoncé's Renaissance tour Es Devlin designed a spherical portal — a 50-foot wide aperture — from which the star, her dancers and musicians could emerge and withdraw between songs. Es Devlin/Thames & Hudson hide caption

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Es Devlin/Thames & Hudson

Culture

When stars are on stage, this designer makes it personal for each fan in the stadium

Es Devlin says that stadiums are designed for competition and combat. So her job, whether she's designing for Beyoncé, Super Bowl Halftime, or The Olympics, is to achieve intimacy on a massive scale.

When stars are on stage, this designer makes it personal for each fan in the stadium

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Three songs for when your flight is delayed

When you're stuck at the airport, you need the right soundtrack. Alex Wong/Getty Images hide caption

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Alex Wong/Getty Images

Pop Culture Happy Hour

Three songs for when your flight is delayed

If you travel by plane with any regularity, you've been there: stuck in an airport because your flight is delayed. So we thought it best to give your most stressful travel moments a soundtrack. Today, we're recommending three songs for when your flight is delayed.

Three songs for when your flight is delayed

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Wednesday

Gary Oldman had 'free rein' in spy thriller 'Slow Horses' — now back for Season 3

In Apple TV+'s Slow Horses, Gary Oldman plays Jackson Lamb, the slovenly, brilliant spy who's in charge of a group of failed British spies. The series is based on Mick Herron's Slough House novels. Herron says Lamb might not have "a heart of gold" but he does have "a moral code." Apple TV+ hide caption

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Apple TV+

Culture

Gary Oldman had 'free rein' in spy thriller 'Slow Horses' — now back for Season 3

Oldman plays the slovenly leader of failed British spies in the Apple TV+ drama, based on Mick Herron's Slough House novels. Herron is more interested in the character's failures than his virtues.

Gary Oldman had 'free rein' in spy thriller 'Slow Horses' — now back for Season 3

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2023 Books We Love: Staff Picks

Illustration by Luke Medina. Luke Medina/NPR hide caption

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Luke Medina/NPR

Review

Pop Culture Happy Hour

2023 Books We Love: Staff Picks

NPR's Books We Love is a roundup of favorite books of the year, sorted and tagged to help you find exactly what you're looking for. Recommendations come in from critics and contributors and today, we're highlighting picks from NPR staff.

2023 Books We Love: Staff Picks

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Tuesday

Yippy-ki-yay, it's 'Die Hard' season again

Bruce Willis in a scene from Die Hard. FlixPix/Alamy hide caption

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FlixPix/Alamy

Review

Pop Culture Happy Hour

Yippy-ki-yay, it's 'Die Hard' season again

Since the holiday season is upon us, it's time to talk about an action classic that many consider to be a Christmas classic: Die Hard. The Bruce Willis movie turned 35 this year, so today we're bringing you this encore episode about the film that was recorded back in 2018.

Yippy-ki-yay, it's 'Die Hard' season again

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Monday

Merriam-Webster's word of the year definitely wasn't picked by AI

"Although clearly a desirable quality, authentic is hard to define and subject to debate," wrote Merriam-Webster about its word of the year. Joanne K. Watson/handout via Getty Images hide caption

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Joanne K. Watson/handout via Getty Images

National

Merriam-Webster's word of the year definitely wasn't picked by AI

"Authentic" was one of this year's most looked-up words, according to the lexical leader. That speaks volumes about our quest for truth in an age of algorithms and online artifice.

Disney's 'Wish' conjures up familiar dreams

Ariana DeBose as Asha in Wish. Disney hide caption

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Disney

Review

Pop Culture Happy Hour

Disney's 'Wish' conjures up familiar dreams

It's been said that a dream is a wish your heart makes. But what happens when you entrust your dream to a charismatic but shady leader? That's the premise of Disney's latest animated movie Wish. It's a musical fantasy that stars Ariana DeBose as an idealist who goes head-to-head with Chris Pine's selfish King. There are catchy songs, cute talking animals, and a few heartfelt moments — in other words, the Disney blueprint.

Disney's 'Wish' conjures up familiar dreams

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Friday

Defending the Disney Adult; plus, what it takes to stand up for Black trans people
Robyn Beck/AFP via Getty Images, Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images, Amazon

It's Been a Minute

Defending the Disney Adult; plus, what it takes to stand up for Black trans people

Disney recently celebrated its 100th birthday, so we're exploring a fandom that's kept the magic alive while also generating lots of online hate: Disney Adults. To break the phenomenon down, Brittany Luse chats with Rolling Stone senior writer and self-proclaimed Disney Adult, E.J. Dickson. Their conversation looks at the rise of Disney Adults, why they're so maligned and what the public may misunderstand about these superfans.

Defending the Disney Adult; plus, what it takes to stand up for Black trans people

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Alt.Latino: Peso Pluma and the rise of regional Mexican music

Alt.Latino has a special three-episode series exploring the rise of regional Mexican music. Jackie Lay/NPR hide caption

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Jackie Lay/NPR

Pop Culture Happy Hour

Alt.Latino: Peso Pluma and the rise of regional Mexican music

Regional Mexican music has taken the music industry by storm. Earlier this year, Mexican artist Peso Pluma and band Eslabon Armado made history when their song "Ella Baila Sola" topped the Billboard Global 200 chart. But this musical trend didn't come out of nowhere. In this episode of NPR's Alt. Latino, hosts Anamaria Sayre and Felix Contreras head to Peso Pluma's performance in Nashville and try to understand the root of the phenomenon.

Alt.Latino: Peso Pluma and the rise of regional Mexican music

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Thursday

Remembering cartoonist Charles Schulz, who would have turned 100 in 2022

NPR's A Martinez speaks to Charles Schulz widow, Jean Schulz, and Schulz Museum director Gina Huntsinger about the cartoonist. (Story aired on Morning Edition on Nov. 25, 2022.)

Remembering cartoonist Charles Schulz, who would have turned 100 in 2022

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It's Been a Minute: Pressing pause on 'Killers of the Flower Moon'

Lily Gladstone and Leonardo DiCaprio in Killers of the Flower Moon. Apple TV+ hide caption

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Apple TV+

Pop Culture Happy Hour

It's Been a Minute: Pressing pause on 'Killers of the Flower Moon'

Martin Scorsese's Killers of the Flower Moon is everything an Oscar contender might be: long, epic, morally complicated and expensive. While many movie-goers left theaters moved, others called the film a problematic disaster. Today, we're bringing you an episode of NPR's It's Been A Minute, where host Brittany Luse and guests talk about what Killers of the Flower Moon got wrong and how it fits into a broader history of Native Americans on screen.

It's Been a Minute: Pressing pause on 'Killers of the Flower Moon'

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Wednesday

'A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving' turns 50 this year. How has it held up?

The Peanuts gang celebrates Thanksgiving, but why is Franklin by himself on one side of the table? Allstar Picture Library Limited/Alamy hide caption

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Allstar Picture Library Limited/Alamy

'A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving' turns 50 this year. How has it held up?

CBS first aired the televised holiday special in 1973. The message still shines, but some characters and scenes feel a little dated.

'A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving' turns 50 this year. How has it held up?

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