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Thursday

In This Decade, Every Room Is A Screening Room

Work, Play: Facebook on the laptop, Lolcats on the iPhone, an early version of this story on the desktop and a lifeline to the outside world on those TVs — it's just an average day in the NPR newsroom. Photo illustration by Claire O'Neill/NPR hide caption

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Photo illustration by Claire O'Neill/NPR

In This Decade, Every Room Is A Screening Room

TV viewership is up 20 percent — and Americans have grown increasingly addicted to a whole range of new screen sizes, from pocket game systems to smart phones. At any given moment of the day, 1.6 million people in the United States are using a video game console, according to Nielsen.

In This Decade, Every Room Is A Screening Room

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Wednesday

Television

'Glee' Star Jane Lynch's Long Road To Fame

Fresh Air

Actress Jane Lynch has spent 2009 animating Glee's ruthless cheerleading coach, Sue Sylvester. But Lynch began building her career well-before she started stealing scenes on Fox. In this memorable interview from earlier in the year, Lynch opens up about her life on- and off-screen.

'Glee' Star Jane Lynch's Long Road To Fame

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Author Interviews

Unpredictable, Unforgettable Russell Brand

Fresh Air

The British are crazy for actor and comedian Russell Brand, but he's not content to stop with his compatriots. With a comic triumph as a bad-boy rocker in Forgetting Sarah Marshall and a startlingly frank memoir called My Booky Wook, Brand is shooting for Stateside stardom.

Unpredictable, Unforgettable Russell Brand

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Tuesday

Tracy Morgan On Becoming 'The New Black'

Fresh Air

The star of NBC's 30 Rock talks to Terry Gross about his tough childhood, how he made the grade in the comedy college that was Saturday Night Live, and why even though he may cry a little on the radio, "the funny bus is still sitting downstairs." (Rebroadcast from Oct. 22, 2009)

Tracy Morgan On Becoming 'The New Black'

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Will 'Get What You Want' Leave A Cultural Gap?

"Get what you want, when you want it." That phrase has increasingly defined consumers' relationship to the entertainment industry as the past decade has unfolded. But are choice and convenience costing us a sense of common culture? Put another way: Would Seinfeld's "puffy shirt" make it into the Smithsonian today?

Will 'Get What You Want' Leave A Cultural Gap?

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Sunday

Movies That Should Die With The Decade

Mike Myers as Guru Pitka in The Love Guru Paramount Pictures hide caption

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Paramount Pictures

The Decade At The Movies

Movies That Should Die With The Decade

Ever slap down $10 for a ticket for a film so foul you choked on the popcorn? It's time for payback. Film critic Bob Mondello names the worst offenders of the past 10 years.

Movies That Should Die With The Decade

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Saturday

The Net At 40

Internet Memes Spread Viral Amusement

From the moment a Carnegie Mellon researcher figured out that a colon and a parenthesis could make a face, the Internet has provided its own unique additions to popular culture. Lolcats, Rickrolling and Star Wars kid are just a few examples of an entirely new form of culture that came into its own over the past decade.

Internet Memes Spread Viral Amusement

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Friday

Linda Holmes: 10 Reasons This Was TV's Decade

Kelly Clarkson and Justin Guarini react to Clarkson winning the first season of American Idol. Lucy Nicholson/AP hide caption

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Lucy Nicholson/AP

Television

Linda Holmes: 10 Reasons This Was TV's Decade

Ten years ago, "reality TV" meant The Real World and people watched TV with a quaint device ... the TV set. NPR's pop-culture blogger counts 10 of the things that have changed our TV-watching lives the most. She finds they're mostly for the better.

Linda Holmes: 10 Reasons This Was TV's Decade

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Thursday

What Is It About 'It' Gifts?

With just a few hours of Christmas shopping left, many parents have given up on finding a Zhu Zhu hamster — while kids across the country still desperately hope to get one. Jonah Berger, a professor at Wharton School of Business, explains what's behind the annual rush for the "it" gift.

What Is It About 'It' Gifts?

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For Sale: 'Lost In Space' Robot Replicas

Mike Joyce has sold 53 robot replicas at $25,000 apiece. Mike Joyce/NPR hide caption

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Mike Joyce/NPR

Diversions

For Sale: 'Lost In Space' Robot Replicas

As a child, Mike Joyce dreamed of two things: being an astronaut and owning his own robot from the show Lost in Space. Now, he makes and sells them at $25,000 a pop. Building the robot started as a hobby, and then selling these replica robots became a business. He's sold 53 so far.

For Sale: 'Lost In Space' Robot Replicas

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No Batteries Required: Board Game Sales Soar

Industry insiders say sales of board games increased by more than 20 percent last year. Oli Scarff/Getty Images hide caption

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Oli Scarff/Getty Images

Humor & Fun

No Batteries Required: Board Game Sales Soar

WNKU-FM

While Xboxes, PlayStations and Wiis top holiday wish lists, sales of more traditional games are increasing. Industry insiders say board game sales were up by more than 20 percent last year, and they're expected to be even higher this year as people look for cheaper entertainment.

No Batteries Required: Board Game Sales Soar

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Tuesday

Obituaries

Man Who Inspired 'Rain Man' Dies At 58

Kim Peek, the inspiration for Dustin Hoffman's character in the Oscar-winning 1988 film, has died. Peek, a savant, had a memory so vast and deep and exact, he was compared to a computer.

Man Who Inspired 'Rain Man' Dies At 58

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Sunday

Music Interviews

Sing, Muse, Of The 'Jeopardy!' Three-Way Tie

Every month, John Wood and a bunch of his musician friends get together to make a new album from scratch. This month, the theme is the first event of its kind in the history of a television game show — adapted as a Greek myth.

Sing, Muse, Of The 'Jeopardy!' Three-Way Tie

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Wednesday

In Baghdad, Hemlines Rise As Violence Falls

A young Iraqi woman has the final touches done to her hair at a salon in central Baghdad. Many Iraqi women say the return of Western-style fashions is a sign of returning security and freedom after years of war and sectarian tensions. AFP/Getty Images hide caption

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AFP/Getty Images

World

In Baghdad, Hemlines Rise As Violence Falls

At the height of Iraq's sectarian violence, being covered up in public was a matter of life and death for women. The dangers from Islamist fanatics were too great for women to dare to go without a headscarf or wear tight jeans or a short skirt. But times are changing in some parts of Baghdad. Some say it is a sign of greater freedom and security.

In Baghdad, Hemlines Rise As Violence Falls

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