Pop Culture : NPR

Top row: TV On The Radio; Middle row, left to right: Billie Holiday, Stevie Wonder, Paul Simon; Bottom row: Talking Heads Courtesy of the artists hide caption

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Courtesy of the artists

Old Songs, New Meanings

March 31, 2020 • Listening to music during this pandemic has cast new light on old familiar tunes. Here's a listener-curated mix-tape of songs whose lyrics have an eerie — or comforting — connection to our current crisis.

Old Songs, New Meanings

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Tim Gunn And Heidi Klum Are Together Again In 'Making The Cut'

Tim Gunn and contestant Ji Won Choi talk over one of her designs on Making The Cut. Jessica Forde/Amazon Studios hide caption

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Jessica Forde/Amazon Studios

Review

Tim Gunn And Heidi Klum Are Together Again In 'Making The Cut'

March 28, 2020 • Tim Gunn and Heidi Klum's new Amazon show has a very different vibe from Project Runway, but you'll see a lot of fashion and a lot of pretty sights.

Need Some Fresh Ideas? Family-Friendly Ways To Spend Your Days Inside

An image from the last episode of MASH on June 18, 1984 at the Malibu Creek State Park in California. Paul Harris/Getty Images hide caption

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Paul Harris/Getty Images

Need Some Fresh Ideas? Family-Friendly Ways To Spend Your Days Inside

March 27, 2020 • Parents have been circulating ideas for how to keep kids happy — or at least occupied — during this time of social isolation due to COVID-19. Our Arts Desk has some heart-felt suggestions to offer.

Keep Your Game Night Rolling (At A Safe Distance) With These 3 Online Services

You can't play games like Lost Cities and Mystic Vale with your friends in person right now, but you can still play them online. Petra Mayer/NPR hide caption

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Petra Mayer/NPR

Keep Your Game Night Rolling (At A Safe Distance) With These 3 Online Services

March 27, 2020 • If your regular game night's been disrupted by social distancing, here are a few ways that you can take tabletop games online — so you can stay safe and still trash talk your friends when you win.

Marcel Marceau Walks Against The Winds Of War In 'Resistance'

Marcel (Jesse Eisenberg) in the film Resistance. IFC Films hide caption

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IFC Films

Review

Marcel Marceau Walks Against The Winds Of War In 'Resistance'

March 26, 2020 • Jesse Eisenberg stars as the famous mime as he gets involved in the French Resistance during World War II. The film is an "honorable, absorbing homage to the making of a man and his art."

Tom (Jesse Eisenberg) and Gemma (Imogen Poots) go house hunting and find something more in Vivarium. Mongrel Media hide caption

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Mongrel Media

Review

'Vivarium': House Hunters, Unnatural

March 26, 2020 • A young couple seeking a house in the 'burbs encounter an unexpected (sub)development and cannot leave. Despite its Twilight Zone premise, the film's "eccentricity and wit" carry it a long way.

Wanted: Stories With Happily Ever Afters - Here's Where To Start Looking

Roger Allam as Prospero in William Shakespeare's The Tempest directed by Jeremy Herrin at Shakespeare's Globe Theatre in London. Robbie Jack/Corbis via Getty Images hide caption

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Robbie Jack/Corbis via Getty Images

Wanted: Stories With Happily Ever Afters - Here's Where To Start Looking

March 26, 2020 • In uncertain times, we want stories that reassure us that everything will be okay. Here are some books, films, plays and TV shows that believe in Happily Ever After.

Wanted: Stories With Happily Ever Afters - Here's Where To Start Looking

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Family Friendly Crowd Pleasers: Three Things To Stream Your Whole Family Can Enjoy

Adam Savage and Jamie Hyneman attend An Evening With Discovery Channel's Mythbusters at The Paley Center for Media on June 13, 2011. Amanda Edwards/FilmMagic hide caption

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Amanda Edwards/FilmMagic

Review

Family Friendly Crowd Pleasers: Three Things To Stream Your Whole Family Can Enjoy

March 25, 2020 • When you're staying in, it can be hard to keep everybody happy. But never fear, we're here to help. We've got a few recommendations to keep everybody in the family happy and stave off cabin fever.

Family Friendly Crowd Pleasers: Three Things To Stream Your Whole Family Can Enjoy

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Shelbie Rassler

Virtual 'Love Sweet Love' From Quarantined Berklee College of Music Students

March 24, 2020 • Student Shelbie Rassler, eager to bring her community together amid quarantine and isolation, organized a massive performance of the classic "What the World Needs Now Is Love" and put it on YouTube.

Tom Nook, Take Me Away! 'Animal Crossing: New Horizons' Is A Perfect Escape

The multiplayer function in Animal Crossing: New Horizons means up to eight people can be on the same island. Nintendo hide caption

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Nintendo

Tom Nook, Take Me Away! 'Animal Crossing: New Horizons' Is A Perfect Escape

March 24, 2020 • We're kicking off a new feature on games and gaming culture with a look at the latest version of an old favorite: Animal Crossing is back with loads of new features. Tom Nook, however, is eternal.

Lauv performs onstage at Madison Square Garden on Dec. 13, 2019 in New York City. His new album ~how i'm feeling~ tackles feelings of depression and anxiety. Manny Carabel/Getty Images hide caption

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Manny Carabel/Getty Images

Music Interviews

Lauv Embraces How He's Feeling

March 21, 2020 • Lauv has toured around the world and gathered billions of streams. He's finally releasing his debut album, ~how i'm feeling~.

Lauv Embraces How He's Feeling

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Coronavirus Updates

Love In The Time Of COVID-19: Some Pickup Lines To Get You Through The Pandemic

March 19, 2020 • Maybe it's not the way you imagined meeting that special someone. But if they can look passed that N95 mask, gazing into your eyes from a safe distance, who's to say it's not meant to last?

It Ain't Cabot Cove: Murder In Maine Haunts The Twisty 'Blow The Man Down'

Mary Beth (Morgan Saylor) and Pris (Sophie Lowe) get a stern talking-to from Enid (Margo Martindale) in Blow the Man Down. Jeong Park/Amazon Studios hide caption

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Jeong Park/Amazon Studios

Review

Movie Reviews

It Ain't Cabot Cove: Murder In Maine Haunts The Twisty 'Blow The Man Down'

March 19, 2020 • Two sisters attempt to cover up a killing in a fishing village that harbors its own sinister secrets in this film that evokes the tone of films like Fargo and Blood Simple.

Head Back To Hyrule: When This World Is Uncertain, Return To Game Worlds That Aren't

You could fight enemies and go on quests in Zelda: Breath of the Wild — or you could just explore the vast and comforting world of Hyrule. Nintendo hide caption

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Nintendo