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Wednesday

After Decades In The Background, Queer Characters Step To The Front In Kids' Media

Ruby and Sapphire get married on Steven Universe. Cartoon Network hide caption

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Cartoon Network

Television

After Decades In The Background, Queer Characters Step To The Front In Kids' Media

For decades, children's cartoons have had queer-coded characters in the margins. Now, a new database shows that more animators are pushing for nuanced and overtly queer stories.

After Decades In The Background, Queer Characters Step To The Front In Kids' Media

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What To Watch In July: 'Ted Lasso,' 'Black Widow,' Olympics And A Whole Lot More

Ted Lasso (Jason Sudeikis) returns for a second season on July 23 on Apple TV . Apple TV hide caption

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Apple TV

Pop Culture Happy Hour

What To Watch In July: 'Ted Lasso,' 'Black Widow,' Olympics And A Whole Lot More

Summer television and summer movies are colliding on screens this summer, and it can be hard to navigate it all. But not to worry: We've got the highlights you won't want to miss this month.

What To Watch In July: 'Ted Lasso,' 'Black Widow,' Olympics And A Whole Lot More

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Tuesday

How Hollywood Translated The Epic Poetry Of The Viral 'Zola' Thread

The new movie Zola is based on a viral Twitter thread. Taylour Paige (right) stars as Zola, and Riley Keough (left) plays Stefani, the exotic dancer who invites her on an ill-fated road trip to Florida. Courtesy A24 hide caption

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Courtesy A24

Movie Interviews

How Hollywood Translated The Epic Poetry Of The Viral 'Zola' Thread

Director Janicza Bravo and co-writer Jeremy O. Harris talk to NPR's Mallory Yu about respecting the storytelling prowess of A'Ziah King while adapting her viral Twitter thread into a feature film.

How Hollywood Translated The Epic Poetry Of The Viral 'Zola' Thread

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Monday

Why The 'Fast & Furious' Franchise Is Still Speeding After 20 Years

Vin Diesel stars as Dominic Toretto in F9. Universal Pictures hide caption

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Universal Pictures

Review

Pop Culture Happy Hour

Why The 'Fast & Furious' Franchise Is Still Speeding After 20 Years

In 2001, The Fast and the Furious debuted as a scruffy car-culture movie, and it was a hit. it was followed by two sequels that didn't quite satisfy, so they regrouped. Since then, it's become the blockbuster machine some love, some hate, some love to hate, and some hate to love. When you do this much business for this many years, it's hard not to have an impact.

Why The 'Fast & Furious' Franchise Is Still Speeding After 20 Years

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Sunday

'Where We Come From': By Any Other Name

Podcast host and author Luvvie Ajayi Jones. Elton Anderson Jr. hide caption

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Elton Anderson Jr.

Code Switch

'Where We Come From': By Any Other Name

Anyone with a name that isn't super common in the United States will tell you that the simple act of introducing yourself can lead to a whole interrogation: Where are you from? What does your name mean? Help me pronounce it using words I understand! So on this bonus episode from our friends at the "Where We Come From" series, we're getting into what, exactly, is in a name — and what names can tell us about where we've been and where we're going.

'Where We Come From': By Any Other Name

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Saturday

A Photographer Saw An Arkansas Town Fading. His New Book Keeps Its Stories Alive

Rte. 42 in Twist, Ark., is one of many towns that comprise the Arkansas Delta. Photographer Eugene Richards noticed a migration from the area. "It's not the massive migration that we all know, huge numbers of people leaving the Delta for Chicago and the cities," he said. "Mainly, the farm work was gone. And to this day, the manufacturing is gone." Eugene Richards hide caption

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Eugene Richards

The Picture Show

A Photographer Saw An Arkansas Town Fading. His New Book Keeps Its Stories Alive

In the day i was born, Eugene Richards shares stories from Black residents of Earle, Ark., documenting themes of racism, segregation, voter suppression, gun violence and homophobia.

Friday

What Hollywood Could Learn From The 20-Year Success Of 'Fast & Furious'

Letty (Michelle Rodriguez) and Dom (Vin Diesel) are still together in F9, 20 years after the franchise began. Giles Keyte/Universal Pictures hide caption

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Giles Keyte/Universal Pictures

Review

Consider This from NPR

What Hollywood Could Learn From The 20-Year Success Of 'Fast & Furious'

What's behind the 20-year success of the Fast & Furious franchise? Casting, storytelling and reinvention. NPR's Linda Holmes — who wrote an owner's manual to the franchise — explains.

What Hollywood Could Learn From The 20-Year Success Of 'Fast & Furious'

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'I Carry You With Me' Blends Reality And Drama In A Wrenching Gay Love Story

Christian Vázquez as Gerardo and Armando Espitia as Iván in I Carry You with Me. Alejandro Lopez Pineda/Sony Pictures Classics hide caption

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Alejandro Lopez Pineda/Sony Pictures Classics

Review

Movie Reviews

'I Carry You With Me' Blends Reality And Drama In A Wrenching Gay Love Story

Iván and Gerardo can't be gay in Mexico, and can't be undocumented in the U.S. Filmmaker Heidi Ewing tells this real-life story with documentary footage and a swooning fictionalized drama.

'I Carry You With Me' Blends Reality And Drama In A Wrenching Gay Love Story

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Thursday

'Fast & Furious' Owner's Manual: A Guide As The Best Worst Franchise Turns 20

Letty (Michelle Rodriguez) and Dom (Vin Diesel) are still together in F9, 20 years after the franchise began. Giles Keyte/Universal Pictures hide caption

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Giles Keyte/Universal Pictures

Analysis

Pop Culture Happy Hour

'Fast & Furious' Owner's Manual: A Guide As The Best Worst Franchise Turns 20

Critic Linda Holmes argues that as mindless as The Fast & The Furious may seem, it's also brilliant for surviving and thriving in Hollywood for 20 years.

'Fast & Furious' Owner's Manual: A Guide As The Best Worst Franchise Turns 20

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'Physical' Is An Uneven Look At '80s Ambition

Rose Byrne plays Sheila in the Apple TV+ series Physical. Hilary Gayle/Apple TV+ hide caption

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Hilary Gayle/Apple TV+

Review

Pop Culture Happy Hour

'Physical' Is An Uneven Look At '80s Ambition

In the new Apple TV+ series Physical, Rose Byrne plays a woman whose early '80s journey from miserable wife to powerhouse businesswoman goes directly through the fitness industry. Created by Annie Weisman, who used to write for Desperate Housewives, the show centers around Sheila Rubin, who despite being very beautiful, has a profoundly miserable relationship with her body, from bulimic behavior to an unrelentingly abusive interior monologue.

'Physical' Is An Uneven Look At '80s Ambition

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Wednesday

'Sexy Beasts' Has Landed On Netflix, And We Have ... Questions

This is one of the participants on the Netflix series Sexy Beasts. We're as confused as you are. Netflix hide caption

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Netflix

Pop Culture Happy Hour

'Sexy Beasts' Has Landed On Netflix, And We Have ... Questions

After the success of Love Is Blind, Netflix has found another way to hide conventionally attractive people from each other. We'd explain it if we could.

'Sexy Beasts' Has Landed On Netflix, And We Have ... Questions

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