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Friday

Eastwood And His Chair Not Only Entertainers On The Trail

Matt Berninger of The National will open for a President Obama rally Saturday in Des Moines, Iowa. Here, Berninger performs in Brisbane, Australia, in 2011. Mark Metcalfe/Getty Images hide caption

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Mark Metcalfe/Getty Images

It's All Politics

Eastwood And His Chair Not Only Entertainers On The Trail

Mitt Romney has Clint Eastwood and that now-famous empty chair on his side. But the Republican presidential nominee isn't the only one getting entertainment industry shoutouts this week.

Thursday

Transcript: Clint Eastwood's Convention Remarks

Clint Eastwood speaks at the Republican National Convention on Thursday. Mark Wilson/Getty Images hide caption

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Mark Wilson/Getty Images

Elections

Transcript: Clint Eastwood's Convention Remarks

Actor and director Clint Eastwood's address to the Republican National Convention, as delivered.

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Monday

What Does Mormon Food Culture Say About Mitt Romney?

Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney eats ice cream from Millie's on the run before a fundraising event earlier this month in Nantucket, Mass. Evan Vucci/AP hide caption

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Evan Vucci/AP

The Salt

What Does Mormon Food Culture Say About Mitt Romney?

Mormon food culture comes from spiritual teachings and the pioneering ways of a new religion in a new country as it evolved westward. Knowing more about it may provide some insights into the personal beliefs of GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney.

How Madden NFL's Business Lineup Helps It Win Big

According to the NFL's Peter O'Reilly, fans are drawn to the Madden NFL video game franchise because it lets them experience the NFL year-round in a realistic way. EA Sports hide caption

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EA Sports

Humor & Fun

How Madden NFL's Business Lineup Helps It Win Big

The video game franchise is the largest of its kind in all of North America. Its success comes thanks to the complicated team effort of a few interested parties: the NFL, the software company that makes the game, and ESPN.

How Madden NFL's Business Lineup Helps It Win Big

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Friday

For Writers, The School Of Hard Cops

Retired Sgt. Derek Pacifico trains screenwriters and novelists to bring more realism into their police procedurals. Vince Stewart hide caption

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Vince Stewart

Culture

For Writers, The School Of Hard Cops

After more than two decades on the force, retired police sergeant Derek Pacifico is teaching novelists and screenwriters how to create more realistic portrayals of police work. For one thing, he says, real cops never trample an investigation scene.

For Writers, The School Of Hard Cops

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Alan Ball On Leaving 'True Blood' Behind

Writer Alan Ball arrives at the premiere of the fifth season of HBO's True Blood in May. Ball is leaving the series at the end of this season. Frazer Harrison/Getty Images hide caption

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Frazer Harrison/Getty Images

Pop Culture Happy Hour

Alan Ball On Leaving 'True Blood' Behind

Writer/producer Alan Ball is leaving True Blood, the highly successful HBO show he created, at the end of its fifth season. He talks about the show, his childhood and coming out to his mother.

Alan Ball On Leaving 'True Blood' Behind

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Pop Culture Happy Hour: Sidekicks, Holograms, And PCHH 101
NPR

Pop Culture Happy Hour

Pop Culture Happy Hour: Sidekicks, Holograms, And PCHH 101

This week, we talk about secondary characters that could stand an upgrade to primary status, we talk about the future of pop culture, and we share what's making us happy this week.

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Web Cartoonist Raises $1 Million For Tesla Museum

Generating artificial lightning in Nikola Tesla's laboratory. Bettmann/Corbis hide caption

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Bettmann/Corbis

Science

Web Cartoonist Raises $1 Million For Tesla Museum

A century ago, Nikola Tesla was a world-famous wizard of electrical engineering. But he fell into obscurity, and his lab on Long Island, N.Y, which was supposed to be his crowning achievement, has long sat derelict. Now a crowdsourcing campaign has brought out donations from Tesla fans around the world.

Web Cartoonist Raises $1 Million For Tesla Museum

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Thursday

Meet Peter Lassally, Late Night 'Host Whisperer'

Longtime late night producer Peter Lassally tells Scott Simon that being interviewed for NPR is a "big, frightening experience." "I'm not a performer," he says. "I'm a quiet person who doesn't like to blow his own horn." Mark Mainz/Getty Images for AFI hide caption

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Mark Mainz/Getty Images for AFI

Television

Meet Peter Lassally, Late Night 'Host Whisperer'

From Johnny Carson to Jon Stewart, producer Peter Lassally has helped make many a talk show host. Still, he says, just because you're funny doesn't mean you'd be good at late night. "The gift that I keep looking for in people, whether they're hosts or guests, is likeability," he says.

Meet Peter Lassally, Late Night 'Host Whisperer'

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Summer Movies: If You Like 'The Avengers,' Try These

Excited about The Expendables 2? Try renting The League Of Extraordinary Gentlemen, or The Wild Bunch. Frank Masi hide caption

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Frank Masi

Movies

Summer Movies: If You Like 'The Avengers,' Try These

The Avengers and Expendables 2 are two of the summer's biggest movies, and they share a common theme: a band of heroes trying to save the day. Film buff Murray Horwitz suggests alternative movies to watch at home if you like that theme, but don't want to stand in long lines at the box office.

Summer Movies: If You Like 'The Avengers,' Try These

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