Accessibility links
Television Television

Television

Wednesday

Tuesday

Autism Spectrum Diagnosis Helped Comic Hannah Gadsby 'Be Kinder' To Herself

"In many ways I appear very good at being social," says comic Hannah Gadsby. "But it's an incredibly exhausting process for me." She found her autism spectrum diagnosis in 2016 helped put her experience into perspective. Ali Goldstein/Netflix hide caption

toggle caption
Ali Goldstein/Netflix

Autism Spectrum Diagnosis Helped Comic Hannah Gadsby 'Be Kinder' To Herself

Fresh Air

Growing up, the comic — known for her Nanette stand-up special — struggled to read social cues. She says her 2016 diagnosis "shifted the way that I understood myself." Her latest special is Douglas.

Autism Spectrum Diagnosis Helped Comic Hannah Gadsby 'Be Kinder' To Herself

Listen · 35:59
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/862081893/862430027" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
'Insecure' Star Yvonne Orji on Finding Comedy and God

Yvonne Orji plays Molly on the HBO series Insecure. James Anthony hide caption

toggle caption
James Anthony

It's Been a Minute

'Insecure' Star Yvonne Orji on Finding Comedy and God

Yvonne Orji plays the part of best friend Molly Carter on the HBO series Insecure, but Orji will soon headline her own stand-up special in June called, "Mama, I Made It." Orji talks to Sam about religion, getting her start in comedy at a Nigerian beauty pageant, growing up with strict immigrant parents and finding the humor in all of it.

'Insecure' Star Yvonne Orji on Finding Comedy and God

Listen · 26:42
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/860254729/1199268160" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Friday

Maya Erskine Takes The Lead In 'Plus One' And 'PEN15'

Maya Erskine (left) is co-creator and co-star of Hulu's PEN15 with Anna Konkle. Hulu hide caption

toggle caption
Hulu

It's Been a Minute

Maya Erskine Takes The Lead In 'Plus One' And 'PEN15'

Maya Erskine has come a long way from the NYU experimental theater department where she met her PEN15 co-creator Anna Konkle. In this encore episode, Erskine talks to Sam about her starring role in the genre-bending romantic comedy Plus One and how she wrote her own life experiences into the character she plays on Hulu's PEN15.

Maya Erskine Takes The Lead In 'Plus One' And 'PEN15'

Listen · 39:23
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/859158723/1199268164" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
Great Recent Movies We Missed

Lakeith Stanfield and Issa Rae star in The Photograph, written and directed by Stella Meghie. Emily Aragones/Universal Pictures hide caption

toggle caption
Emily Aragones/Universal Pictures

Review

Pop Culture Happy Hour

Great Recent Movies We Missed

This is not a normal summer movie season. Theaters are closed, big projects are delayed, and we're missing the flood of new films that would usually have already started. But you don't have to go without movies. That's because even if you see a lot, you miss even more. We do too, and that's what we're talking about today: some recent films we missed that are well worth your time. Plus, we remember the lives and work of Fred Willard and Lynn Shelton.

Great Recent Movies We Missed

Listen · 22:11
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/860161408/860242194" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">

Thursday

Lori Loughlin, Mossimo Giannulli To Plead Guilty In College Admissions Scandal

Actress Lori Loughlin and her husband, clothing designer Mossimo Giannulli, have agreed to plead guilty to charges from a nationwide college admissions bribery scandal. Steven Senne/AP hide caption

toggle caption
Steven Senne/AP

Law

Lori Loughlin, Mossimo Giannulli To Plead Guilty In College Admissions Scandal

Loughlin is facing two months in prison and a $150,000 fine, according to the recommendations of the plea agreement. Her husband is facing five months in prison and a $250,000 fine.

Wednesday

Huzzah! We're Russian To Finish 'The Great'

Elle Fanning stars as Catherine and Nicholas Hoult as Peter in Hulu's The Great. Hulu hide caption

toggle caption
Hulu

Review

Pop Culture Happy Hour

Huzzah! We're Russian To Finish 'The Great'

Hulu's new series The Great bills itself as "An Occasionally True Story." And it's a big story: a sweeping epic about Russia in the 1700s, full of palace intrigue, sex and violence, and the rise of Catherine the Great. Elle Fanning plays Catherine, and Nicholas Hoult also stars as the sociopathic emperor Peter. The show shares a lot of thematic DNA with the 2018 film The Favourite -- it was created by one of the film's screenwriters, Tony McNamara. And it's more than willing to scramble history in the service of a good story.

Huzzah! We're Russian To Finish 'The Great'

Listen · 17:29
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/857971460/858397971" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">

Monday

Janelle Monáe Wants To Represent The Underdog — In Music And Onscreen

Janelle Monáe's film roles include Moonlight and Hidden Figures. Her most recent album is Dirty Computer. Gabriel Olsen/Getty Images for Absolut Elyx hide caption

toggle caption
Gabriel Olsen/Getty Images for Absolut Elyx

Music Interviews

Janelle Monáe Wants To Represent The Underdog — In Music And Onscreen

Fresh Air

Monáe stars as a veteran struggling with memory loss in season 2 of the Amazon series Homecoming. The role continues the themes of identity and representation she explored on her album Dirty Computer.

Janelle Monáe Wants To Represent The Underdog — In Music And Onscreen

Listen · 41:55
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/856841290/858091456" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Saturday

Greg Daniels Moves His Comedic Spotlight To Absurdity In The Afterlife

Greg Daniels talks over a script with actor Robbie Amell on the set of Upload. Katie Yu/Amazon Studios, Prime Video hide caption

toggle caption
Katie Yu/Amazon Studios, Prime Video

Culture

Greg Daniels Moves His Comedic Spotlight To Absurdity In The Afterlife

The Emmy Award-winning television writer, director and producer has spun comedy from the threads of ordinary life for 30 years. Now he's shifting focus to an imagined "life" after death in Upload.

Greg Daniels Moves His Comedic Spotlight To Absurdity In The Afterlife

Listen · 5:54
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/856785024/857338552" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Friday

'Fresh Air' Remembers Comedian And Actor Jerry Stiller

Fresh Air

Stiller, who died May 11, was part of a comic duo with his wife Anne Meara and later played George Costanza's father on Seinfeld. He spoke to Fresh Air in '93. In '10, Ben Stiller spoke about his dad.

'Fresh Air' Remembers Comedian And Actor Jerry Stiller

Listen · 19:20
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/856783986/856985168" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
In 'She-Ra And The Princesses Of Power,' True Strength Is In Being Yourself

In the final season of She-Ra and the Princesses of Power, the rebellion faces an invasion from Horde Prime and his alien clone army. DreamWorks/Netflix hide caption

toggle caption
DreamWorks/Netflix

In 'She-Ra And The Princesses Of Power,' True Strength Is In Being Yourself

Netflix and DreamWorks Animation have rebooted the classic 1980s cartoon She-Ra: Princess of Power. The new version updates characters from the old show to reflect a more diverse audience for kids.

In 'She-Ra And The Princesses Of Power,' True Strength Is In Being Yourself

Listen · 3:39
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/854610573/856594282" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
Crass Warfare: 'The Great' Casts A (Vodka) Gimlet Eye On Privilege

Huzzah? Emperor Peter of Russia (Nicholas Hoult) and a disillusioned Catherine of Prussia (Elle Fanning) enter into a not-great marriage in Hulu's The Great. Hulu hide caption

toggle caption
Hulu

Review

Pop Culture Happy Hour

Crass Warfare: 'The Great' Casts A (Vodka) Gimlet Eye On Privilege

Loosely (very loosely) based on the early life of Russia's Catherine the Great, Hulu's 10-episode historical comedy-drama is arch, witty, twisty and knowing.

Crass Warfare: 'The Great' Casts A (Vodka) Gimlet Eye On Privilege

Listen · 3:33
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/851270023/857338558" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Wednesday

'Never Have I Ever' Binged A Show So Fast

Maitreyi Ramakrishnan stars as Devi Vishwakumar on the high school romantic comedy series Never Have I Ever. Netflix hide caption

toggle caption
Netflix

Review

Pop Culture Happy Hour

'Never Have I Ever' Binged A Show So Fast

The new comedy Never Have I Ever is a great binge from Netflix. It might remind you of a lot of warm and funny shows about navigating high school. Its hero is an Indian-American girl named Devi. She is juggling her friends, the boys she's interested in, and plenty of drama at home. One of the creators is Mindy Kaling, who gives the show some of the same energy she put into The Mindy Project. Devi is a little confused, a little selfish, and very consumed by her dreams of romance

'Never Have I Ever' Binged A Show So Fast

Listen · 14:03
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/852028347/854508861" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">

Tuesday