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"content": "\u003cp>When fashion designer Tan France got the call to audition for the Netflix makeover series \u003cem>Queer Eye, \u003c/em>his initial reaction was to say no. France, the gay son of Pakistani-Muslim immigrants, didn’t want to take on the burden of representing his community—especially on television.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The thought of being one of the very first openly gay South Asian men on a major show. … That pressure was so hard to handle,” he says. “The pressure of being one of the first to do something is massively stressful.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13866204\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\" style=\"max-width: 395px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13866204\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/arts/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/09/9781250208668_custom-acac830e99b85a37bd4c57193bd0b5981a358eed-s600-c85.jpg\" alt=\"'Naturally Tan' by Tan France\" width=\"395\" height=\"600\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/09/9781250208668_custom-acac830e99b85a37bd4c57193bd0b5981a358eed-s600-c85.jpg 395w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/09/9781250208668_custom-acac830e99b85a37bd4c57193bd0b5981a358eed-s600-c85-160x243.jpg 160w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 395px) 100vw, 395px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">‘Naturally Tan’ by Tan France \u003ccite>(St. Martin's Press)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>But then France began to reflect on the racism he had experienced throughout his life. Growing up in a small town in England, bullies slapped him in the face, punched him in the gut and called him racist slurs. After the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, he was harassed and called a “terrorist” on the street. He is still routinely questioned by TSA when he travels.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As France thought about these experiences, he began to reconsider auditioning for \u003cem>Queer Eye: \u003c/em>“I could have an opportunity to change the narrative for my people,” he says. “And so that’s why I decided to take the actual audition. … I’ve got to continue to show that Pakistanis are wonderful people, that we are caring people.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>France reflects on his childhood, his career in fashion and on his role on \u003cem>Queer Eye\u003c/em> in the new memoir, \u003cem>Naturally Tan. \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003chr>\n\u003ch3>\u003cstrong>Interview highlights \u003c/strong>\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>On growing up Pakistani in the U.K., and being bullied as a kid \u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At the age of five or six, when you get hit for your skin color, it makes no sense, because you don’t see that as a problem. Violence was ever-present in my life. That was something I never escaped, I just saw it as normal. … I remember saying this to my husband, that I was never bullied as a kid, and then I would talk about my childhood and he was like, “You’ve said you haven’t been bullied but that absolutely is bullying!” The strange thing is, we never saw it as bullying. It was just a matter of fact. … I don’t think anyone ever noticed [I was gay], I think that they were just so consumed with my color that they just seemed to lose sight of the fact that I was also homosexual.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>On being exposed to fashion at a young age because his grandfather owned a denim factory \u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>They were making denim [with] Disney prints on them, and so I was able to experience Western clothing like most South Asian kids will never have the luxury of doing. I was able to see how a piece of fabric turns into a garment that you will actually wear, and so I was privy to the ins and outs of the process. And at the end of that process I got to keep some of those things that were slightly off — like a stitch was wrong or a color was off—those things I got to keep. So I was able to experiment with clothes more so than most people. Even though I wasn’t allowed to wear it around the house, I was still exposed to that.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>On experiencing racism after the Sept. 11 attacks \u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I saw the planes going into the towers over and over again on the news and I felt immediate dread, because it was so clear what the message was: that it’s Muslims. There was a lot of talk about Pakistan and Afghanistan. I’d already experienced 17 years of racism for being Pakistani, and the interesting thing was, I looked around the room at the other Pakistani people, and there weren’t that many, and every one of us had the exact same look of complete dread like, “Oh no, we’re going to pay for this.” And it happened immediately.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>On the stress of running three fashion businesses and the toll it took on his mental health\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I had built up these three businesses that, thankfully, were doing incredibly well. But the production was getting more and more problematic, and the thought of continuing on with that was just too much to handle. And so I got really depressed. … I never experienced that before. I don’t suffer bouts of depression. I’m one of the most positive people I know. I always can see a way out of a situation and how to get out of a situation to make myself happy again. But with that I couldn’t see a time when I was going to be happy in business. So I started to really think of how I could solve the problem. It wasn’t really solving the problem, it was just getting out of the situation, and getting out of life.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And so I had a moment one day … on my way home from work, I called my husband and I told him that I need him to talk to me and help me. I feel like I want to drive off this bridge and I’m almost positive I’m going to do this if he’s not there for me. He’s wonderful. He’s an angel sent down from heaven, and he talked me through it, and urged me to just get home as soon as possible. He was going to leave work and come home to make sure I was OK, and then when I got home his answer was simple. It was just, “Let them go. You don’t have anything to prove.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I’ve always been the kind of person my whole life that has felt I have something to prove and … I know it’s because of my childhood and the amount of abuse we suffered and I suffered, that I’ve always felt like I had to prove something and I feel that even to this day. Every day when I get out of bed and I work as hard as I do, it’s to prove my worth. And so he said, “You don’t have to prove yourself in this business anymore. You’ve made it. Your businesses are successful. Your plan was to always sell them maybe 20 years from now, but sell them now, get rid of them, we don’t need any more money.” And so I did.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>On telling his Muslim family he was marrying a man \u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>My dad died when I was young. He died just before I was 14 and I wasn’t out at the time, so he never would have known that I had desires to marry a man. My mom, when I told her, my mom is quite liberal, she practices her religion but she’s quite liberal and … is quite docile. She just wants to keep the peace and go with the flow, and as long as everyone’s happy she’s fine. And so that was the case with me. I told her that I was marrying a man, she was like OK. … There was never a fight about it. There was never really a discussion really about it. She was just so matter-of-fact about it and has been ever since.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And so it was quite easy for me. … The fact that she had a love marriage [with my father,] she [too] had gone against our cultural norms, which, back in the day—this was in the ’70s—was shocking, absolutely shocking. She was probably one of the very few people in her community, if not in her extended family, who would have had a love marriage. And so I think that that probably made it easier for her to understand.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But she always knew that I was the black sheep of the family. She always knew that I wasn’t going to have the same life as her other children. She knew from my very early age that I was nothing like her other children. She didn’t know how to articulate it, as I said, she’d never even heard the word “gay” before, but she just said I wasn’t like any of her other sons. … I was like her extra daughter.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=54BVvP7zvDQ\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>On his initial reluctance to join the \u003c/strong>\u003cem>\u003cstrong>Queer Eye\u003c/strong>\u003c/em>\u003cstrong> cast \u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I was worried about the people that I know and love being attacked by people within our community. I wasn’t concerned about what Caucasian people might think of it, necessarily. It was what my own people would think of it, that they would be concerned that my family have a gay man who’s very openly gay, very unabashedly gay, so publicly. … In our culture you don’t represent yourself, you represent your family. And as far as my culture is concerned, when you are … “sinning” in their eyes, you are bringing shame to your community.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>On how doing \u003c/strong>\u003cem>\u003cstrong>Queer Eye \u003c/strong>\u003c/em>\u003cstrong>has pushed his personal boundaries \u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Being around Jonathan Van Ness changed my boundaries! … I was always very, very much Westernized, but I’ve become more so with the things I will discuss. I was always quite foul mouthed. I’ve always been foul mouthed. And that’s just very typically English, especially in working-class culture, and my parents were definitely working class. … I have become more vulgar now, because … that’s the humor on set. We’re just a silly, playful bunch.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And actually I love that side of me now that’s able to just be free and talk about things that people are really going through. I was quite guarded before. … All the [\u003cem>Queer Ey\u003c/em>e] boys will say I’m the most bounded person they know. If I don’t want something to happen, if I do not want something discussed, if I do not want to be close, I will make it very clear. I set my intentions with people very clearly, very quickly, very early on. And that’s something that’s quite rare for Americans, I think. …\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Please know that this is my personal opinion, but being foreign here in the U.S. I found that Americans are quite passive-aggressive when it comes to setting their true intentions when they first meet friends. But the British culture we were a lot more open about what we will accept or not accept from our friends and family, and so I think that’s quite jarring for the boys. So I’ve taught them my boundaries, but they’ve also pushed them, and the parts that have been pushed are for the better, as far as I’m concerned.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Sam Briger and Mooj Zadie produced and edited the audio of this interview. Bridget Bentz, Molly Seavy-Nesper and Beth Novey adapted it for the Web.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cdiv class=\"fullattribution\">\u003cem>Copyright 2019 Fresh Air. To see more, visit \u003ca href=\"http://www.npr.org/programs/fresh-air/\">Fresh Air\u003c/a>.\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://www.google-analytics.com/__utm.gif?utmac=UA-5828686-4&utmdt=Why+Fashion+Expert+Tan+France+Nearly+Turned+Down+%27Queer+Eye%27&utme=8(APIKey)9(MDAxOTAwOTE4MDEyMTkxMDAzNjczZDljZA004)\">\u003c/em>\u003c/div>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>When fashion designer Tan France got the call to audition for the Netflix makeover series \u003cem>Queer Eye, \u003c/em>his initial reaction was to say no. France, the gay son of Pakistani-Muslim immigrants, didn’t want to take on the burden of representing his community—especially on television.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The thought of being one of the very first openly gay South Asian men on a major show. … That pressure was so hard to handle,” he says. “The pressure of being one of the first to do something is massively stressful.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13866204\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\" style=\"max-width: 395px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13866204\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/arts/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/09/9781250208668_custom-acac830e99b85a37bd4c57193bd0b5981a358eed-s600-c85.jpg\" alt=\"'Naturally Tan' by Tan France\" width=\"395\" height=\"600\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/09/9781250208668_custom-acac830e99b85a37bd4c57193bd0b5981a358eed-s600-c85.jpg 395w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/09/9781250208668_custom-acac830e99b85a37bd4c57193bd0b5981a358eed-s600-c85-160x243.jpg 160w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 395px) 100vw, 395px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">‘Naturally Tan’ by Tan France \u003ccite>(St. Martin's Press)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>But then France began to reflect on the racism he had experienced throughout his life. Growing up in a small town in England, bullies slapped him in the face, punched him in the gut and called him racist slurs. After the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, he was harassed and called a “terrorist” on the street. He is still routinely questioned by TSA when he travels.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As France thought about these experiences, he began to reconsider auditioning for \u003cem>Queer Eye: \u003c/em>“I could have an opportunity to change the narrative for my people,” he says. “And so that’s why I decided to take the actual audition. … I’ve got to continue to show that Pakistanis are wonderful people, that we are caring people.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>France reflects on his childhood, his career in fashion and on his role on \u003cem>Queer Eye\u003c/em> in the new memoir, \u003cem>Naturally Tan. \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003chr>\n\u003ch3>\u003cstrong>Interview highlights \u003c/strong>\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>On growing up Pakistani in the U.K., and being bullied as a kid \u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At the age of five or six, when you get hit for your skin color, it makes no sense, because you don’t see that as a problem. Violence was ever-present in my life. That was something I never escaped, I just saw it as normal. … I remember saying this to my husband, that I was never bullied as a kid, and then I would talk about my childhood and he was like, “You’ve said you haven’t been bullied but that absolutely is bullying!” The strange thing is, we never saw it as bullying. It was just a matter of fact. … I don’t think anyone ever noticed [I was gay], I think that they were just so consumed with my color that they just seemed to lose sight of the fact that I was also homosexual.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>On being exposed to fashion at a young age because his grandfather owned a denim factory \u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>They were making denim [with] Disney prints on them, and so I was able to experience Western clothing like most South Asian kids will never have the luxury of doing. I was able to see how a piece of fabric turns into a garment that you will actually wear, and so I was privy to the ins and outs of the process. And at the end of that process I got to keep some of those things that were slightly off — like a stitch was wrong or a color was off—those things I got to keep. So I was able to experiment with clothes more so than most people. Even though I wasn’t allowed to wear it around the house, I was still exposed to that.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>On experiencing racism after the Sept. 11 attacks \u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I saw the planes going into the towers over and over again on the news and I felt immediate dread, because it was so clear what the message was: that it’s Muslims. There was a lot of talk about Pakistan and Afghanistan. I’d already experienced 17 years of racism for being Pakistani, and the interesting thing was, I looked around the room at the other Pakistani people, and there weren’t that many, and every one of us had the exact same look of complete dread like, “Oh no, we’re going to pay for this.” And it happened immediately.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>On the stress of running three fashion businesses and the toll it took on his mental health\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I had built up these three businesses that, thankfully, were doing incredibly well. But the production was getting more and more problematic, and the thought of continuing on with that was just too much to handle. And so I got really depressed. … I never experienced that before. I don’t suffer bouts of depression. I’m one of the most positive people I know. I always can see a way out of a situation and how to get out of a situation to make myself happy again. But with that I couldn’t see a time when I was going to be happy in business. So I started to really think of how I could solve the problem. It wasn’t really solving the problem, it was just getting out of the situation, and getting out of life.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And so I had a moment one day … on my way home from work, I called my husband and I told him that I need him to talk to me and help me. I feel like I want to drive off this bridge and I’m almost positive I’m going to do this if he’s not there for me. He’s wonderful. He’s an angel sent down from heaven, and he talked me through it, and urged me to just get home as soon as possible. He was going to leave work and come home to make sure I was OK, and then when I got home his answer was simple. It was just, “Let them go. You don’t have anything to prove.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I’ve always been the kind of person my whole life that has felt I have something to prove and … I know it’s because of my childhood and the amount of abuse we suffered and I suffered, that I’ve always felt like I had to prove something and I feel that even to this day. Every day when I get out of bed and I work as hard as I do, it’s to prove my worth. And so he said, “You don’t have to prove yourself in this business anymore. You’ve made it. Your businesses are successful. Your plan was to always sell them maybe 20 years from now, but sell them now, get rid of them, we don’t need any more money.” And so I did.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>On telling his Muslim family he was marrying a man \u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>My dad died when I was young. He died just before I was 14 and I wasn’t out at the time, so he never would have known that I had desires to marry a man. My mom, when I told her, my mom is quite liberal, she practices her religion but she’s quite liberal and … is quite docile. She just wants to keep the peace and go with the flow, and as long as everyone’s happy she’s fine. And so that was the case with me. I told her that I was marrying a man, she was like OK. … There was never a fight about it. There was never really a discussion really about it. She was just so matter-of-fact about it and has been ever since.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And so it was quite easy for me. … The fact that she had a love marriage [with my father,] she [too] had gone against our cultural norms, which, back in the day—this was in the ’70s—was shocking, absolutely shocking. She was probably one of the very few people in her community, if not in her extended family, who would have had a love marriage. And so I think that that probably made it easier for her to understand.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But she always knew that I was the black sheep of the family. She always knew that I wasn’t going to have the same life as her other children. She knew from my very early age that I was nothing like her other children. She didn’t know how to articulate it, as I said, she’d never even heard the word “gay” before, but she just said I wasn’t like any of her other sons. … I was like her extra daughter.\u003c/p>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutube'>\n \u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutubeInside'>\n \u003ciframe\n loading='lazy'\n class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__youtubePlayer'\n type='text/html'\n src='//www.youtube.com/embed/54BVvP7zvDQ'\n title='//www.youtube.com/embed/54BVvP7zvDQ'\n allowfullscreen='true'\n style='border:0;'>\u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/span>\n \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003cstrong>On his initial reluctance to join the \u003c/strong>\u003cem>\u003cstrong>Queer Eye\u003c/strong>\u003c/em>\u003cstrong> cast \u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I was worried about the people that I know and love being attacked by people within our community. I wasn’t concerned about what Caucasian people might think of it, necessarily. It was what my own people would think of it, that they would be concerned that my family have a gay man who’s very openly gay, very unabashedly gay, so publicly. … In our culture you don’t represent yourself, you represent your family. And as far as my culture is concerned, when you are … “sinning” in their eyes, you are bringing shame to your community.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>On how doing \u003c/strong>\u003cem>\u003cstrong>Queer Eye \u003c/strong>\u003c/em>\u003cstrong>has pushed his personal boundaries \u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Being around Jonathan Van Ness changed my boundaries! … I was always very, very much Westernized, but I’ve become more so with the things I will discuss. I was always quite foul mouthed. I’ve always been foul mouthed. And that’s just very typically English, especially in working-class culture, and my parents were definitely working class. … I have become more vulgar now, because … that’s the humor on set. We’re just a silly, playful bunch.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And actually I love that side of me now that’s able to just be free and talk about things that people are really going through. I was quite guarded before. … All the [\u003cem>Queer Ey\u003c/em>e] boys will say I’m the most bounded person they know. If I don’t want something to happen, if I do not want something discussed, if I do not want to be close, I will make it very clear. I set my intentions with people very clearly, very quickly, very early on. And that’s something that’s quite rare for Americans, I think. …\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Please know that this is my personal opinion, but being foreign here in the U.S. I found that Americans are quite passive-aggressive when it comes to setting their true intentions when they first meet friends. But the British culture we were a lot more open about what we will accept or not accept from our friends and family, and so I think that’s quite jarring for the boys. So I’ve taught them my boundaries, but they’ve also pushed them, and the parts that have been pushed are for the better, as far as I’m concerned.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Sam Briger and Mooj Zadie produced and edited the audio of this interview. Bridget Bentz, Molly Seavy-Nesper and Beth Novey adapted it for the Web.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cdiv class=\"fullattribution\">\u003cem>Copyright 2019 Fresh Air. To see more, visit \u003ca href=\"http://www.npr.org/programs/fresh-air/\">Fresh Air\u003c/a>.\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://www.google-analytics.com/__utm.gif?utmac=UA-5828686-4&utmdt=Why+Fashion+Expert+Tan+France+Nearly+Turned+Down+%27Queer+Eye%27&utme=8(APIKey)9(MDAxOTAwOTE4MDEyMTkxMDAzNjczZDljZA004)\">\u003c/em>\u003c/div>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"title": "‘Derry Girls’ Offers a Surprising, Comedic Take on Northern Ireland's Troubles",
"headTitle": "‘Derry Girls’ Offers a Surprising, Comedic Take on Northern Ireland’s Troubles | KQED",
"content": "\u003cp>When Protestant loyalists waving British flags march in the Northern Irish city of Londonderry, Donna McCluskey and other community workers stage what she calls a “diversionary festival.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“In the past, young people used to riot,” she says, standing in Free Derry Corner, where the buildings are covered in murals lionizing Irish nationalists. But this year, there wasn’t as much trouble. “Maybe they were all watching reruns of \u003cem>Derry Girls,\u003c/em>” she jokes. “At our house I think we watched every episode three times.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Derry Girls,\u003c/em> a critically acclaimed comedy first broadcast on Britain’s Channel 4 and now streaming on Netflix, was the \u003ca href=\"https://www.irishnews.com/news/northernirelandnews/2019/08/07/news/derry-girls-the-most-watched-tv-show-of-2018-report-reveals-1679546/\">most watched series\u003c/a> in Northern Ireland in 2018. The show follows five teenagers in a Catholic school during the 1990s, when Northern Ireland was gripped by sectarian violence between Catholics and Protestants known as The Troubles. (Whether you call the city Derry or Londonderry depends on your politics.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The conflict has been on people’s minds a lot recently, as Britain’s messy exit from the European Union has revived talk of a hard border in Ireland, which was dismantled after the 1998 Good Friday Agreement. The history is dark and painful and dominates the way Northern Ireland is portrayed onstage, on-screen and in books. \u003ca href=\"https://www.orwellfoundation.com/the-orwell-prizes/\">The Orwell Prizes\u003c/a> in \u003ca href=\"https://www.orwellfoundation.com/political-fiction/milkman/\">fiction\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://www.orwellfoundation.com/political-writing/say-nothing-a-true-story-of-murder-and-memory-in-northern-ireland/\">political writing\u003c/a> this year went to Troubles-themed books.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In \u003cem>Derry Girls,\u003c/em> the conflict is in the background. As Erin Quinn (Saoirse-Monica Jackson) says in one episode, while describing her own hilariously self-affected essay writing: “It’s about The Troubles in a political sense but also about my own troubles in a personal sense.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The series creator and writer, Lisa McGee, grew up in the Irish border city and based the show on her own life.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UFmFuXH0IRY\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Two 31-year-old moms I met on the street, Rachel Mullan and Tina Burke, call themselves “the grown-up Derry Girls.” They say the series accurately portrays what life was like here for teens and tweens.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We knew The Troubles were there, but kids still had to go to school and just get on with it,” Mullan says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It doesn’t ignore that people lost their lives,” Burke adds, “but it shows the world that Derry is much more than this conflict.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Burke and Mullan know all the main characters: \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GQ--B6vIcmw\">Erin\u003c/a> is imperious and has dreams of becoming a famous writer; \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KR2H54H5GCw\">Clare\u003c/a> (Nicola Coughlan) is studious and smart; \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bkEvWItqotg&t=2s\">Orla\u003c/a> (Louisa Harland) is spaced out and really into step aerobics; \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=94rF2QUCuZg\">Michelle\u003c/a> (Jamie-Lynn O’Donnell), fearless and uncensored, accidentally sets a house on fire with flaming shots of Sambuca; and \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jsDfnvhl5Jc\">James\u003c/a> (Dylan Llewellyn) is Michelle’s English cousin who gets stuck at an all-girls school. He seems to be the butt of every joke.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The supporting cast includes Granda Joe (Ian McElhinney), Ma Mary (Tara Lynne O’Neill) and the hilariously cynical nun Sister Michael (Siobhan McSweeney), whose \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w11TI397hcc\">one-liners\u003c/a> are pure gold.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Based on an entirely unscientific poll I conducted in the city, Michelle seems to be the favorite Derry Girl. Even the old IRA guys drinking Guinness at the Bogside Inn think “she’s some \u003cem>craic just.\u003c/em>” (Translation: She’s a good laugh.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Rachel McCrade, a 29-year-old musician sitting next to the Irish nationalist grandfathers with her own Guinness, also chimes in for Michelle. “She’s very much like myself growing up,” she says. “Her attitude, her character, it’s very typical of a Derry Girl. Everybody’s got a Michelle in their circle of friends.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Outside, three teenagers in matching shoes walk down a steep hill. Enya and Abbie Canning and Chloe Doyle are 14 and also Michelle fans. “We’re all Michelles,” Chloe says. “We walk about smoking and talking salty.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P937Lic52NY\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>They giggle as a group of teenage boys walks by carrying what appear to be wooden crates. They’re preparing for bonfires, which both Catholics and Protestants burn to commemorate their own history. Community workers can usually distract kids during the day but not at night. A few dozen teenagers \u003ca href=\"https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-northern-ireland-49326359\">threw gas bombs and stones last month\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Chloe explains that she grew up hearing her parents and grandparents talk about The Troubles but \u003cem>Derry Girls\u003c/em> helped her put it in context. The past still feels present here.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It happened again. It was more or less The Troubles, where a girl got shot in the head,” Chloe says. “That was at the end of my street. My grandfather was standing right next to her.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She’s referring to Lyra McKee, a 29-year-old journalist \u003ca href=\"https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-48018615\">killed during rioting\u003c/a> in the Creggan area of Derry last April. A group called the New IRA claimed responsibility and apologized to her family. The reaction to her death was \u003ca href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/news/social-affairs/not-in-our-name-rip-lyra-new-graffiti-in-derry-signals-change-1.3868485\">outrage,\u003c/a> a sign that most people here want to stick by the 1998 Good Friday Agreement ending the sectarian fighting. On the monument marking Free Derry Corner, someone spray-painted “Not in our name: RIP Lyra.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The Free Derry Corner was iconic during the Troubles, when the British military were told not to come in,” says John Cooley, who grew up in the city and raised his own Derry Girls here. “The murals there are the most photographed walls in Derry. But we do not want to go down that road again, even if a certain tiny, fringe element wants to take us there.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Besides, he says, “we have a new mural.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A mural of the Derry Girls is painted on the side of Badgers, the bar and restaurant Cooley manages.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13866146\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 600px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13866146\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/arts/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/09/derrymural_custom-f197def889109fa3769a7f38a29d2f48b5923d7f-s600-c85.jpg\" alt=\"A mural of the Derry Girls is painted on the side of the bar and restaurant Badgers.\" width=\"600\" height=\"566\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/09/derrymural_custom-f197def889109fa3769a7f38a29d2f48b5923d7f-s600-c85.jpg 600w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/09/derrymural_custom-f197def889109fa3769a7f38a29d2f48b5923d7f-s600-c85-160x151.jpg 160w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A mural of the Derry Girls is painted on the side of the bar and restaurant Badgers. \u003ccite>(Joanna Kakissis/NPR)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“That mural out there, I’m glad to say, is the new mural of Northern Ireland,” he says. “I see people photographing it every day.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Emma Doutreligne, a 20-year-old student from the French village of Fontenay-le-Comte, poses in front of it—she’s on vacation with her parents and brother and made them take a detour to see where \u003cem>Derry Girls \u003c/em>was set.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I binge-watched the show back home,” she says. “I laugh at every episode.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But what she says she really likes is that despite the fact a sectarian conflict is raging in the background, the Derry Girls “don’t even care about this war background, they just live their lives as teenagers; they care about boys and girls and about money and schools and stuff like that.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Inside Badgers, Gilly Campbell, who works in the arts and culture sector in Belfast, is sipping sodas with her 7-year-old daughter, Sally McKinney.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We watch \u003cem>Derry Girls \u003c/em>together,” Sally says. “We never miss it because I \u003cem>love\u003c/em> it! Especially Michelle. But I can’t tell you my favorite lines because she always talks so salty.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Her mother laughs. “This show, it’s very Derry, in all the right ways,” Campbell says. “It’s put Northern Ireland on the map for all the right reasons. It’s brought us together for all the right reasons.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cdiv class=\"fullattribution\">\u003cem>Copyright 2019 NPR. To see more, visit \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">NPR\u003c/a>.\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://www.google-analytics.com/__utm.gif?utmac=UA-5828686-4&utmdt=In+Northern+Ireland%2C+%27Derry+Girls%27+Balances+Teen+Comedy+And+Sectarian+Conflict&utme=8(APIKey)9(MDAxOTAwOTE4MDEyMTkxMDAzNjczZDljZA004)\">\u003c/em>\u003c/div>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>When Protestant loyalists waving British flags march in the Northern Irish city of Londonderry, Donna McCluskey and other community workers stage what she calls a “diversionary festival.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“In the past, young people used to riot,” she says, standing in Free Derry Corner, where the buildings are covered in murals lionizing Irish nationalists. But this year, there wasn’t as much trouble. “Maybe they were all watching reruns of \u003cem>Derry Girls,\u003c/em>” she jokes. “At our house I think we watched every episode three times.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Derry Girls,\u003c/em> a critically acclaimed comedy first broadcast on Britain’s Channel 4 and now streaming on Netflix, was the \u003ca href=\"https://www.irishnews.com/news/northernirelandnews/2019/08/07/news/derry-girls-the-most-watched-tv-show-of-2018-report-reveals-1679546/\">most watched series\u003c/a> in Northern Ireland in 2018. The show follows five teenagers in a Catholic school during the 1990s, when Northern Ireland was gripped by sectarian violence between Catholics and Protestants known as The Troubles. (Whether you call the city Derry or Londonderry depends on your politics.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The conflict has been on people’s minds a lot recently, as Britain’s messy exit from the European Union has revived talk of a hard border in Ireland, which was dismantled after the 1998 Good Friday Agreement. The history is dark and painful and dominates the way Northern Ireland is portrayed onstage, on-screen and in books. \u003ca href=\"https://www.orwellfoundation.com/the-orwell-prizes/\">The Orwell Prizes\u003c/a> in \u003ca href=\"https://www.orwellfoundation.com/political-fiction/milkman/\">fiction\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://www.orwellfoundation.com/political-writing/say-nothing-a-true-story-of-murder-and-memory-in-northern-ireland/\">political writing\u003c/a> this year went to Troubles-themed books.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In \u003cem>Derry Girls,\u003c/em> the conflict is in the background. As Erin Quinn (Saoirse-Monica Jackson) says in one episode, while describing her own hilariously self-affected essay writing: “It’s about The Troubles in a political sense but also about my own troubles in a personal sense.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The series creator and writer, Lisa McGee, grew up in the Irish border city and based the show on her own life.\u003c/p>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutube'>\n \u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutubeInside'>\n \u003ciframe\n loading='lazy'\n class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__youtubePlayer'\n type='text/html'\n src='//www.youtube.com/embed/UFmFuXH0IRY'\n title='//www.youtube.com/embed/UFmFuXH0IRY'\n allowfullscreen='true'\n style='border:0;'>\u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/span>\n \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cp>Two 31-year-old moms I met on the street, Rachel Mullan and Tina Burke, call themselves “the grown-up Derry Girls.” They say the series accurately portrays what life was like here for teens and tweens.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We knew The Troubles were there, but kids still had to go to school and just get on with it,” Mullan says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It doesn’t ignore that people lost their lives,” Burke adds, “but it shows the world that Derry is much more than this conflict.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Burke and Mullan know all the main characters: \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GQ--B6vIcmw\">Erin\u003c/a> is imperious and has dreams of becoming a famous writer; \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KR2H54H5GCw\">Clare\u003c/a> (Nicola Coughlan) is studious and smart; \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bkEvWItqotg&t=2s\">Orla\u003c/a> (Louisa Harland) is spaced out and really into step aerobics; \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=94rF2QUCuZg\">Michelle\u003c/a> (Jamie-Lynn O’Donnell), fearless and uncensored, accidentally sets a house on fire with flaming shots of Sambuca; and \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jsDfnvhl5Jc\">James\u003c/a> (Dylan Llewellyn) is Michelle’s English cousin who gets stuck at an all-girls school. He seems to be the butt of every joke.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The supporting cast includes Granda Joe (Ian McElhinney), Ma Mary (Tara Lynne O’Neill) and the hilariously cynical nun Sister Michael (Siobhan McSweeney), whose \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w11TI397hcc\">one-liners\u003c/a> are pure gold.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Based on an entirely unscientific poll I conducted in the city, Michelle seems to be the favorite Derry Girl. Even the old IRA guys drinking Guinness at the Bogside Inn think “she’s some \u003cem>craic just.\u003c/em>” (Translation: She’s a good laugh.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Rachel McCrade, a 29-year-old musician sitting next to the Irish nationalist grandfathers with her own Guinness, also chimes in for Michelle. “She’s very much like myself growing up,” she says. “Her attitude, her character, it’s very typical of a Derry Girl. Everybody’s got a Michelle in their circle of friends.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Outside, three teenagers in matching shoes walk down a steep hill. Enya and Abbie Canning and Chloe Doyle are 14 and also Michelle fans. “We’re all Michelles,” Chloe says. “We walk about smoking and talking salty.”\u003c/p>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutube'>\n \u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutubeInside'>\n \u003ciframe\n loading='lazy'\n class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__youtubePlayer'\n type='text/html'\n src='//www.youtube.com/embed/P937Lic52NY'\n title='//www.youtube.com/embed/P937Lic52NY'\n allowfullscreen='true'\n style='border:0;'>\u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/span>\n \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cp>They giggle as a group of teenage boys walks by carrying what appear to be wooden crates. They’re preparing for bonfires, which both Catholics and Protestants burn to commemorate their own history. Community workers can usually distract kids during the day but not at night. A few dozen teenagers \u003ca href=\"https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-northern-ireland-49326359\">threw gas bombs and stones last month\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Chloe explains that she grew up hearing her parents and grandparents talk about The Troubles but \u003cem>Derry Girls\u003c/em> helped her put it in context. The past still feels present here.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It happened again. It was more or less The Troubles, where a girl got shot in the head,” Chloe says. “That was at the end of my street. My grandfather was standing right next to her.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She’s referring to Lyra McKee, a 29-year-old journalist \u003ca href=\"https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-48018615\">killed during rioting\u003c/a> in the Creggan area of Derry last April. A group called the New IRA claimed responsibility and apologized to her family. The reaction to her death was \u003ca href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/news/social-affairs/not-in-our-name-rip-lyra-new-graffiti-in-derry-signals-change-1.3868485\">outrage,\u003c/a> a sign that most people here want to stick by the 1998 Good Friday Agreement ending the sectarian fighting. On the monument marking Free Derry Corner, someone spray-painted “Not in our name: RIP Lyra.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The Free Derry Corner was iconic during the Troubles, when the British military were told not to come in,” says John Cooley, who grew up in the city and raised his own Derry Girls here. “The murals there are the most photographed walls in Derry. But we do not want to go down that road again, even if a certain tiny, fringe element wants to take us there.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Besides, he says, “we have a new mural.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A mural of the Derry Girls is painted on the side of Badgers, the bar and restaurant Cooley manages.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13866146\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 600px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13866146\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/arts/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/09/derrymural_custom-f197def889109fa3769a7f38a29d2f48b5923d7f-s600-c85.jpg\" alt=\"A mural of the Derry Girls is painted on the side of the bar and restaurant Badgers.\" width=\"600\" height=\"566\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/09/derrymural_custom-f197def889109fa3769a7f38a29d2f48b5923d7f-s600-c85.jpg 600w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/09/derrymural_custom-f197def889109fa3769a7f38a29d2f48b5923d7f-s600-c85-160x151.jpg 160w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A mural of the Derry Girls is painted on the side of the bar and restaurant Badgers. \u003ccite>(Joanna Kakissis/NPR)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“That mural out there, I’m glad to say, is the new mural of Northern Ireland,” he says. “I see people photographing it every day.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Emma Doutreligne, a 20-year-old student from the French village of Fontenay-le-Comte, poses in front of it—she’s on vacation with her parents and brother and made them take a detour to see where \u003cem>Derry Girls \u003c/em>was set.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I binge-watched the show back home,” she says. “I laugh at every episode.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But what she says she really likes is that despite the fact a sectarian conflict is raging in the background, the Derry Girls “don’t even care about this war background, they just live their lives as teenagers; they care about boys and girls and about money and schools and stuff like that.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Inside Badgers, Gilly Campbell, who works in the arts and culture sector in Belfast, is sipping sodas with her 7-year-old daughter, Sally McKinney.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We watch \u003cem>Derry Girls \u003c/em>together,” Sally says. “We never miss it because I \u003cem>love\u003c/em> it! Especially Michelle. But I can’t tell you my favorite lines because she always talks so salty.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Her mother laughs. “This show, it’s very Derry, in all the right ways,” Campbell says. “It’s put Northern Ireland on the map for all the right reasons. It’s brought us together for all the right reasons.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cdiv class=\"fullattribution\">\u003cem>Copyright 2019 NPR. To see more, visit \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">NPR\u003c/a>.\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://www.google-analytics.com/__utm.gif?utmac=UA-5828686-4&utmdt=In+Northern+Ireland%2C+%27Derry+Girls%27+Balances+Teen+Comedy+And+Sectarian+Conflict&utme=8(APIKey)9(MDAxOTAwOTE4MDEyMTkxMDAzNjczZDljZA004)\">\u003c/em>\u003c/div>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"title": "Constance Wu On Sisterhood, 'Hustlers' and Her Unprecedented Career",
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"content": "\u003cp>When we meet Constance Wu’s character Destiny in the new movie \u003cem>Hustlers\u003c/em>, she’s the new dancer at a gentlemen’s club. She’s there because of economic circumstance, but we come to learn there’s more to her character.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I think the deeper meaning of how she ends up in this job is that I think growing up, she and a lot of American girls are taught that their value and worth lies in their physical beauty and their sexuality,” Wu says. “And then it’s funny, because then when you exploit that value system to try to get by, to pay your rent, then you’re shamed for it. I mean, you think of what a stripper does: They’re using their bodies for entertainment. It’s exactly what an athlete does. But we more harshly judge one and shame one than the other.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The movie, which is inspired by the true story of Jessica Pressler’s \u003cem>New York\u003c/em> magazine story \u003ca href=\"https://www.thecut.com/2015/12/robin-hood-strippers-scores-c-v-r.html\">“The Hustlers at Scores,”\u003c/a> sees Ramona (Jennifer Lopez) take Destiny under her wing. And when their club’s Wall Street clientele begins to dry up after the financial crisis of 2008, the strip club employees scheme up a way to keep the money coming in.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The rest of the cast features some big names (Cardi B, Lizzo) and rising stars (Keke Palmer, Lili Reinhart, Trace Lysette). It’s written and directed by Lorene Scafaria. And for Wu, it’s the latest big role in a career that has recently seen her take star turns in the ABC sitcom \u003cem>Fresh off the Boat\u003c/em> and the blockbuster movie \u003cem>Crazy Rich Asians\u003c/em>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In an interview, Wu talked about what attracted her to the role, working on a female-driven movie, and the state of play for women and people of color in Hollywood today.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LUG2U-IxPx0\u003c/p>\n\u003chr>\n\u003ch3>Interview Highlights\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>On why she took the role\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I was actually really seeking a project that was about loneliness. I think a lot of people, they think, “Oh, she must have wanted to do this sexy, cool, fun movie.” But it’s just about a woman who is deeply lonely, because she has abandonment issues because her own mother left her when she was very young; so she has trust issues, so she can’t let anybody in. And Ramona, the character played by Jennifer Lopez, becomes like a mother figure to her. And I chose it because it tackles loneliness, but it sort of gets it on all sides. It’s the beginning of it, and then struggling through it, and then finally not feeling alone in the world, and then when you lose that again. It really was just such a dynamic story arc. …\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I wasn’t lonely at that period in my life. I was actually doing great. But I do think loneliness is kind of pervasive in America right now—and in a way that we’re not recognizing. I think because politically, we’re so polarized. And also, social media just makes people lonely in a way they don’t realize because they’re still getting some kind of social stimulation—but it’s not tactile. So I think one of the best things that films or stories can do for us is to make people feel less alone with their own feelings. We’re so used to looking at these Instagram feeds where everyone has a perfect life. And what \u003cem>Hustlers\u003c/em> really does is it shows that this woman who, yeah, she looks really flashy, she’s a dancer, all this on the outside; but inside, she’s really lonely and she just wants a real friend. And I think that’s—if we’re going to find any type of healing in this country, it’s going to be by interacting with each other, not villainizing and shaming each other.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>On acting in a movie that doesn’t pit two women against each other\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>No catfights. And the thing that I’ve always said is that traditionally, in a patriarchal society, whether it’s in the boardroom or in an action movie, there’s usually only one or two women. And I think that it’s the fact there seem to be so few positions available that makes somebody competitive. It’s the scarcity, not the gender. And I think working on \u003cem>Hustlers\u003c/em> really proved that women are not inherently catty or competitive, because we, on \u003cem>Hustlers\u003c/em>, we were all women: woman director, woman writer. And it was our table, you know? It was not patriarchal—it was matriarchal, I guess. And it was so great because so many times when I’m in an environment that’s a lot of men, I feel like I have to either be cutesy or girly or sexy, or I have to act like I’m one of the guys to fit in. …\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And so when we were all in locker room scenes of \u003cem>Hustlers\u003c/em>—all women, all shapes and sizes, all different ages, all ethnicities—nobody had to pretend like they were one of the guys. We didn’t have to act really sexy. We could openly talk about, like, “Ugh, this boob is bigger than the other,” whatever. Just these things that we could just be open about, because we weren’t being assessed by our appearance in order to be allowed in the space—because it was our space.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b6ZeMzDDlfo\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>On how her personal background affects her portrayal and career\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I didn’t work in strip clubs back then, but I worked in restaurants a lot. I did bottle service for a club for a little bit. But yeah, I definitely related to the struggle that comes along, and the fear and scarcity complexes that come along, with not having a legacy in the place you grew up. Not growing up with privilege, but also just—there’s a psychological legacy that comes from knowing that you have ancestors, great-great-great-grandparents, who have been in this country and are of this country and have survived. I think it’s statistically proven that like if a kid has a parent who has gone to college, they’re more likely to go to college … I’ve said representation equals possibility, and sometimes the parents model that behavior.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But for me, I don’t have anybody in my family who ever entered show biz or the arts. And the path that I’ve sort of made for myself in this career is also something I haven’t really seen a model for, in terms of a role model for, exactly the way I’ve been trying to do it. So it can be scary, and it can ruffle feathers for sure. And I think that Destiny also doesn’t have the confidence of a legacy of lineage in the country, because her parents are immigrants, like mine were.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>On living in the moment\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I mean, I do this [acting] because I love it. … I think one of the best things an actor can have is sort of what they call being in the moment, which I naturally have—which is not always a good thing. So I think the reason I stayed in it is because I wasn’t thinking about the future. Because if I had systemically laid out all the possibilities and thought of the future, I don’t think I ever would have entered this profession at all.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And so to really live in the moment and not measure your words or actions based on anxieties of the future or worries of the past is a real fun gift to have when you’re acting. In life it has not always been so fun, because I can be really reactive and dramatic. So I’m just trying to honestly use this moment in this profession to learn more about myself and the kind of person I want to be and to forgive myself for mistakes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>On \u003c/strong>\u003ca href=\"https://deadline.com/2019/05/constance-wu-fresh-off-the-boat-abc-renewal-twitter-profanity-1202612321/\">\u003cstrong>her recent response\u003c/strong>\u003c/a>\u003cstrong> to \u003c/strong>\u003cstrong>\u003cem>Fresh off the Boat \u003c/em>\u003c/strong>\u003cstrong>being renewed for another season, which was initially judged out of context, she says\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Wu:\u003c/strong> It really broke my heart that my moment of heat, where I was just disappointed because I couldn’t do a play that I really wanted to do, that had an impact on the people who I love on this crew, and how some people might have perceived that it was a reflection of how I felt about the show. Which: nothing could be further from the truth, because I love the show and I love the people on it. I was just temporarily … I was just bummed because I’d been looking forward to doing this other project.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Garcia-Navarro:\u003c/strong> Do you think you got more of it because you’re a woman and a person of color?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Wu:\u003c/strong> What do you think? [laughing]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Garcia-Navarro:\u003c/strong> I don’t know. I thought I would ask the question and just put it there out there.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Wu:\u003c/strong> Yeah. I definitely think that there’s often harsher criticism … I think it was especially disturbing for some people because my career is kind of unprecedented. You know, I led the first Asian American network sitcom in Hollywood in over 20 years [\u003cem>Fresh off the Boat\u003c/em>], and then five years later I led the first all-Asian cast of a major studio Hollywood movie in 25 years [\u003cem>Crazy Rich Asians\u003c/em>]. But it’s funny—it’s like because I’ve gotten this position that wasn’t available at the table, I should never complain. …\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZQ-YX-5bAs0\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I think a part of us should stop being grateful for scraps from the table and demand the whole table. Because it shouldn’t have been history that I was the first in that TV show or movie. It shouldn’t be historic that Hollywood made a story that gives an Asian American a full human experience. That should be regular.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>On if Hollywood is trending in the right direction regarding women and people of color\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I always compare it to exercising. It’s not like you can take one boot camp and then be fit for life. It’s a maintenance. So I think that we’ve gone through a bit of a boot camp in terms of understanding bias and institutional racism and stuff like that … and I think now you have to take the exercises you learned from boot camp, and apply them to your real choices in a way that makes you and everybody healthier.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I mean, it’s funny. I actually know a lot of guys who have been saying, like, “Oh, you know, it’s a great time in Hollywood for women.” And you know, male directors will say, like, “Oh, it’s really great to be a woman right now … I used to get all these jobs, and I can’t—it’s great, I’m glad” …\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And there are many things to say to that. But one thing I would have liked to say is that it’s a great time for men. Because I think men are finally getting to hear these stories that they’ve been robbed of—these stories told from a woman’s point of view. And if you’re an artist, there’s nothing you want more than learning more about the human experience. So if you get to learn a perspective that you didn’t get growing up, how awesome. How awesome that you get that. But if you’re only worrying about me and my experience and what jobs I get, then: Well, there’s the problem. It’s like: The world is not centered in your experience. And the more experiences you get that are outside of your own are gonna improve your work. And then that will improve your integrity. And so I think it’s a great time for men because they have the opportunity to see and experience this content that they haven’t before.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Sophia Alvarez Boyd and Melissa Gray produced and edited this interview for broadcast. Patrick Jarenwattananon adapted it for the Web.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cdiv class=\"fullattribution\">\u003cem>Copyright 2019 NPR. To see more, visit \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">NPR\u003c/a>.\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://www.google-analytics.com/__utm.gif?utmac=UA-5828686-4&utmdt=Lonely+In+The+Club%3A+Constance+Wu+On+%27Hustlers%27+And+Her+%27Unprecedented%27+Career&utme=8(APIKey)9(MDAxOTAwOTE4MDEyMTkxMDAzNjczZDljZA004)\">\u003c/em>\u003c/div>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>When we meet Constance Wu’s character Destiny in the new movie \u003cem>Hustlers\u003c/em>, she’s the new dancer at a gentlemen’s club. She’s there because of economic circumstance, but we come to learn there’s more to her character.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I think the deeper meaning of how she ends up in this job is that I think growing up, she and a lot of American girls are taught that their value and worth lies in their physical beauty and their sexuality,” Wu says. “And then it’s funny, because then when you exploit that value system to try to get by, to pay your rent, then you’re shamed for it. I mean, you think of what a stripper does: They’re using their bodies for entertainment. It’s exactly what an athlete does. But we more harshly judge one and shame one than the other.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The movie, which is inspired by the true story of Jessica Pressler’s \u003cem>New York\u003c/em> magazine story \u003ca href=\"https://www.thecut.com/2015/12/robin-hood-strippers-scores-c-v-r.html\">“The Hustlers at Scores,”\u003c/a> sees Ramona (Jennifer Lopez) take Destiny under her wing. And when their club’s Wall Street clientele begins to dry up after the financial crisis of 2008, the strip club employees scheme up a way to keep the money coming in.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The rest of the cast features some big names (Cardi B, Lizzo) and rising stars (Keke Palmer, Lili Reinhart, Trace Lysette). It’s written and directed by Lorene Scafaria. And for Wu, it’s the latest big role in a career that has recently seen her take star turns in the ABC sitcom \u003cem>Fresh off the Boat\u003c/em> and the blockbuster movie \u003cem>Crazy Rich Asians\u003c/em>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In an interview, Wu talked about what attracted her to the role, working on a female-driven movie, and the state of play for women and people of color in Hollywood today.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutube'>\n \u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutubeInside'>\n \u003ciframe\n loading='lazy'\n class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__youtubePlayer'\n type='text/html'\n src='//www.youtube.com/embed/LUG2U-IxPx0'\n title='//www.youtube.com/embed/LUG2U-IxPx0'\n allowfullscreen='true'\n style='border:0;'>\u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/span>\n \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003chr>\n\u003ch3>Interview Highlights\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>On why she took the role\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I was actually really seeking a project that was about loneliness. I think a lot of people, they think, “Oh, she must have wanted to do this sexy, cool, fun movie.” But it’s just about a woman who is deeply lonely, because she has abandonment issues because her own mother left her when she was very young; so she has trust issues, so she can’t let anybody in. And Ramona, the character played by Jennifer Lopez, becomes like a mother figure to her. And I chose it because it tackles loneliness, but it sort of gets it on all sides. It’s the beginning of it, and then struggling through it, and then finally not feeling alone in the world, and then when you lose that again. It really was just such a dynamic story arc. …\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I wasn’t lonely at that period in my life. I was actually doing great. But I do think loneliness is kind of pervasive in America right now—and in a way that we’re not recognizing. I think because politically, we’re so polarized. And also, social media just makes people lonely in a way they don’t realize because they’re still getting some kind of social stimulation—but it’s not tactile. So I think one of the best things that films or stories can do for us is to make people feel less alone with their own feelings. We’re so used to looking at these Instagram feeds where everyone has a perfect life. And what \u003cem>Hustlers\u003c/em> really does is it shows that this woman who, yeah, she looks really flashy, she’s a dancer, all this on the outside; but inside, she’s really lonely and she just wants a real friend. And I think that’s—if we’re going to find any type of healing in this country, it’s going to be by interacting with each other, not villainizing and shaming each other.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>On acting in a movie that doesn’t pit two women against each other\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>No catfights. And the thing that I’ve always said is that traditionally, in a patriarchal society, whether it’s in the boardroom or in an action movie, there’s usually only one or two women. And I think that it’s the fact there seem to be so few positions available that makes somebody competitive. It’s the scarcity, not the gender. And I think working on \u003cem>Hustlers\u003c/em> really proved that women are not inherently catty or competitive, because we, on \u003cem>Hustlers\u003c/em>, we were all women: woman director, woman writer. And it was our table, you know? It was not patriarchal—it was matriarchal, I guess. And it was so great because so many times when I’m in an environment that’s a lot of men, I feel like I have to either be cutesy or girly or sexy, or I have to act like I’m one of the guys to fit in. …\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And so when we were all in locker room scenes of \u003cem>Hustlers\u003c/em>—all women, all shapes and sizes, all different ages, all ethnicities—nobody had to pretend like they were one of the guys. We didn’t have to act really sexy. We could openly talk about, like, “Ugh, this boob is bigger than the other,” whatever. Just these things that we could just be open about, because we weren’t being assessed by our appearance in order to be allowed in the space—because it was our space.\u003c/p>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutube'>\n \u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutubeInside'>\n \u003ciframe\n loading='lazy'\n class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__youtubePlayer'\n type='text/html'\n src='//www.youtube.com/embed/b6ZeMzDDlfo'\n title='//www.youtube.com/embed/b6ZeMzDDlfo'\n allowfullscreen='true'\n style='border:0;'>\u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/span>\n \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003cstrong>On how her personal background affects her portrayal and career\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I didn’t work in strip clubs back then, but I worked in restaurants a lot. I did bottle service for a club for a little bit. But yeah, I definitely related to the struggle that comes along, and the fear and scarcity complexes that come along, with not having a legacy in the place you grew up. Not growing up with privilege, but also just—there’s a psychological legacy that comes from knowing that you have ancestors, great-great-great-grandparents, who have been in this country and are of this country and have survived. I think it’s statistically proven that like if a kid has a parent who has gone to college, they’re more likely to go to college … I’ve said representation equals possibility, and sometimes the parents model that behavior.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But for me, I don’t have anybody in my family who ever entered show biz or the arts. And the path that I’ve sort of made for myself in this career is also something I haven’t really seen a model for, in terms of a role model for, exactly the way I’ve been trying to do it. So it can be scary, and it can ruffle feathers for sure. And I think that Destiny also doesn’t have the confidence of a legacy of lineage in the country, because her parents are immigrants, like mine were.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>On living in the moment\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I mean, I do this [acting] because I love it. … I think one of the best things an actor can have is sort of what they call being in the moment, which I naturally have—which is not always a good thing. So I think the reason I stayed in it is because I wasn’t thinking about the future. Because if I had systemically laid out all the possibilities and thought of the future, I don’t think I ever would have entered this profession at all.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And so to really live in the moment and not measure your words or actions based on anxieties of the future or worries of the past is a real fun gift to have when you’re acting. In life it has not always been so fun, because I can be really reactive and dramatic. So I’m just trying to honestly use this moment in this profession to learn more about myself and the kind of person I want to be and to forgive myself for mistakes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>On \u003c/strong>\u003ca href=\"https://deadline.com/2019/05/constance-wu-fresh-off-the-boat-abc-renewal-twitter-profanity-1202612321/\">\u003cstrong>her recent response\u003c/strong>\u003c/a>\u003cstrong> to \u003c/strong>\u003cstrong>\u003cem>Fresh off the Boat \u003c/em>\u003c/strong>\u003cstrong>being renewed for another season, which was initially judged out of context, she says\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Wu:\u003c/strong> It really broke my heart that my moment of heat, where I was just disappointed because I couldn’t do a play that I really wanted to do, that had an impact on the people who I love on this crew, and how some people might have perceived that it was a reflection of how I felt about the show. Which: nothing could be further from the truth, because I love the show and I love the people on it. I was just temporarily … I was just bummed because I’d been looking forward to doing this other project.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Garcia-Navarro:\u003c/strong> Do you think you got more of it because you’re a woman and a person of color?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Wu:\u003c/strong> What do you think? [laughing]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Garcia-Navarro:\u003c/strong> I don’t know. I thought I would ask the question and just put it there out there.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Wu:\u003c/strong> Yeah. I definitely think that there’s often harsher criticism … I think it was especially disturbing for some people because my career is kind of unprecedented. You know, I led the first Asian American network sitcom in Hollywood in over 20 years [\u003cem>Fresh off the Boat\u003c/em>], and then five years later I led the first all-Asian cast of a major studio Hollywood movie in 25 years [\u003cem>Crazy Rich Asians\u003c/em>]. But it’s funny—it’s like because I’ve gotten this position that wasn’t available at the table, I should never complain. …\u003c/p>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutube'>\n \u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutubeInside'>\n \u003ciframe\n loading='lazy'\n class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__youtubePlayer'\n type='text/html'\n src='//www.youtube.com/embed/ZQ-YX-5bAs0'\n title='//www.youtube.com/embed/ZQ-YX-5bAs0'\n allowfullscreen='true'\n style='border:0;'>\u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/span>\n \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cp>I think a part of us should stop being grateful for scraps from the table and demand the whole table. Because it shouldn’t have been history that I was the first in that TV show or movie. It shouldn’t be historic that Hollywood made a story that gives an Asian American a full human experience. That should be regular.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>On if Hollywood is trending in the right direction regarding women and people of color\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I always compare it to exercising. It’s not like you can take one boot camp and then be fit for life. It’s a maintenance. So I think that we’ve gone through a bit of a boot camp in terms of understanding bias and institutional racism and stuff like that … and I think now you have to take the exercises you learned from boot camp, and apply them to your real choices in a way that makes you and everybody healthier.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I mean, it’s funny. I actually know a lot of guys who have been saying, like, “Oh, you know, it’s a great time in Hollywood for women.” And you know, male directors will say, like, “Oh, it’s really great to be a woman right now … I used to get all these jobs, and I can’t—it’s great, I’m glad” …\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And there are many things to say to that. But one thing I would have liked to say is that it’s a great time for men. Because I think men are finally getting to hear these stories that they’ve been robbed of—these stories told from a woman’s point of view. And if you’re an artist, there’s nothing you want more than learning more about the human experience. So if you get to learn a perspective that you didn’t get growing up, how awesome. How awesome that you get that. But if you’re only worrying about me and my experience and what jobs I get, then: Well, there’s the problem. It’s like: The world is not centered in your experience. And the more experiences you get that are outside of your own are gonna improve your work. And then that will improve your integrity. And so I think it’s a great time for men because they have the opportunity to see and experience this content that they haven’t before.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Sophia Alvarez Boyd and Melissa Gray produced and edited this interview for broadcast. Patrick Jarenwattananon adapted it for the Web.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cdiv class=\"fullattribution\">\u003cem>Copyright 2019 NPR. To see more, visit \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">NPR\u003c/a>.\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://www.google-analytics.com/__utm.gif?utmac=UA-5828686-4&utmdt=Lonely+In+The+Club%3A+Constance+Wu+On+%27Hustlers%27+And+Her+%27Unprecedented%27+Career&utme=8(APIKey)9(MDAxOTAwOTE4MDEyMTkxMDAzNjczZDljZA004)\">\u003c/em>\u003c/div>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"title": "Sacha Baron Cohen on 'The Spy,' Going Undercover and the Question of Identity",
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"content": "\u003cp>The actor and comedian Sacha Baron Cohen has a childhood memory: In his family’s living room in London, there sat a book called \u003cem>Our Man in Damascus\u003c/em>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s a non-fiction account of an Israeli spy who infiltrated Israel’s enemy, Syria, in the 1960s. Eli Cohen was publicly executed, but not before he obtained vital military secrets.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Sacha Baron Cohen now plays Eli Cohen in \u003cem>The Spy\u003c/em>, a Netflix series that dramatizes that true story.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5UijUOy0MmE\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Partly what attracted me was: His acting skills rivaled those of [method actor] Daniel Day-Lewis,” Sacha Baron Cohen says in an interview with Steve Inskeep. “He was playing the role of a multi-millionaire businessman who’d been brought up in Argentina from Syrian descent, and maintained that persona for many, many years.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In one early scene, the character even appears to briefly forget his real name.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I’ve always been intrigued by this question of identity—how people identify themselves,” Baron Cohen says. “And for Eli Cohen, he had these two different lives. He was an Israeli second-class citizen living in poverty, and he was also, when he was undercover, a wealthy Syrian.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“So the question of identity, and who you really are, and people who are questioning their own identity or unaware of the irony of their identity—I mean, take for example a character that I first created 20 years ago, Ali G, who’s a white middle-class youth from a suburb in London but who identifies as an African-American gangsta rapper. When he says, ‘Is it ’cause I is black?’ when he’s not, we laugh. But in the case of Eli Cohen, that question of identity, we suspect, and I played him, as that leading to incredible turmoil.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Sacha Baron Cohen can relate to going undercover. He’s famous for playing Borat, a fictional Kazakh man who was filmed while interviewing unsuspecting real-life Americans, documentary-style. Before that there was \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=3613548\">Ali G, the dim-witted “hip-hop journalist”\u003c/a>; after that, the flamboyantly gay Austrian named Brüno.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“What I try and do when I’m in character is to read the other person,” Baron Cohen says. “If they’re suspicious, they squint their eyes, they look you up and down. Part of what I’m doing is: I’m acting, but I’m also observing the other person to see if they are suspicious or… if they feel calm. And if they’re suspicious, then I back down. I won’t say anything funny for a while, and I’ll try and go deeper into character. And if they’re not suspicious, then I take more risks.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For the 2018 series \u003cem>Who Is America?\u003c/em> he invented multiple characters, which he used to make satirical proposals to unsuspecting Americans. One of his characters was an Israeli soldier—who landed an interview with former Vice President Dick Cheney. That presented a special challenge.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DmUnUoeLSIM\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Dick Cheney may be many things, but he’s not an idiot,” Baron Cohen says. “And so when I first sat down with him, his main intention was to find out whether I was legitimate or not. And so he asked me to chronicle my military history.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Luckily for Baron Cohen, he had a meeting with a real-life Israeli soldier right before the interview.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“And so I said to this guy, I said, ‘Listen, I want you to tell me about your military history,'” Baron Cohen says. “And this man said to me, he goes: [affecting an accent] ‘OK. At the age of 7, I went to school. I had a lunch box in one hand and a gas mask in the other. And at that point I realized I wanted to be a soldier.’\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“And then cut to an hour later. Dick Cheney comes in the room, and he says, ‘Listen, before we start this interview, tell me about your military history.’ And I said: [in character] ‘Vice President Cheney, at the age of 7, I went to school with a gas mask in one hand and the lunchbox in the other. And that’s when I realized I wanted to be a soldier.'”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Though the satirical characters have brought him fame, Baron Cohen says he’s “tried very hard” to not become a celebrity. For many years, he refused to give interviews as himself.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It was actually a fantastic life,” he says. “I remember being dressed as a character I did called Borat, standing in HMV—which was the biggest record and DVD shop in London—next to the stand selling videos of Ali G. And so I was surrounded by fans of Ali G and me, and I was dressed as Borat, and nobody knew it was me. And for me that was the real pleasure.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c!-- iframe plugin v.4.3 wordpress.org/plugins/iframe/ -->\u003cbr>\n\u003ciframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https://www.npr.org/player/embed/757589198/757803910\" width=\"100%\" height=\"290\" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" class=\"iframe-class\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Danny Hajek and Arezou Rezvani produced and edited this interview for broadcast. Patrick Jarenwattananon adapted it for the Web.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cdiv class=\"fullattribution\">\u003cem>Copyright 2019 NPR. To see more, visit \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">NPR\u003c/a>.\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://www.google-analytics.com/__utm.gif?utmac=UA-5828686-4&utmdt=Sacha+Baron+Cohen+Goes+Undercover+Again+%E2%80%94+But+Not+For+Laughs&utme=8(APIKey)9(MDAxOTAwOTE4MDEyMTkxMDAzNjczZDljZA004)\">\u003c/em>\u003c/div>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>The actor and comedian Sacha Baron Cohen has a childhood memory: In his family’s living room in London, there sat a book called \u003cem>Our Man in Damascus\u003c/em>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s a non-fiction account of an Israeli spy who infiltrated Israel’s enemy, Syria, in the 1960s. Eli Cohen was publicly executed, but not before he obtained vital military secrets.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Sacha Baron Cohen now plays Eli Cohen in \u003cem>The Spy\u003c/em>, a Netflix series that dramatizes that true story.\u003c/p>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutube'>\n \u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutubeInside'>\n \u003ciframe\n loading='lazy'\n class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__youtubePlayer'\n type='text/html'\n src='//www.youtube.com/embed/5UijUOy0MmE'\n title='//www.youtube.com/embed/5UijUOy0MmE'\n allowfullscreen='true'\n style='border:0;'>\u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/span>\n \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cp>“Partly what attracted me was: His acting skills rivaled those of [method actor] Daniel Day-Lewis,” Sacha Baron Cohen says in an interview with Steve Inskeep. “He was playing the role of a multi-millionaire businessman who’d been brought up in Argentina from Syrian descent, and maintained that persona for many, many years.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In one early scene, the character even appears to briefly forget his real name.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I’ve always been intrigued by this question of identity—how people identify themselves,” Baron Cohen says. “And for Eli Cohen, he had these two different lives. He was an Israeli second-class citizen living in poverty, and he was also, when he was undercover, a wealthy Syrian.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“So the question of identity, and who you really are, and people who are questioning their own identity or unaware of the irony of their identity—I mean, take for example a character that I first created 20 years ago, Ali G, who’s a white middle-class youth from a suburb in London but who identifies as an African-American gangsta rapper. When he says, ‘Is it ’cause I is black?’ when he’s not, we laugh. But in the case of Eli Cohen, that question of identity, we suspect, and I played him, as that leading to incredible turmoil.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Sacha Baron Cohen can relate to going undercover. He’s famous for playing Borat, a fictional Kazakh man who was filmed while interviewing unsuspecting real-life Americans, documentary-style. Before that there was \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=3613548\">Ali G, the dim-witted “hip-hop journalist”\u003c/a>; after that, the flamboyantly gay Austrian named Brüno.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“What I try and do when I’m in character is to read the other person,” Baron Cohen says. “If they’re suspicious, they squint their eyes, they look you up and down. Part of what I’m doing is: I’m acting, but I’m also observing the other person to see if they are suspicious or… if they feel calm. And if they’re suspicious, then I back down. I won’t say anything funny for a while, and I’ll try and go deeper into character. And if they’re not suspicious, then I take more risks.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For the 2018 series \u003cem>Who Is America?\u003c/em> he invented multiple characters, which he used to make satirical proposals to unsuspecting Americans. One of his characters was an Israeli soldier—who landed an interview with former Vice President Dick Cheney. That presented a special challenge.\u003c/p>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutube'>\n \u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutubeInside'>\n \u003ciframe\n loading='lazy'\n class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__youtubePlayer'\n type='text/html'\n src='//www.youtube.com/embed/DmUnUoeLSIM'\n title='//www.youtube.com/embed/DmUnUoeLSIM'\n allowfullscreen='true'\n style='border:0;'>\u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/span>\n \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cp>“Dick Cheney may be many things, but he’s not an idiot,” Baron Cohen says. “And so when I first sat down with him, his main intention was to find out whether I was legitimate or not. And so he asked me to chronicle my military history.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Luckily for Baron Cohen, he had a meeting with a real-life Israeli soldier right before the interview.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“And so I said to this guy, I said, ‘Listen, I want you to tell me about your military history,'” Baron Cohen says. “And this man said to me, he goes: [affecting an accent] ‘OK. At the age of 7, I went to school. I had a lunch box in one hand and a gas mask in the other. And at that point I realized I wanted to be a soldier.’\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“And then cut to an hour later. Dick Cheney comes in the room, and he says, ‘Listen, before we start this interview, tell me about your military history.’ And I said: [in character] ‘Vice President Cheney, at the age of 7, I went to school with a gas mask in one hand and the lunchbox in the other. And that’s when I realized I wanted to be a soldier.'”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Though the satirical characters have brought him fame, Baron Cohen says he’s “tried very hard” to not become a celebrity. For many years, he refused to give interviews as himself.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It was actually a fantastic life,” he says. “I remember being dressed as a character I did called Borat, standing in HMV—which was the biggest record and DVD shop in London—next to the stand selling videos of Ali G. And so I was surrounded by fans of Ali G and me, and I was dressed as Borat, and nobody knew it was me. And for me that was the real pleasure.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c!-- iframe plugin v.4.3 wordpress.org/plugins/iframe/ -->\u003cbr>\n\u003ciframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https://www.npr.org/player/embed/757589198/757803910\" width=\"100%\" height=\"290\" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" class=\"iframe-class\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Danny Hajek and Arezou Rezvani produced and edited this interview for broadcast. Patrick Jarenwattananon adapted it for the Web.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cdiv class=\"fullattribution\">\u003cem>Copyright 2019 NPR. To see more, visit \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">NPR\u003c/a>.\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://www.google-analytics.com/__utm.gif?utmac=UA-5828686-4&utmdt=Sacha+Baron+Cohen+Goes+Undercover+Again+%E2%80%94+But+Not+For+Laughs&utme=8(APIKey)9(MDAxOTAwOTE4MDEyMTkxMDAzNjczZDljZA004)\">\u003c/em>\u003c/div>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"title": "Hear Margaret Atwood Read From Her Sequel to 'The Handmaid's Tale'",
"headTitle": "Hear Margaret Atwood Read From Her Sequel to ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ | KQED",
"content": "\u003cp>\u003cem>Margaret Atwood’s classic dystopian novel \u003c/em>The Handmaid’s Tale\u003cem> ended on a cliffhanger: The rebellious handmaid Offred stepping into a mysterious black van, on her way to freedom—or to arrest.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Handmaids are in the public eye again thanks to the \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2017/04/26/525755370/handmaids-tale-wants-you-to-feel-like-this-could-happen-here\">hit TV series\u003c/a>—and the frequent appearance of silent, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/pop/79915/the-frightening-realism-of-the-handmaids-tale-is-inspiring-costumed-protests-and-a-lot-of-freaking-out\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">red-robed protesters\u003c/a> at political events. Now, Atwood is returning to the world of Gilead, the repressive theocracy she created out of the ruins of present-day America. \u003c/em>The Testaments \u003cem>opens 15 years after the events of the first book, and follows an old familiar character as well as introducing some new voices. As for what happens to Offred… well, no spoilers here.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>We’re excited to bring you a pre-publication excerpt of \u003c/em>The Testaments\u003cem>, and an exclusive recording of Atwood herself reading these first three chapters. You can also hear her in conversation with \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/programs/weekend-edition-saturday/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Weekend Edition\u003c/a>‘s Scott Simon on Saturday, Sept. 8, and the book will be released on Sept. 10th.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c!-- iframe plugin v.4.3 wordpress.org/plugins/iframe/ -->\u003cbr>\n\u003ciframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https://www.npr.org/player/embed/754859270/756030381\" width=\"100%\" height=\"290\" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" class=\"iframe-class\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>\u003cem>The Ardua Hall Holograph\u003c/em>\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Only dead people are allowed to have statues, but I have been given one while still alive. Already I am petrified.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This statue was a small token of appreciation for my many contributions, said the citation, which was read out by Aunt Vidala. She’d been assigned the task by our superiors, and was far from appreciative. I thanked her with as much modesty as I could summon, then pulled the rope that released the cloth drape shrouding me; it billowed to the ground, and there I stood. We don’t do cheering here at Ardua Hall, but there was some discreet clapping. I inclined my head in a nod.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>My statue is larger than life, as statues tend to be, and shows me as younger, slimmer, and in better shape than I’ve been for some time. I am standing straight, shoulders back, my lips curved into a firm but benevolent smile. My eyes are fixed on some cosmic point of reference understood to represent my idealism, my unflinching commitment to duty, my determination to move forward despite all obstacles. Not that anything in the sky would be visible to my statue, placed as it is in a morose cluster of trees and shrubs beside the footpath running in front of Ardua Hall. We Aunts must not be too presumptuous, even in stone.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Clutching my left hand is a girl of seven or eight, gazing up at me with trusting eyes. My right hand rests on the head of a woman crouched at my side, her hair veiled, her eyes upturned in an expression that could be read as either craven or grateful—one of our Handmaids—and behind me is one of my Pearl Girls, ready to set out on her missionary work. Hanging from a belt around my waist is my Taser. This weapon reminds me of my failings: had I been more effective, I would not have needed such an implement. The persuasion in my voice would have been enough.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As a group of statuary it’s not a great success: too crowded. I would have preferred more emphasis on myself. But at least I look sane. It could well have been otherwise, as the elderly sculptress—a true believer since deceased—had a tendency to confer bulging eyes on her subjects as a sign of their pious fervour. Her bust of Aunt Helena looks rabid, that of Aunt Vidala is hyperthyroid, and that of Aunt Elizabeth appears ready to explode.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At the unveiling the sculptress was nervous. Was her rendition of me sufficiently flattering? Did I approve of it? Would I be seen to approve? I toyed with the idea of frowning as the sheet came off, but thought better of it: I am not without compassion. “Very lifelike,” I said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That was nine years ago. Since then my statue has weathered: pigeons have decorated me, moss has sprouted in my damper crevices. Votaries have taken to leaving offerings at my feet: eggs for fertility, oranges to suggest the fullness of pregnancy, croissants to reference the moon. I ignore the breadstuffs—usually they have been rained on—but pocket the oranges. Oranges are so refreshing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I write these words in my private sanctum within the library of Ardua Hall—one of the few libraries remaining after the enthusiastic bookburnings that have been going on across our land. The corrupt and blood-smeared fingerprints of the past must be wiped away to create a clean space for the morally pure generation that is surely about to arrive. Such is the theory.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But among these bloody fingerprints are those made by ourselves, and these can’t be wiped away so easily. Over the years I’ve buried a lot of bones; now I’m inclined to dig them up again—if only for your edification, my unknown reader. If you are reading, this manuscript at least will have survived. Though perhaps I’m fantasizing: perhaps I will never have a reader. Perhaps I’ll only be talking to the wall, in more ways than one.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That’s enough inscribing for today. My hand hurts, my back aches, and my nightly cup of hot milk awaits me. I’ll stash this screed in its hiding place, avoiding the surveillance cameras—I know where they are, having placed them myself. Despite such precautions, I’m aware of the risk I’m running: writing can be dangerous. What betrayals, and then what denunciations, might lie in store for me? There are several within Ardua Hall who would love to get their hands on these pages.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Wait, I counsel them silently: it will get worse.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>* * *\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>\u003cem>Transcript of Witness Testimony 369A\u003c/em>\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>You have asked me to tell you what it was like for me when I was growing up within Gilead. You say it will be helpful, and I do wish to be helpful. I imagine you expect nothing but horrors, but the reality is that many children were loved and cherished, in Gilead as elsewhere, and many adults were kind though fallible, in Gilead as elsewhere.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I hope you will remember, too, that we all have some nostalgia for whatever kindness we have known as children, however bizarre the conditions of that childhood may seem to others. I agree with you that Gilead ought to fade away—there is too much of wrong in it, too much that is false, and too much that is surely contrary to what God intended—but you must permit me some space to mourn the good that will be lost.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At our school, pink was for spring and summer, plum was for fall and winter, white was for special days: Sundays and celebrations. Arms covered, hair covered, skirts down to the knee before you were five and no more than two inches above the ankle after that, because the urges of men were terrible things and those urges needed to be curbed. The man eyes that were always roaming here and there like the eyes of tigers, those searchlight eyes, needed to be shielded from the alluring and indeed blinding power of us—of our shapely or skinny or fat legs, of our graceful or knobbly or sausage arms, of our peachy or blotchy skins, of our entwining curls of shining hair or our coarse unruly pelts or our straw-like wispy braids, it did not matter. Whatever our shapes and features, we were snares and enticements despite ourselves, we were the innocent and blameless causes that through our very nature could make men drunk with lust, so that they’d stagger and lurch and topple over the verge—The verge of what? we wondered. Was it like a cliff?—and go plunging down in flames, like snowballs made of burning sulphur hurled by the angry hand of God. We were custodians of an invaluable treasure that existed, unseen, inside us; we were precious flowers that had to be kept safely inside glass houses, or else we would be ambushed and our petals would be torn off and our treasure would be stolen and we would be ripped apart and trampled by the ravenous men who might lurk around any corner, out there in the wide sharp-edged sin-ridden world.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That was the kind of thing runny-nosed Aunt Vidala would tell us at school while we were doing petit-point embroidery for handkerchiefs and footstools and framed pictures: flowers in a vase, fruit in a bowl were the favoured patterns. But Aunt Estée, the teacher we liked the best, would say Aunt Vidala was overdoing it and there was no point in frightening us out of our wits, since to instill such an aversion might have a negative influence on the happiness of our future married lives.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“All men are not like that, girls,” she would say soothingly. “The better kind have superior characters. Some of them have decent self-restraint. And once you are married it will seem quite different to you, and not very fearsome at all.” Not that she would know anything about it, since the Aunts were not married; they were not allowed to be. That was why they could have writing and books.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We and your fathers and mothers will choose your husbands wisely for you when the time comes,” Aunt Estée would say. “So you don’t need to be afraid. Just learn your lessons and trust your elders to do what is best, and everything will unfold as it should. I will pray for it.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But despite Aunt Estée’s dimples and friendly smile, it was Aunt Vidala’s version that prevailed. It turned up in my nightmares: the shattering of the glass house, then the rending and tearing and the trampling of hooves, with pink and white and plum fragments of myself scattered over the ground. I dreaded the thought of growing older—older enough for a wedding. I had no faith in the wise choices of the Aunts: I feared that I would end up married to a goat on fire.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The pink, the white, and the plum dresses were the rule for special girls like us. Ordinary girls from Econofamilies wore the same thing all the time—those ugly multicoloured stripes and grey cloaks, like the clothes of their mothers. They did not even learn petit-point embroidery or crochet work, just plain sewing and the making of paper flowers and other such chores. They were not pre-chosen to be married to the very best men—to the Sons of Jacob and the other Commanders or their sons—not like us; although they might get to be chosen once they were older if they were pretty enough.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Nobody said that. You were not supposed to preen yourself on your good looks, it was not modest, or take any notice of the good looks of other people. Though we girls knew the truth: that it was better to be pretty than ugly. Even the Aunts paid more attention to the pretty ones. But if you were already pre-chosen, pretty didn’t matter so much.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I didn’t have a squint like Huldah or a pinchy built-in frown like Shunammite, and I didn’t have barely-there eyebrows like Becka, but I was unfinished. I had a dough face, like the cookies my favourite Martha, Zilla, made for me as a treat, with raisin eyes and pumpkinseed teeth. But though I was not especially pretty, I was very, very chosen. Doubly chosen: not only pre-chosen to marry a Commander but chosen in the first place by Tabitha, who was my mother.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That is what Tabitha used to tell me: “I went for a walk in the forest,” she would say, “and then I came to an enchanted castle, and there were a lot of little girls locked inside, and none of them had any mothers, and they were under the spell of the wicked witches. I had a magic ring that unlocked the castle, but I could only rescue one little girl. So I looked at them all very carefully, and then, out of the whole crowd, I chose you!”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“What happened to the others?” I would ask. “The other little girls?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Different mothers rescued them,” she would say.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Did they have magic rings too?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Of course, my darling. In order to be a mother, you need to have a magic ring.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Where’s the magic ring?” I would ask. “Where is it now?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s right here on my finger,” she would say, indicating the third finger of her left hand. The heart finger, she said it was. “But my ring had only one wish in it, and I used that one up on you. So now it’s an ordinary, everyday mother ring.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At this point I was allowed to try on the ring, which was gold, with three diamonds in it: a big one, and a smaller one on either side. It did look as if it might have been magic once.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Did you lift me up and carry me?” I would ask. “Out of the forest?” I knew the story off by heart, but I liked to hear it repeated.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“No, my dearest, you were already too big for that. If I had carried you I would have coughed, and then the witches would have heard us.” I could see this was true: she did cough quite a lot. “So I took you by the hand, and we crept out of the castle so the witches wouldn’t hear us. We both said Shh, shh”—here she would hold her finger up to her lips, and I would hold my finger up too and say Shh, shh delightedly—”and then we had to run very fast through the forest, to get away from the wicked witches, because one of them had seen us going out the door. We ran, and then we hid in a hollow tree. It was very dangerous!”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I did have a hazy memory of running through a forest with someone holding my hand. Had I hidden in a hollow tree? It seemed to me that I had hidden somewhere. So maybe it was true.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“And then what happened?” I would ask.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“And then I brought you to this beautiful house. Aren’t you happy here? You are so cherished, by all of us! Aren’t we both lucky that I chose you?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I would be nestled close to her, with her arm around me and my head against her thin body, through which I could feel her bumpy ribs. My ear would be pressed to her chest, and I could hear her heart hammering away inside her—faster and faster, it seemed to me, as she waited for me to say something. I knew my answer had power: I could make her smile, or not.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>What could I say but yes and yes? Yes, I was happy. Yes, I was lucky. Anyway it was true.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>* * *\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>\u003cem>Transcript of Witness Testimony 369B\u003c/em>\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>They say I will always have the scar, but I’m almost better; so yes, I think I’m strong enough to do this now. You’ve said that you’d like me to tell you how I got involved in this whole story, so I’ll try; though it’s hard to know where to begin.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I’ll start just before my birthday, or what I used to believe was my birthday. Neil and Melanie lied to me about that: they’d done it for the best of reasons and they’d meant really well, but when I first found out about it I was very angry at them. Keeping up my anger was difficult, though, because by that time they were dead. You can be angry at dead people, but you can never have a conversation about what they did; or you can only have one side of it. And I felt guilty as well as angry, because they’d been murdered, and I believed then that their murder was my fault.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I was supposed to be turning sixteen. What I was most looking forward to was getting my driver’s licence. I felt too old for a birthday party, though Melanie always got me a cake and ice cream and sang “Daisy, Daisy, give me your answer true,” an old song I’d loved as a child and was now finding embarrassing. I did get the cake, later—chocolate cake, vanilla ice cream, my favourites—but by then I couldn’t eat it. By that time Melanie was no longer there.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That birthday was the day I discovered that I was a fraud. Or not a fraud, like a bad magician: a fake, like a fake antique. I was a forgery, done on purpose. I was so young at that moment—just a split second ago, it seems—but I’m not young anymore. How little time it takes to change a face: carve it like wood, harden it. No more of that wide-eyed daydream gazing I used to do. I’ve become sharper, more focused. I’ve become narrowed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Neil and Melanie were my parents; they ran a store called The Clothes Hound. It was basically used clothing: Melanie called it “previously loved” because she said “used” meant “exploited.” The sign outside showed a smiling pink poodle in a fluffy skirt with a pink bow on its head, carrying a shopping bag. Underneath was a slogan in italics and quotation marks: \u003cem>“You’d Never Know!” \u003c/em>That meant the used clothes were so good you’d never know they were used, but that wasn’t true at all because most of the clothes were crappy.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Melanie said she’d inherited The Clothes Hound from her grandmother. She also said she knew the sign was old-fashioned, but people were familiar with it and it would be disrespectful to change it now.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Our store was on Queen West, in a stretch of blocks that had once all been like that, said Melanie—textiles, buttons and trims, cheap linens, dollar stores. But now it was going upmarket: cafés with fair trade and organic were moving in, big-brand outlets, name boutiques. In response, Melanie hung a sign in the window: \u003cem>Wearable Art\u003c/em>. But inside, the store was crowded with all kinds of clothes you would never call wearable art. There was one corner that was kind of designer, though anything really pricey wouldn’t be in The Clothes Hound in the first place. The rest was just everything. And all sorts of people came and went: young, old, looking for bargains or finds, or just looking. Or selling: even street people would try to get a few dollars for T-shirts they’d picked up at garage sales.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Melanie worked on the main floor. She wore bright colours, like orange and hot pink, because she said they created a positive and energetic atmosphere, and anyway she was part gypsy at heart. She was always brisk and smiling, though on the lookout for shoplifting. After closing, she sorted and packed: this for charity, this for rags, this for Wearable Art. While doing the sorting she’d sing tunes from musicals—old ones from long ago. “Oh what a beautiful morning” was one of her favourites, and “When you walk through a storm.” I would get irritated by her singing; I’m sorry about that now.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Sometimes she’d get overwhelmed: there was too much fabric, it was like the ocean, waves of cloth coming in and threatening to drown her. Cashmere! Who was going to buy thirty-year-old cashmere? It didn’t improve with age, she would say—not like her.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Neil had a beard that was going grey and wasn’t always trimmed, and he didn’t have much hair. He didn’t look like a businessman, but he handled what they called “the money end”: the invoices, the accounting, the taxes. He had his office on the second floor, up a flight of rubber-treaded stairs. He had a computer and a filing cabinet and a safe, but otherwise that room wasn’t much like an office: it was just as crowded and cluttered as the store because Neil liked to collect things. Wind-up music boxes, he had a number of those. Clocks, a lot of different clocks. Old adding machines that worked with a handle. Plastic toys that walked or hopped across the floor, such as bears and frogs and sets of false teeth. A slide projector for the kind of coloured slides that nobody had anymore. Cameras—he liked ancient cameras. Some of them could take better pictures than anything nowadays, he’d say. He had one whole shelf with nothing on it but cameras.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>One time he left the safe open and I looked inside. Instead of the wads of money I’d been expecting, there was nothing in it but a tiny metal-and-glass thing that I thought must be another toy, like the hopping false teeth. But I couldn’t see where to wind it up, and I was afraid to touch it because it was old.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Can I play with it?” I asked Neil.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Play with what?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“That toy in the safe.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Not today,” he said, smiling. “Maybe when you’re older.” Then he shut the safe door, and I forgot about the strange little toy until it was time for me to remember it, and to understand what it was.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Neil would try to repair the various items, though often he failed because he couldn’t find the parts. Then the things would just sit there, “collecting dust,” said Melanie. Neil hated throwing anything out.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On the walls he had some old posters: LOOSE LIPS SINK SHIPS, from a long-ago war; a woman in overalls flexing her biceps to show that women could make bombs—that was from the same olden-days war; and a red-and-black one showing a man and a flag that Neil said was from Russia before it was Russia. Those had belonged to his great-grandfather, who’d lived in Winnipeg. I knew nothing about Winnipeg except that it was cold.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I loved The Clothes Hound when I was little: it was like a cave full of treasures. I wasn’t supposed to be in Neil’s office by myself because I might “touch things,” and then I might break them. But I could play with the wind-up toys and the music boxes and the adding machines, under supervision. Not the cameras though, because they were too valuable, said Neil, and anyway there was no film in them, so what would be the point?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>We didn’t live over the store. Our house was a long distance away, in one of those residential neighbourhoods where there were some old bungalows and also some newer, bigger houses that had been built where the bungalows had been torn down. Our house was not a bungalow—it had a second floor, where the bedrooms were—but it was not a new house either. It was made of yellow brick, and it was very ordinary. There was nothing about it that would make you look at it twice. Thinking back, I’m guessing that was their idea.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Excerpt from \u003c/em>The Testaments by Margaret Atwood \u003cem>copyright 2019 by O. W. Toad, Ltd. Published by Nan A. Talese/Doubleday, a division of Penguin Random House. All rights reserved.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cdiv class=\"fullattribution\">\u003cem>Copyright 2019 NPR. To see more, visit \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">NPR\u003c/a>.\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://www.google-analytics.com/__utm.gif?utmac=UA-5828686-4&utmdt=Hear+Margaret+Atwood+Read+From+%27The+Testaments%2C%27+Her+Sequel+To+%27The+Handmaid%27s+Tale%27&utme=8(APIKey)9(MDAxOTAwOTE4MDEyMTkxMDAzNjczZDljZA004)\">\u003c/em>\u003c/div>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003cem>Margaret Atwood’s classic dystopian novel \u003c/em>The Handmaid’s Tale\u003cem> ended on a cliffhanger: The rebellious handmaid Offred stepping into a mysterious black van, on her way to freedom—or to arrest.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Handmaids are in the public eye again thanks to the \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2017/04/26/525755370/handmaids-tale-wants-you-to-feel-like-this-could-happen-here\">hit TV series\u003c/a>—and the frequent appearance of silent, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/pop/79915/the-frightening-realism-of-the-handmaids-tale-is-inspiring-costumed-protests-and-a-lot-of-freaking-out\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">red-robed protesters\u003c/a> at political events. Now, Atwood is returning to the world of Gilead, the repressive theocracy she created out of the ruins of present-day America. \u003c/em>The Testaments \u003cem>opens 15 years after the events of the first book, and follows an old familiar character as well as introducing some new voices. As for what happens to Offred… well, no spoilers here.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>We’re excited to bring you a pre-publication excerpt of \u003c/em>The Testaments\u003cem>, and an exclusive recording of Atwood herself reading these first three chapters. You can also hear her in conversation with \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/programs/weekend-edition-saturday/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Weekend Edition\u003c/a>‘s Scott Simon on Saturday, Sept. 8, and the book will be released on Sept. 10th.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c!-- iframe plugin v.4.3 wordpress.org/plugins/iframe/ -->\u003cbr>\n\u003ciframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https://www.npr.org/player/embed/754859270/756030381\" width=\"100%\" height=\"290\" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" class=\"iframe-class\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>\u003cem>The Ardua Hall Holograph\u003c/em>\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Only dead people are allowed to have statues, but I have been given one while still alive. Already I am petrified.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This statue was a small token of appreciation for my many contributions, said the citation, which was read out by Aunt Vidala. She’d been assigned the task by our superiors, and was far from appreciative. I thanked her with as much modesty as I could summon, then pulled the rope that released the cloth drape shrouding me; it billowed to the ground, and there I stood. We don’t do cheering here at Ardua Hall, but there was some discreet clapping. I inclined my head in a nod.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>My statue is larger than life, as statues tend to be, and shows me as younger, slimmer, and in better shape than I’ve been for some time. I am standing straight, shoulders back, my lips curved into a firm but benevolent smile. My eyes are fixed on some cosmic point of reference understood to represent my idealism, my unflinching commitment to duty, my determination to move forward despite all obstacles. Not that anything in the sky would be visible to my statue, placed as it is in a morose cluster of trees and shrubs beside the footpath running in front of Ardua Hall. We Aunts must not be too presumptuous, even in stone.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Clutching my left hand is a girl of seven or eight, gazing up at me with trusting eyes. My right hand rests on the head of a woman crouched at my side, her hair veiled, her eyes upturned in an expression that could be read as either craven or grateful—one of our Handmaids—and behind me is one of my Pearl Girls, ready to set out on her missionary work. Hanging from a belt around my waist is my Taser. This weapon reminds me of my failings: had I been more effective, I would not have needed such an implement. The persuasion in my voice would have been enough.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As a group of statuary it’s not a great success: too crowded. I would have preferred more emphasis on myself. But at least I look sane. It could well have been otherwise, as the elderly sculptress—a true believer since deceased—had a tendency to confer bulging eyes on her subjects as a sign of their pious fervour. Her bust of Aunt Helena looks rabid, that of Aunt Vidala is hyperthyroid, and that of Aunt Elizabeth appears ready to explode.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At the unveiling the sculptress was nervous. Was her rendition of me sufficiently flattering? Did I approve of it? Would I be seen to approve? I toyed with the idea of frowning as the sheet came off, but thought better of it: I am not without compassion. “Very lifelike,” I said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That was nine years ago. Since then my statue has weathered: pigeons have decorated me, moss has sprouted in my damper crevices. Votaries have taken to leaving offerings at my feet: eggs for fertility, oranges to suggest the fullness of pregnancy, croissants to reference the moon. I ignore the breadstuffs—usually they have been rained on—but pocket the oranges. Oranges are so refreshing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I write these words in my private sanctum within the library of Ardua Hall—one of the few libraries remaining after the enthusiastic bookburnings that have been going on across our land. The corrupt and blood-smeared fingerprints of the past must be wiped away to create a clean space for the morally pure generation that is surely about to arrive. Such is the theory.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But among these bloody fingerprints are those made by ourselves, and these can’t be wiped away so easily. Over the years I’ve buried a lot of bones; now I’m inclined to dig them up again—if only for your edification, my unknown reader. If you are reading, this manuscript at least will have survived. Though perhaps I’m fantasizing: perhaps I will never have a reader. Perhaps I’ll only be talking to the wall, in more ways than one.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That’s enough inscribing for today. My hand hurts, my back aches, and my nightly cup of hot milk awaits me. I’ll stash this screed in its hiding place, avoiding the surveillance cameras—I know where they are, having placed them myself. Despite such precautions, I’m aware of the risk I’m running: writing can be dangerous. What betrayals, and then what denunciations, might lie in store for me? There are several within Ardua Hall who would love to get their hands on these pages.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Wait, I counsel them silently: it will get worse.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>* * *\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>\u003cem>Transcript of Witness Testimony 369A\u003c/em>\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>You have asked me to tell you what it was like for me when I was growing up within Gilead. You say it will be helpful, and I do wish to be helpful. I imagine you expect nothing but horrors, but the reality is that many children were loved and cherished, in Gilead as elsewhere, and many adults were kind though fallible, in Gilead as elsewhere.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I hope you will remember, too, that we all have some nostalgia for whatever kindness we have known as children, however bizarre the conditions of that childhood may seem to others. I agree with you that Gilead ought to fade away—there is too much of wrong in it, too much that is false, and too much that is surely contrary to what God intended—but you must permit me some space to mourn the good that will be lost.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At our school, pink was for spring and summer, plum was for fall and winter, white was for special days: Sundays and celebrations. Arms covered, hair covered, skirts down to the knee before you were five and no more than two inches above the ankle after that, because the urges of men were terrible things and those urges needed to be curbed. The man eyes that were always roaming here and there like the eyes of tigers, those searchlight eyes, needed to be shielded from the alluring and indeed blinding power of us—of our shapely or skinny or fat legs, of our graceful or knobbly or sausage arms, of our peachy or blotchy skins, of our entwining curls of shining hair or our coarse unruly pelts or our straw-like wispy braids, it did not matter. Whatever our shapes and features, we were snares and enticements despite ourselves, we were the innocent and blameless causes that through our very nature could make men drunk with lust, so that they’d stagger and lurch and topple over the verge—The verge of what? we wondered. Was it like a cliff?—and go plunging down in flames, like snowballs made of burning sulphur hurled by the angry hand of God. We were custodians of an invaluable treasure that existed, unseen, inside us; we were precious flowers that had to be kept safely inside glass houses, or else we would be ambushed and our petals would be torn off and our treasure would be stolen and we would be ripped apart and trampled by the ravenous men who might lurk around any corner, out there in the wide sharp-edged sin-ridden world.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That was the kind of thing runny-nosed Aunt Vidala would tell us at school while we were doing petit-point embroidery for handkerchiefs and footstools and framed pictures: flowers in a vase, fruit in a bowl were the favoured patterns. But Aunt Estée, the teacher we liked the best, would say Aunt Vidala was overdoing it and there was no point in frightening us out of our wits, since to instill such an aversion might have a negative influence on the happiness of our future married lives.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“All men are not like that, girls,” she would say soothingly. “The better kind have superior characters. Some of them have decent self-restraint. And once you are married it will seem quite different to you, and not very fearsome at all.” Not that she would know anything about it, since the Aunts were not married; they were not allowed to be. That was why they could have writing and books.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We and your fathers and mothers will choose your husbands wisely for you when the time comes,” Aunt Estée would say. “So you don’t need to be afraid. Just learn your lessons and trust your elders to do what is best, and everything will unfold as it should. I will pray for it.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But despite Aunt Estée’s dimples and friendly smile, it was Aunt Vidala’s version that prevailed. It turned up in my nightmares: the shattering of the glass house, then the rending and tearing and the trampling of hooves, with pink and white and plum fragments of myself scattered over the ground. I dreaded the thought of growing older—older enough for a wedding. I had no faith in the wise choices of the Aunts: I feared that I would end up married to a goat on fire.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The pink, the white, and the plum dresses were the rule for special girls like us. Ordinary girls from Econofamilies wore the same thing all the time—those ugly multicoloured stripes and grey cloaks, like the clothes of their mothers. They did not even learn petit-point embroidery or crochet work, just plain sewing and the making of paper flowers and other such chores. They were not pre-chosen to be married to the very best men—to the Sons of Jacob and the other Commanders or their sons—not like us; although they might get to be chosen once they were older if they were pretty enough.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Nobody said that. You were not supposed to preen yourself on your good looks, it was not modest, or take any notice of the good looks of other people. Though we girls knew the truth: that it was better to be pretty than ugly. Even the Aunts paid more attention to the pretty ones. But if you were already pre-chosen, pretty didn’t matter so much.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I didn’t have a squint like Huldah or a pinchy built-in frown like Shunammite, and I didn’t have barely-there eyebrows like Becka, but I was unfinished. I had a dough face, like the cookies my favourite Martha, Zilla, made for me as a treat, with raisin eyes and pumpkinseed teeth. But though I was not especially pretty, I was very, very chosen. Doubly chosen: not only pre-chosen to marry a Commander but chosen in the first place by Tabitha, who was my mother.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That is what Tabitha used to tell me: “I went for a walk in the forest,” she would say, “and then I came to an enchanted castle, and there were a lot of little girls locked inside, and none of them had any mothers, and they were under the spell of the wicked witches. I had a magic ring that unlocked the castle, but I could only rescue one little girl. So I looked at them all very carefully, and then, out of the whole crowd, I chose you!”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“What happened to the others?” I would ask. “The other little girls?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Different mothers rescued them,” she would say.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Did they have magic rings too?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Of course, my darling. In order to be a mother, you need to have a magic ring.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Where’s the magic ring?” I would ask. “Where is it now?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s right here on my finger,” she would say, indicating the third finger of her left hand. The heart finger, she said it was. “But my ring had only one wish in it, and I used that one up on you. So now it’s an ordinary, everyday mother ring.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At this point I was allowed to try on the ring, which was gold, with three diamonds in it: a big one, and a smaller one on either side. It did look as if it might have been magic once.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Did you lift me up and carry me?” I would ask. “Out of the forest?” I knew the story off by heart, but I liked to hear it repeated.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“No, my dearest, you were already too big for that. If I had carried you I would have coughed, and then the witches would have heard us.” I could see this was true: she did cough quite a lot. “So I took you by the hand, and we crept out of the castle so the witches wouldn’t hear us. We both said Shh, shh”—here she would hold her finger up to her lips, and I would hold my finger up too and say Shh, shh delightedly—”and then we had to run very fast through the forest, to get away from the wicked witches, because one of them had seen us going out the door. We ran, and then we hid in a hollow tree. It was very dangerous!”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I did have a hazy memory of running through a forest with someone holding my hand. Had I hidden in a hollow tree? It seemed to me that I had hidden somewhere. So maybe it was true.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“And then what happened?” I would ask.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“And then I brought you to this beautiful house. Aren’t you happy here? You are so cherished, by all of us! Aren’t we both lucky that I chose you?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I would be nestled close to her, with her arm around me and my head against her thin body, through which I could feel her bumpy ribs. My ear would be pressed to her chest, and I could hear her heart hammering away inside her—faster and faster, it seemed to me, as she waited for me to say something. I knew my answer had power: I could make her smile, or not.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>What could I say but yes and yes? Yes, I was happy. Yes, I was lucky. Anyway it was true.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>* * *\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>\u003cem>Transcript of Witness Testimony 369B\u003c/em>\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>They say I will always have the scar, but I’m almost better; so yes, I think I’m strong enough to do this now. You’ve said that you’d like me to tell you how I got involved in this whole story, so I’ll try; though it’s hard to know where to begin.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I’ll start just before my birthday, or what I used to believe was my birthday. Neil and Melanie lied to me about that: they’d done it for the best of reasons and they’d meant really well, but when I first found out about it I was very angry at them. Keeping up my anger was difficult, though, because by that time they were dead. You can be angry at dead people, but you can never have a conversation about what they did; or you can only have one side of it. And I felt guilty as well as angry, because they’d been murdered, and I believed then that their murder was my fault.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I was supposed to be turning sixteen. What I was most looking forward to was getting my driver’s licence. I felt too old for a birthday party, though Melanie always got me a cake and ice cream and sang “Daisy, Daisy, give me your answer true,” an old song I’d loved as a child and was now finding embarrassing. I did get the cake, later—chocolate cake, vanilla ice cream, my favourites—but by then I couldn’t eat it. By that time Melanie was no longer there.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That birthday was the day I discovered that I was a fraud. Or not a fraud, like a bad magician: a fake, like a fake antique. I was a forgery, done on purpose. I was so young at that moment—just a split second ago, it seems—but I’m not young anymore. How little time it takes to change a face: carve it like wood, harden it. No more of that wide-eyed daydream gazing I used to do. I’ve become sharper, more focused. I’ve become narrowed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Neil and Melanie were my parents; they ran a store called The Clothes Hound. It was basically used clothing: Melanie called it “previously loved” because she said “used” meant “exploited.” The sign outside showed a smiling pink poodle in a fluffy skirt with a pink bow on its head, carrying a shopping bag. Underneath was a slogan in italics and quotation marks: \u003cem>“You’d Never Know!” \u003c/em>That meant the used clothes were so good you’d never know they were used, but that wasn’t true at all because most of the clothes were crappy.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Melanie said she’d inherited The Clothes Hound from her grandmother. She also said she knew the sign was old-fashioned, but people were familiar with it and it would be disrespectful to change it now.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Our store was on Queen West, in a stretch of blocks that had once all been like that, said Melanie—textiles, buttons and trims, cheap linens, dollar stores. But now it was going upmarket: cafés with fair trade and organic were moving in, big-brand outlets, name boutiques. In response, Melanie hung a sign in the window: \u003cem>Wearable Art\u003c/em>. But inside, the store was crowded with all kinds of clothes you would never call wearable art. There was one corner that was kind of designer, though anything really pricey wouldn’t be in The Clothes Hound in the first place. The rest was just everything. And all sorts of people came and went: young, old, looking for bargains or finds, or just looking. Or selling: even street people would try to get a few dollars for T-shirts they’d picked up at garage sales.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Melanie worked on the main floor. She wore bright colours, like orange and hot pink, because she said they created a positive and energetic atmosphere, and anyway she was part gypsy at heart. She was always brisk and smiling, though on the lookout for shoplifting. After closing, she sorted and packed: this for charity, this for rags, this for Wearable Art. While doing the sorting she’d sing tunes from musicals—old ones from long ago. “Oh what a beautiful morning” was one of her favourites, and “When you walk through a storm.” I would get irritated by her singing; I’m sorry about that now.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Sometimes she’d get overwhelmed: there was too much fabric, it was like the ocean, waves of cloth coming in and threatening to drown her. Cashmere! Who was going to buy thirty-year-old cashmere? It didn’t improve with age, she would say—not like her.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Neil had a beard that was going grey and wasn’t always trimmed, and he didn’t have much hair. He didn’t look like a businessman, but he handled what they called “the money end”: the invoices, the accounting, the taxes. He had his office on the second floor, up a flight of rubber-treaded stairs. He had a computer and a filing cabinet and a safe, but otherwise that room wasn’t much like an office: it was just as crowded and cluttered as the store because Neil liked to collect things. Wind-up music boxes, he had a number of those. Clocks, a lot of different clocks. Old adding machines that worked with a handle. Plastic toys that walked or hopped across the floor, such as bears and frogs and sets of false teeth. A slide projector for the kind of coloured slides that nobody had anymore. Cameras—he liked ancient cameras. Some of them could take better pictures than anything nowadays, he’d say. He had one whole shelf with nothing on it but cameras.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>One time he left the safe open and I looked inside. Instead of the wads of money I’d been expecting, there was nothing in it but a tiny metal-and-glass thing that I thought must be another toy, like the hopping false teeth. But I couldn’t see where to wind it up, and I was afraid to touch it because it was old.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Can I play with it?” I asked Neil.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Play with what?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“That toy in the safe.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Not today,” he said, smiling. “Maybe when you’re older.” Then he shut the safe door, and I forgot about the strange little toy until it was time for me to remember it, and to understand what it was.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Neil would try to repair the various items, though often he failed because he couldn’t find the parts. Then the things would just sit there, “collecting dust,” said Melanie. Neil hated throwing anything out.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On the walls he had some old posters: LOOSE LIPS SINK SHIPS, from a long-ago war; a woman in overalls flexing her biceps to show that women could make bombs—that was from the same olden-days war; and a red-and-black one showing a man and a flag that Neil said was from Russia before it was Russia. Those had belonged to his great-grandfather, who’d lived in Winnipeg. I knew nothing about Winnipeg except that it was cold.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I loved The Clothes Hound when I was little: it was like a cave full of treasures. I wasn’t supposed to be in Neil’s office by myself because I might “touch things,” and then I might break them. But I could play with the wind-up toys and the music boxes and the adding machines, under supervision. Not the cameras though, because they were too valuable, said Neil, and anyway there was no film in them, so what would be the point?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>We didn’t live over the store. Our house was a long distance away, in one of those residential neighbourhoods where there were some old bungalows and also some newer, bigger houses that had been built where the bungalows had been torn down. Our house was not a bungalow—it had a second floor, where the bedrooms were—but it was not a new house either. It was made of yellow brick, and it was very ordinary. There was nothing about it that would make you look at it twice. Thinking back, I’m guessing that was their idea.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Excerpt from \u003c/em>The Testaments by Margaret Atwood \u003cem>copyright 2019 by O. W. Toad, Ltd. Published by Nan A. Talese/Doubleday, a division of Penguin Random House. All rights reserved.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cdiv class=\"fullattribution\">\u003cem>Copyright 2019 NPR. To see more, visit \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">NPR\u003c/a>.\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://www.google-analytics.com/__utm.gif?utmac=UA-5828686-4&utmdt=Hear+Margaret+Atwood+Read+From+%27The+Testaments%2C%27+Her+Sequel+To+%27The+Handmaid%27s+Tale%27&utme=8(APIKey)9(MDAxOTAwOTE4MDEyMTkxMDAzNjczZDljZA004)\">\u003c/em>\u003c/div>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"title": "Whatever Happened to the Indian Farmers Who Won the 'Kiki Challenge'?",
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"content": "\u003cp>\u003cstrong>\u003cem>In August 2018, NPR reported on two farmers from a small village in India who went viral for \u003c/em>\u003c/strong>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/pop/104969/indian-farmers-plus-oxen-just-won-the-kiki-challenge\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">\u003cstrong>\u003cem>dancing in a rice paddy\u003c/em>\u003c/strong>\u003c/a>\u003cstrong>\u003cem> to rapper Drake’s hit song, “In My Feelings.” The video of them doing the so-called “Kiki challenge” racked up more than 1 million views. Where are the farmers and the creator of the video now? \u003c/em>\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Ever since the internet hailed the dancing farmer video, life has changed in big and small ways, says Sriram Srikanth, 28, the vlogger who choreographed the dance and shot the video.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Their little jig put the tiny village of \u003ca href=\"http://www.onefivenine.com/india/villages/Karimnagar/Mallial/Lambadipally\">Lambadipally\u003c/a> in the southern Indian state of Telangana on the map.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=so0BwyMEO8w\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Fans seek out their village, Srikanth says. “Many of our days begin by meeting people who’ve traveled long hours to come to see us,” he says. At least 20 people show up every day on weekdays, and many more on weekends. He says they often just want to tell them how much they appreciate village life and their vlogs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s a great feeling to meet them, to see their interest in our village and our work,” he adds.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The viral video also helped grow Srikanth’s YouTube channel, \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=My+village+show\">My Village Show\u003c/a>. He started it in 2012 to chronicle the exasperating and endearing aspects of village life with doses of slapstick comedy. When the channel first launched, it had a little over 1,000 subscribers. Today, it has over 900,000 subscribers and 200 episodes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>After the Kiki challenge, Srikanth and his team uploaded 38 videos last year, 22 of which have scored over a million views. Some of their popular videos are humorous takes about how villagers deal with the influences of modern life—smartphones, selfie sticks, virtual reality technology, even fidget spinners.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The success has helped Srikanth build a steady income with advertising revenue and allowed him to pay his team and actors.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the months after the Kiki challenge video, the My Village Show team expanded. “We’re currently employing eight villagers who’ve joined us in acting and scriptwriting,” says Srikanth. “We’ve built an office, and we train people in computer literacy. We’re hoping that it will help the younger ones find employment.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Some people in the village are still trying to figure out why the Kiki video captivated a global audience. “They wonder why the international media came knocking on our doors when all we did was dance in the muck,” says Srikanth, laughing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And what about the dancing farmers?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Anil Geela, 25, has been offered a role in an Indian film. He’s transitioned from farming and being a regular on My Village Show to full-time acting. “It’s a small role—I play the friend of the bad guy and there’s lots of comedy,” he says with a laugh. The movie is set for a year-end release.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Pilli Tirupati, 29, had a baby boy just days after the video went viral. The villagers started calling the infant Kiki and the nickname stuck, he says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Still a rice farmer, Tirupati shares one of his current struggles. “In Lambadipally village, water scarcity isn’t the big problem. The biggest problem is the monkey menace,” he says. “We have to stick to paddy farming, because if we plant fruits or vegetables, unruly monkeys end up eating and ruining our crops!”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Though things are busier for the team at My Village Show and more villagers are recruited to act in the vlogs, life for the farmers and the vlogger has remained more or less the same, they say.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But they have noticed a change in the way outsiders view village life. “Everyone knows rural life isn’t easy. There’s a perception that it is impoverished, when there really is a lot of abundance,” says Srikanth.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I feel like the biggest impact our work has made is to show how living in a village can be beautiful and charming, and that there are joyful experiences,” he adds.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Despite the hardships, we’re blessed to live this life, says Geela. “We’re healthy, happy, have strong friendships and deep connections to the land. If you have roots in a small village, it’s no longer a reason to be ashamed. And that’s the message we’d really like to see go viral.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Kamala Thiagarajan is a freelance journalist based in Madurai, India. Her work has appeared in \u003c/em>The International New York Times, \u003cem>BBC Travel and \u003c/em>Forbes India. \u003cem>You can follow her \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/kamal_t?lang=en\">@kamal_t\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cdiv class=\"fullattribution\">\u003cem>Copyright 2019 NPR. To see more, visit \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">NPR\u003c/a>.\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://www.google-analytics.com/__utm.gif?utmac=UA-5828686-4&utmdt=Whatever+Happened+To+...+The+Farmers+Who+Danced+In+The+Mud+For+The+%27Kiki+Challenge%27%3F&utme=8(APIKey)9(MDAxOTAwOTE4MDEyMTkxMDAzNjczZDljZA004)\">\u003c/em>\u003c/div>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003cstrong>\u003cem>In August 2018, NPR reported on two farmers from a small village in India who went viral for \u003c/em>\u003c/strong>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/pop/104969/indian-farmers-plus-oxen-just-won-the-kiki-challenge\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">\u003cstrong>\u003cem>dancing in a rice paddy\u003c/em>\u003c/strong>\u003c/a>\u003cstrong>\u003cem> to rapper Drake’s hit song, “In My Feelings.” The video of them doing the so-called “Kiki challenge” racked up more than 1 million views. Where are the farmers and the creator of the video now? \u003c/em>\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Ever since the internet hailed the dancing farmer video, life has changed in big and small ways, says Sriram Srikanth, 28, the vlogger who choreographed the dance and shot the video.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Their little jig put the tiny village of \u003ca href=\"http://www.onefivenine.com/india/villages/Karimnagar/Mallial/Lambadipally\">Lambadipally\u003c/a> in the southern Indian state of Telangana on the map.\u003c/p>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutube'>\n \u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutubeInside'>\n \u003ciframe\n loading='lazy'\n class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__youtubePlayer'\n type='text/html'\n src='//www.youtube.com/embed/so0BwyMEO8w'\n title='//www.youtube.com/embed/so0BwyMEO8w'\n allowfullscreen='true'\n style='border:0;'>\u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/span>\n \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cp>Fans seek out their village, Srikanth says. “Many of our days begin by meeting people who’ve traveled long hours to come to see us,” he says. At least 20 people show up every day on weekdays, and many more on weekends. He says they often just want to tell them how much they appreciate village life and their vlogs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s a great feeling to meet them, to see their interest in our village and our work,” he adds.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The viral video also helped grow Srikanth’s YouTube channel, \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=My+village+show\">My Village Show\u003c/a>. He started it in 2012 to chronicle the exasperating and endearing aspects of village life with doses of slapstick comedy. When the channel first launched, it had a little over 1,000 subscribers. Today, it has over 900,000 subscribers and 200 episodes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>After the Kiki challenge, Srikanth and his team uploaded 38 videos last year, 22 of which have scored over a million views. Some of their popular videos are humorous takes about how villagers deal with the influences of modern life—smartphones, selfie sticks, virtual reality technology, even fidget spinners.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The success has helped Srikanth build a steady income with advertising revenue and allowed him to pay his team and actors.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the months after the Kiki challenge video, the My Village Show team expanded. “We’re currently employing eight villagers who’ve joined us in acting and scriptwriting,” says Srikanth. “We’ve built an office, and we train people in computer literacy. We’re hoping that it will help the younger ones find employment.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Some people in the village are still trying to figure out why the Kiki video captivated a global audience. “They wonder why the international media came knocking on our doors when all we did was dance in the muck,” says Srikanth, laughing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And what about the dancing farmers?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Anil Geela, 25, has been offered a role in an Indian film. He’s transitioned from farming and being a regular on My Village Show to full-time acting. “It’s a small role—I play the friend of the bad guy and there’s lots of comedy,” he says with a laugh. The movie is set for a year-end release.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Pilli Tirupati, 29, had a baby boy just days after the video went viral. The villagers started calling the infant Kiki and the nickname stuck, he says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Still a rice farmer, Tirupati shares one of his current struggles. “In Lambadipally village, water scarcity isn’t the big problem. The biggest problem is the monkey menace,” he says. “We have to stick to paddy farming, because if we plant fruits or vegetables, unruly monkeys end up eating and ruining our crops!”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Though things are busier for the team at My Village Show and more villagers are recruited to act in the vlogs, life for the farmers and the vlogger has remained more or less the same, they say.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But they have noticed a change in the way outsiders view village life. “Everyone knows rural life isn’t easy. There’s a perception that it is impoverished, when there really is a lot of abundance,” says Srikanth.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I feel like the biggest impact our work has made is to show how living in a village can be beautiful and charming, and that there are joyful experiences,” he adds.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Despite the hardships, we’re blessed to live this life, says Geela. “We’re healthy, happy, have strong friendships and deep connections to the land. If you have roots in a small village, it’s no longer a reason to be ashamed. And that’s the message we’d really like to see go viral.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Kamala Thiagarajan is a freelance journalist based in Madurai, India. Her work has appeared in \u003c/em>The International New York Times, \u003cem>BBC Travel and \u003c/em>Forbes India. \u003cem>You can follow her \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/kamal_t?lang=en\">@kamal_t\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cdiv class=\"fullattribution\">\u003cem>Copyright 2019 NPR. To see more, visit \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">NPR\u003c/a>.\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://www.google-analytics.com/__utm.gif?utmac=UA-5828686-4&utmdt=Whatever+Happened+To+...+The+Farmers+Who+Danced+In+The+Mud+For+The+%27Kiki+Challenge%27%3F&utme=8(APIKey)9(MDAxOTAwOTE4MDEyMTkxMDAzNjczZDljZA004)\">\u003c/em>\u003c/div>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"content": "\u003cp>\u003c!-- iframe plugin v.4.3 wordpress.org/plugins/iframe/ -->\u003cbr>\n\u003ciframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https://www.npr.org/player/embed/755783543/755807700\" width=\"100%\" height=\"290\" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" class=\"iframe-class\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>1969 was a pivotal year for music: \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/artists/15662553/aretha-franklin\">Aretha Franklin\u003c/a>‘s \u003cem>Soul ’69\u003c/em>, both \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/artists/15396553/led-zeppelin\">Led Zeppelin\u003c/a>‘s self-titled debut and \u003cem>Led Zeppelin II\u003c/em>, \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/artists/15394826/janis-joplin\">Janis Joplin\u003c/a>‘s \u003cem>I Got Dem Ol’ Kozmic Blues Again Mama! \u003c/em>and \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/artists/15368370/miles-davis\">Miles Davis\u003c/a>‘ \u003cem>In a Silent Way\u003c/em> are just a few of the seismic albums released that year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside tag='santana,jimi-hendrix,summer-of-love,ace-of-cups' label='Stories for you']\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This week, we’re going to take a closer look at another one of those influential albums. Released just a week after its Woodstock performance, Santana’s self-titled debut had a profound impact both musically and socially. \u003cem>Santana\u003c/em>‘s cultural mash-up made a statement about Latin music that still reverberates to this day.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Who better to tell the story of \u003cem>Santana\u003c/em> than some original members of Santana itself? On this episode of \u003cem>Alt.Latino\u003c/em>, hear an oral history from guitarist \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/artists/15442799/carlos-santana\">Carlos Santana\u003c/a>, drummer Michael Shrieve, \u003cem>conguero\u003c/em> Michael Carabello as well as keyboardist and vocalist Gregg Rolie. Their story is a lesson in ignoring boundaries and expectations and instead celebrating inspiration and friendship.\u003c/p>\n\u003cdiv class=\"fullattribution\">Copyright 2019 \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">NPR\u003c/a>.\u003c/div>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003c!-- iframe plugin v.4.3 wordpress.org/plugins/iframe/ -->\u003cbr>\n\u003ciframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https://www.npr.org/player/embed/755783543/755807700\" width=\"100%\" height=\"290\" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" class=\"iframe-class\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>1969 was a pivotal year for music: \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/artists/15662553/aretha-franklin\">Aretha Franklin\u003c/a>‘s \u003cem>Soul ’69\u003c/em>, both \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/artists/15396553/led-zeppelin\">Led Zeppelin\u003c/a>‘s self-titled debut and \u003cem>Led Zeppelin II\u003c/em>, \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/artists/15394826/janis-joplin\">Janis Joplin\u003c/a>‘s \u003cem>I Got Dem Ol’ Kozmic Blues Again Mama! \u003c/em>and \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/artists/15368370/miles-davis\">Miles Davis\u003c/a>‘ \u003cem>In a Silent Way\u003c/em> are just a few of the seismic albums released that year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This week, we’re going to take a closer look at another one of those influential albums. Released just a week after its Woodstock performance, Santana’s self-titled debut had a profound impact both musically and socially. \u003cem>Santana\u003c/em>‘s cultural mash-up made a statement about Latin music that still reverberates to this day.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Who better to tell the story of \u003cem>Santana\u003c/em> than some original members of Santana itself? On this episode of \u003cem>Alt.Latino\u003c/em>, hear an oral history from guitarist \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/artists/15442799/carlos-santana\">Carlos Santana\u003c/a>, drummer Michael Shrieve, \u003cem>conguero\u003c/em> Michael Carabello as well as keyboardist and vocalist Gregg Rolie. Their story is a lesson in ignoring boundaries and expectations and instead celebrating inspiration and friendship.\u003c/p>\n\u003cdiv class=\"fullattribution\">Copyright 2019 \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">NPR\u003c/a>.\u003c/div>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"title": "NPR's Fall TV Preview: 19 Shows to Watch Out For",
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"content": "\u003cp>It’s an old tradition that endures, even amid the year-round deluge of programming brought to us by the age of streaming. It is the fall TV preview.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Turns out fall is the perfect time to refocus on television after a summer filled with vacations and outdoor distractions. So our pop culture team collected the coolest TV shows coming your way over the next few months as a guide through the madness. We haven’t seen all of these programs yet, but we’ve learned enough to know they’re worth checking out.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Whether you’re excited by an updated Jim Henson classic, the backstory behind a legendary rap group or a continuation of the most beloved graphic novel in comics history, there’s something here for you. Here’s our list of the most interesting shows coming this fall.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>\u003cstrong>Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance\u003c/strong>\u003c/em>\u003cstrong> (Netflix)\u003c/strong> Friday, Aug. 30\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zSV42j8lccg\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Perhaps the most notable thing about this 10-episode series, a prequel to Jim Henson and Frank Oz’s 1982 fantasy film, is what it isn’t. It isn’t a digitally animated CGI spectacular; it relies instead on practical, painstakingly constructed animatronics and old-school hand-puppetry. (Director Louis Leterrier notes that there will be some green-screen work, but the series aesthetic is definitively one of puppets over pixels.) Artist Brian Froud is once again on the production design, so the Skeksis species, and its scuttling crablike enforcers, will be back to supply a new generation with the same nightmare-fuel mixture that kept their parents and grandparents up. — \u003cem>Glen Weldon\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>\u003cstrong>Wu-Tang: An American Saga\u003c/strong>\u003c/em>\u003cstrong> (Hulu) \u003c/strong>Wednesday, Sept. 4\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w37TQZwnjXY\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This 10-episode limited series unfolds as a taut, suspenseful take on the formation of the legendary rap group Wu-Tang Clan, as the members choose music over a life in competing drug gangs in New York during the 1990s crack epidemic. One reason it’s so dramatic: The story is fictionalized for maximum effect. Viewers see The RZA (aka Bobby Diggs, played by \u003cem>Moonlight\u003c/em>‘s Ashton Sanders), inspired by the murder of a friend, gathering compatriots like Method Man, Ol’ Dirty Bastard, GZA and Ghostface Killah into a group that stacks beats instead of bodies—revolutionizing the rap world in the process. — \u003cem>Eric Deggans\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>\u003cstrong>Undone \u003c/strong>\u003c/em>\u003cstrong>(Amazon)\u003c/strong> Friday, Sept. 13\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6uWCNHQgfnc\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>BoJack Horseman\u003c/em> alums Kate Purdy and Raphael Bob-Waksberg have created one of the most ambitious new series on TV, exploring the thin line between mental illness and mysticism in a visually stunning story. Using rotoscope animation, filmed performances by flesh-and-blood actors are traced over and transformed into textured visuals. (Think movies like \u003cem>A Scanner Darkly\u003c/em> or \u003cem>Tower\u003c/em>.) Rosa Salazar shines as Alma, a depressed, sardonic 20-something who begins seeing visions of her late father (\u003cem>Better Call Saul\u003c/em>‘s Bob Odenkirk) after a near-fatal car accident. Purdy says she based Alma’s circumstances on her own struggles with mental illness; her series explores race, culture, gender, family and sanity in a singular way. — \u003cem>Eric Deggans\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>\u003cstrong>Country Music \u003c/strong>\u003c/em>\u003cstrong>(PBS) \u003c/strong>Sunday, Sept. 15\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5fZ_S_wlx0Q\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s surprising that Ken Burns—a master of the authoritative American documentary—has taken this long to chronicle the rise of country music, after shaking the world with gigantic projects on jazz, baseball and the Vietnam War. But now he’s on the case with a 16-hour opus, weaving talks with 80 musicians into a surprisingly emotional and myth-busting look at a core American art form. Sure, you’ll see Dolly and Merle and Willie. But you’ll also hear about the music’s early days in southern Appalachia, its life in the honky-tonks of California and why Nashville became the industry’s epicenter. — \u003cem>Eric Deggans\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>\u003cstrong>American Horror Story: 1984 \u003c/strong>\u003c/em>\u003cstrong>(FX) \u003c/strong>Wednesday, Sept. 18\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9wcEiFIM3mM\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Anthology series are by nature uneven, season to season, and Ryan Murphy’s \u003cem>American Horror Story\u003c/em> is no exception. Frankly, even individual \u003cem>AHS\u003c/em> seasons have a tendency to fly off the rails in their back halves, but for some of us, that’s a feature, not a bug. This time out, the setting/genre is 1980s slasher flick, as teen summer campers are terrorized physically by a knife-wielding maniac and aesthetically by headbands and hair volumizer. \u003cem>AHS\u003c/em> alums Billie Lourd, Emma Roberts, Cody Fern and John Carroll Lynch will be joined by fresh blood in the form of freestyle skier Gus Kenworthy, \u003cem>Glee\u003c/em>‘s Matthew Morrison and \u003cem>Pose\u003c/em>‘s Angelica Ross. This season, camp isn’t just the show’s sensibility: It’s the setting. — \u003cem>Glen Weldon\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>\u003cstrong>Between Two Ferns: The Movie \u003c/strong>\u003c/em>\u003cstrong>(Netflix)\u003c/strong> Friday, Sept. 20\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Not a lot of details have been forthcoming about this feature-length adaptation of\u003ca href=\"https://www.funnyordie.com/between-two-ferns\"> a Web series\u003c/a> that features a tetchy, bored Zach Galifianakis interviewing A-list celebrities on a D-list talk show set. But that’s fine. The formula is simple, and the reported guests—including Keanu Reeves, Peter Dinklage and David Letterman—are solid. Plus, the film will be written and directed (with Galifianakis) by Scott Aukerman, who co-created the viral Web series. — \u003cem>Glen Weldon\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>\u003cstrong>Mixed-ish\u003c/strong>\u003c/em>\u003cstrong> (ABC)\u003c/strong> Tuesday, Sept. 24\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tv0C2yWFcWM\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Kudos to \u003cem>Black-ish\u003c/em> creator Kenya Barris and star Tracee Ellis Ross for finally realizing there is a sitcom’s worth of entertainment in the backstory of Ross’ character, matriarch Rainbow Johnson. \u003cem>Mixed-ish\u003c/em> picks up in the 1980s, when ‘Bow was a tween and federal authorities shut down the commune where she, her siblings, her white father and her black mother were living. The result is a sidesplitting fish-out-of-water story narrated by Ross, \u003cem>Wonder Years\u003c/em>-style—a look back at her struggle to fit into a mainstream school at a time when biracial children weren’t particularly common or understood. — \u003cem>Eric Deggans\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>\u003cstrong>Emergence \u003c/strong>\u003c/em>\u003cstrong>(ABC)\u003c/strong> Tuesday, Sept. 24\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aAD2deAqxCE\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Fargo\u003c/em> TV series alum Allison Tolman shines as another plucky police officer; this time, she’s Jo Evans, a recently-divorced police chief who shelters a mysterious young girl who survives a plane crash without injury. As a succession of strange types show up trying to grab the kid (who can’t remember her past or the accident, of course), I’m more interested in Clancy Brown, who plays Evans’ crusty dad, and \u003cem>Scrubs\u003c/em> alum Donald Faison, who impresses as her sympathetic ex-husband. Can this ragtag group figure out what’s going on before it’s too late? — \u003cem>Eric Deggans\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>\u003cstrong>Carol’s Second Act\u003c/strong>\u003c/em>\u003cstrong> (CBS)\u003c/strong> Thursday, Sept. 26\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6oy1USJR348\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Patricia Heaton (\u003cem>The Middle\u003c/em>) stars as Carol, a woman who decides to become a doctor after she has raised her kids. Heaton is a sitcom staple, but what will also sell the show to keen-eyed comedy enthusiasts is that it comes from creators Sarah Haskins and Emily Halpern, who also made the wonderful short-lived series \u003cem>Trophy Wife \u003c/em>and co-wrote the film \u003cem>Booksmart\u003c/em>. They’re about as good as it gets at writing warm, funny, unusual comedy about women, and seeing them with a show on-air again is a heartening sign. — \u003cem>Linda Holmes\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>\u003cstrong>Perfect Harmony\u003c/strong>\u003c/em>\u003cstrong> (NBC)\u003c/strong> Thursday, Sept. 26\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YV7ezBolDug\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>By now, TV fans are used to seeing \u003cem>West Wing\u003c/em> alum Bradley Whitford play smart, self-involved know-it-alls with hearts of gold. But he’s still affecting here as Arthur Cochran, a former Princeton University music professor who decides to help a small-town choir pull together more than their vocal harmonies. Think \u003cem>Pitch Perfect\u003c/em> meets Mr. Chips, as Cochran impatiently coaches these singers—including \u003cem>Pitch Perfect\u003c/em> alum Anna Camp—to better performances onstage and in life. — \u003cem>Eric Deggans\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>\u003cstrong>The Politician\u003c/strong>\u003c/em>\u003cstrong> (Netflix) \u003c/strong>Friday, Sept. 27\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6-kdBlzCG7w\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The first series to emerge from superstar executive producer Ryan Murphy’s megadeal with Netflix centers on a high school kid who is pathologically focused on getting elected class president—because he sees it as the first step in getting elected president of the United States. Along the way, he joins forces with a sickly kid who may not be what she seems and has a secret affair with a hunky, popular guy—who is running against him for class president. Murphy sets this all in an opulent, upper-middle-class environment that feels less like a typical high schooler’s world and more like the setting of a high-end soap opera. — \u003cem>Eric Deggans\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>\u003cstrong>Godfather of Harlem \u003c/strong>\u003c/em>\u003cstrong>(Epix)\u003c/strong> Sunday, Sept. 29\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FV5BNaUZyqA\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Forest Whitaker is alternatingly empathetic and super-scary as New York gangster Bumpy Johnson, who was determined to free his operations from domination by the Italian mob after he returned from a stint in prison. This is basically an old-fashioned organized crime story but told from the perspective of black gangsters—with the added appeal of Vincent D’Onofrio as Italian boss Vincent Gigante and Nigel Thatch’s spot-on performance as Malcolm X. — \u003cem>Eric Deggans\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>\u003cstrong>Watchmen \u003c/strong>\u003c/em>\u003cstrong>(HBO)\u003c/strong> October TBA\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zymgtV99Rko\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The latest from Damon Lindelof, co-creator of \u003cem>Lost \u003c/em>and \u003cem>The Leftovers\u003c/em>, is a visually stunning show based on the legendary 1986-87 comic books about borderline psychotics in superhero garb, \u003cem>Watchmen\u003c/em>. (This show isn’t related to the 2009 movie adaptation, which had a different ending.) HBO’s show picks up in an alternate 2019; liberal President Robert Redford has been in office since the 1990s, prompting a group of white supremacists to target police in Tulsa, Okla., in the same way\u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/sections/codeswitch/2018/05/31/615546965/meet-the-last-surviving-witness-to-the-tulsa-race-riot-of-1921\"> black people were victimized in 1921\u003c/a>. To troll earnest liberalism in today’s Trumpian times, while also continuing one of the most beloved stories in comics history, is a serious gamble. But if anyone can carve out a new story while confusing culture warriors and avoiding the ire of fanboys (and girls), my money’s on Lindelof. — \u003cem>Eric Deggans\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>\u003cstrong>Batwoman \u003c/strong>\u003c/em>\u003cstrong>(The CW)\u003c/strong> Sunday, Oct. 6\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vrIiPcv4_iY\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>With \u003cem>Arrow\u003c/em> wrapping up with a brief eighth and final season this fall, a dark and broody space will open up in The CW’s superhero schedule. Enter: Ruby Rose’s Batwoman, who first burst into the network’s so-called Arrowverse in a series of crossover episodes in 2018. The premise: Batman has abandoned Gotham, leaving Rose’s Kate Kane to protect its people as Batwoman. The fact that Rose identifies as gender fluid, and the character of Kate Kane is a lesbian, seems a significant step forward in making the various Arrowverse Earths look a bit more like our own. — \u003cem>Glen Weldon\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>\u003cstrong>Back to Life \u003c/strong>\u003c/em>\u003cstrong>(Showtime)\u003c/strong> Sunday, Oct. 6\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2wqrIhZVYSE\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Got a \u003cem>Fleabag\u003c/em>-shaped hole in your heart? Find yourself hankering for a funny/uncomfortable/quietly devastating tale of a woman attempting to get her life together and failing consistently, albeit with verve and elan? In \u003cem>Back to Life\u003c/em>, Daisy Haggard plays a middle-aged, middle-class woman who returns to her sleepy English coastal town after 18 years in prison for—well, that’s something the series doles out gradually. Her parents put on a brave face, but the local townsfolk aren’t the forgive-and-forget types. Haggard sparkles as a woman striving to ensure that her past choices can be put behind her for good, even as she struggles with how much everything she knew has changed. — \u003cem>Glen Weldon\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>\u003cstrong>Nancy Drew\u003c/strong>\u003c/em>\u003cstrong> (The CW)\u003c/strong> Wednesday, Oct. 9\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qgfNOKoykL4\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The network that brought back the Archie comics as the moody, soapy teen drama \u003cem>Riverdale \u003c/em>does the most logical thing imaginable, turning next to that most famous literary girl detective, Nancy Drew. Creator Josh Schwartz has a long pedigree in angsty teen TV, going all the way back to his creation of \u003cem>The O.C.\u003c/em> in 2003. And in Nancy Drew, he has an iconic character who solves mysteries and whose streak of independence and sharp mind have always been part of her appeal. It’s a natural fit for TV—you could say she was Veronica Mars before Veronica Mars was. — \u003cem>Linda Holmes\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>\u003cstrong>Modern Love\u003c/strong>\u003c/em>\u003cstrong> (Amazon)\u003c/strong> Friday, Oct. 18\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ROkHJnBOSIs\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This anthology adaptation of \u003cem>The New York Times \u003c/em>column that often inspires both swooning sighs and exasperated ones boasts an enormously impressive cast: Anne Hathaway, Cristin Milioti, Brandon Victor Dixon, John Slattery, Tina Fey, Dev Patel … it’s a stacked show on-screen. It’s got a solid pedigree off-screen, too: It’s led by John Carney, who made \u003cem>Once \u003c/em>and \u003cem>Sing Street\u003c/em>, both of which are fine examples of translating joy and love to film without shutting out melancholy. Almost all anthology series are uneven, but that means they almost always have high points worth seeking out. — \u003cem>Linda Holmes\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>\u003cstrong>Sid & Judy\u003c/strong>\u003c/em>\u003cstrong> (Showtime) \u003c/strong>Friday, Oct. 18\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The biopic \u003cem>Judy\u003c/em>, which stars Renée Zellweger as legendary performer Judy Garland, hits theaters three weeks before this documentary airs on Showtime. But where the Zellweger film focuses on the last year of the singer’s life, Stephen Kijak’s documentary examines Garland’s turbulent relationship with her third husband, Sid Luft, who helped engineer the comeback that led to \u003cem>A Star Is Born\u003c/em>. — \u003cem>Glen Weldon\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>\u003cstrong>Slow Burn\u003c/strong>\u003c/em>\u003cstrong> (Epix) \u003c/strong>Sunday, Nov. 24\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Slate’s \u003cem>Slow Burn\u003c/em> is by no means the first podcast to get turned into a television series, and it won’t be the last. But this six-episode TV adaptation of\u003ca href=\"https://slate.com/slow-burn\"> an eight-episode podcast series\u003c/a> will document something specific that we tend to collectively forget about historical events: namely, how haltingly, slowly and frustratingly they play out. This season will tackle the Watergate scandal, which stretched on for two years, only very, very gradually building up enough momentum to topple a president. The best parts of the podcast series focused on colorful if too-little-remembered figures like Martha Mitchell and Sam Ervin; here’s hoping there’s room to squeeze them in. — \u003cem>Glen Weldon\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cdiv class=\"fullattribution\">\u003cem>Copyright 2019 NPR. To see more, visit \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">NPR\u003c/a>.\u003c/em>\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://www.google-analytics.com/__utm.gif?utmac=UA-5828686-4&utmdt=NPR%27s+Fall+TV+Preview%3A+19+Shows+To+Watch+Out+For&utme=8(APIKey)9(MDAxOTAwOTE4MDEyMTkxMDAzNjczZDljZA004)\">\u003c/div>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>It’s an old tradition that endures, even amid the year-round deluge of programming brought to us by the age of streaming. It is the fall TV preview.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Turns out fall is the perfect time to refocus on television after a summer filled with vacations and outdoor distractions. So our pop culture team collected the coolest TV shows coming your way over the next few months as a guide through the madness. We haven’t seen all of these programs yet, but we’ve learned enough to know they’re worth checking out.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Whether you’re excited by an updated Jim Henson classic, the backstory behind a legendary rap group or a continuation of the most beloved graphic novel in comics history, there’s something here for you. Here’s our list of the most interesting shows coming this fall.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>\u003cstrong>Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance\u003c/strong>\u003c/em>\u003cstrong> (Netflix)\u003c/strong> Friday, Aug. 30\u003c/p>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutube'>\n \u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutubeInside'>\n \u003ciframe\n loading='lazy'\n class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__youtubePlayer'\n type='text/html'\n src='//www.youtube.com/embed/zSV42j8lccg'\n title='//www.youtube.com/embed/zSV42j8lccg'\n allowfullscreen='true'\n style='border:0;'>\u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/span>\n \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Perhaps the most notable thing about this 10-episode series, a prequel to Jim Henson and Frank Oz’s 1982 fantasy film, is what it isn’t. It isn’t a digitally animated CGI spectacular; it relies instead on practical, painstakingly constructed animatronics and old-school hand-puppetry. (Director Louis Leterrier notes that there will be some green-screen work, but the series aesthetic is definitively one of puppets over pixels.) Artist Brian Froud is once again on the production design, so the Skeksis species, and its scuttling crablike enforcers, will be back to supply a new generation with the same nightmare-fuel mixture that kept their parents and grandparents up. — \u003cem>Glen Weldon\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>\u003cstrong>Wu-Tang: An American Saga\u003c/strong>\u003c/em>\u003cstrong> (Hulu) \u003c/strong>Wednesday, Sept. 4\u003c/p>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutube'>\n \u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutubeInside'>\n \u003ciframe\n loading='lazy'\n class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__youtubePlayer'\n type='text/html'\n src='//www.youtube.com/embed/w37TQZwnjXY'\n title='//www.youtube.com/embed/w37TQZwnjXY'\n allowfullscreen='true'\n style='border:0;'>\u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/span>\n \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cp>This 10-episode limited series unfolds as a taut, suspenseful take on the formation of the legendary rap group Wu-Tang Clan, as the members choose music over a life in competing drug gangs in New York during the 1990s crack epidemic. One reason it’s so dramatic: The story is fictionalized for maximum effect. Viewers see The RZA (aka Bobby Diggs, played by \u003cem>Moonlight\u003c/em>‘s Ashton Sanders), inspired by the murder of a friend, gathering compatriots like Method Man, Ol’ Dirty Bastard, GZA and Ghostface Killah into a group that stacks beats instead of bodies—revolutionizing the rap world in the process. — \u003cem>Eric Deggans\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>\u003cstrong>Undone \u003c/strong>\u003c/em>\u003cstrong>(Amazon)\u003c/strong> Friday, Sept. 13\u003c/p>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutube'>\n \u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutubeInside'>\n \u003ciframe\n loading='lazy'\n class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__youtubePlayer'\n type='text/html'\n src='//www.youtube.com/embed/6uWCNHQgfnc'\n title='//www.youtube.com/embed/6uWCNHQgfnc'\n allowfullscreen='true'\n style='border:0;'>\u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/span>\n \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003cem>BoJack Horseman\u003c/em> alums Kate Purdy and Raphael Bob-Waksberg have created one of the most ambitious new series on TV, exploring the thin line between mental illness and mysticism in a visually stunning story. Using rotoscope animation, filmed performances by flesh-and-blood actors are traced over and transformed into textured visuals. (Think movies like \u003cem>A Scanner Darkly\u003c/em> or \u003cem>Tower\u003c/em>.) Rosa Salazar shines as Alma, a depressed, sardonic 20-something who begins seeing visions of her late father (\u003cem>Better Call Saul\u003c/em>‘s Bob Odenkirk) after a near-fatal car accident. Purdy says she based Alma’s circumstances on her own struggles with mental illness; her series explores race, culture, gender, family and sanity in a singular way. — \u003cem>Eric Deggans\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>\u003cstrong>Country Music \u003c/strong>\u003c/em>\u003cstrong>(PBS) \u003c/strong>Sunday, Sept. 15\u003c/p>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutube'>\n \u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutubeInside'>\n \u003ciframe\n loading='lazy'\n class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__youtubePlayer'\n type='text/html'\n src='//www.youtube.com/embed/5fZ_S_wlx0Q'\n title='//www.youtube.com/embed/5fZ_S_wlx0Q'\n allowfullscreen='true'\n style='border:0;'>\u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/span>\n \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cp>It’s surprising that Ken Burns—a master of the authoritative American documentary—has taken this long to chronicle the rise of country music, after shaking the world with gigantic projects on jazz, baseball and the Vietnam War. But now he’s on the case with a 16-hour opus, weaving talks with 80 musicians into a surprisingly emotional and myth-busting look at a core American art form. Sure, you’ll see Dolly and Merle and Willie. But you’ll also hear about the music’s early days in southern Appalachia, its life in the honky-tonks of California and why Nashville became the industry’s epicenter. — \u003cem>Eric Deggans\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>\u003cstrong>American Horror Story: 1984 \u003c/strong>\u003c/em>\u003cstrong>(FX) \u003c/strong>Wednesday, Sept. 18\u003c/p>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutube'>\n \u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutubeInside'>\n \u003ciframe\n loading='lazy'\n class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__youtubePlayer'\n type='text/html'\n src='//www.youtube.com/embed/9wcEiFIM3mM'\n title='//www.youtube.com/embed/9wcEiFIM3mM'\n allowfullscreen='true'\n style='border:0;'>\u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/span>\n \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cp>Anthology series are by nature uneven, season to season, and Ryan Murphy’s \u003cem>American Horror Story\u003c/em> is no exception. Frankly, even individual \u003cem>AHS\u003c/em> seasons have a tendency to fly off the rails in their back halves, but for some of us, that’s a feature, not a bug. This time out, the setting/genre is 1980s slasher flick, as teen summer campers are terrorized physically by a knife-wielding maniac and aesthetically by headbands and hair volumizer. \u003cem>AHS\u003c/em> alums Billie Lourd, Emma Roberts, Cody Fern and John Carroll Lynch will be joined by fresh blood in the form of freestyle skier Gus Kenworthy, \u003cem>Glee\u003c/em>‘s Matthew Morrison and \u003cem>Pose\u003c/em>‘s Angelica Ross. This season, camp isn’t just the show’s sensibility: It’s the setting. — \u003cem>Glen Weldon\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>\u003cstrong>Between Two Ferns: The Movie \u003c/strong>\u003c/em>\u003cstrong>(Netflix)\u003c/strong> Friday, Sept. 20\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Not a lot of details have been forthcoming about this feature-length adaptation of\u003ca href=\"https://www.funnyordie.com/between-two-ferns\"> a Web series\u003c/a> that features a tetchy, bored Zach Galifianakis interviewing A-list celebrities on a D-list talk show set. But that’s fine. The formula is simple, and the reported guests—including Keanu Reeves, Peter Dinklage and David Letterman—are solid. Plus, the film will be written and directed (with Galifianakis) by Scott Aukerman, who co-created the viral Web series. — \u003cem>Glen Weldon\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>\u003cstrong>Mixed-ish\u003c/strong>\u003c/em>\u003cstrong> (ABC)\u003c/strong> Tuesday, Sept. 24\u003c/p>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutube'>\n \u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutubeInside'>\n \u003ciframe\n loading='lazy'\n class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__youtubePlayer'\n type='text/html'\n src='//www.youtube.com/embed/Tv0C2yWFcWM'\n title='//www.youtube.com/embed/Tv0C2yWFcWM'\n allowfullscreen='true'\n style='border:0;'>\u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/span>\n \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cp>Kudos to \u003cem>Black-ish\u003c/em> creator Kenya Barris and star Tracee Ellis Ross for finally realizing there is a sitcom’s worth of entertainment in the backstory of Ross’ character, matriarch Rainbow Johnson. \u003cem>Mixed-ish\u003c/em> picks up in the 1980s, when ‘Bow was a tween and federal authorities shut down the commune where she, her siblings, her white father and her black mother were living. The result is a sidesplitting fish-out-of-water story narrated by Ross, \u003cem>Wonder Years\u003c/em>-style—a look back at her struggle to fit into a mainstream school at a time when biracial children weren’t particularly common or understood. — \u003cem>Eric Deggans\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>\u003cstrong>Emergence \u003c/strong>\u003c/em>\u003cstrong>(ABC)\u003c/strong> Tuesday, Sept. 24\u003c/p>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutube'>\n \u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutubeInside'>\n \u003ciframe\n loading='lazy'\n class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__youtubePlayer'\n type='text/html'\n src='//www.youtube.com/embed/aAD2deAqxCE'\n title='//www.youtube.com/embed/aAD2deAqxCE'\n allowfullscreen='true'\n style='border:0;'>\u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/span>\n \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003cem>Fargo\u003c/em> TV series alum Allison Tolman shines as another plucky police officer; this time, she’s Jo Evans, a recently-divorced police chief who shelters a mysterious young girl who survives a plane crash without injury. As a succession of strange types show up trying to grab the kid (who can’t remember her past or the accident, of course), I’m more interested in Clancy Brown, who plays Evans’ crusty dad, and \u003cem>Scrubs\u003c/em> alum Donald Faison, who impresses as her sympathetic ex-husband. Can this ragtag group figure out what’s going on before it’s too late? — \u003cem>Eric Deggans\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>\u003cstrong>Carol’s Second Act\u003c/strong>\u003c/em>\u003cstrong> (CBS)\u003c/strong> Thursday, Sept. 26\u003c/p>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutube'>\n \u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutubeInside'>\n \u003ciframe\n loading='lazy'\n class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__youtubePlayer'\n type='text/html'\n src='//www.youtube.com/embed/6oy1USJR348'\n title='//www.youtube.com/embed/6oy1USJR348'\n allowfullscreen='true'\n style='border:0;'>\u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/span>\n \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cp>Patricia Heaton (\u003cem>The Middle\u003c/em>) stars as Carol, a woman who decides to become a doctor after she has raised her kids. Heaton is a sitcom staple, but what will also sell the show to keen-eyed comedy enthusiasts is that it comes from creators Sarah Haskins and Emily Halpern, who also made the wonderful short-lived series \u003cem>Trophy Wife \u003c/em>and co-wrote the film \u003cem>Booksmart\u003c/em>. They’re about as good as it gets at writing warm, funny, unusual comedy about women, and seeing them with a show on-air again is a heartening sign. — \u003cem>Linda Holmes\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>\u003cstrong>Perfect Harmony\u003c/strong>\u003c/em>\u003cstrong> (NBC)\u003c/strong> Thursday, Sept. 26\u003c/p>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutube'>\n \u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutubeInside'>\n \u003ciframe\n loading='lazy'\n class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__youtubePlayer'\n type='text/html'\n src='//www.youtube.com/embed/YV7ezBolDug'\n title='//www.youtube.com/embed/YV7ezBolDug'\n allowfullscreen='true'\n style='border:0;'>\u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/span>\n \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cp>By now, TV fans are used to seeing \u003cem>West Wing\u003c/em> alum Bradley Whitford play smart, self-involved know-it-alls with hearts of gold. But he’s still affecting here as Arthur Cochran, a former Princeton University music professor who decides to help a small-town choir pull together more than their vocal harmonies. Think \u003cem>Pitch Perfect\u003c/em> meets Mr. Chips, as Cochran impatiently coaches these singers—including \u003cem>Pitch Perfect\u003c/em> alum Anna Camp—to better performances onstage and in life. — \u003cem>Eric Deggans\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>\u003cstrong>The Politician\u003c/strong>\u003c/em>\u003cstrong> (Netflix) \u003c/strong>Friday, Sept. 27\u003c/p>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutube'>\n \u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutubeInside'>\n \u003ciframe\n loading='lazy'\n class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__youtubePlayer'\n type='text/html'\n src='//www.youtube.com/embed/6-kdBlzCG7w'\n title='//www.youtube.com/embed/6-kdBlzCG7w'\n allowfullscreen='true'\n style='border:0;'>\u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/span>\n \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cp>The first series to emerge from superstar executive producer Ryan Murphy’s megadeal with Netflix centers on a high school kid who is pathologically focused on getting elected class president—because he sees it as the first step in getting elected president of the United States. Along the way, he joins forces with a sickly kid who may not be what she seems and has a secret affair with a hunky, popular guy—who is running against him for class president. Murphy sets this all in an opulent, upper-middle-class environment that feels less like a typical high schooler’s world and more like the setting of a high-end soap opera. — \u003cem>Eric Deggans\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>\u003cstrong>Godfather of Harlem \u003c/strong>\u003c/em>\u003cstrong>(Epix)\u003c/strong> Sunday, Sept. 29\u003c/p>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutube'>\n \u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutubeInside'>\n \u003ciframe\n loading='lazy'\n class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__youtubePlayer'\n type='text/html'\n src='//www.youtube.com/embed/FV5BNaUZyqA'\n title='//www.youtube.com/embed/FV5BNaUZyqA'\n allowfullscreen='true'\n style='border:0;'>\u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/span>\n \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cp>Forest Whitaker is alternatingly empathetic and super-scary as New York gangster Bumpy Johnson, who was determined to free his operations from domination by the Italian mob after he returned from a stint in prison. This is basically an old-fashioned organized crime story but told from the perspective of black gangsters—with the added appeal of Vincent D’Onofrio as Italian boss Vincent Gigante and Nigel Thatch’s spot-on performance as Malcolm X. — \u003cem>Eric Deggans\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>\u003cstrong>Watchmen \u003c/strong>\u003c/em>\u003cstrong>(HBO)\u003c/strong> October TBA\u003c/p>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutube'>\n \u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutubeInside'>\n \u003ciframe\n loading='lazy'\n class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__youtubePlayer'\n type='text/html'\n src='//www.youtube.com/embed/zymgtV99Rko'\n title='//www.youtube.com/embed/zymgtV99Rko'\n allowfullscreen='true'\n style='border:0;'>\u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/span>\n \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cp>The latest from Damon Lindelof, co-creator of \u003cem>Lost \u003c/em>and \u003cem>The Leftovers\u003c/em>, is a visually stunning show based on the legendary 1986-87 comic books about borderline psychotics in superhero garb, \u003cem>Watchmen\u003c/em>. (This show isn’t related to the 2009 movie adaptation, which had a different ending.) HBO’s show picks up in an alternate 2019; liberal President Robert Redford has been in office since the 1990s, prompting a group of white supremacists to target police in Tulsa, Okla., in the same way\u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/sections/codeswitch/2018/05/31/615546965/meet-the-last-surviving-witness-to-the-tulsa-race-riot-of-1921\"> black people were victimized in 1921\u003c/a>. To troll earnest liberalism in today’s Trumpian times, while also continuing one of the most beloved stories in comics history, is a serious gamble. But if anyone can carve out a new story while confusing culture warriors and avoiding the ire of fanboys (and girls), my money’s on Lindelof. — \u003cem>Eric Deggans\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>\u003cstrong>Batwoman \u003c/strong>\u003c/em>\u003cstrong>(The CW)\u003c/strong> Sunday, Oct. 6\u003c/p>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutube'>\n \u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutubeInside'>\n \u003ciframe\n loading='lazy'\n class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__youtubePlayer'\n type='text/html'\n src='//www.youtube.com/embed/vrIiPcv4_iY'\n title='//www.youtube.com/embed/vrIiPcv4_iY'\n allowfullscreen='true'\n style='border:0;'>\u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/span>\n \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cp>With \u003cem>Arrow\u003c/em> wrapping up with a brief eighth and final season this fall, a dark and broody space will open up in The CW’s superhero schedule. Enter: Ruby Rose’s Batwoman, who first burst into the network’s so-called Arrowverse in a series of crossover episodes in 2018. The premise: Batman has abandoned Gotham, leaving Rose’s Kate Kane to protect its people as Batwoman. The fact that Rose identifies as gender fluid, and the character of Kate Kane is a lesbian, seems a significant step forward in making the various Arrowverse Earths look a bit more like our own. — \u003cem>Glen Weldon\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>\u003cstrong>Back to Life \u003c/strong>\u003c/em>\u003cstrong>(Showtime)\u003c/strong> Sunday, Oct. 6\u003c/p>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutube'>\n \u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutubeInside'>\n \u003ciframe\n loading='lazy'\n class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__youtubePlayer'\n type='text/html'\n src='//www.youtube.com/embed/2wqrIhZVYSE'\n title='//www.youtube.com/embed/2wqrIhZVYSE'\n allowfullscreen='true'\n style='border:0;'>\u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/span>\n \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cp>Got a \u003cem>Fleabag\u003c/em>-shaped hole in your heart? Find yourself hankering for a funny/uncomfortable/quietly devastating tale of a woman attempting to get her life together and failing consistently, albeit with verve and elan? In \u003cem>Back to Life\u003c/em>, Daisy Haggard plays a middle-aged, middle-class woman who returns to her sleepy English coastal town after 18 years in prison for—well, that’s something the series doles out gradually. Her parents put on a brave face, but the local townsfolk aren’t the forgive-and-forget types. Haggard sparkles as a woman striving to ensure that her past choices can be put behind her for good, even as she struggles with how much everything she knew has changed. — \u003cem>Glen Weldon\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>\u003cstrong>Nancy Drew\u003c/strong>\u003c/em>\u003cstrong> (The CW)\u003c/strong> Wednesday, Oct. 9\u003c/p>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutube'>\n \u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutubeInside'>\n \u003ciframe\n loading='lazy'\n class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__youtubePlayer'\n type='text/html'\n src='//www.youtube.com/embed/qgfNOKoykL4'\n title='//www.youtube.com/embed/qgfNOKoykL4'\n allowfullscreen='true'\n style='border:0;'>\u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/span>\n \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cp>The network that brought back the Archie comics as the moody, soapy teen drama \u003cem>Riverdale \u003c/em>does the most logical thing imaginable, turning next to that most famous literary girl detective, Nancy Drew. Creator Josh Schwartz has a long pedigree in angsty teen TV, going all the way back to his creation of \u003cem>The O.C.\u003c/em> in 2003. And in Nancy Drew, he has an iconic character who solves mysteries and whose streak of independence and sharp mind have always been part of her appeal. It’s a natural fit for TV—you could say she was Veronica Mars before Veronica Mars was. — \u003cem>Linda Holmes\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>\u003cstrong>Modern Love\u003c/strong>\u003c/em>\u003cstrong> (Amazon)\u003c/strong> Friday, Oct. 18\u003c/p>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutube'>\n \u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutubeInside'>\n \u003ciframe\n loading='lazy'\n class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__youtubePlayer'\n type='text/html'\n src='//www.youtube.com/embed/ROkHJnBOSIs'\n title='//www.youtube.com/embed/ROkHJnBOSIs'\n allowfullscreen='true'\n style='border:0;'>\u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/span>\n \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cp>This anthology adaptation of \u003cem>The New York Times \u003c/em>column that often inspires both swooning sighs and exasperated ones boasts an enormously impressive cast: Anne Hathaway, Cristin Milioti, Brandon Victor Dixon, John Slattery, Tina Fey, Dev Patel … it’s a stacked show on-screen. It’s got a solid pedigree off-screen, too: It’s led by John Carney, who made \u003cem>Once \u003c/em>and \u003cem>Sing Street\u003c/em>, both of which are fine examples of translating joy and love to film without shutting out melancholy. Almost all anthology series are uneven, but that means they almost always have high points worth seeking out. — \u003cem>Linda Holmes\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>\u003cstrong>Sid & Judy\u003c/strong>\u003c/em>\u003cstrong> (Showtime) \u003c/strong>Friday, Oct. 18\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The biopic \u003cem>Judy\u003c/em>, which stars Renée Zellweger as legendary performer Judy Garland, hits theaters three weeks before this documentary airs on Showtime. But where the Zellweger film focuses on the last year of the singer’s life, Stephen Kijak’s documentary examines Garland’s turbulent relationship with her third husband, Sid Luft, who helped engineer the comeback that led to \u003cem>A Star Is Born\u003c/em>. — \u003cem>Glen Weldon\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>\u003cstrong>Slow Burn\u003c/strong>\u003c/em>\u003cstrong> (Epix) \u003c/strong>Sunday, Nov. 24\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Slate’s \u003cem>Slow Burn\u003c/em> is by no means the first podcast to get turned into a television series, and it won’t be the last. But this six-episode TV adaptation of\u003ca href=\"https://slate.com/slow-burn\"> an eight-episode podcast series\u003c/a> will document something specific that we tend to collectively forget about historical events: namely, how haltingly, slowly and frustratingly they play out. This season will tackle the Watergate scandal, which stretched on for two years, only very, very gradually building up enough momentum to topple a president. The best parts of the podcast series focused on colorful if too-little-remembered figures like Martha Mitchell and Sam Ervin; here’s hoping there’s room to squeeze them in. — \u003cem>Glen Weldon\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cdiv class=\"fullattribution\">\u003cem>Copyright 2019 NPR. To see more, visit \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">NPR\u003c/a>.\u003c/em>\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://www.google-analytics.com/__utm.gif?utmac=UA-5828686-4&utmdt=NPR%27s+Fall+TV+Preview%3A+19+Shows+To+Watch+Out+For&utme=8(APIKey)9(MDAxOTAwOTE4MDEyMTkxMDAzNjczZDljZA004)\">\u003c/div>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"title": "In Stalker Thriller 'The Fanatic,' Travolta Stalks, But Never Thrills",
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"content": "\u003cp>Halfway through the miserable psychodrama \u003cem>The Fanatic\u003c/em>, Dick (Kenneth Farmer, playing a minor character with only a few lines), asks a couple of aggressive panhandlers to stop harassing his buddy Moose (John Travolta): “Why can’t you leave this guy alone, huh?” You won’t find any good answers in the movie, an ugly character study about Moose, an emotionally unstable cinephile who stalks Hunter Dunbar (Devon Sawa), his favorite horror movie star. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Moose is such an underdeveloped character that one can’t help but wonder why co-writer/director Fred Durst (lead singer of the Nu-Metal group Limp Bizkit)\u003cstrong>, \u003c/strong>can’t stop picking on Travolta’s character, though \u003cem>The Fanatic\u003c/em> is supposedly based (in part) on Durst’s real-life encounters with a starstruck harasser. (Durst shares screenplay credit with Dave Bekerman.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://youtu.be/YRS6V8RXIKE\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There’s nothing sympathetic about Moose, a petulant fanboy who’s defined by his childlike accessories — Hawaiian shirts, a backpack, and a haircut that’s halfway between a bowl cut and a mullet, hunched shoulders, constipated waddle, and emotional volatility. Moose repeatedly tries to befriend Hunter, an ungenerous, but understandably vexed B-lister, after the actor leaves a book signing before he can sign Moose’s memorabilia. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Some cliché-filled voiceover narration, provided by Moose’s celeb-hating/chasing paparazzo friend Leah (Ana Golja), ties Moose and Hunter together, but always in a way that suggests Hunter deserves whatever’s coming to him, like when she mysteriously suggests that while, “I have no idea why Moose would go back to that man’s house. But I suppose when you find the cookie jar, it’s hard to not go back for more.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Still: There’s nothing to Moose beyond some general commentary about how fans are entitled bullies, a proposition that’s literally spelled out, onscreen, in an introductory quote from Hunter (which he repeats later in the movie, only this time the line occurs as dialogue that Moose forces Hunter to say): “You are a fan. Without you I’m nothing.” \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Moose’s behavior suggests that he’s mentally unstable, but the film never explicitly suggests that he’s psychologically impaired. Instead, Moose runs around doing whatever he wants, busking on Hollywood Boulevard (dressed as a British bobby, with a truly regrettable accent and fake mustache) and stalking Hunter at his home. Moose is also frequently picked on by fellow street performer Todd (Jacob Grodnik), but that doesn’t slow Moose down anymore than do Leah’s admonishments to stop stalking Hunter. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Durst fixates on Moose’s freakish behavior to the same unhealthy degree that Moose tries to impress Hunter. This is disappointing since Durst—who directed almost two dozen music videos before helming two sturdy enough features (\u003ci>The Education of Charlie Banks\u003c/i>, \u003ci>The Longshots\u003c/i>)—isn’t as amateurish a story-teller as \u003cem>The Fanatic\u003c/em> would attest. Still, \u003cem>The Fanatic\u003c/em> stinks because Durst doesn’t really care about whatever it is that’s motivating Moose. He’s violent and movie-obsessed, but viewers barely see what Hunter’s movies are like, or what Moose likes about them. Moose’s friends prove equally hard to read: Leah and Dick never register strongly enough as characters to provide Travolta’s character any useful, normalizing context.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Instead, we get a bunch of scenes where Travolta zealously overacts, as when he screams at Hunter, “I wish Freddy Krueger would come, and chop off your head, and it would roll in the street, and a truck would squish it, and the blood would splatter everywhere, and everyone would watch it.” Durst sometimes seems to pity Moose, as when he underscores, with a dramatic musical sting, his emotional devastation when Hunter pokes his chest with a marker and angrily signs his name on his shirt. But Travolta’s performance, like his twitchy character, isn’t even desperate in a cruelly amusing way: When he inevitably manages to get Hunter where he wants him, Moose tries to win over his captive audience by crudely imitating movie baddies from \u003cem>Friday the 13\u003c/em>\u003cem>\u003csup>th\u003c/sup>\u003c/em>, \u003cem>Saw\u003c/em> and \u003cem>Reservoir Dogs\u003c/em>, as if we needed reminding that this character knows more about movies than reality.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The same could be said about Durst and \u003cem>The Fanatic\u003c/em>: He consistently punches down at fans who, in the relatively innocent days of the late 90s and early 00s, might have been encouraged by Durst’s band when they sang about “my generation” and doing things “my way,” not to mention feeling misunderstood “behind blue eyes,” and “[doing] it all for the nookie.” \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Instead, Durst now refers us to “The Truth”—Limp Bizkit’s 2005 rallying cry about “accepting the truth” and rejecting a vaguely menacing father figure—in a brief scene where Hunter and his son bond over Durst’s mediocre metal music. Unfortunately, \u003cem>The Fanatic \u003c/em>proves just as opaque as that song’s lyrics: “Somehow, you replaced all your game with a debt, now the payback’s a bitch/Why owe your life to a bitch?” \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Hunter, in this example, is presumably the “bitch” that leads Moose astray, but nothing he does makes their fallen idol/clueless stalker power dynamic any more concrete and apprehendable. Moose’s addiction to social media serves him poorly, his fair-weather friends treat him abominably, but in the end, nothing regards him with more cruel indifference than the film itself. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>Copyright 2019 \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">NPR\u003c/a>.\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Halfway through the miserable psychodrama \u003cem>The Fanatic\u003c/em>, Dick (Kenneth Farmer, playing a minor character with only a few lines), asks a couple of aggressive panhandlers to stop harassing his buddy Moose (John Travolta): “Why can’t you leave this guy alone, huh?” You won’t find any good answers in the movie, an ugly character study about Moose, an emotionally unstable cinephile who stalks Hunter Dunbar (Devon Sawa), his favorite horror movie star. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Moose is such an underdeveloped character that one can’t help but wonder why co-writer/director Fred Durst (lead singer of the Nu-Metal group Limp Bizkit)\u003cstrong>, \u003c/strong>can’t stop picking on Travolta’s character, though \u003cem>The Fanatic\u003c/em> is supposedly based (in part) on Durst’s real-life encounters with a starstruck harasser. (Durst shares screenplay credit with Dave Bekerman.)\u003c/p>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutube'>\n \u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutubeInside'>\n \u003ciframe\n loading='lazy'\n class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__youtubePlayer'\n type='text/html'\n src='//www.youtube.com/embed/YRS6V8RXIKE'\n title='//www.youtube.com/embed/YRS6V8RXIKE'\n allowfullscreen='true'\n style='border:0;'>\u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/span>\n \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cp>There’s nothing sympathetic about Moose, a petulant fanboy who’s defined by his childlike accessories — Hawaiian shirts, a backpack, and a haircut that’s halfway between a bowl cut and a mullet, hunched shoulders, constipated waddle, and emotional volatility. Moose repeatedly tries to befriend Hunter, an ungenerous, but understandably vexed B-lister, after the actor leaves a book signing before he can sign Moose’s memorabilia. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Some cliché-filled voiceover narration, provided by Moose’s celeb-hating/chasing paparazzo friend Leah (Ana Golja), ties Moose and Hunter together, but always in a way that suggests Hunter deserves whatever’s coming to him, like when she mysteriously suggests that while, “I have no idea why Moose would go back to that man’s house. But I suppose when you find the cookie jar, it’s hard to not go back for more.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Still: There’s nothing to Moose beyond some general commentary about how fans are entitled bullies, a proposition that’s literally spelled out, onscreen, in an introductory quote from Hunter (which he repeats later in the movie, only this time the line occurs as dialogue that Moose forces Hunter to say): “You are a fan. Without you I’m nothing.” \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Moose’s behavior suggests that he’s mentally unstable, but the film never explicitly suggests that he’s psychologically impaired. Instead, Moose runs around doing whatever he wants, busking on Hollywood Boulevard (dressed as a British bobby, with a truly regrettable accent and fake mustache) and stalking Hunter at his home. Moose is also frequently picked on by fellow street performer Todd (Jacob Grodnik), but that doesn’t slow Moose down anymore than do Leah’s admonishments to stop stalking Hunter. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Durst fixates on Moose’s freakish behavior to the same unhealthy degree that Moose tries to impress Hunter. This is disappointing since Durst—who directed almost two dozen music videos before helming two sturdy enough features (\u003ci>The Education of Charlie Banks\u003c/i>, \u003ci>The Longshots\u003c/i>)—isn’t as amateurish a story-teller as \u003cem>The Fanatic\u003c/em> would attest. Still, \u003cem>The Fanatic\u003c/em> stinks because Durst doesn’t really care about whatever it is that’s motivating Moose. He’s violent and movie-obsessed, but viewers barely see what Hunter’s movies are like, or what Moose likes about them. Moose’s friends prove equally hard to read: Leah and Dick never register strongly enough as characters to provide Travolta’s character any useful, normalizing context.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Instead, we get a bunch of scenes where Travolta zealously overacts, as when he screams at Hunter, “I wish Freddy Krueger would come, and chop off your head, and it would roll in the street, and a truck would squish it, and the blood would splatter everywhere, and everyone would watch it.” Durst sometimes seems to pity Moose, as when he underscores, with a dramatic musical sting, his emotional devastation when Hunter pokes his chest with a marker and angrily signs his name on his shirt. But Travolta’s performance, like his twitchy character, isn’t even desperate in a cruelly amusing way: When he inevitably manages to get Hunter where he wants him, Moose tries to win over his captive audience by crudely imitating movie baddies from \u003cem>Friday the 13\u003c/em>\u003cem>\u003csup>th\u003c/sup>\u003c/em>, \u003cem>Saw\u003c/em> and \u003cem>Reservoir Dogs\u003c/em>, as if we needed reminding that this character knows more about movies than reality.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The same could be said about Durst and \u003cem>The Fanatic\u003c/em>: He consistently punches down at fans who, in the relatively innocent days of the late 90s and early 00s, might have been encouraged by Durst’s band when they sang about “my generation” and doing things “my way,” not to mention feeling misunderstood “behind blue eyes,” and “[doing] it all for the nookie.” \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Instead, Durst now refers us to “The Truth”—Limp Bizkit’s 2005 rallying cry about “accepting the truth” and rejecting a vaguely menacing father figure—in a brief scene where Hunter and his son bond over Durst’s mediocre metal music. Unfortunately, \u003cem>The Fanatic \u003c/em>proves just as opaque as that song’s lyrics: “Somehow, you replaced all your game with a debt, now the payback’s a bitch/Why owe your life to a bitch?” \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Hunter, in this example, is presumably the “bitch” that leads Moose astray, but nothing he does makes their fallen idol/clueless stalker power dynamic any more concrete and apprehendable. Moose’s addiction to social media serves him poorly, his fair-weather friends treat him abominably, but in the end, nothing regards him with more cruel indifference than the film itself. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>Copyright 2019 \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">NPR\u003c/a>.\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"title": "Both Party and Protest, 'Alright' is the Sound of Black Life's Duality",
"headTitle": "Both Party and Protest, ‘Alright’ is the Sound of Black Life’s Duality | KQED",
"content": "\u003cp>\u003cem>This story is part of American Anthem, a yearlong series on songs that rouse, unite, celebrate and call to action. Find more at\u003c/em> \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/series/622671774/american-anthem\">NPR.org/Anthem\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003chr>\n\u003cp>It was a coincidence that the police were there.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the summer of 2015, hundreds of black activists and organizers from across the country gathered on the campus of Cleveland State University for a three-day conference called the Movement for Black Lives. This was an opportunity to get together and share best practices and plan future actions, and was the first time many of them were meeting face to face.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It was a heavy moment. News was spreading about Sandra Bland—a black woman who was found dead in a Texas jail cell after being arrested at a traffic stop, and just the latest in a long list of names that had become synonymous with police violence against black people. But there were moments of joy, too. During a break, someone put on the song “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z-48u_uWMHY\">Alright\u003c/a>” by \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/artists/166009689/kendrick-lamar\">Kendrick Lamar\u003c/a>, and a whole auditorium of people broke loose.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=1&v=Z-48u_uWMHY\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It was a celebratory moment of black love,” says Waltrina Midleton. She’s a youth reverend, then based in Cleveland, who helped set up the event.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The conference ended on a Sunday afternoon. At the same time people were saying their goodbyes with hugs and kisses, a bus was coming across campus. Inside, a police officer was detaining a black 14-year-old suspected of drinking alcohol. \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PivXg7xp2F0\">In surveillance and body cam tape\u003c/a> released by the Greater Cleveland Authority Regional Transit Police, you can see the cop take the kid off the bus and handcuff him inside a sheltered bus stop.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Middleton could make out that something was going on. “I’m standing on the steps,” she says, “and all of a sudden, the crowd went from of folks saying goodbye to, ‘Oh, something’s happening.’ ” It had been less than a year since police shot and killed Tamir Rice, a 12-year-old who was playing with an Airsoft gun outside a rec center, in the very same city. People started gathering at the scene, holding up their phones to record.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>According to the incident report, officers asked the 14-year-old for his mother’s name and address, which he gave to them. One of the bystanders also asked for this information. From the report:\u003c/p>\n\u003cblockquote>\u003cp>“That unknown female was informed by us that we will handle calling a parent or guardian. [REDACTED] blurted out to her his mother’s phone number. Ptl. Horton and Ptl. Dorko were blocking the crowd from entering the shelter and the ability for them to have any communication with [REDACTED] (for his safety).”\u003c/p>\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003cp>“Our ultimate goal was to make sure that this young child was not criminalized,” Middleton says. “That this child left the situation alive, and also that an adult who was accountable for that child was present.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The crowd grew, more police showed up, and bystanders became protesters. Some of them linked arms around the police cars. An officer pepper sprayed them. The scene continued to intensify until, finally, the teen’s mother arrived. The police escorted mom and son to an ambulance, and then let them go.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For a story involving a young black male, escalating tensions, police in riot gear and people getting pepper sprayed, this is a happy ending. Some of the protesters begin to shout a familiar refrain: “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VUC_DOhfzwQ\">We gon’ be alright\u003c/a>.”\u003c/p>\n\u003chr>\n\u003cp>Kendrick Lamar’s \u003cem>To Pimp a Butterfly\u003c/em> was released in the spring of 2015. “Alright” was the fourth single off the record. It’s hard to say exactly when the song was first used at a protest, but the story in Cleveland touched on many of the issues of the moment concerning police relations with black people. At \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/TheHilltopHU/status/652838787492519936\">similar\u003c/a> \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c2hKKT7JWcA&t=2s\">demonstrations\u003c/a>, the chanted hook quickly became a fixture.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4lPD5PtqMiE&t=1554s\">In a 2016 interview\u003c/a> with super-producer Rick Rubin hosted by \u003cem>GQ\u003c/em>, Lamar said he sat on the beat—dreamed up by another super-producer, \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/artists/122029835/pharrell-williams\">Pharrell Williams\u003c/a>—for six months before figuring out what he wanted to say. “The beat sounds fun,” he said. “But it’s something else inside the chords that Pharrell put down.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=1554&v=4lPD5PtqMiE\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The \u003cem>dah dah dah\u003c/em>s that make up those chords are Williams’ own disembodied voice, running constantly through the song. They’re haunting, in a way. “Maybe it’s the ancestors who never received the justice they deserved,” says Miles Marshall Lewis.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The author of the upcoming book \u003cem>Promise That You Will Sing About Me: The Power and Poetry of Kendrick Lamar\u003c/em>, Lewis interviewed Lamar after the release of \u003cem>To Pimp a Butterfly\u003c/em> and learned the artist was inspired to write “Alright” by a trip to South Africa—specifically the cell on Robben Island where Nelson Mandela was imprisoned. Similarly, Lamar told NPR in a 2015 interview that he was thinking about the history of chattel slavery in America.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Four hundred years ago, as slaves, we prayed and sung joyful songs to keep our heads level-headed with what was going on,” Lamar said. “Four hundred years later, we still need that music to heal. And I think that ‘Alright’ is definitely one of those records that makes you feel good no matter what the times are.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the song’s prechorus, Lamar lays this feeling out succinctly. He begins in the past:\u003c/p>\n\u003cblockquote>\u003cp>\u003cem>Wouldn’t you know, we been hurt, been down before\u003cbr>\nWhen our pride was low\u003cbr>\nLooking at the world like “Where do we go?”\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003cp>The emotional payoff of the chorus isn’t complete without this lead-in, acknowledging the long history of black oppression. Then he brings us back to the present, where things are different, but not different enough:\u003c/p>\n\u003cblockquote>\u003cp>\u003cem>And we hate po-po\u003cbr>\nWanna kill us dead in the streets for sure\u003cbr>\nI’m at the preacher’s door\u003cbr>\nMy knees getting weak, and my gun might blow,\u003cbr>\nBut we gon’ be alright\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003cp>When the narrator shows up at a preacher’s door, reeling in the face of police violence and oppression, he’s holding a gun. Lewis says the moment reflects the old duality of the civil rights struggle: “He might trade in the Martin hat for the Malcolm hat, and have to defend himself.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But it’s up to the listener to decide which way the gun is pointed: at the police, at the preacher, at someone else, or back at the artist himself.\u003c/p>\n\u003chr>\n\u003cp>On June 17, 2015, a white nationalist shot and killed nine black people inside Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, S. C.—including Reverend DePayne Middleton Doctor, Waltrina Middleton’s cousin. In the aftermath, Middleton said she wanted to leave her work, her ministry, her activism, shut the door to the world and people around her. “It’s so easy to say ‘my cousin was murdered, I’m done. Eff all this. This isn’t going to change anything.’ And walk away,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This sentiment is reflected in “Alright,” too — particularly the contrast of the bright, optimistic, communal chorus against the dark, self-critical and solitary verses: “I can see the evil, I can tell it, I know it’s illegal / I don’t think about it, I deposit every other zero.” There’s a powerlessness here, as even Lamar, who at this point in his career was positioned as \u003cem>the\u003c/em> rapper, succumbs to apathy and greed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“He’s not denying that we’re in a protracted state of trauma,” Middleton says. “He’s saying, ‘I know that we may have all of these things around us that will allow us to escape, but the movement is still there, the fight is still there.’ And I think it’s important to recognize that—because sometimes we don’t think about the psychological impact and trauma of fighting for your life every single day.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“After the death of Freddie Gray, a lot of us was just stuck and lost,” says Devin Allen. He’s a photographer from Baltimore, who documented many of the protests, prayers, riots and marches that took place in 2015 when Freddie Gray, a 25-year-old black man, died after injuries he sustained while being transported by police.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When we spoke, Allen talked about the curfew that followed, the occupation, the black people shot by police who, for better or worse, haven’t become household names. He said that protesters in Baltimore weren’t singing “Alright” in the streets like in other cities. Instead, the song had a more private presence: something you listened to in the car by yourself, at home with your family, at the club with your friends.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Allen’s photos these days deal with softer subject matter: Friends, neighbors, random kids living their lives in Baltimore. It’s cautiously optimistic work that he says is inspired by Lamar. And he sometimes posts videos of his daughter dancing along to “Alright,” or mugging for the camera, rapping along.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“One day we will be all right,” he says. “Gotta keep fighting for that. The moment I don’t believe it’s gonna be all right, what am I fighting for?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>You can read the phrase “We gon’ be alright” as indicative of some distant future, where white supremacy and oppression are no longer a major concern — \u003cem>one day\u003c/em>, as Allen puts it. But maybe it can also mean something simpler, sooner. Something as small as coming home to your family.\u003c/p>\n\u003cdiv class=\"fullattribution\">\u003cem>Copyright 2019 NPR. To see more, visit \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">NPR\u003c/a>.\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://www.google-analytics.com/__utm.gif?utmac=UA-5828686-4&utmdt=Both+Party+And+Protest%2C+%27Alright%27+Is+The+Sound+Of+Black+Life%27s+Duality&utme=8(APIKey)9(MDAxOTAwOTE4MDEyMTkxMDAzNjczZDljZA004)\">\u003c/em>\u003c/div>\n\n",
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"excerpt": "The Kendrick Lamar song turned protest chant against police violence identifies a daily balancing act: There is hope, and there is despair. There's the ideal world, and there's the real one.",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003cem>This story is part of American Anthem, a yearlong series on songs that rouse, unite, celebrate and call to action. Find more at\u003c/em> \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/series/622671774/american-anthem\">NPR.org/Anthem\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003chr>\n\u003cp>It was a coincidence that the police were there.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the summer of 2015, hundreds of black activists and organizers from across the country gathered on the campus of Cleveland State University for a three-day conference called the Movement for Black Lives. This was an opportunity to get together and share best practices and plan future actions, and was the first time many of them were meeting face to face.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It was a heavy moment. News was spreading about Sandra Bland—a black woman who was found dead in a Texas jail cell after being arrested at a traffic stop, and just the latest in a long list of names that had become synonymous with police violence against black people. But there were moments of joy, too. During a break, someone put on the song “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z-48u_uWMHY\">Alright\u003c/a>” by \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/artists/166009689/kendrick-lamar\">Kendrick Lamar\u003c/a>, and a whole auditorium of people broke loose.\u003c/p>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutube'>\n \u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutubeInside'>\n \u003ciframe\n loading='lazy'\n class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__youtubePlayer'\n type='text/html'\n src='//www.youtube.com/embed/Z-48u_uWMHY'\n title='//www.youtube.com/embed/Z-48u_uWMHY'\n allowfullscreen='true'\n style='border:0;'>\u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/span>\n \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It was a celebratory moment of black love,” says Waltrina Midleton. She’s a youth reverend, then based in Cleveland, who helped set up the event.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The conference ended on a Sunday afternoon. At the same time people were saying their goodbyes with hugs and kisses, a bus was coming across campus. Inside, a police officer was detaining a black 14-year-old suspected of drinking alcohol. \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PivXg7xp2F0\">In surveillance and body cam tape\u003c/a> released by the Greater Cleveland Authority Regional Transit Police, you can see the cop take the kid off the bus and handcuff him inside a sheltered bus stop.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Middleton could make out that something was going on. “I’m standing on the steps,” she says, “and all of a sudden, the crowd went from of folks saying goodbye to, ‘Oh, something’s happening.’ ” It had been less than a year since police shot and killed Tamir Rice, a 12-year-old who was playing with an Airsoft gun outside a rec center, in the very same city. People started gathering at the scene, holding up their phones to record.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>According to the incident report, officers asked the 14-year-old for his mother’s name and address, which he gave to them. One of the bystanders also asked for this information. From the report:\u003c/p>\n\u003cblockquote>\u003cp>“That unknown female was informed by us that we will handle calling a parent or guardian. [REDACTED] blurted out to her his mother’s phone number. Ptl. Horton and Ptl. Dorko were blocking the crowd from entering the shelter and the ability for them to have any communication with [REDACTED] (for his safety).”\u003c/p>\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003cp>“Our ultimate goal was to make sure that this young child was not criminalized,” Middleton says. “That this child left the situation alive, and also that an adult who was accountable for that child was present.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The crowd grew, more police showed up, and bystanders became protesters. Some of them linked arms around the police cars. An officer pepper sprayed them. The scene continued to intensify until, finally, the teen’s mother arrived. The police escorted mom and son to an ambulance, and then let them go.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For a story involving a young black male, escalating tensions, police in riot gear and people getting pepper sprayed, this is a happy ending. Some of the protesters begin to shout a familiar refrain: “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VUC_DOhfzwQ\">We gon’ be alright\u003c/a>.”\u003c/p>\n\u003chr>\n\u003cp>Kendrick Lamar’s \u003cem>To Pimp a Butterfly\u003c/em> was released in the spring of 2015. “Alright” was the fourth single off the record. It’s hard to say exactly when the song was first used at a protest, but the story in Cleveland touched on many of the issues of the moment concerning police relations with black people. At \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/TheHilltopHU/status/652838787492519936\">similar\u003c/a> \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c2hKKT7JWcA&t=2s\">demonstrations\u003c/a>, the chanted hook quickly became a fixture.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4lPD5PtqMiE&t=1554s\">In a 2016 interview\u003c/a> with super-producer Rick Rubin hosted by \u003cem>GQ\u003c/em>, Lamar said he sat on the beat—dreamed up by another super-producer, \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/artists/122029835/pharrell-williams\">Pharrell Williams\u003c/a>—for six months before figuring out what he wanted to say. “The beat sounds fun,” he said. “But it’s something else inside the chords that Pharrell put down.”\u003c/p>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutube'>\n \u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutubeInside'>\n \u003ciframe\n loading='lazy'\n class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__youtubePlayer'\n type='text/html'\n src='//www.youtube.com/embed/4lPD5PtqMiE'\n title='//www.youtube.com/embed/4lPD5PtqMiE'\n allowfullscreen='true'\n style='border:0;'>\u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/span>\n \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cp>The \u003cem>dah dah dah\u003c/em>s that make up those chords are Williams’ own disembodied voice, running constantly through the song. They’re haunting, in a way. “Maybe it’s the ancestors who never received the justice they deserved,” says Miles Marshall Lewis.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The author of the upcoming book \u003cem>Promise That You Will Sing About Me: The Power and Poetry of Kendrick Lamar\u003c/em>, Lewis interviewed Lamar after the release of \u003cem>To Pimp a Butterfly\u003c/em> and learned the artist was inspired to write “Alright” by a trip to South Africa—specifically the cell on Robben Island where Nelson Mandela was imprisoned. Similarly, Lamar told NPR in a 2015 interview that he was thinking about the history of chattel slavery in America.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Four hundred years ago, as slaves, we prayed and sung joyful songs to keep our heads level-headed with what was going on,” Lamar said. “Four hundred years later, we still need that music to heal. And I think that ‘Alright’ is definitely one of those records that makes you feel good no matter what the times are.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the song’s prechorus, Lamar lays this feeling out succinctly. He begins in the past:\u003c/p>\n\u003cblockquote>\u003cp>\u003cem>Wouldn’t you know, we been hurt, been down before\u003cbr>\nWhen our pride was low\u003cbr>\nLooking at the world like “Where do we go?”\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003cp>The emotional payoff of the chorus isn’t complete without this lead-in, acknowledging the long history of black oppression. Then he brings us back to the present, where things are different, but not different enough:\u003c/p>\n\u003cblockquote>\u003cp>\u003cem>And we hate po-po\u003cbr>\nWanna kill us dead in the streets for sure\u003cbr>\nI’m at the preacher’s door\u003cbr>\nMy knees getting weak, and my gun might blow,\u003cbr>\nBut we gon’ be alright\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003cp>When the narrator shows up at a preacher’s door, reeling in the face of police violence and oppression, he’s holding a gun. Lewis says the moment reflects the old duality of the civil rights struggle: “He might trade in the Martin hat for the Malcolm hat, and have to defend himself.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But it’s up to the listener to decide which way the gun is pointed: at the police, at the preacher, at someone else, or back at the artist himself.\u003c/p>\n\u003chr>\n\u003cp>On June 17, 2015, a white nationalist shot and killed nine black people inside Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, S. C.—including Reverend DePayne Middleton Doctor, Waltrina Middleton’s cousin. In the aftermath, Middleton said she wanted to leave her work, her ministry, her activism, shut the door to the world and people around her. “It’s so easy to say ‘my cousin was murdered, I’m done. Eff all this. This isn’t going to change anything.’ And walk away,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This sentiment is reflected in “Alright,” too — particularly the contrast of the bright, optimistic, communal chorus against the dark, self-critical and solitary verses: “I can see the evil, I can tell it, I know it’s illegal / I don’t think about it, I deposit every other zero.” There’s a powerlessness here, as even Lamar, who at this point in his career was positioned as \u003cem>the\u003c/em> rapper, succumbs to apathy and greed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“He’s not denying that we’re in a protracted state of trauma,” Middleton says. “He’s saying, ‘I know that we may have all of these things around us that will allow us to escape, but the movement is still there, the fight is still there.’ And I think it’s important to recognize that—because sometimes we don’t think about the psychological impact and trauma of fighting for your life every single day.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“After the death of Freddie Gray, a lot of us was just stuck and lost,” says Devin Allen. He’s a photographer from Baltimore, who documented many of the protests, prayers, riots and marches that took place in 2015 when Freddie Gray, a 25-year-old black man, died after injuries he sustained while being transported by police.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When we spoke, Allen talked about the curfew that followed, the occupation, the black people shot by police who, for better or worse, haven’t become household names. He said that protesters in Baltimore weren’t singing “Alright” in the streets like in other cities. Instead, the song had a more private presence: something you listened to in the car by yourself, at home with your family, at the club with your friends.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Allen’s photos these days deal with softer subject matter: Friends, neighbors, random kids living their lives in Baltimore. It’s cautiously optimistic work that he says is inspired by Lamar. And he sometimes posts videos of his daughter dancing along to “Alright,” or mugging for the camera, rapping along.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“One day we will be all right,” he says. “Gotta keep fighting for that. The moment I don’t believe it’s gonna be all right, what am I fighting for?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>You can read the phrase “We gon’ be alright” as indicative of some distant future, where white supremacy and oppression are no longer a major concern — \u003cem>one day\u003c/em>, as Allen puts it. But maybe it can also mean something simpler, sooner. Something as small as coming home to your family.\u003c/p>\n\u003cdiv class=\"fullattribution\">\u003cem>Copyright 2019 NPR. To see more, visit \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">NPR\u003c/a>.\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://www.google-analytics.com/__utm.gif?utmac=UA-5828686-4&utmdt=Both+Party+And+Protest%2C+%27Alright%27+Is+The+Sound+Of+Black+Life%27s+Duality&utme=8(APIKey)9(MDAxOTAwOTE4MDEyMTkxMDAzNjczZDljZA004)\">\u003c/em>\u003c/div>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"title": "When Comic Art Meets High Art, the Results Will Surprise You",
"headTitle": "When Comic Art Meets High Art, the Results Will Surprise You | KQED",
"content": "\u003cp>There are two graphic novels out this summer about Jean-Michel Basquiat, and you’re definitely going to hate one of them. Which one? That’s harder to say. \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/books/titles/753548833/basquiat\">Julian Voloj and Søren Mosdal’s \u003cem>Basquiat\u003c/em>\u003c/a> and Paolo Parisi’s \u003cem>Basquiat: A Graphic Novel\u003c/em> couldn’t be more different: Mosdal emulates the artist’s agitated lines, while Parisi uses flat zones of primary color, in the style of Basquiat’s mentor Andy Warhol. Aficionados will doubtless disagree about which book works—but that was probably inevitable. There’s something inherently odd about using one artistic tradition to depict the life (to say nothing of reproducing the work) of an artist from a different tradition. And yet, not only are a growing number of cartoonists creating books about famous artists, but their approaches are dizzyingly varied. When is a comic book a fitting tribute to an icon?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s a question that numerous publishers and creators are eager to address. Andy Warhol, Salvador Dalí, Jackson Pollock and Francis Bacon have all been memorialized in panel form in recent years. It’s not a stretch to use the quintessentially modern medium of comics to capture the life of a 20th-century artist; the free-flowing \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/books/titles/753549304/niki-de-saint-phalle-the-garden-of-secrets\">\u003cem>Niki de Saint Phalle: The Garden of Secrets\u003c/em>, by Dominique Osuch and Sandrine Martin\u003c/a>, is a particularly ingenious tribute to an underappreciated figure. But even Velázquez, Caravaggio and Goya are getting cartoon treatments.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13864881\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\" style=\"max-width: 400px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13864881\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/arts/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/08/9781780676234_vert-f3820b39a689f697f3eec80fb4d0ced2901a9228-s600-c85.jpg\" alt=\"'This Is Monet' by Sara Pappworth and Aude Van Ryn.\" width=\"400\" height=\"524\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/08/9781780676234_vert-f3820b39a689f697f3eec80fb4d0ced2901a9228-s600-c85.jpg 400w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/08/9781780676234_vert-f3820b39a689f697f3eec80fb4d0ced2901a9228-s600-c85-160x210.jpg 160w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">‘This Is Monet’\u003cbr>by Sara Pappworth and Aude Van Ryn.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The results of such attempts vary widely, but one rule is clear: Don’t reproduce the artist’s paintings if you can possibly get away with it. That’s the misstep of \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/books/titles/753550360/monet-itinerant-of-light\">\u003cem>Monet: Itinerant of Light\u003c/em>, by Salva Rubio and Efa\u003c/a>. Efa envisions the world around Monet the way the artist would paint it, with vivid patches of light and dark dappling every scene. It makes for a beautiful book—that is, until you get to Efa’s recreations of Monet’s best-known paintings, which naturally suffer by comparison with the originals. In \u003cem>This Is Monet\u003c/em>, on the other hand, illustrator Aude Van Ryn doesn’t attempt to duplicate her subject’s famous works. Instead, the book intersperses color plates of the actual paintings with Van Ryn’s drawings of scenes from Monet’s life. (In one particularly charming interlude, the Monet family helps to carry canvases in a wheelbarrow). Van Ryn’s style is complementary without being imitative—a tough balancing act that Efa doesn’t pull off.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This Is Monet\u003c/em> is part of an unusual series from British publisher Laurence King that combines biographical text, reproductions and modern illustrations. “I wanted to be able to show, in illustrations, the pop culture that existed around the artists,” series editor Catherine Ingram says. “Even … Old Masters paintings, they’ve got a vibrant visual culture they’re tapping on. That visual culture is missing from art history books. It’s time to get back to that, to get the illustrators involved.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13864884\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\" style=\"max-width: 400px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-13864884 size-full\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/arts/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/08/9781606996140_vert-5e578a0a74eec04174f2260e3d7848fada43ffa9-s600-c85.jpg\" alt=\"'7 Miles a Second' by David Wojnarowicz, James Romberger and Marguerite Van Cook.\" width=\"400\" height=\"541\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/08/9781606996140_vert-5e578a0a74eec04174f2260e3d7848fada43ffa9-s600-c85.jpg 400w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/08/9781606996140_vert-5e578a0a74eec04174f2260e3d7848fada43ffa9-s600-c85-160x216.jpg 160w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">‘7 Miles a Second’\u003cbr>by David Wojnarowicz, James Romberger and Marguerite Van Cook.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Some corners of the art world have always embraced comics, of course. In 1988, David Wojnarowicz asked his friend and fellow East Village artist James Romberger to collaborate with him on \u003cem>Seven Miles a Second,\u003c/em> an adaptation of Wojnarowicz’ autobiographical writings. Romberger, whose depictions of downtown New York life can be found in many museums’ collections, had to finish the book alone after Wojnarowicz died of AIDS in 1992. But he was aided by Marguerite Van Cook, who’d shown Wojnarowicz in her gallery, gone on road trips with him and had long discussions with him about color theory. Van Cook gave the book its explosive palette. (The book was reissued by Fantagraphics in 2013 and is now being self-published by Romberger and Van Cook.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Marguerite kind of lets things rush outside the lines,” Romberger says. “The color is running, smushing together—it’s not so defined. In comics the lines are usually… meant to hold in the color. Marguerite does something where the color is actually erupting outside of the lines, breaking the boundaries. Which kind of suits David, who’s someone who was very much against boundaries.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Seven Miles a Second\u003c/em> remains a landmark crossover between comic art and fine art. It was a similar desire to bridge the high-low divide that led Boston’s Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum to incorporate comics into its spring Botticelli exhibit. The museum hired Karl Stevens, known for such graphic novels as 2010’s \u003cem>The Lodger\u003c/em> and last year’s \u003cem>The Winner\u003c/em>, to create cartoons of the Roman myths behind Botticelli’s \u003cem>The Tragedy of Lucretia\u003c/em> and \u003cem>The Story of Virginia.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13864885\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 600px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13864885\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/arts/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/08/2019_botticelli_heroines-heroes01-95e4b54b9f3f1ee651aa214ccdaca752d83f199e-s600-c85.jpg\" alt=\"The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston hired graphic novelist Karl Stevens to create cartoons of the Roman myths behind some of Botticelli's paintings.\" width=\"600\" height=\"450\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/08/2019_botticelli_heroines-heroes01-95e4b54b9f3f1ee651aa214ccdaca752d83f199e-s600-c85.jpg 600w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/08/2019_botticelli_heroines-heroes01-95e4b54b9f3f1ee651aa214ccdaca752d83f199e-s600-c85-160x120.jpg 160w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston hired graphic novelist Karl Stevens to create cartoons of the Roman myths behind some of Botticelli’s paintings. \u003ccite>(David Matthews/Courtesy of the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“I thought one of the ways we could make Botticelli appealing to an audience who were not familiar with him was to approach these narrative paintings through the lens of a graphic novel,” says Nathaniel Silver, the William and Lia Poorvu Curator of the Collection at the museum. Stevens puts it a bit differently: “Museums have gotten tighter with cash, and they need to find ways to bring in the rabble.” Stevens believes the mainstream art world will always look down its nose at comics to some degree. Comic art, he notes, has “always been seen as an offshoot of commercial art, which it was originally. It was designed for the mass market. It wasn’t designed for elitist rich people, which is [who] fine art has always been for.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That may explain the fascinating energy that infuses so many graphic novels about art. Illustrating artists’ lives through a lowbrow medium detaches them from their elevated creations and places them back on a human plane. Silver notes that while Stevens’ work on the Botticelli exhibit might seem humble, his position isn’t so different from what Botticelli’s was in his own time. Both then and now, Silver says, artists had to struggle to capture the attention of a broad, easily distractible audience.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We tried to show how these stories were reinterpreted by Botticelli in his time to make them relevant to a contemporary audience in the Renaissance,” Silver says. “In the same way, they can be reinterpreted in our time, to make them relevant to a contemporary audience in 2019.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Etelka Lehoczky has written about books for\u003c/em> The Atlantic, The Los Angeles Review of Books \u003cem>and\u003c/em> The New York Times. \u003cem>She tweets at\u003c/em> \u003ca href=\"https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__twitter.com_EtelkaL&d=DwMFaQ&c=E2nBno7hEddFhl23N5nD1Q&r=eDR3RhrQF9JBI8Rzx0SRPw&m=vR6dskFG6Pki76w8marL327xnaWSpIVAqnkFp2Pm3ak&s=Mdo8__hjawldjbQthelAboNsxAd-9SFUx24643NrlUM&e=\">@EtelkaL\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cdiv class=\"fullattribution\">\u003cem>Copyright 2019 NPR. To see more, visit \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org\">NPR\u003c/a>.\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://www.google-analytics.com/__utm.gif?utmac=UA-5828686-4&utmdt=When+Comic+Art+Meets+High+Art%2C+the+Results+Will+Surprise+You&utme=8(APIKey)9(MDAxOTAwOTE4MDEyMTkxMDAzNjczZDljZA004)\">\u003c/em>\u003c/div>\n\n",
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"excerpt": "In recent years, several graphic novel biographies of fine artists have come out—some more successful than others. One rule is clear: Don't reproduce an artist's paintings if you can avoid it.",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>There are two graphic novels out this summer about Jean-Michel Basquiat, and you’re definitely going to hate one of them. Which one? That’s harder to say. \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/books/titles/753548833/basquiat\">Julian Voloj and Søren Mosdal’s \u003cem>Basquiat\u003c/em>\u003c/a> and Paolo Parisi’s \u003cem>Basquiat: A Graphic Novel\u003c/em> couldn’t be more different: Mosdal emulates the artist’s agitated lines, while Parisi uses flat zones of primary color, in the style of Basquiat’s mentor Andy Warhol. Aficionados will doubtless disagree about which book works—but that was probably inevitable. There’s something inherently odd about using one artistic tradition to depict the life (to say nothing of reproducing the work) of an artist from a different tradition. And yet, not only are a growing number of cartoonists creating books about famous artists, but their approaches are dizzyingly varied. When is a comic book a fitting tribute to an icon?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s a question that numerous publishers and creators are eager to address. Andy Warhol, Salvador Dalí, Jackson Pollock and Francis Bacon have all been memorialized in panel form in recent years. It’s not a stretch to use the quintessentially modern medium of comics to capture the life of a 20th-century artist; the free-flowing \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/books/titles/753549304/niki-de-saint-phalle-the-garden-of-secrets\">\u003cem>Niki de Saint Phalle: The Garden of Secrets\u003c/em>, by Dominique Osuch and Sandrine Martin\u003c/a>, is a particularly ingenious tribute to an underappreciated figure. But even Velázquez, Caravaggio and Goya are getting cartoon treatments.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13864881\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\" style=\"max-width: 400px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13864881\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/arts/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/08/9781780676234_vert-f3820b39a689f697f3eec80fb4d0ced2901a9228-s600-c85.jpg\" alt=\"'This Is Monet' by Sara Pappworth and Aude Van Ryn.\" width=\"400\" height=\"524\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/08/9781780676234_vert-f3820b39a689f697f3eec80fb4d0ced2901a9228-s600-c85.jpg 400w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/08/9781780676234_vert-f3820b39a689f697f3eec80fb4d0ced2901a9228-s600-c85-160x210.jpg 160w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">‘This Is Monet’\u003cbr>by Sara Pappworth and Aude Van Ryn.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The results of such attempts vary widely, but one rule is clear: Don’t reproduce the artist’s paintings if you can possibly get away with it. That’s the misstep of \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/books/titles/753550360/monet-itinerant-of-light\">\u003cem>Monet: Itinerant of Light\u003c/em>, by Salva Rubio and Efa\u003c/a>. Efa envisions the world around Monet the way the artist would paint it, with vivid patches of light and dark dappling every scene. It makes for a beautiful book—that is, until you get to Efa’s recreations of Monet’s best-known paintings, which naturally suffer by comparison with the originals. In \u003cem>This Is Monet\u003c/em>, on the other hand, illustrator Aude Van Ryn doesn’t attempt to duplicate her subject’s famous works. Instead, the book intersperses color plates of the actual paintings with Van Ryn’s drawings of scenes from Monet’s life. (In one particularly charming interlude, the Monet family helps to carry canvases in a wheelbarrow). Van Ryn’s style is complementary without being imitative—a tough balancing act that Efa doesn’t pull off.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This Is Monet\u003c/em> is part of an unusual series from British publisher Laurence King that combines biographical text, reproductions and modern illustrations. “I wanted to be able to show, in illustrations, the pop culture that existed around the artists,” series editor Catherine Ingram says. “Even … Old Masters paintings, they’ve got a vibrant visual culture they’re tapping on. That visual culture is missing from art history books. It’s time to get back to that, to get the illustrators involved.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13864884\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\" style=\"max-width: 400px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-13864884 size-full\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/arts/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/08/9781606996140_vert-5e578a0a74eec04174f2260e3d7848fada43ffa9-s600-c85.jpg\" alt=\"'7 Miles a Second' by David Wojnarowicz, James Romberger and Marguerite Van Cook.\" width=\"400\" height=\"541\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/08/9781606996140_vert-5e578a0a74eec04174f2260e3d7848fada43ffa9-s600-c85.jpg 400w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/08/9781606996140_vert-5e578a0a74eec04174f2260e3d7848fada43ffa9-s600-c85-160x216.jpg 160w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">‘7 Miles a Second’\u003cbr>by David Wojnarowicz, James Romberger and Marguerite Van Cook.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Some corners of the art world have always embraced comics, of course. In 1988, David Wojnarowicz asked his friend and fellow East Village artist James Romberger to collaborate with him on \u003cem>Seven Miles a Second,\u003c/em> an adaptation of Wojnarowicz’ autobiographical writings. Romberger, whose depictions of downtown New York life can be found in many museums’ collections, had to finish the book alone after Wojnarowicz died of AIDS in 1992. But he was aided by Marguerite Van Cook, who’d shown Wojnarowicz in her gallery, gone on road trips with him and had long discussions with him about color theory. Van Cook gave the book its explosive palette. (The book was reissued by Fantagraphics in 2013 and is now being self-published by Romberger and Van Cook.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Marguerite kind of lets things rush outside the lines,” Romberger says. “The color is running, smushing together—it’s not so defined. In comics the lines are usually… meant to hold in the color. Marguerite does something where the color is actually erupting outside of the lines, breaking the boundaries. Which kind of suits David, who’s someone who was very much against boundaries.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Seven Miles a Second\u003c/em> remains a landmark crossover between comic art and fine art. It was a similar desire to bridge the high-low divide that led Boston’s Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum to incorporate comics into its spring Botticelli exhibit. The museum hired Karl Stevens, known for such graphic novels as 2010’s \u003cem>The Lodger\u003c/em> and last year’s \u003cem>The Winner\u003c/em>, to create cartoons of the Roman myths behind Botticelli’s \u003cem>The Tragedy of Lucretia\u003c/em> and \u003cem>The Story of Virginia.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13864885\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 600px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13864885\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/arts/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/08/2019_botticelli_heroines-heroes01-95e4b54b9f3f1ee651aa214ccdaca752d83f199e-s600-c85.jpg\" alt=\"The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston hired graphic novelist Karl Stevens to create cartoons of the Roman myths behind some of Botticelli's paintings.\" width=\"600\" height=\"450\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/08/2019_botticelli_heroines-heroes01-95e4b54b9f3f1ee651aa214ccdaca752d83f199e-s600-c85.jpg 600w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/08/2019_botticelli_heroines-heroes01-95e4b54b9f3f1ee651aa214ccdaca752d83f199e-s600-c85-160x120.jpg 160w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston hired graphic novelist Karl Stevens to create cartoons of the Roman myths behind some of Botticelli’s paintings. \u003ccite>(David Matthews/Courtesy of the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“I thought one of the ways we could make Botticelli appealing to an audience who were not familiar with him was to approach these narrative paintings through the lens of a graphic novel,” says Nathaniel Silver, the William and Lia Poorvu Curator of the Collection at the museum. Stevens puts it a bit differently: “Museums have gotten tighter with cash, and they need to find ways to bring in the rabble.” Stevens believes the mainstream art world will always look down its nose at comics to some degree. Comic art, he notes, has “always been seen as an offshoot of commercial art, which it was originally. It was designed for the mass market. It wasn’t designed for elitist rich people, which is [who] fine art has always been for.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That may explain the fascinating energy that infuses so many graphic novels about art. Illustrating artists’ lives through a lowbrow medium detaches them from their elevated creations and places them back on a human plane. Silver notes that while Stevens’ work on the Botticelli exhibit might seem humble, his position isn’t so different from what Botticelli’s was in his own time. Both then and now, Silver says, artists had to struggle to capture the attention of a broad, easily distractible audience.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We tried to show how these stories were reinterpreted by Botticelli in his time to make them relevant to a contemporary audience in the Renaissance,” Silver says. “In the same way, they can be reinterpreted in our time, to make them relevant to a contemporary audience in 2019.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Etelka Lehoczky has written about books for\u003c/em> The Atlantic, The Los Angeles Review of Books \u003cem>and\u003c/em> The New York Times. \u003cem>She tweets at\u003c/em> \u003ca href=\"https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__twitter.com_EtelkaL&d=DwMFaQ&c=E2nBno7hEddFhl23N5nD1Q&r=eDR3RhrQF9JBI8Rzx0SRPw&m=vR6dskFG6Pki76w8marL327xnaWSpIVAqnkFp2Pm3ak&s=Mdo8__hjawldjbQthelAboNsxAd-9SFUx24643NrlUM&e=\">@EtelkaL\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cdiv class=\"fullattribution\">\u003cem>Copyright 2019 NPR. To see more, visit \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org\">NPR\u003c/a>.\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://www.google-analytics.com/__utm.gif?utmac=UA-5828686-4&utmdt=When+Comic+Art+Meets+High+Art%2C+the+Results+Will+Surprise+You&utme=8(APIKey)9(MDAxOTAwOTE4MDEyMTkxMDAzNjczZDljZA004)\">\u003c/em>\u003c/div>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"title": "Kirsten Dunst is on Top of the Pyramid in 'On Becoming a God in Central Florida'",
"headTitle": "Kirsten Dunst is on Top of the Pyramid in ‘On Becoming a God in Central Florida’ | KQED",
"content": "\u003cp>Much of serialized television is made up of monster stories.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Sometimes it’s about a seemingly normal person being revealed as a monster, like on \u003cem>Breaking Bad\u003c/em>. Sometimes it’s a whole family of monsters in training, like on \u003cem>Succession\u003c/em>. In Showtime’s new series \u003cem>On Becoming A God In Central Florida\u003c/em>, the monster is a pyramid scheme called FAM.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>FAM officially sells merchandise—toilet paper, cleaning products, cosmetics. But really, it sells signups. It sells the opportunity to sell the opportunity to sell, and like all pyramid schemes, it cannot possibly work as promised except for the lucky few who manage to be the exploiters and not the exploited.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Krystal Stubbs (Kirsten Dunst) is a struggling Florida mom working at a non-Disney water park in the early 1990s. Her husband Travis (Alexander Skarsgård) is trying to rise through the ranks of FAM. Travis was recruited by, and gets most of his support from, his helpful (?) “upline,” Cody (Théodore Pellerin). Cody, who appears at first glance to be a slick little worm, encourages Travis to quit his job and become a full-time FAM recruiter, all to Cody’s own benefit (not that he puts it this way to Travis). To say this plan doesn’t exactly work out for Travis would be an understatement, and when Travis winds up unable to deliver on the promise of riches and independence, it’s up to Krystal to step in, despite the fact that she’s pretty sure FAM is crooked at the core.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The highlight of the series is the performance from Dunst, who also shone as a very different schemer in the second season of \u003cem>Fargo\u003c/em> in 2015. Krystal is determined and resourceful without ever being, say, “plucky,” and Dunst plays much of the season carting a baby around through some very intense circumstances in a way that reminds the audience of the stakes for Krystal without looking like slapstick.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Unfortunately, the rest of the series is uneven. There are ten episodes in \u003cem>On Becoming A God\u003c/em>, and it would probably be stronger if there were six. The show is at its best when it stays with Krystal as she goes to war with a the wealthy crooks whose entire business plan is persuading poor people to take advantage of each other, promising good fortune that will never arrive. Krystal winds up entangling her kindhearted manager, Ernie (Mel Rodriguez), in FAM as well. The mess this creates for him and his wife Bets (musician Beth Ditto, who’s very good) helps to underscore the destructiveness of this company. So does the fact that Ernie’s most successful idea is to recruit those with even fewer prospects than he has: undocumented people who can’t work legally, but who are welcome to pay their money to sign up with FAM.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n41ZFrTQ53c\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Eventually, Krystal comes to share the focus with Cody, who resembles one kind of jerk at the beginning and proves to be a different kind of jerk entirely—a weaker, more frightened, more desperate one. Pellerin is committed and funny, but the more Cody wanders around miserably from one manipulator to another, the less payoff there is. His character, limited as he is in intelligence and wit, can only go so far, and while he works wonderfully as an accessory to Krystal’s story, the parts of the show that turn him into a protagonist are much less successful.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But the biggest disappointment is that what begins as an incisive critique of a straight-up scam for money veers into a much broader, sillier critique of cults and woo-woo spirituality as Krystal explores more of FAM. The nickel-and-dime aspects of FAM selling cassette tapes and obsessing over your “downline” and your recruiting numbers feel fresh, but once you get to revival-style meetings and robes and birthing rituals, it feels a lot like a televangelist satire, more familiar and less cutting.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Going broader and broader in this case doesn’t feel like a natural progression; it honestly feels like an expansion of an idea that’s more like a movie in order to make it into a series. Krystal, Travis, the basics of FAM, the water park, Ernie, Bets—those elements feel like parts of the core idea. Hallucinations, visions, creepy assassins, mysterious rituals—that all feels tacked on.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>On Becoming A God in Central Florida \u003c/em>has had a bumpy ride in which it was first being developed at AMC in 2017, then went to YouTube Premium before being picked up by Showtime. Whether the lumpiness of the season has anything to do with the somewhat arduous journey, we can’t know. But somewhere, the focus went fuzzy.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s too bad the show can’t quite stay at the level where it starts, because there’s a sharp point to be made here. All monsters feed on something, and FAM feeds on a combination of economic despair and the fetishization of wealth. The thesis of the best parts of this story is that being scammed is not a symptom of personal foolishness but of broad dysfunction that keeps ordinary people under constant threat of financial ruin while waving under their noses the idea that the goal is not security; it is extravagance without work. People don’t join FAM being promised only the traditionally defined “American dream” of home and family and cars and nice vacations. They join because they’re told they can be idle millionaires—even idle billionaires.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It didn’t need so much cartoonish stuff around the edges; it just needed Krystal, facing down the fraudulent dream that took away her husband. That material, in Dunst’s hands, is very effective and engaging, and very funny. But like Krystal’s husband, it could have used a little more restraint.\u003c/p>\n\u003cdiv class=\"fullattribution\">\u003cem>Copyright 2019 NPR. To see more, visit \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">NPR\u003c/a>.\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://www.google-analytics.com/__utm.gif?utmac=UA-5828686-4&utmdt=Kirsten+Dunst+Is+On+Top+Of+The+Pyramid+In+%27On+Becoming+A+God+In+Central+Florida%27&utme=8(APIKey)9(MDAxOTAwOTE4MDEyMTkxMDAzNjczZDljZA004)\">\u003c/em>\u003c/div>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Unfortunately, the rest of the series is uneven. There are ten episodes in \u003cem>On Becoming A God\u003c/em>, and it would probably be stronger if there were six. The show is at its best when it stays with Krystal as she goes to war with a the wealthy crooks whose entire business plan is persuading poor people to take advantage of each other, promising good fortune that will never arrive. Krystal winds up entangling her kindhearted manager, Ernie (Mel Rodriguez), in FAM as well. The mess this creates for him and his wife Bets (musician Beth Ditto, who’s very good) helps to underscore the destructiveness of this company. So does the fact that Ernie’s most successful idea is to recruit those with even fewer prospects than he has: undocumented people who can’t work legally, but who are welcome to pay their money to sign up with FAM.\u003c/p>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutube'>\n \u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutubeInside'>\n \u003ciframe\n loading='lazy'\n class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__youtubePlayer'\n type='text/html'\n src='//www.youtube.com/embed/n41ZFrTQ53c'\n title='//www.youtube.com/embed/n41ZFrTQ53c'\n allowfullscreen='true'\n style='border:0;'>\u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/span>\n \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cp>Eventually, Krystal comes to share the focus with Cody, who resembles one kind of jerk at the beginning and proves to be a different kind of jerk entirely—a weaker, more frightened, more desperate one. Pellerin is committed and funny, but the more Cody wanders around miserably from one manipulator to another, the less payoff there is. His character, limited as he is in intelligence and wit, can only go so far, and while he works wonderfully as an accessory to Krystal’s story, the parts of the show that turn him into a protagonist are much less successful.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But the biggest disappointment is that what begins as an incisive critique of a straight-up scam for money veers into a much broader, sillier critique of cults and woo-woo spirituality as Krystal explores more of FAM. The nickel-and-dime aspects of FAM selling cassette tapes and obsessing over your “downline” and your recruiting numbers feel fresh, but once you get to revival-style meetings and robes and birthing rituals, it feels a lot like a televangelist satire, more familiar and less cutting.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Going broader and broader in this case doesn’t feel like a natural progression; it honestly feels like an expansion of an idea that’s more like a movie in order to make it into a series. Krystal, Travis, the basics of FAM, the water park, Ernie, Bets—those elements feel like parts of the core idea. Hallucinations, visions, creepy assassins, mysterious rituals—that all feels tacked on.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>On Becoming A God in Central Florida \u003c/em>has had a bumpy ride in which it was first being developed at AMC in 2017, then went to YouTube Premium before being picked up by Showtime. Whether the lumpiness of the season has anything to do with the somewhat arduous journey, we can’t know. But somewhere, the focus went fuzzy.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s too bad the show can’t quite stay at the level where it starts, because there’s a sharp point to be made here. All monsters feed on something, and FAM feeds on a combination of economic despair and the fetishization of wealth. The thesis of the best parts of this story is that being scammed is not a symptom of personal foolishness but of broad dysfunction that keeps ordinary people under constant threat of financial ruin while waving under their noses the idea that the goal is not security; it is extravagance without work. People don’t join FAM being promised only the traditionally defined “American dream” of home and family and cars and nice vacations. They join because they’re told they can be idle millionaires—even idle billionaires.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It didn’t need so much cartoonish stuff around the edges; it just needed Krystal, facing down the fraudulent dream that took away her husband. That material, in Dunst’s hands, is very effective and engaging, and very funny. But like Krystal’s husband, it could have used a little more restraint.\u003c/p>\n\u003cdiv class=\"fullattribution\">\u003cem>Copyright 2019 NPR. To see more, visit \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">NPR\u003c/a>.\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://www.google-analytics.com/__utm.gif?utmac=UA-5828686-4&utmdt=Kirsten+Dunst+Is+On+Top+Of+The+Pyramid+In+%27On+Becoming+A+God+In+Central+Florida%27&utme=8(APIKey)9(MDAxOTAwOTE4MDEyMTkxMDAzNjczZDljZA004)\">\u003c/em>\u003c/div>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"info": "\u003cem>Code Switch\u003c/em>, which listeners will hear in the first part of the hour, has fearless and much-needed conversations about race. Hosted by journalists of color, the show tackles the subject of race head-on, exploring how it impacts every part of society — from politics and pop culture to history, sports and more.\u003cbr />\u003cbr />\u003cem>Life Kit\u003c/em>, which will be in the second part of the hour, guides you through spaces and feelings no one prepares you for — from finances to mental health, from workplace microaggressions to imposter syndrome, from relationships to parenting. The show features experts with real world experience and shares their knowledge. Because everyone needs a little help being human.\u003cbr />\u003cbr />\u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/podcasts/510312/codeswitch\">\u003cem>Code Switch\u003c/em> offical site and podcast\u003c/a>\u003cbr />\u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/lifekit\">\u003cem>Life Kit\u003c/em> offical site and podcast\u003c/a>\u003cbr />",
"airtime": "SUN 9pm-10pm",
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"meta": {
"site": "radio",
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"id": "commonwealth-club",
"title": "Commonwealth Club of California Podcast",
"info": "The Commonwealth Club of California is the nation's oldest and largest public affairs forum. As a non-partisan forum, The Club brings to the public airwaves diverse viewpoints on important topics. The Club's weekly radio broadcast - the oldest in the U.S., dating back to 1924 - is carried across the nation on public radio stations and is now podcasting. Our website archive features audio of our recent programs, as well as selected speeches from our long and distinguished history. This podcast feed is usually updated twice a week and is always un-edited.",
"airtime": "THU 10pm, FRI 1am",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Commonwealth-Club-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.commonwealthclub.org/podcasts",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "Commonwealth Club of California"
},
"link": "/radio/program/commonwealth-club",
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"google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cDovL3d3dy5jb21tb253ZWFsdGhjbHViLm9yZy9hdWRpby9wb2RjYXN0L3dlZWtseS54bWw",
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}
},
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"id": "forum",
"title": "Forum",
"tagline": "The conversation starts here",
"info": "KQED’s live call-in program discussing local, state, national and international issues, as well as in-depth interviews.",
"airtime": "MON-FRI 9am-11am, 10pm-11pm",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Forum-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
"imageAlt": "KQED Forum with Mina Kim and Alexis Madrigal",
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"source": "kqed",
"order": 9
},
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"google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5tZWdhcGhvbmUuZm0vS1FJTkM5NTU3MzgxNjMz",
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"id": "freakonomics-radio",
"title": "Freakonomics Radio",
"info": "Freakonomics Radio is a one-hour award-winning podcast and public-radio project hosted by Stephen Dubner, with co-author Steve Levitt as a regular guest. It is produced in partnership with WNYC.",
"imageSrc": "https://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2018/05/freakonomicsRadio.png",
"officialWebsiteLink": "http://freakonomics.com/",
"airtime": "SUN 1am-2am, SAT 3pm-4pm",
"meta": {
"site": "radio",
"source": "WNYC"
},
"link": "/radio/program/freakonomics-radio",
"subscribe": {
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"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/freakonomics-radio/id354668519",
"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/podcasts/WNYC-Podcasts/Freakonomics-Radio-p272293/",
"rss": "https://feeds.feedburner.com/freakonomicsradio"
}
},
"fresh-air": {
"id": "fresh-air",
"title": "Fresh Air",
"info": "Hosted by Terry Gross, \u003cem>Fresh Air from WHYY\u003c/em> is the Peabody Award-winning weekday magazine of contemporary arts and issues. One of public radio's most popular programs, Fresh Air features intimate conversations with today's biggest luminaries.",
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"link": "/radio/program/fresh-air",
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"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?s=143441&mt=2&id=214089682&at=11l79Y&ct=nprdirectory",
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"rss": "https://feeds.npr.org/381444908/podcast.xml"
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"id": "here-and-now",
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"info": "A live production of NPR and WBUR Boston, in collaboration with stations across the country, Here & Now reflects the fluid world of news as it's happening in the middle of the day, with timely, in-depth news, interviews and conversation. Hosted by Robin Young, Jeremy Hobson and Tonya Mosley.",
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"rss": "https://feeds.npr.org/510051/podcast.xml"
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},
"hidden-brain": {
"id": "hidden-brain",
"title": "Hidden Brain",
"info": "Shankar Vedantam uses science and storytelling to reveal the unconscious patterns that drive human behavior, shape our choices and direct our relationships.",
"imageSrc": "https://ww2.kqed.org/radio/wp-content/uploads/sites/50/2018/05/hiddenbrain.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.npr.org/series/423302056/hidden-brain",
"airtime": "SUN 7pm-8pm",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "NPR"
},
"link": "/radio/program/hidden-brain",
"subscribe": {
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"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/podcasts/Science-Podcasts/Hidden-Brain-p787503/",
"rss": "https://feeds.npr.org/510308/podcast.xml"
}
},
"how-i-built-this": {
"id": "how-i-built-this",
"title": "How I Built This with Guy Raz",
"info": "Guy Raz dives into the stories behind some of the world's best known companies. How I Built This weaves a narrative journey about innovators, entrepreneurs and idealists—and the movements they built.",
"imageSrc": "https://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2018/05/howIBuiltThis.png",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.npr.org/podcasts/510313/how-i-built-this",
"airtime": "SUN 7:30pm-8pm",
"meta": {
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"source": "npr"
},
"link": "/radio/program/how-i-built-this",
"subscribe": {
"npr": "https://rpb3r.app.goo.gl/3zxy",
"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/how-i-built-this-with-guy-raz/id1150510297?mt=2",
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"rss": "https://feeds.npr.org/510313/podcast.xml"
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},
"hyphenacion": {
"id": "hyphenacion",
"title": "Hyphenación",
"tagline": "Where conversation and cultura meet",
"info": "What kind of no sabo word is Hyphenación? For us, it’s about living within a hyphenation. Like being a third-gen Mexican-American from the Texas border now living that Bay Area Chicano life. Like Xorje! Each week we bring together a couple of hyphenated Latinos to talk all about personal life choices: family, careers, relationships, belonging … everything is on the table. ",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Hyphenacion_FinalAssets_PodcastTile.png",
"imageAlt": "KQED Hyphenación",
"officialWebsiteLink": "/podcasts/hyphenacion",
"meta": {
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"order": 15
},
"link": "/podcasts/hyphenacion",
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"spotify": "https://open.spotify.com/show/2p3Fifq96nw9BPcmFdIq0o?si=39209f7b25774f38",
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"amazon": "https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/6c3dd23c-93fb-4aab-97ba-1725fa6315f1/hyphenaci%C3%B3n",
"rss": "https://feeds.megaphone.fm/KQINC2275451163"
}
},
"jerrybrown": {
"id": "jerrybrown",
"title": "The Political Mind of Jerry Brown",
"tagline": "Lessons from a lifetime in politics",
"info": "The Political Mind of Jerry Brown brings listeners the wisdom of the former Governor, Mayor, and presidential candidate. Scott Shafer interviewed Brown for more than 40 hours, covering the former governor's life and half-century in the political game – and Brown has some lessons he'd like to share. ",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/The-Political-Mind-of-Jerry-Brown-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
"imageAlt": "KQED The Political Mind of Jerry Brown",
"officialWebsiteLink": "/podcasts/jerrybrown",
"meta": {
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"order": 18
},
"link": "/podcasts/jerrybrown",
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"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/id1492194549",
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}
},
"latino-usa": {
"id": "latino-usa",
"title": "Latino USA",
"airtime": "MON 1am-2am, SUN 6pm-7pm",
"info": "Latino USA, the radio journal of news and culture, is the only national, English-language radio program produced from a Latino perspective.",
"imageSrc": "https://ww2.kqed.org/radio/wp-content/uploads/sites/50/2018/04/latinoUsa.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "http://latinousa.org/",
"meta": {
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"source": "npr"
},
"link": "/radio/program/latino-usa",
"subscribe": {
"npr": "https://rpb3r.app.goo.gl/xtTd",
"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?s=143441&mt=2&id=79681317&at=11l79Y&ct=nprdirectory",
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"rss": "https://feeds.npr.org/510016/podcast.xml"
}
},
"marketplace": {
"id": "marketplace",
"title": "Marketplace",
"info": "Our flagship program, helmed by Kai Ryssdal, examines what the day in money delivered, through stories, conversations, newsworthy numbers and more. Updated Monday through Friday at about 3:30 p.m. PT.",
"airtime": "MON-FRI 4pm-4:30pm, MON-WED 6:30pm-7pm",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Marketplace-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.marketplace.org/",
"meta": {
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"source": "American Public Media"
},
"link": "/radio/program/marketplace",
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"rss": "https://feeds.publicradio.org/public_feeds/marketplace-pm/rss/rss"
}
},
"masters-of-scale": {
"id": "masters-of-scale",
"title": "Masters of Scale",
"info": "Masters of Scale is an original podcast in which LinkedIn co-founder and Greylock Partner Reid Hoffman sets out to describe and prove theories that explain how great entrepreneurs take their companies from zero to a gazillion in ingenious fashion.",
"airtime": "Every other Wednesday June 12 through October 16 at 8pm (repeats Thursdays at 2am)",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Masters-of-Scale-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://mastersofscale.com/",
"meta": {
"site": "radio",
"source": "WaitWhat"
},
"link": "/radio/program/masters-of-scale",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "http://mastersofscale.app.link/",
"rss": "https://rss.art19.com/masters-of-scale"
}
},
"mindshift": {
"id": "mindshift",
"title": "MindShift",
"tagline": "A podcast about the future of learning and how we raise our kids",
"info": "The MindShift podcast explores the innovations in education that are shaping how kids learn. Hosts Ki Sung and Katrina Schwartz introduce listeners to educators, researchers, parents and students who are developing effective ways to improve how kids learn. We cover topics like how fed-up administrators are developing surprising tactics to deal with classroom disruptions; how listening to podcasts are helping kids develop reading skills; the consequences of overparenting; and why interdisciplinary learning can engage students on all ends of the traditional achievement spectrum. This podcast is part of the MindShift education site, a division of KQED News. KQED is an NPR/PBS member station based in San Francisco. You can also visit the MindShift website for episodes and supplemental blog posts or tweet us \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/MindShiftKQED\">@MindShiftKQED\u003c/a> or visit us at \u003ca href=\"/mindshift\">MindShift.KQED.org\u003c/a>",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Mindshift-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
"imageAlt": "KQED MindShift: How We Will Learn",
"officialWebsiteLink": "/mindshift/",
"meta": {
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"source": "kqed",
"order": 12
},
"link": "/podcasts/mindshift",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/mindshift-podcast/id1078765985",
"google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5tZWdhcGhvbmUuZm0vS1FJTkM1NzY0NjAwNDI5",
"npr": "https://www.npr.org/podcasts/464615685/mind-shift-podcast",
"stitcher": "https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/kqed/stories-teachers-share",
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}
},
"morning-edition": {
"id": "morning-edition",
"title": "Morning Edition",
"info": "\u003cem>Morning Edition\u003c/em> takes listeners around the country and the world with multi-faceted stories and commentaries every weekday. Hosts Steve Inskeep, David Greene and Rachel Martin bring you the latest breaking news and features to prepare you for the day.",
"airtime": "MON-FRI 3am-9am",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Morning-Edition-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.npr.org/programs/morning-edition/",
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"link": "/radio/program/morning-edition"
},
"onourwatch": {
"id": "onourwatch",
"title": "On Our Watch",
"tagline": "Deeply-reported investigative journalism",
"info": "For decades, the process for how police police themselves has been inconsistent – if not opaque. In some states, like California, these proceedings were completely hidden. After a new police transparency law unsealed scores of internal affairs files, our reporters set out to examine these cases and the shadow world of police discipline. On Our Watch brings listeners into the rooms where officers are questioned and witnesses are interrogated to find out who this system is really protecting. Is it the officers, or the public they've sworn to serve?",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/On-Our-Watch-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
"imageAlt": "On Our Watch from NPR and KQED",
"officialWebsiteLink": "/podcasts/onourwatch",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "kqed",
"order": 11
},
"link": "/podcasts/onourwatch",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://podcasts.apple.com/podcast/id1567098962",
"google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5ucHIub3JnLzUxMDM2MC9wb2RjYXN0LnhtbD9zYz1nb29nbGVwb2RjYXN0cw",
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"stitcher": "https://www.stitcher.com/show/on-our-watch",
"rss": "https://feeds.npr.org/510360/podcast.xml"
}
},
"on-the-media": {
"id": "on-the-media",
"title": "On The Media",
"info": "Our weekly podcast explores how the media 'sausage' is made, casts an incisive eye on fluctuations in the marketplace of ideas, and examines threats to the freedom of information and expression in America and abroad. For one hour a week, the show tries to lift the veil from the process of \"making media,\" especially news media, because it's through that lens that we see the world and the world sees us",
"airtime": "SUN 2pm-3pm, MON 12am-1am",
"imageSrc": "https://ww2.kqed.org/radio/wp-content/uploads/sites/50/2018/04/onTheMedia.png",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.wnycstudios.org/shows/otm",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "wnyc"
},
"link": "/radio/program/on-the-media",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/on-the-media/id73330715?mt=2",
"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/radio/On-the-Media-p69/",
"rss": "http://feeds.wnyc.org/onthemedia"
}
},
"pbs-newshour": {
"id": "pbs-newshour",
"title": "PBS NewsHour",
"info": "Analysis, background reports and updates from the PBS NewsHour putting today's news in context.",
"airtime": "MON-FRI 3pm-4pm",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/PBS-News-Hour-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.pbs.org/newshour/",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "pbs"
},
"link": "/radio/program/pbs-newshour",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/pbs-newshour-full-show/id394432287?mt=2",
"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/radio/PBS-NewsHour---Full-Show-p425698/",
"rss": "https://www.pbs.org/newshour/feeds/rss/podcasts/show"
}
},
"perspectives": {
"id": "perspectives",
"title": "Perspectives",
"tagline": "KQED's series of daily listener commentaries since 1991",
"info": "KQED's series of daily listener commentaries since 1991.",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Perspectives_Tile_Final.jpg",
"imageAlt": "KQED Perspectives",
"officialWebsiteLink": "/perspectives/",
"meta": {
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"source": "kqed",
"order": 14
},
"link": "/perspectives",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/id73801135",
"npr": "https://www.npr.org/podcasts/432309616/perspectives",
"rss": "https://ww2.kqed.org/perspectives/category/perspectives/feed/",
"google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly93dzIua3FlZC5vcmcvcGVyc3BlY3RpdmVzL2NhdGVnb3J5L3BlcnNwZWN0aXZlcy9mZWVkLw"
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},
"planet-money": {
"id": "planet-money",
"title": "Planet Money",
"info": "The economy explained. Imagine you could call up a friend and say, Meet me at the bar and tell me what's going on with the economy. Now imagine that's actually a fun evening.",
"airtime": "SUN 3pm-4pm",
"imageSrc": "https://ww2.kqed.org/radio/wp-content/uploads/sites/50/2018/04/planetmoney.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.npr.org/sections/money/",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "npr"
},
"link": "/radio/program/planet-money",
"subscribe": {
"npr": "https://rpb3r.app.goo.gl/M4f5",
"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/planet-money/id290783428?mt=2",
"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/podcasts/Business--Economics-Podcasts/Planet-Money-p164680/",
"rss": "https://feeds.npr.org/510289/podcast.xml"
}
},
"politicalbreakdown": {
"id": "politicalbreakdown",
"title": "Political Breakdown",
"tagline": "Politics from a personal perspective",
"info": "Political Breakdown is a new series that explores the political intersection of California and the nation. Each week hosts Scott Shafer and Marisa Lagos are joined with a new special guest to unpack politics -- with personality — and offer an insider’s glimpse at how politics happens.",
"airtime": "THU 6:30pm-7pm",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Political-Breakdown-2024-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
"imageAlt": "KQED Political Breakdown",
"officialWebsiteLink": "/podcasts/politicalbreakdown",
"meta": {
"site": "radio",
"source": "kqed",
"order": 5
},
"link": "/podcasts/politicalbreakdown",
"subscribe": {
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"amazon": "https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/e0c2d153-ad36-4c8d-901d-f1da6a724824/political-breakdown",
"npr": "https://www.npr.org/podcasts/572155894/political-breakdown",
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