The best the Bay Area has to offer, from the writers and editors of KQED Arts & Culture.

Critics' PicksCritics' Picks
A camper van driving through a weird, surreal rendition of the desert, the sands are a black and white stripe.

‘Endling’ Is a Shape-Shifting Debut That Takes on Heavy Themes With Humor

Crowded Chinatown street with red lanterns strung up above.

Bay Area Night Markets Are the Best Place to Taste the World’s Cuisines

A white man carrying a bow runs through a field, arrows strapped to his back, looking fearful. To his right is a young teenage boy, also desperately running. Behind them, three bloodied and dirtied figures give chase.

‘28 Years Later’ Is the Most Gloriously Unhinged Movie You’ll See All Year

Four book covers laid out over a green background.

Looking for Summertime Suspense? Turn Up the Heat With These 4 Mystery Novels

An illustration of a female firefighter, in profile, her shoulders emerging from a burning forest.

‘Wildfire Days’ Is a Searing Memoir Driven By Courage — and Masochism

Black man in rainbow beanie sits with big smile

Loud, Proud and Unbowed ‘I Was Born This Way’ Shimmies into Frameline

A still from an animated TV show of a young man standing in front of a wooden fence, with his arms around an older woman and man.

The 13 Best TV Shows to Stream This Summer

seven colorfully dressed people singing on stage

In ACT’s ‘Co-Founders,’ High Tech Meets West Oakland Hustle

A black and white photo of three young white men and a white woman, all wearing early 1980s-era clothing.

A New Biography Goes Deep on the Rise and Fall of Talking Heads

Paper plate with ribs, mac and cheese, and black-eyed pea salad.

Hella Juneteenth Brings a Good Old-Fashioned Cookout to the Museum