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NPR

Pop Culture Happy Hour: 'Transparent' And Pop Culture Debuts

October 17, 2014 • On this week's show, NPR's Ari Shapiro joins us to chat about the Amazon show Transparent and about lots of different pop culture debuts.

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Neil Patrick Harris, seen here hosting the 2013 Emmys, is getting the Oscars job many have long wanted for him. Kevin Winter/Getty Images hide caption

itoggle caption Kevin Winter/Getty Images

With Few Stages Left To Conquer, Neil Patrick Harris Goes To The Oscars

October 16, 2014 • It seems like Neil Patrick Harris has always hosted everything, but in fact, his February 2015 outing hosting the Oscars will be his first time in that particular job.

Before creating The Mindy Project, Mindy Kaling wrote and appeared in NBC's The Office. Isabella Vosmikova/FOX hide caption

itoggle caption Isabella Vosmikova/FOX

Mindy Kaling On Refusing To Be An Outsider And Sexism On Set

October 16, 2014 • The comedian says she often forgets that as an Indian-American woman who's not pencil thin, she's kind of a new thing for broadcast TV. But, she says, "I refuse to view myself in such terms."

Listen Loading… 7:46

Monkey See: Monkey See

Costumes were plentiful at the New York Comic-Con at Jacob Javitz Center. Daniel Zuchnik/Getty Images hide caption

itoggle caption Daniel Zuchnik/Getty Images

Pop Culture Happy Hour, Small Batch: A Report From New York Comic-Con

October 15, 2014 • Pop Culture Happy Hour pal Petra Mayer just got back from New York Comic-Con, so we got her to update us briefly on Gillian Anderson, fandom and very big crowds.

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Lena Dunham and Allison Williams star in Girls, one of several popular HBO shows that stand-alone streaming could include. Mark Schafer/HBO hide caption

itoggle caption Mark Schafer/HBO

HBO Without Cable, Coming In 2015

October 15, 2014 • HBO has announced that beginning in 2015, it will offer what many have long wanted: access to HBO without having cable.

Ken Marino and Casey Wilson star in NBC's Marry Me. Greg Gaynes/NBC hide caption

itoggle caption Greg Gaynes/NBC

'Marry Me' Throws Plenty Of Jokes (And Its Lead Actress) At The Wall

October 14, 2014 • NBC's new romantic comedy Marry Me may wind up joining a frustrating group of shows that struggle to survive on broadcast, where appealing to everyone is key.

Neil Patrick Harris has hosted the Tony Awards four times. Andrew H. Walker/Getty Images hide caption

itoggle caption Andrew H. Walker/Getty Images

What's It Like To Be Neil Patrick Harris? He Gives You Options

October 13, 2014 • The actor says he's been able to do a lot of different things in his life, including his role as Doogie Howser. So when he sat down to write a memoir, he made it a "Choose Your Own Adventure."

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Chef Sang Yoon prepares a dish at the Top Chef Masters Season 5 Premiere Tasting Event. The rise of competition cooking shows has quickly overtaken the traditional, how-to style of cooking television. Evan Agostini/Chase Sapphire Preferred/AP Images hide caption

itoggle caption Evan Agostini/Chase Sapphire Preferred/AP Images

The New Food TV: The Era Of Julia Child Packed Its Knives And Went

October 12, 2014 • Since the original Japanese Iron Chef first appeared on the Food Network 15 years ago, how-to cooking shows have gradually been displaced by reality shows that pit chefs against each other.

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Cary Elwes stars as Westley, a farm boy who falls in love with Buttercup (Robin Wright), in 1987's The Princess Bride. Courtesy of The Princess Bride, Ltd. hide caption

itoggle caption Courtesy of The Princess Bride, Ltd.

Author Interviews

'As You Wish': Take A Peek At The Making Of 'The Princess Bride'

October 12, 2014 • Actor Cary Elwes, best known for his dashing performance as the heroic farm boy Westley in The Princess Bride, has a new book out, full of memories from the cast of the cult classic.

Listen Loading… 6:10

Go on, guess what it's about. Marvel hide caption

itoggle caption Marvel

Monkey See

Wolverine's Death: Superheroes And The Cycle Of Eternal Return

October 12, 2014 • Nerd-about-town Glen Weldon explains to a non-comics-reading guy exactly what is up with the impending death of Wolverine. (That's not a spoiler; the miniseries is actually called Death of Wolverine.)

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To remake The Empire Strikes Back, dozens of fans play roles such as Luke Skywalker and Jedi master Yoda, seen here training on the planet Dagobah. Star Wars Uncut hide caption

itoggle caption Star Wars Uncut

The Two-Way

The Empire Strikes Back: The Fan-Made Version

October 11, 2014 • A follow-up to 2010 Emmy-winner Star Wars Uncut, the film is a pastiche of live action, stop-motion and animation that shows both the contributors' talents and their passion for the original.

Cameron Esposito has appeared on the Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson, IFC's Maron and E!'s Chelsea Lately. Mandee Johnson/Right On! PR hide caption

itoggle caption Mandee Johnson/Right On! PR

Interviews

Hugs For Hecklers: Cameron Esposito On Life As A Lesbian Comedian

October 11, 2014 • Esposito discusses her new album, Same Sex Symbol, and tells NPR's Arun Rath she feels concern for the people who heckle her about her sexuality: "I just wonder, what's up with your life? Are you OK?"

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Andrew Lincoln, left, and Norman Reedus star in AMC's The Walking Dead. Frank Ockenfels /AMC hide caption

itoggle caption Frank Ockenfels /AMC

Television

AMC's 'The Walking Dead' Is A Hit Show With Two Meanings

October 11, 2014 • As The Walking Dead returns for a fifth season Sunday, NPR TV Critic Eric Deggans says some storylines offer extra meaning for fans who have read the graphic novels which inspired the show.

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The Seams

'Schiaparelli': The Shocking, Shadowed Life Of A Fashion Icon

October 11, 2014 • A new biography by Meryle Secrest looks at the troubled life of designer Elsa Schiaparelli — renowned as the Queen of Fashion, a glamorous innovator whose career never recovered from World War II.

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Television

Inconsistent Memories Are Revisited In 'The Affair,' A Captivating New Drama

October 10, 2014 • The Showtime show is about two people who betray their spouses and fall into a relationship. It's told from more than one perspective, and the actors are so likable, you forgive them their trespasses.

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NPR

Monkey See

Pop Culture Happy Hour: 'Gone Girl' And What Pop Culture Can Teach

October 10, 2014 • On this week's show, we get around to a discussion (as unspoiled as practical) of the film adaptation of Gone Girl, and we talk about what we've learned from movies, books, and television.

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"If she be worthy." A mysterious masked woman has taken up the hammer — and mantle — of Thor. Marvel hide caption

itoggle caption Marvel

Book News & Features

Where's Thor When You Need Her? Women In Comics Fight An Uphill Battle

October 10, 2014 • The new female Thor has picked up her hammer, but the mainstream comics industry is still experiencing some growing pains as it figures out where women fit in as characters, creators and fans.

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Seen here in 2005, Geoffrey Holder was a Tony Award-winning director, actor, painter and choreographer. Tina Fineberg/AP hide caption

itoggle caption Tina Fineberg/AP

Remembrances

'This Impromptu Dance': Geoffrey Holder's Son Tells One More Story

October 9, 2014 • Dancer, choreographer, director, actor and painter Geoffrey Holder died Sunday. His son, Leo, writes about the remarkable last night he spent with his father.

Paul Harvey covers Election Night in 1958. ABC Photo Archives/Getty Images hide caption

itoggle caption ABC Photo Archives/Getty Images

The Rest Of The Story: Paul Harvey, Conservative Talk Radio Pioneer

October 9, 2014 • Sean Hannity, Rush Limbaugh and Glenn Beck are the standard-bearers of today's brash conservative radio, but they're descendants of a man who told stories more often than he raised his voice.

TV's 'Nashville' A Boon For The Tennessee City

October 8, 2014 • The TV show Nashville is about the lives of fictional country music stars and aspiring stars — and its popularity is drawing visitors to the real city from around the world.

Listen Loading… 4:27

Sherilyn Fenn and Kyle MacLachlan starred in the original run of Twin Peaks. MacLachlan is rumored to be reprising the role of FBI Special Agent Dale Cooper in the new episodes. ABC Photo Archives/Getty Images hide caption

itoggle caption ABC Photo Archives/Getty Images