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Glen Weldon Glen Weldon is a regular panelist on NPR's Pop Culture Happy Hour podcast. He reviews books, movies, comics, and more for the NPR Arts Desk.
Glen Weldon at NPR headquarters in Washington, D.C., March 19, 2019. (photo by Allison Shelley)
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Glen Weldon

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Books

'The Jersey Brothers' Highlights The Enduring Legacy Of World War II

Sally Mott Freeman's book, The Jersey Brothers, recounts the story of three men swept up by Word War II. The youngest brother gets captured in the Philippines, and the two others struggle to bring him home. NPR explores why stories of World War II remain so compelling to us today.

'The Jersey Brothers' Highlights The Enduring Legacy Of World War II

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Beyond The Pale (Male): Marvel, Diversity And A Changing Comics Readership

Detail of cover of America #2, by Gabby Rivera and Joe Quinones, starring America Chavez, Marvel's lesbian Latina superhero. Marvel Comics hide caption

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Marvel Comics

The Week's Best Stories From NPR Books

Beyond The Pale (Male): Marvel, Diversity And A Changing Comics Readership

Comments about diversity in superhero comics made last week by a Marvel executive unleashed an online firestorm. But heroes who look more like the growing comics readership are here to stay.

Beyond The Pale (Male): Marvel, Diversity And A Changing Comics Readership

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'The Hello Girls' Chronicles The Women Who Fought For America — And For Recognition

Six members of the U.S. Army Signal Corps preparing to ship off for France in 1918, where they and 217 other women served as switchboard operators. Harvard University Press hide caption

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Harvard University Press

Review

Book Reviews

'The Hello Girls' Chronicles The Women Who Fought For America — And For Recognition

A book published today, the 100th anniversary of America's entry into World War I, tells the story of "America's First Women Soldiers" who served as switchboard operators in the field.

'Nabokov's Favorite Word Is Mauve' Crunches The (Literary) Numbers

Purple, Prose: The new book Nabokov's Favorite Word is Mauve subjects thousands of books to statistical analysis. NPR Multimedia/AP Photo hide caption

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NPR Multimedia/AP Photo

Review

Pop Culture Happy Hour

'Nabokov's Favorite Word Is Mauve' Crunches The (Literary) Numbers

In his new book, statistician Ben Blatt loads thousands of books, new and old, into a vast database and uncovers intriguing patterns in how our favorite authors write.

'Nabokov's Favorite Word Is Mauve' Crunches The (Literary) Numbers

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Chuck Barris Didn't Invent Schlock Television, He Weaponized It

Chuck Barris, television producer who created several game shows, including The Gong Show, died Tuesday at 87. NBC/NBC via Getty Images hide caption

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NBC/NBC via Getty Images

Pop Culture Happy Hour

Chuck Barris Didn't Invent Schlock Television, He Weaponized It

The creator of The Dating Game, The Newlywed Game and The Gong Show, which he also hosted, died Tuesday at 87. His shows were cheap to produce — and he made sure they looked it.

Chuck Barris Didn't Invent Schlock Television, He Weaponized It

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Robert Silvers, Longtime Editor Of 'The New York Review Of Books,' Dies At 87

Robert Silvers, co-founder of The New York Review of Books, speaks at the 2006 National Book Awards. Silvers died Monday after a brief illness. He was 87. STUART RAMSON/AP hide caption

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STUART RAMSON/AP

The Two-Way

Robert Silvers, Longtime Editor Of 'The New York Review Of Books,' Dies At 87

Silvers co-founded the journal with Barbara Epstein in 1963. It quickly became a leading forum where authors and critics grappled with cultural issues — and with each other.