John Powers John Powers is the pop culture and critic-at-large on NPR's Fresh Air with Terri Gross.
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John Powers

John Powers

Pop Culture Critic, Fresh Air

John Powers is the pop culture and critic-at-large on NPR's Fresh Air with Terry Gross. He previously served for six years as the film critic.

Powers spent the last 25 years as a critic and columnist, first for LA Weekly, then Vogue. His work has appeared in numerous publications, including Harper's BAZAAR, The Nation, Gourmet, The Washington Post, and The New York Times.

A former professor at Georgetown University, Powers is the author of Sore Winners, a study of American culture during President George W. Bush's administration. His latest book, WKW: The Cinema of Wong Kar Wai (co-written with Wong Kar Wai), is an April 2016 release by Rizzoli.

Story Archive

Thursday

Anselm offers both a thrilling portrait of Anselm Kiefer at work and, with the aid of terrific archival footage, lets us see what infuses his work with such intensity. Janus Films hide caption

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Janus Films

'Anselm' documentary is a thrilling portrait of an artist at work

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Monday

Two lonely souls (Alma Pöysti and Jussi Vatanen) come together in Fallen Leaves. Malla Hukkanen/Sputnik hide caption

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Malla Hukkanen/Sputnik

Sentimental but not soppy, 'Fallen Leaves' gives off the magic glow of a fable

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Wednesday

Ashley and Gordon (Harriet Dyer and Patrick Brammall) bond over an injured border terrier in Colin from Accounts. Lisa Tomasetti/Paramount+ hide caption

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Lisa Tomasetti/Paramount+

'Colin' the dog brings 2 — no wait, 3 —lonely hearts together in this fetching series

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Thursday

Helen Garner is an Australian novelist, journalist, diarist and screenwriter. Darren James/Pantheon Books hide caption

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Darren James/Pantheon Books

This Australian writer might be the greatest novelist you've never heard of

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Friday

Lance Reddick, Dale Dye and Kiefer Sutherland in The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial. Marc Carlini/Paramount+ with Showtime hide caption

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Marc Carlini/Paramount+ with Showtime

William Friedkin's stodgy 'Caine Mutiny' adaptation lacks the urgency of the original

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Tuesday

Inspector Brian Boyce (Hugh Bonneville) tracks down the thieves in The Gold. Sally Mais/Tannadice Pictures/Paramount+ hide caption

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Sally Mais/Tannadice Pictures/Paramount+

What happened to 'The Gold'? This crime saga is focused on the aftermath of a heist

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Monday

2 smart, entertaining films revisit the horror of Pinochet's 1973 coup in Chile

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Wednesday

Lars Mikkelsen stars as real estate baron Holger Lang in Season 3 of the Danish thriller Face to Face. Viaplay hide caption

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Viaplay

'Face to Face' is a murder mystery that lives up to the tradition of Nordic Noir

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Wednesday

Diners sidle up to the counter in Netflix's Midnight Diner: Tokyo. Netflix hide caption

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Netflix

Cozy up in Tokyo's 'Midnight Diner' for the TV version of comfort food

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Tuesday

Penguin Random House

This 'Evergreen' LA noir novel imagines the post-WWII reality of Japanese Americans

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Thursday

Zahn McClarnon plays Lt. Joe Leaphorn and Jessica Matten is Sgt. Bernadette Manuelito in Season 2 of Dark Winds. Michael Moriatis/AMC hide caption

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Michael Moriatis/AMC

Back for Season 2, 'Dark Winds' is a cop drama steeped in Navajo culture

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Tuesday

New Directions

Pain and pleasure do the tango in the engrossing new novel 'Kairos'

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Wednesday

Endeavour — a prequel to the Inspector Morse series — ran for nearly a decade. Its ninth and final season is airing on PBS's MASTERPIECE Mystery! Above, Shaun Evans as Endeavour Morse Mammoth Screen and MASTERPIECE hide caption

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Mammoth Screen and MASTERPIECE

In its ninth and final season, 'Endeavour' fulfills its mission to 'Inspector Morse'

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Tuesday

Sarah Lancashire plays big-hearted police sergeant Catherine Cawood in Happy Valley. BBC hide caption

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BBC

The final season of the hit BBC crime series 'Happy Valley' has come to the U.S.

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Wednesday

After her friend Clara is killed walking home, Nanie (Pauline Serieys) is questioned by a police officer (Bastien Bouillon), who has taken over the local homicide squad. Haut et Court hide caption

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Haut et Court

What happened 'The Night of the 12th'? A murder remains a mystery in this French film

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Tuesday

This Romanian film about immigration and vanishing jobs hits close to home

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Thursday

Issei (Tomohisa Yamashita) and Camille (Fleur Geffrier) compete to inherit a 87,000-bottle wine cellar worth nearly $150 million in Drops of God. Apple TV+ hide caption

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Apple TV+

Who will win 87,000 bottles of wine? 'Drops of God' is the ultimate taste test

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Wednesday

A group of activists take on climate change directly in How to Blow Up a Pipeline. NEON hide caption

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NEON

Pipeline sabotage is on the agenda in this action-packed eco-heist film

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Monday

Tag along with two young Londoners recovering from breakups in 'Rye Lane'

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Thursday

Netflix's political thriller 'The Night Agent' sticks to the formula

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Tuesday

MacMillan

Eco-idealism and staggering wealth meet in 'Birnam Wood'

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Wednesday

Park Ji-min stars as a young woman who was raised by adoptive parents in France in Return to Seoul. Sony hide caption

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Sony

'Return to Seoul' is a funny, melancholy film that will surprise you start to finish

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Friday

Matthew Rhys plays the unbeatable defense attorney Perry Mason in HBO's series. Merrick Morton/HBO hide caption

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Merrick Morton/HBO

'Perry Mason' returns for Season 2, but the reboot is less fun than the original

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Thursday

Mohammad Saud cares for black kite birds in Delhi, India, in the documentary All That Breathes. HBO hide caption

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HBO

It's easy to focus on what's bad — 'All That Breathes' celebrates the good

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