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How Chicago's Black press shaped America

Left: An Ebony Fashion Fair Model. Right: A hand holds up a copy of Ebony magazine in front of a Chicago skyline. (Photo by KAMIL KRZACZYNSKI/AFP via Getty Images)/ (Photo By Helen H. Richardson/The Denver Post via Getty Images) hide caption

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(Photo by KAMIL KRZACZYNSKI/AFP via Getty Images)/ (Photo By Helen H. Richardson/The Denver Post via Getty Images)

It's Been a Minute

How Chicago's Black press shaped America

Host Brittany Luse sits down with Arionne Nettles, author of We Are the Culture: Black Chicago's Influence on Everything. Arionne shares how Black media in Chicago influenced the way Black Americans see themselves and why the city deserves to be called 'the heart of Black America.'

How Chicago's Black press shaped America

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The movies, TV and music we're excited about this summer

Glen Powell stars in the new movie Hit Man. Brian Roedel /Netflix hide caption

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Brian Roedel /Netflix

Review

Pop Culture Happy Hour

The movies, TV and music we're excited about this summer

Today, we're offering up a guide to spotlight some of the movies, TV, and music we are most excited about this summer.

The movies, TV and music we're excited about this summer

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In 'Dead Boy Detectives,' two best mates reject their deadly fates

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Netflix

Review

Pop Culture Happy Hour

In 'Dead Boy Detectives,' two best mates reject their deadly fates

The new show Dead Boy Detectives is a spinoff of Neil Gaiman's beloved series The Sandman – both the comic and the Netflix series. It's about a pair of detective ghosts (played by George Rexstrew and Jayden Revri) who refuse to move on to the afterlife. Aided by a young psychic (Kassius Nelson), they stick around and solve mysteries that will resolve the unfinished business of other ghosts.

In 'Dead Boy Detectives,' two best mates reject their deadly fates

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You know it when you see it: Here are some movies that got sex scenes right

It is a happy coincidence that our "What makes a good sex scene?" episode came out in the same week as Challengers, a film about a romance triangle in the tennis world starring Josh O'Connor, Zendaya and (not pictured) Mike Faist. Niko Tavernise/Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures hide caption

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Niko Tavernise/Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures

Pop Culture Happy Hour

You know it when you see it: Here are some movies that got sex scenes right

Good sex scenes are like any other kind of good filmmaking: It comes down to execution with purpose and care, done relative to whatever the function of the scene might be.

TikTok gets the boot; plus, a 'tradwife' fantasy

People gather for a press conference about their opposition to a TikTok ban. A couple looking at a cake. Brendan Smialowski / AFP; George Marks/Retrofile/Getty Images/Getty Images hide caption

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Brendan Smialowski / AFP; George Marks/Retrofile/Getty Images/Getty Images

It's Been a Minute

TikTok gets the boot; plus, a 'tradwife' fantasy

This week, President Biden signed a law that could ban TikTok nationwide unless its Chinese parent company sells the media platform within a year. Brittany is joined by NPR's Deirdre Walsh and Bobby Allyn to discuss the backdrop of this decision and its implications.

TikTok gets the boot; plus, a 'tradwife' fantasy

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The Zendaya-led 'Challengers' is much more than a sexy tennis movie

Zendaya stars as Tashi in Challengers. Niko Tavernise/Amazon MGM Studios hide caption

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Niko Tavernise/Amazon MGM Studios

Review

Pop Culture Happy Hour

The Zendaya-led 'Challengers' is much more than a sexy tennis movie

The terrific new film Challengers is about being intense about tennis, sex, and competition. Directed by Luca Guadagnino, the film stars Zendaya as Tashi, a tennis coach and object of desire to two men. She's married to Art (Mike Faist), who is facing his old friend Patrick (Josh O'Connor) at a Challengers event. This reopens all the trio's old wounds, and they excavate all of their relationships with each other.

The Zendaya-led 'Challengers' is much more than a sexy tennis movie

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What makes a good sex scene?

Jennifer Tilly and Gina Gershon star in the 1996 film Bound. Alamy hide caption

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Alamy

Review

Pop Culture Happy Hour

What makes a good sex scene?

It's easy to notice when a sex scene is bad. But what makes a sex scene good? Today, we are recommending films with good sex scenes, including Bound, Love & Basketball, Magic Mike's Last Dance, and Oppenheimer.

What makes a good sex scene?

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In a collection of 40+ interviews, author Adam Moss tries to find the key to creation

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Penguin Press

Author Interviews

In a collection of 40+ interviews, author Adam Moss tries to find the key to creation

Author Adam Moss interviewed more than 40 creative minds to find out how they went from a blank page to finished work of art.

In a collection of 40+ interviews, author Adam Moss tries to find the key to creation

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'Mary & George' is full of schemes, schisms, corsets, and collars

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Rory Mulvey/Starz

Review

Pop Culture Happy Hour

'Mary & George' is full of schemes, schisms, corsets, and collars

In the new Starz series Mary & George, Julianne Moore plays a low-born, scheming woman who recognizes that her handsome son George (Nicolas Galitztine) could seduce the king and become his favorite. Inspired by the true story of King James I, the series is packed with seduction, vicious dialogue, and ruthless political intrigue.

'Mary & George' is full of schemes, schisms, corsets, and collars

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Dating skills vs. dating gimmicks in 'Love on the Spectrum'

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Courtesy of Netflix

It's Been a Minute

Dating skills vs. dating gimmicks in 'Love on the Spectrum'

One of Brittany's latest TV obsessions has been Netflix's Love on the Spectrum. It's a reality series that follows several autistic adults as they wade through the dating pool, guided by relationship coach Jennifer Cook. Brittany sits down with Jennifer to unpack how her own experience with autism informs the advice she gives.

Dating skills vs. dating gimmicks in 'Love on the Spectrum'

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'Shōgun' banked on authenticity. It became one of 2024's most successful shows

Hiroyuki Sanada plays in the FX miniseries Shōgun the role of Yoshii Toranaga, a fictionalized version of Ieyasu Tokugawa, who ultimately founded Japan's Tokugawa Shogunate. Katie Yu/FX hide caption

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Katie Yu/FX

Television

'Shōgun' banked on authenticity. It became one of 2024's most successful shows

Hiroyuki Sanada, lead actor and producer of FX miniseries Shōgun, says authenticity was a "lifeline for this show."

'Shōgun' banked on authenticity. It became one of 2024's most successful shows

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On 'The Tortured Poets Department,' Taylor Swift spares no one

The Tortured Poets Department is the latest album from Taylor Swift. Beth Garrabrant/Republic Records hide caption

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Beth Garrabrant/Republic Records

Review

Pop Culture Happy Hour

On 'The Tortured Poets Department,' Taylor Swift spares no one

Taylor Swift dropped an epic new album that spans two hours — and two high-profile breakups. The Tortured Poets Department delves deeply into two of the singer's recent relationships — one with the English actor Joe Alwyn and the other with Matty Healy, who's the lead singer of The 1975. And while Taylor Swift indulges in a few beefs on this record, the target she returns to most often is herself.

On 'The Tortured Poets Department,' Taylor Swift spares no one

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'Fallout' is bleak but funny science fission

Ella Purnell stars as Lucy in Fallout. Prime Video hide caption

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Prime Video

Review

Pop Culture Happy Hour

'Fallout' is bleak but funny science fission

The new show Fallout is based on a hugely successful video game series known for its sardonic, very dark comedic sensibility, and its violence. It's set in the game's post-apocalyptic world – an America divided into factions wrestling for control of an irradiated wasteland. When the hopeful Lucy (Ella Purnell) steps out of the comfortable life she's known in an underground vault, the world she's confronted with is harsh, brutal, merciless – and kinda funny.

'Fallout' is bleak but funny science fission

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How 'Hot Ones' took wing(s)

Comedian Conan O'Brien at TBS Night Out in 2016. He recently appeared on YouTube show, Hot Ones. Paul Zimmerman/Getty Images for TBS hide caption

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Paul Zimmerman/Getty Images for TBS

Review

Pop Culture Happy Hour

How 'Hot Ones' took wing(s)

Hot Ones is the YouTube show where famous people answer questions while eating increasingly hot chicken wings. Hosted by Sean Evans, the series is a phenomenon. And Conan O'Brien is its most recent high achiever, and possibly the best guest ever. What exactly makes a good Hot Ones guest?

How 'Hot Ones' took wing(s)

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A new Lennon-McCartney collab has dropped — but this time, it's by the Beatles' sons

Last week, James McCartney (left), the son of Beatle Paul McCartney, released a new song called "Primrose Hill" that he co-wrote with Sean Ono Lennon, the son of John Lennon. Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images; Lionel Hahn/Getty Images hide caption

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Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images; Lionel Hahn/Getty Images

Music News

A new Lennon-McCartney collab has dropped — but this time, it's by the Beatles' sons

A new single, "Primrose Hill," was co-written by Sean Ono Lennon and James McCartney, the youngest sons of Beatles musicians John Lennon and Paul McCartney.

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