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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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The backlash against protests; plus, how OJ Simpson changed media forever

A pro-Palestinian demonstrator during a 'Strike for Gaza' protest in Los Angeles, California. OJ Simpson trial. Mario Tama/Getty Images; Vince Bucci/AFP via Getty Images/Getty Images hide caption

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Mario Tama/Getty Images; Vince Bucci/AFP via Getty Images/Getty Images

It's Been a Minute

The backlash against protests; plus, how OJ Simpson changed media forever

Earlier this week, pro-Palestinian protestors blocked traffic on highways and bridges in San Francisco, Chicago, New York and Seattle. On that same day, the Supreme Court made it incredibly difficult to protest in a lot of the American South. In this episode, host Brittany Luse looks at the state of protest in America. She sits down with Sandhya Dirks, an NPR reporter who covers race and identity, and Elizabeth Blair, a senior arts reporter at NPR. Together, they discuss shifting attitudes towards protest as well as new anti-protest legislation. Then, they play a game of But Did You Know?

The backlash against protests; plus, how OJ Simpson changed media forever

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'The Beast' jumps from 1910, to 2014, to 2044, tracking fear through the ages

Gabrielle and Louis (Léa Seydoux and George MacKay) meet in 1910 Paris, 2014 Los Angeles and again in 2044 in The Beast. Carole Bethuel/Kinology hide caption

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Carole Bethuel/Kinology

Review

Movie Reviews

'The Beast' jumps from 1910, to 2014, to 2044, tracking fear through the ages

Fresh Air

This wildly original adaptation of the Henry James novella The Beast in the Jungle follows human alienation and anxiety, asking why, in every era, we disengage from life and the people around us.

'The Beast' jumps from 1910, to 2014, to 2044, tracking fear through the ages

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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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What happened when the threat of danger became Salman Rushdie's reality?

NPR's Mary Louise Kelly speaks with Salman Rushdie (April 8, 2024). Nickolai Hammar/NPR hide caption

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Nickolai Hammar/NPR

Consider This from NPR

What happened when the threat of danger became Salman Rushdie's reality?

Salman Rushdie is probably most closely associated with his 1988 novel The Satanic Verses, a book inspired by the life of the prophet Muhummad. The book was notorious not just for its contents but because of the intense backlash, and the threat it posed to his safety and wellbeing.

What happened when the threat of danger became Salman Rushdie's reality?

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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.

Death doula says life is more meaningful if you 'get real' about the end

In Alua Arthur's 2023 TED Talk, she said her ideal death would happen at sunset. Yeofi Andoh/HarperCollins hide caption

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Yeofi Andoh/HarperCollins

Author Interviews

Death doula says life is more meaningful if you 'get real' about the end

Fresh Air

Alua Arthur helps people plan for death. A big part of her work is helping them reconcile the lives they lived with the lives they might have wanted. Her memoir is called Briefly Perfectly Human.

Death doula says life is more meaningful if you 'get real' about the end

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An immersive museum in Kansas City allows kids to explore their favorite books

Lindsey Anderson sits down to read Caps for Sale by Esphyr Slobodkina to her children Orion, 6, Arthur, 4, and Thora Hoke, 1, inside the exhibit inspired by the book inside The Rabbit hOle, an immersive museum dedicated to children's literature, in North Kansas City, Mo. Katie Currid for NPR hide caption

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Katie Currid for NPR

The Picture Show

An immersive museum in Kansas City allows kids to explore their favorite books

A new museum in Kansas City is designed for kids to be immersed in their favorite books, including classics like Goodnight Moon.

An argument for the art of whistling

Molly Lewis, photographed by Shervin Lainez Shervin Lainez hide caption

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Shervin Lainez

It's Been a Minute

An argument for the art of whistling

Some of us whistle while we work, but what happens when your work is whistling? This week, host Brittany Luse is joined by professional whistler, Molly Lewis. Lewis' catalogue spans across the film and music industries, from features on the Barbie soundtrack to performances alongside Karen O. From NPR's New York Bureau, Brittany sits down with Lewis to talk about the world of competitive whistling, how she hones a craft many people see as fidgeting, and why older generations are more likely to whistle. This episode also features a special live performance with songs from Lewis' new album, On The Lips.

An argument for the art of whistling

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Two nights before the attack, Salman Rushdie dreamed he was stabbed onstage

Salman Rushdie says writing Knife allowed him to change his relationship to the attack. "Instead of just being the person who got stabbed, I now see myself as the person who wrote a book about getting stabbed," he says. Rachel Eliza Griffiths/Penguin Random House hide caption

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Rachel Eliza Griffiths/Penguin Random House

Author Interviews

Two nights before the attack, Salman Rushdie dreamed he was stabbed onstage

Fresh Air

Rushdie was onstage at a literary event in 2022 when he was attacked by a man in the audience: "Dying in the company of strangers — that was what was going through my mind." His new book is Knife.

Two nights before the attack, Salman Rushdie dreamed he was stabbed onstage

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