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A Kid In A Refugee Camp Thought Video Games Fell From Heaven. Now He Makes Them

Lual Mayen, CEO of Junub Games, says that before he taught himself how to code at a refugee camp, "I never thought video games were made by people. I thought they just fall from heaven." Catie Dull/NPR hide caption

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Catie Dull/NPR

Goats and Soda

A Kid In A Refugee Camp Thought Video Games Fell From Heaven. Now He Makes Them

Lual Mayen grew up in a camp in Uganda. Now he's the award-winning CEO of a game development company in Washington, D.C., that has just released 'Salaam' — a game about refugees and peace.

'Marriage Story': For Better Or Divorce

Adam Driver and Scarlett Johansson in Marriage Story Wilson Webb/Netflix hide caption

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Wilson Webb/Netflix

Review

Pop Culture Happy Hour

'Marriage Story': For Better Or Divorce

What's the opposite of a love story? It might be the new Noah Baumbach film Marriage Story, starring Adam Driver and Scarlett Johansson as a couple we meet when they're just starting their divorce. For the next two hours, we watch them argue and negotiate over how to separate and how to co-parent their young son. Marriage Story also stars Laura Dern and Ray Liotta as aggressive divorce lawyers and Alan Alda as a gentler hand who tries to give less combative representation. Baumbach both wrote and directed the film, which is now streaming on Netflix. And the film recently picked up six Golden Globe nominations.

'Marriage Story': For Better Or Divorce

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Golden Globe Nominations: Netflix Cleans Up As Famous Faces Rule

In Dolemite Is My Name, Eddie Murphy leads the star-studded biopic about Rudy Ray Moore, whose iconic alter ego became a blaxploitation legend. François Duhamel/Netflix hide caption

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François Duhamel/Netflix

Pop Culture Happy Hour

Golden Globe Nominations: Netflix Cleans Up As Famous Faces Rule

The Golden Globe nominations are always odd, but this year they may be even odder than usual, particularly on the TV side. But it must be said: The Globes love a star, and now they love Netflix.

Sock It To Me: In Praise Of An Evergreen Holiday Gift

Socks on display in the NPR gift shop. Petra Mayer/NPR hide caption

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Petra Mayer/NPR

Arts & Life

Sock It To Me: In Praise Of An Evergreen Holiday Gift

It's the Christmas gift for when you can't think of what else to give — socks! And they're having their fashion-world moment, says Steven Frumkin, a dean at the Fashion Institute of Technology.

Sock It To Me: In Praise Of An Evergreen Holiday Gift

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Settling The Scorsese: 'The Irishman'

Robert De Niro, Al Pacino and Ray Romano in The Irishman. Courtesy of NETFLIX hide caption

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Courtesy of NETFLIX

Review

Pop Culture Happy Hour

Settling The Scorsese: 'The Irishman'

The movies and the mob have made a winning combination for decades. The Godfather, Goodfellas, The Departed — and that's on top of television projects like The Sopranos. Now, Oscar-winning director Martin Scorsese brings you The Irishman, and he's put together quite a cast. Robert DeNiro plays a hit man, Joe Pesci is his boss, Al Pacino is Jimmy Hoffa, and that's before you even get to Harvey Keitel, Bobby Cannavale, Ray Romano and others. In a sign of some of the changes shaking up the industry, The Irishman comes to you via Netflix, and is available to stream now. (Donate to a local station at donate.npr.org/happy)

Settling The Scorsese: 'The Irishman'

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Get Out Of Bed For 'The Morning Show'

Reese Witherspoon, Jennifer Aniston, and Steve Carel in The Morning Show. Courtesy of Apple TV Plus hide caption

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Courtesy of Apple TV Plus

Review

Pop Culture Happy Hour

Get Out Of Bed For 'The Morning Show'

Apple TV Plus launched a few weeks ago, and its highest profile series was unquestionably The Morning Show. Apple spent a massive amount of money on it and landed a cast that includes Jennifer Aniston, Reese Witherspoon and Steve Carell. It's the story of a morning news show that winds up in turmoil after the male anchor is fired following allegations of sexual misconduct. Aniston plays the female anchor left to pick up the pieces with a new partner, and Witherspoon is the local reporter who unexpectedly gets hired by the show after she goes on a rant while she's working at her previous job and the video goes viral.

Get Out Of Bed For 'The Morning Show'

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Play Your Cardigans Right And See 'A Beautiful Day In The Neighborhood'

Tom Hanks stars as Mister Rogers in A Beautiful Day In The Neighborhood. Lacey Terrell/Sony Pictures hide caption

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Lacey Terrell/Sony Pictures

Review

Pop Culture Happy Hour

Play Your Cardigans Right And See 'A Beautiful Day In The Neighborhood'

Who can possibly play Fred Rogers? That's a question that the new film A Beautiful Day In The Neighborhood tries to answer with a performance from Tom Hanks as the beloved TV host. In the movie a journalist played by Matthew Rhys has a transformative experience with Rogers that reshapes his relationship with his troubled father. A Beautiful Day In The Neighborhood is directed by Marielle Heller, who most recently made the Melissa McCarthy film Can You Ever Forgive Me? It uses unconventional techniques to place the journalist's story within Rogers' land of make believe.

Play Your Cardigans Right And See 'A Beautiful Day In The Neighborhood'

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The Dismal 'Merry Happy Whatever' Is The Downside Of Binge-Watching

Mason Davis, Elizabeth Ho, Hayes MacArthur, Lucas Jaye, Ashley Tisdale, Dennis Quaid, Brent Morin, Bridgit Mendler, Siobhan Murphy, and Adam Rose in Merry Happy Whatever. Adam Rose/Netflix hide caption

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Adam Rose/Netflix

Review

Pop Culture Happy Hour

The Dismal 'Merry Happy Whatever' Is The Downside Of Binge-Watching

You can understand why Netflix thought people might want a holiday-themed family comedy to watch this season. But unfortunately, the one they made is a big miss.

99 Bottles Of Beer On The Touch Screen: The Spread Of Self-Serve Taps

The Red Arrow Tap Room in Naperville, Ill., currently lists 44 craft beers or ciders on tap. Tyler Anderson/Courtesy of Table Tap hide caption

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Tyler Anderson/Courtesy of Table Tap

Technology

99 Bottles Of Beer On The Touch Screen: The Spread Of Self-Serve Taps

Order a drink, but hold the bartender? As it becomes relatively more expensive to run restaurants and bars, some are saving money by replacing human servers with pour-your-own electronic taps.

99 Bottles Of Beer On The Touch Screen: The Spread Of Self-Serve Taps

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Get A Clue, Go See 'Knives Out'

Ana de Armas as Marta Cabrera and Daniel Craig as Benoit Blanc in Knives Out Claire Folger/Lions Gate Films hide caption

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Claire Folger/Lions Gate Films

Review

Pop Culture Happy Hour

Get A Clue, Go See 'Knives Out'

Whodunit? Was it Jamie Lee Curtis? Chris Evans? Michael Shannon? Don Johnson? Toni Collette? This is the question at the center of the marvelous new comedy Knives Out. The film is directed and written by Rian Johnson, of films like Looper and Brick as well as Star Wars: The Last Jedi. The stellar cast goes on and on to include Ana de Armas, Daniel Craig, LaKeith Stanfield, and, playing the man in the whodunit to whom it was done, Christopher Plummer.

Get A Clue, Go See 'Knives Out'

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Rachael Ray At 50: 'Eat Your Spaghetti!'

Television chef Rachael Ray celebrates a milestone with a new book, Rachael Ray 50, that's part cookbook and part memoir. Food Network hide caption

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Food Network

Author Interviews

Rachael Ray At 50: 'Eat Your Spaghetti!'

The television chef celebrates a milestone with a new book, Rachael Ray 50, that's part cookbook and part memoir. She says she wanted to show that women older than 50 can still be relevant in America.

Rachael Ray At 50: 'Eat Your Spaghetti!'

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