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Pop culture in high spirits
Anne Hathaway finds love with a pop star in 'The Idea of You'

Nicholas Galitzine and Anne Hathaway in The Idea of You. Prime Video hide caption

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Prime Video

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Pop Culture Happy Hour

Anne Hathaway finds love with a pop star in 'The Idea of You'

The new movie The Idea Of You tells the story of a boy band star (Nicholas Galitzine) who falls in love with an older divorced mother (Anne Hathaway). It's based on a hit novel that's at least partially inspired by Harry Styles' life and career.

Anne Hathaway finds love with a pop star in 'The Idea of You'

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'Baby Reindeer' has got everyone talking, including us

Richard Gadd and Jessica Gunning in Baby Reindeer. Ed Miller/Netflix hide caption

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'Baby Reindeer' has got everyone talking, including us

The new Netflix series Baby Reindeer has a lot of people talking, including us. It tells the haunting semi-autobiographical story of a man (Richard Gadd) who becomes the romantic obsession of a mentally ill woman (Jessica Gunning) who proceeds to stalk him. Eventually, her threatening actions force him to address a past trauma in his own life that leaves him shaken and confused.

'Baby Reindeer' has got everyone talking, including us

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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

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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

George Rexstrew as Edwin Payne in Dead Boy Detectives. Netflix hide caption

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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

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.

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

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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

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

Julianne Moore and Nicholas Galitzine in Starz series Mary & George. Rory Mulvey/Starz hide caption

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'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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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

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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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'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

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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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'X-Men '97' validates your nostalgia while looking to the future

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'X-Men '97' validates your nostalgia while looking to the future

For millions of kids, the popular 1990s X-Men animated series served as a gateway drug into the world of the X-Men and comics in general. Now, the new Disney+ series X-Men '97 picks up right where the original ended. But changes are also taking place: secrets get revealed, the team roster gets shuffled, and characters meet shocking fates. What hasn't changed is everything fans expect from the X-Men: big fights, big powers, and lots of mutant melodrama.

'X-Men '97' validates your nostalgia while looking to the future

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Books We Love: Love And Romance
Luke Medina/NPR

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Books We Love: Love And Romance

NPR's Books We Love is a roundup of favorite books of the year, sorted and tagged to help you find exactly what you're looking for. From the meet cutes to the happy endings and through all the ups and downs in between, we're recommending great books for people who love love and romance.

Books We Love: Love And Romance

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'Civil War' envisions a too-near future

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'Civil War' envisions a too-near future

The new film Civil War depicts a contemporary America torn apart by a military conflict between the federal government and an alliance of secessionist states. Directed by Alex Garland (Ex Machina), the film follows a small band of journalists led by Kirsten Dunst's jaded war photographer. They embark on a harrowing journey to the heart of the conflict, encountering brutality and bloodshed along the way.

'Civil War' envisions a too-near future

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'Girls State' provides hope and disappointment for the state of our democracy

Nisha Murali in the Apple TV+ documentary film Girls State. Apple TV+ hide caption

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'Girls State' provides hope and disappointment for the state of our democracy

The new Apple TV+ documentary Girls State asks: how would high school girls do things if they were in charge? The film is a follow-up to 2020's Boys State, and this time, follows an annual high school program that gives hundreds of girls a chance to create a mock government, complete with elections and a Supreme Court. It was made during the 2022 session, which ended days before the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, and the case is very much on the minds of the girls in the program.

'Girls State' provides hope and disappointment for the state of our democracy

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'Shōgun' is a fascinating epic about power and honor

Hiroyuki Sanada in FX's Shogun. Katie Yu/FX hide caption

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Katie Yu/FX

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'Shōgun' is a fascinating epic about power and honor

The sweeping historical epic has roared back with Shōgun. The FX miniseries takes place beginning in 1600, in a fictionalized but historically inspired feudal Japan, where the previous ruler has died with an heir not yet old enough to be in power, and everything has become chaotic. Shōgun has war, power struggles, violence, impossible love, beautiful naked people, and thorny questions about whose story it really is.

'Shōgun' is a fascinating epic about power and honor

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