Culture Crash: Netflix’s Russian Doll
Netflix’s new show, Russian Doll is an ethical, mysterious, funny drama modeled after the Groundhog Day “waking up in the same moment” plot. It’s an especially great binge-watch.

A weekly update on what’s new in American entertainment. Short and to the point, each Culture Crash episode focuses on a singular topic within TV, movies, music or books and breaks it down for listeners.

Netflix’s new show, Russian Doll is an ethical, mysterious, funny drama modeled after the Groundhog Day “waking up in the same moment” plot. It’s an especially great binge-watch.

Audiobooks used to be big, cumbersome collections of tapes. Now, they’re simply files on our phones, and their portability and convenience make them a great option for commute-time listening.

Superhero franchises have spent a decade carefully laying plans for big, expanded universes. But we look at “Veronica Mars” and “Breaking Bad,” two TV shows that have broadened their universes in their own ways.

This year’s Academy Awards have been a series of mistakes, from suggesting a Best Popular Film award to the plan to award from of the evening’s awards during commercial breaks.

There is so much new TV content being made that it can be easy to fall behind or forget to check out a show you meant to watch. We look at a few of these overlooked gems, like Showtime’s There is so much new TV content being made that it can be easy to fall behind or forget to check out a show you meant to watch. We look at a few of these overlooked gems, …

Every year, there is some outrage over Oscar snubs. This year, many of us wish Ethan Hawke had been nominated for First Reformed. We look at why.

For a decade now, it seemed like comic book movies had settled in to an existence based on these larger cinematic universes. Now, Spider-Man and The Joker are proving comic stories can have their cake and eat it, too.

With a new year always comes new things to look forward to, so let’s take a look at some of the movies people are anticipating the most in 2019. As a warning, there are a lot of them.

Tonight marks the long-awaited, sometimes excitedly and sometimes with dread, but long-awaited, return of True Detective. The TV phenomenon of 2014 and possibly the biggest letdown of 2015 is back for its third season, and the early reviews suggest this should be more like the incredible first season and not like the dud of a season two.

Minding the Gap tells the story of Liu himself, and of his closest friends from his childhood in Rockford, Illinois. Each came from something of a broken home, and turned to each other, and to skateboarding for an escape from their personal demons. What begins as a movie about kids skateboarding and hanging out becomes a searing look at childhood trauma, the …

As the year draws to a close, it’s the time on the calendar when we take a look back at who we lost this year. One such cultural giant was Anthony Bourdain, the famed chef and author turned travel documentarian.

You may have noticed a new movie on your Netflix homepage called Roma. It’s Oscar-winning director Alfonso Cuarón’s most personal film yet and an absolute masterpiece.
Subscribe to get the latest from Viewpoints Radio directly in your inbox.

