Viewpoints Radio
Award-winning reporting on current issues featuring America's leading experts.
There’s another brand of TV that’s easy to overlook, what I call junk food TV. In this comparison, those prestige shows are your nice dinners out: they’re prepared with care by professionals. This junk food TV is what you reach for when you just need something easy and fast and delicious.
Streaming networks have opened up the length an episode of television can run. Gone are the days when writers needed to accommodate advertisements. But episodes that run long often present a new slate of problems – namely, staying interesting.
A new documentary from HBO, Come Inside My Mind, explores the life of actor Robin Williams as told by his friends and family. The documentary is cleverly narrated by the actor himself using audio from earlier interviews.
Bo Burnham has followed in the footsteps of Jordan Peele and Greta Gerwig, transforming from a performer to the director of a terrific debut film. His movie, Eighth Grade is out now.
As apps like Spotify and Pandora have taken over, musicians have been forced to make their new albums into an “event.” We look at how they do that, and how streaming music impacts us as listeners.
Netflix and Amazon are go-tos for many Americans looking for a movie to watch. But how can people watch classics like The Maltese Falcon or Singin’ in the Rain in this new world?
Fox’s hit sitcom New Girl ended this month after 7 seasons. We take a look back at the show’s run and what makes sitcoms so special to us.
True crime stories fascinate us, but they can also have a big impact. We look at true crime and specifically, Michelle McNamera’s book, I’ll Be Gone in The Dark
Netflix is becoming a bigger player in the film world, which is leaving a bad taste in some people’s mouths. We look at the arguments for and against Netflix as a film distributor.
Westworld, the show that mystified audience when it stormed onto the scene in 2016, is back tonight. We discuss the show and take a look at the perils of reading fan theories online.
Movie trailers are more hyped than ever. Studios announce their release days in advance and fans pour over every screenshot and detail included in them… but what happens when some of the trailer turns out to be a spoiler?
For years, Netflix has been the top choice for TV streaming enthusiasts. But Hulu has slowly become a well-rounded service with original titles and a back-log of TV classics.
Tonight is the big night: The Academy Awards. We run through five of the biggest contenders of the year and where you can watch them to prepare for the ceremony.
There was a time when science fiction stories had to be a part of some established arc or it wouldn’t get made. Now the stand-alone sci-fi is thriving once again.
YouTube stars rack up huge followings and a lot of cash. But YouTube’s hottest star is in a lot of hot water over one of his videos. How should the internet regulate itself?
TV theme songs: they’re the soundtrack to our childhoods. But have you ever stopped to think about their evolution or how many of them you’ve grown fond of?
We highlight Binge Mode, a podcast made for obsessive fans of cultural touchstones, like Game of Thrones, Pixar’s Coco, and Star Wars.
Lena Waithe won an Emmy last year for her work on Master of None. Now, she brings her passion project to the screen in Showtime’s newest show, The Chi.
Netflix has a new binge-worthy show called Dark. The German-language show involves time travel, family drama, a small town, and a lot of mind-bending sci-fi.
Black Mirror is like The Twilight Zone for the digital age. We discuss the show, its technologies, and how the unsettling drama has found a foothold exploring the future of our world.
This Friday the 13th comes in October. We discuss what to watch on the spookiest day of the year and explore Netflix’s upcoming psychological thriller series “Mindhunter.”
One thing this year’s Emmys ceremony made very clear: Peak TV isn’t going anywhere anytime soon.
Traditionally, a sitcom show is episodic: you don’t necessarily need to see every episode. But NBC’s The Good Place embraces a serialized structure, which gives it a unique feel.
Breaking Bad is a modern classic of TV, and insanely compelling. But is binge-watching such shows really the best idea or do the best plots take time?
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