KCRW

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Channel • 14 Shows

TV & Film

TV & Film

Updated weekly
News

News

Updated weekly
Music

Music

Updated daily
TV & Film

TV & Film

Updated weekly
Documentary

Documentary

Every two weeks
Film Reviews

Film Reviews

Updated weekly
Books

Books

Updated weekly

4 days ago

Politicians Are Struggling To Keep Up With A.I. Backlash

Americans are mad about data centers being built near them. President Trump, however, argues building more of them on home soil helps the country’s economy and is critical to our national security. How can lawmakers on both sides of the aisle balance those benefits alongside the anger of the public? Plus, ICE switched up its enforcement strategy to attract fewer headlines and increase arrests. But it hasn’t changed the public’s sentiment that the agency’s earlier crackdown was far too harsh. We talk about the state of immigration enforcement and how it could be an issue that tips the scales in the midterms. And we take your questions on how to fix the country’s massive deficit. Producer: Leo Duran Host: Susan Davis Guests: Mo Elleithee, executive director at Georgetown University's Institute of Politics and Public Service - @MoElleithee Sarah Isgur, senior editor at The Dispatch - @whignewtons
4 days ago

Weekend Film Reviews: ‘Teenage Wasteland,’ ‘The Sun Never Sets’

Forget “6-7.” In 1990s Middletown, New York, a high school class figured out how to really drive the adults crazy: exposing a toxic waste scandal in their backyard. A new documentary, Teenage Wasteland, tells the true story of a group of students that stumbled onto a major scoop. To uncover the truth, they followed the money, grilled corrupt local officials and got on the wrong side of the mob. Angelica Jade Bastién, film critic for New York magazine, says the film makes a “beautiful argument” for “civic courage” — that “we should look at the world with curious eyes and not just swallow the mistruths or outright lies of the broken governments we live under.” Katie Walsh, film critic for the Los Angeles Times and the Tribune News Service, says the movie is more 1990s nostalgia trip than heart-pounding thriller. “It is really inspiring to think about how a teacher empowers them to just go out and start asking questions," she says. Bastién and Walsh also review Onslaught, The Sun Never Sets, and Boorman and the Devil.
20 Aug

A Gen Z Reporter Questions Jonathan Haidt, author of ‘The Anxious Generation’

Over the past few months, we’ve been closely covering the major lawsuits against Meta over the ways its apps have hurt young people. This week, we’re sharing a special episode of "Left To Their Own Devices", a Peabody-nominated series hosted by Gen Z reporter and tech-safety advocate Ava Smithing. Recorded live on stage shortly after the recent jury verdicts against Meta and YouTube, Ava interviews NYU social psychologist Jonathan Haidt, author of the wildly influential "The Anxious Generation", about his ideas for how to keep kids safe from social media -- some of which Ava doesn't buy into. It’s a timely conversation as courts and policymakers continue to grapple with how to hold tech companies accountable, and force them to make their products safer for young people. Guests: Ava Smithing, Left to Their Own Devices host Jonathan Haidt, author of The Anxious Generation Please support the companies that support this show: Zbiotics Quince OneSkin
19 Aug

Istanbul, One Bite at a Time

This week on Good Food: Sultans, street food, and pickles — Özlem Warren brings the diverse flavors of Istanbul to the home kitchen. Sloane Crosley explains misophonia, a neurophysiological disorder characterized by a severe aversion to sound with its own set of triggers. Connect with Good Food host Evan Kleiman on Substack.
28 Aug

Trump Launches Economic War On Canada & Iran

Take your personal data back with Incogni! Use code KCRW at the link below and get 60% off an annual plan: https://incogni.com/kcrw “Economic D-Day” – that’s how President Trump described his latest strategy in the Iran War. He’s promising to starve the country’s economy. A lot may rely on whether other countries play ball, especially China. Trump isn’t just going after Iran. He’s pushed us into a new tariff war with Canada, and our polite neighbor to the north is in no mood to cave. We’ll talk about the pros and cons of economic warfare, how to know if policies like this will help or hurt Americans, and whether this will sway voters’ choices this fall. Also, Flock cameras are a sleeper issue in these upcoming midterms. They’re AI-powered and used by police to tackle crime, but some communities hate their surveillance power. And we remember the late Dolly Parton, a talented musician with unique appeal to audiences all over the political spectrum. Producer: Leo Duran Host: David Greene Guests: Oren Cass, founder and chief economist of American Compass - @oren_cass Mo Elleithee, executive director at Georgetown University's Institute of Politics and Public Service - @MoElleithee
11/04/1996

David Foster Wallace: Infinite Jest

David Foster Wallace has written the ultimate mega-meta novel, a 1078-page whopper. The surprise is that this mind-stunner may capture the imagination of a new generation of readers.
5 days ago

Badass Local Journalists on How to Fight Corruption

Local reporters from around the country tell stories of using the experiences of their neighbors to confront people in power. Guests: Anna Wolfe with Mississippi Today Lisa Halverstadt with Voice of San Diego Alissa Zhu with The Baltimore Banner Tony Plohetski with The Austin American-Statesman and KVUE Austin Lisa is a part of the Homelessness Beat Reporters Collective, which recently produced a guide on how to responsibly cover homelessness. That guide can be found here. Question Everything is a production of KCRW and Placement Theory. Follow us on Instagram: @questionverything.podcast. And don’t forget to sign up for our newsletter. This episode was originally published on June 26th, 2024. Please support the companies that support this show: Quince OneSkin
27 Aug

Weekend Film Reviews: ‘Coyote vs. Acme,’ ‘Idiots,’ ‘Buddy’

After decades of unsuccessful attempts to catch Roadrunner using anvils, jet packs, and rockets strapped to roller skates, Wile E. Coyote (caninus litigious) has a new weapon in his arsenal: #BigLaw. But Mr. Coyote is now directing his ire toward the Acme Corporation, which manufactures said devices that always seem to literally blow up in his face. Shawn Edwards, film critic at Fox4 News in Kansas City, says this movie couldn’t have come out at a better time. “Is this movie about Acme, or is this movie about Amazon? I mean, you really can’t tell the difference,” Edwards says. “It’s fun, it’s lively, the animation works, and it totally pulls you into that world.” “I think it is okay, but I don’t love it,” says Tim Grierson, senior U.S. critic for Screen International. “The live-action actors, Will Forte, and the evil lawyer for the Acme Corporation who's played by John Cena, they're not quite as fun as their animated co-stars,” Grierson says. “The movie eventually becomes kind of a conspiracy/thriller thing where they try to actually prove that Acme's products are ineffective. I think that plot doesn't work so well.” Edwards and Grierson also review The Dog Stars, Idiots, Buddy, and remember actor Tim Curry, who died this week at the age of 80.
3 days ago

Lilly Wachowski remembers 30 years of ‘Bound’

This week, Kim Masters talks to Lilly Wachowski about making Bound, the directorial debut she co-directed with sister Lana. Wachowski recalls the wild experience of working with legendary producer Dino De Laurentiis, and how she and Lana went from living paycheck to paycheck as carpenters to having producer Joel Silver beg them to sell him The Matrix. Plus, Masters and Matt Belloni dig into a newly unveiled bill that would create a federal production tax incentive, and what it could mean for the industry if passed. The banter partners also turn to some good news at the box office, where summer grosses topped pre-COVID levels by nine percent.
12 Aug

Rhea Seehorn on playing the silences in ‘Pluribus’

This episode of 'The Treatment' is sponsored by Apple TV. Actress Rhea Seehorn’s dramatic range has been on display for years. Her breakout role on 'Better Call Saul,' created by Vince Gilligan, earned her two Emmy nominations for her role as attorney Kim Wexler. Seehorn teamed up with Gilligan again for the Apple TV sci-fi series 'Pluribus.' Her performance as Carol Sturka, a bitter novelist who tries to figure out why most of the world is now controlled by a hive mind, landed Seehorn her first Emmy nomination for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series. Seehorn talks to Elvis about the double standard around Carol’s anger; she explains why creator Vince Gilligan said she had a face like a billboard and meant it as a compliment, and she reveals what Kim Wexler and Carol Sturka have in common.

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