Month: June 2025

Stephen King’s work has often contemplated the inevitability of death. But his latest adaptation, The Life of Chuck is a life-affirming film that challenges the cynic in everyone. It has a big cast including Tom Hiddleston, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Jacob Tremblay, Mark Hamill, and Nick Offerman. The film was directed and written for the screen by Mike Flanagan (The Haunting of Hill House and Midnight Mass).

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The Atlantic staff writer Elizabeth Bruenig talks about her decision to serve as a witness to state-sanctioned executions, and what she’s learned about mercy, faith and the possibility of redemption.

1. Cut FEMA flood budget. Make Bezos send wet places salad spinners to dry out stuff. 2. No more brown or yellow M&M’s. Low I.Q., emotionally unstable.

Should you date for love or financial security? That’s the central premise of the new movie Materialists. It stars Dakota Johnson at the center of a love triangle with Pedro Pascal and Chris Evans, and is directed by Celine Song (Past Lives).

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In a country where birth control access is in jeopardy and women’s medical needs have been historically overlooked, how do social media trends like #lutealphase and “cycle syncing” complicate the narrative?

This is… Your Body, Whose Choice?

And for the next few weeks, we’re looking at the cultural, legal, and ideological frameworks shaping reproductive health in America…and what this means for the near and far future of our families, our personal agency, and our planet.

Today, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign professor Kate Clancy and reporter Lindsay Gellman join the show to clear up the misinformation around menstruation and how the search for guidance can lead to murky waters.

NPR’s movie critic and producers discuss how queerness is present across all genres of movies in ways seen and unseen.

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Ocean Vuong talks about his new novel, The Emperor of Gladness, then Maureen Corrigan has a review of the book. Okatsuka is known for finding humor in the dysfunction of her immigrant family.

(Image credit: Gioncarlo Valentine)

The Paris opera house known as the Palais Garnier turns 150 this year.

Former FDA chief Dr. David Kessler says the new weight-loss drugs are a powerful tool to fight obesity. But they come with pitfalls. Here’s his tips for how to use them successfully.

NPR’s Ayesha Rascoe plays the puzzle with KPCC listener Jerry Tsai and Weekend Edition Puzzlemaster Will Shortz.