‘SNL’ has always taken on politics. Here’s what works – and why As a historic election looms, Saturday Night Live faces an ongoing challenge to make America laugh – and process an increasingly strange political world. Jean Smart hosts the show’s 50th season premiere on Saturday. Eric Deggans
‘The movie tells you how to make it’: After decades, Coppola’s ‘Megalopolis’ is here “Every movie I make involves passion,” writer and director Francis Ford Coppola says. “The Godfather is very classical. Apocalypse Now is very wild.” His latest, Megalopolis, is a Roman epic – set in New Rome, a futuristic New York City. Mandalit del Barco
How a grant is helping restore the first Black country club Shady Rest Country Club in Scotch Plains, New Jersey was the first Black country club in the U.S. Big names teed off during the day, and at night, entertainers like Ella Fitzgerald performed.
Celebrating 25 years of 'The West Wing' The critically acclaimed drama went behind the scenes at a fictional White House. We listen to archival interviews with show creator/writer Aaron Sorkin and actors Allison Janney and John Spencer. Terry Gross
Sharp tongued, indomitable, and beloved actress Dame Maggie Smith, dies at 89 Oscar, Emmy, and Tony-winning actress Maggie Smith played everything from wistful ingenues in Shakespeare to Harry Potter's Prof. McGonagall and the Dowager Countess in Downton Abbey. Bob Mondello
Dear Life Kit: My wife wants to use the last of our savings for a 4th round of IVF An NPR listener says they are ready to adopt a child and move on from in vitro fertilization. But their wife is focused on getting pregnant. Andee Tagle
At some nail salons, customers can now get dimension and texture Nail art is going three dimensional. Customers now want texture, along with colorful designs. We went to see what customers are getting at the nail salon. Ana Perez
Whatever you’ve heard about 'Megalopolis,' see this gutsy Coppola film for yourself Francis Ford Coppola's epic draws parallels between the U.S. and ancient Rome. Forty-some years in the making, it's got wild sex, startling violence, horse-drawn chariots and even nightclub unicorns. Justin Chang
See 'The Substance' and 'A Different Man' together for a major makeover meditation Two new films seem to be in dialogue: In The Substance, Demi Moore is a Hollywood star chasing eternal youth. The dark comedy A Different Man centers on a New Yorker with a rare genetic condition. Justin Chang
Marking the centennial of jazz pianist Bud Powell Born Sept. 27, 1924, Powell helped set the style for jazz piano after WWII. While earlier pianists played busy bass patterns, he helped establish a more fragmented, punctuating role for the left hand. Kevin Whitehead