John Powers
John Powers is the pop culture and critic-at-large on NPR's Fresh Air with Terry Gross. He previously served for six years as the film critic.
Powers spent the last 25 years as a critic and columnist, first for LA Weekly, then Vogue. His work has appeared in numerous publications, including Harper's BAZAAR, The Nation, Gourmet, The Washington Post, and The New York Times.
A former professor at Georgetown University, Powers is the author of Sore Winners, a study of American culture during President George W. Bush's administration. His latest book, WKW: The Cinema of Wong Kar Wai (co-written with Wong Kar Wai), is an April 2016 release by Rizzoli.
He lives in Pasadena, California, with his wife, filmmaker Sandi Tan.
-
Smith began Intimations: Six Essays at the onset of the pandemic and finished it shortly after George Floyd's killing. Although only 100 pages, there's something worth quoting on virtually every page.
-
Charlize Theron plays the world-weary leader of a group of heroes in a new film that broadens the notion of who can be a superhero — and what it might feel like to be one.
-
Currently in its fifth season on Sundance Now, the series focuses on the clandestine missions, office politics and kaleidoscopic personalities at France's big spy organization, the DGSE.
-
A poet, novelist and screenwriter, Hayes' name largely fell from view following his death in 1985. Now, with the re-issue of three of his novels, his reputation has been making a comeback.
-
A limited series premiering on AMC deftly sketches the portrait of a married couple who get put on trial for cheating to win the top prize on the British version of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?
-
Based on Sally Rooney's novel, Hulu's 12-part series centers on the unlikely love affair between two alienated high school students. Despite shortcomings, Normal People's romantic pull is addictive.
-
Actual crimes are scary and disturbing, but critic John Powers finds crime stories comforting. He recommends two shows he's been binge-watching during the pandemic.
-
Critic John Powers recommends three stories to break up the monotony of coronavirus lockdown: Unorthodox on Netflix; Baghdad Central on Hulu and a new translation of Magda Szabó's 1970 novel Abigail. -
Hulu's new eight-part series uses the fraught encounter between two families — one well-off and white, one bohemian and black — to raise tricky questions about race and social class.
-
First the town disappears from Google Maps. Then a UFO appears — and a water truck is riddled with bullet holes. Bacurauis a community portrait, a horror thriller and a work of political filmmaking.
