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.
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This zippy six-part Paramount+ series, based on a 1983 theft of three tons of gold bars, focuses on the outlaws' efforts to elude capture and legitimize their booty. -
Imagine if Logan Roy from Succession had to solve a murder. That's the vibe of the third and final season of this Danish thriller, which focuses on a heartless developer's attempt to solve a crime.
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The strangely addictive Japanese series is set in a small, all-night joint, run by a chef whose dishes helps strangers tap into something deep and universal.
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In Naomi Hirahara's mystery novel, a Japanese American family interned during the war returns home to a changed city. They're still settling in when their daughter is caught up in a murder.
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A young student in East Berlin falls in love with a much older writer in the run-up to the fall of the Berlin Wall. It is a love story and a rich portrait of people watching their country disappear.
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Just as Better Call Saul is, in some ways, more interesting than Breaking Bad, so Endeavour offers more emotional richness than the series that inspired it.
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Sarah Lancashire plays Catherine Cawood, a big-hearted police sergeant trying to protect her grandson from his violent father. The three seasons offer a twisty and deeply satisfying emotional journey.
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A vibrant student named Clara is walking home one night when a faceless man steps out of the darkness and sets her on fire. The award-winning film is a study in misogyny — not a simple whodunnit.
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A French woman and Japanese man battle to inherit the world's most valuable wine collection in this high-gloss Apple TV+ series, based on the hit Japanese manga.
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How to Blow Up A Pipeline is a lean, sleekly made movie about a modern-day monkey-wrench gang. Although unabashedly partisan, it doesn't preach or glamorize the eco-saboteurs.
