Bob Mondello
Stories
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The Kennedy Center's history was, until now, marked by cooperation and independence
Proposed in 1955 by President Dwight Eisenhower and championed by the arts enthusiast whose name it would ultimately bear, the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts has a storied history.
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President Trump names himself chairman of the Kennedy Center
President Trump has fired several Board Members at Washington DC's John F Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, and indicated that he's naming himself chairman.
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Why do the Oscars get things wrong so often?
It's Oscar season, a perfect occasion to look at why the Academy Awards gets things wrong so often.
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Oscar nominations are out, and NPR's film critic has thoughts
Oscar voters are keen on movies with social themes this year. iEmilia Pérez , Netflix's musical about a trans drug lord in Mexico, leads Oscar nominations with 13 nods, including for Best Picture.
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Shakespeare meets gaming in 'Grand Theft Hamlet'
During pandemic lockdowns, two actors decided to try to stage a Shakespeare play entirely inside the game Grand Theft Auto. Grand Theft Hamlet tells the story.
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What the 2025 Golden Globes say –or don't– about this awards season
The narco-musical Emilia Perez and Japanese epic Shogun were the big winners at the 2025 Golden Globe Awards. The question now is what that means for awards season, and for the Globes themselves.
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Revisiting 'Carterland,' a documentary that reappraises an oft-disparaged presidency
Looking back at the life of President Carter, we tend to focus on his humanitarian work after his presidency. A documentary released in 2024 depicted his time in office as an era of problem-solving.
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Why the streaming release of 'Wicked' surprised NPR's film critic
Not even six weeks into its record-breaking run in theaters, Wicked is available for home viewing starting Dec. 31. Film critic Bob Mondello explains how theatrical releases have changed over time.
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The top 10 movies of the year, according to NPR film critic Bob Mondello
The year's box office numbers were down, due to the residual effects of actors' and writers' strikes, but quality wasn't dimmed. Bob Mondello's list of the 10 best movies of the year overflows.
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A possibly genius architect gets a taste of the American dream in 'The Brutalist'
Brady Corbet's monumental drama, The Brutalist, chronicles the journey of a Jewish architect who comes to the U.S. in 1947 and creates a troubled and troubling masterpiece.