MEMETERIA by Thomas May

Arts & Culture Stories from NPR

• 'Glee' Actor Naya Rivera's Body Recovered From California Lake
  Rivera was best known for her role as Santana Lopez, a take-no-prisoners cheerleader/singer on Glee for six seasons. That character was also an inspiration for young LGBTQ viewers.
• In 'Perry Mason,' Matthew Rhys Lives Out His Boyhood Noir Fantasies
  Welsh actor Matthew Rhys says his version of the iconic criminal defense attorney is more hardboiled than the one Raymond Burr played on TV: "He's a man who kind of lives on whiskey and cigarettes."
• Kelly Preston, Actress And Wife Of John Travolta, Dead At 57
  Preston died after a two-year battle with breast cancer. She acted in various TV shows but rose to fame after her role in the 1988 Arnold Schwarzenegger and Danny DeVito comedy, Twins.
• Trans People 'Have Always Been There,' Says 'Disclosure' Producer Laverne Cox
  The Emmy-winning actress is the executive producer of Disclosure, a new documentary on trans representation in Hollywood. Trans people were on film as early as 1914, but often misrepresented.
• How 6 Problem-Solvers Tackled Pandemic Challenges In Their Neighborhoods
  From a generous urban farmer to a roving mariachi band, people are using their talents to help others. Read their stories — then nominate a problem-solver in your community.
• Take 'The Unadoptables' Home For A Rollicking Adventure
  Hana Tooke creates a memorable villain, Matron Gassbeek, who menaces the feisty orphans of The Unadoptables in the grand tradition of awful authority figures like Miss Trunchbull and Viola Swamp.
• Thomas Chatterton Williams On Debate, Criticism And The Letter In 'Harper's Magazine'
  A letter on the importance of open debate was published by Harper's Magazine this week and was signed by more than 150 prominent writers and thinkers, fueling a controversy over debate and privilege.
• 'Utopia Avenue,' The Greatest Sixties Band That Never Was
  David Mitchell's new novel chronicles the rise and fall of fictional 1960s psychedelic rock band. He says he was drawn to both the music and the "dark magic that was in the air" in that era.
• Not My Job: Jameela Jamil Of 'The Good Place' Gets Quizzed On 'The Wood Place'
  Jameela Jamil arrived in Los Angeles, went on one audition, booked the job and became a star on the sit-com The Good Place — a totally typical, not at all out of the ordinary Hollywood story!
• Kick Back With 'Palm Springs,' A Witty Romcom About Fighting Despair
  The romantic comedy starring Andy Samberg and Cristin Milioti finds two people connecting at a wedding and getting a lot more than they bargained for.