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    7 Podcasts to Binge in a Day

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    Whether you’re craving a thriller, a spy documentary or an exploration of an American musical icon, each of these limited series can be enjoyed in one big gulp.One full year into the pandemic, the end is finally in sight. President Biden has promised to make every American adult eligible for vaccination by May, with the goal of a return to some version of normal life by the summer. Until then, though, we still need to find ways to hunker down and pass the time. And if you’ve already exhausted your Netflix queue and made your way through this year’s Oscar contenders, consider making your next binge an audio one.Whether you’re craving a twisty thriller, a quirky spy documentary or an award-winning exploration of an American musical icon, each of these seven limited series can be enjoyed in a single daylong gulp.‘Wind of Change’There’s no shortage of conspiracy theories about the Central Intelligence Agency — including a claim that it actually invented the term “conspiracy theory” — but none quite like the one at the heart of this eight-part nonfiction series. Here’s the premise: The C.I.A. orchestrated the writing of “Wind of Change,” an anthemic power ballad by the German heavy metal band Scorpions. Why? As part of a covert campaign to undermine the Soviet Union during the Cold War, of course. Hosted by Patrick Radden Keefe, a writer for The New Yorker, this podcast from Crooked Media take the listener on a labyrinth of a story, one that encompasses interviews with ex-spies and aging rockers alike, and may change the way you see pop culture forever.Starter episode: “My Friend Michael”‘Dirty John’Wondery, now a podcasting powerhouse that was recently purchased by Amazon, enjoyed its breakout moment in the fall of 2017, when the network (in tandem with The Los Angeles Times) released the first few episodes of its gripping saga about an abusive con artist and the women he almost destroyed. That show, “Dirty John,” takes place in the idyllic oceanfront setting of Orange County, Calif., where Debra Newell is about to go on a first date with a dreamy doctor named John Meehan. Suffice it to say, Meehan is not what he seems. A TV version was released on Bravo in 2018, but nothing matches the raw force of the audio original — particularly the breathtaking finale, in which Meehan’s disturbing behavior reaches its awful zenith.Starter episode: “The Real Thing”‘The Mystery Show’Picture this: you rent a video from a video store, back when those were a thing. The following day, you go to return the video only to discover that the store is gone. You’re not lost or confused — the store has genuinely vanished. This “Twilight Zone”-esque experience is just one of the real life mysteries that Starlee Kine investigates in “The Mystery Show,” an early hit from Gimlet Media. After the murder mystery “Serial” changed podcasting forever in 2014, there was an onslaught of copycat shows trying to cash in on the same formula by re-examining cold cases. Kine, though, focuses on low-stakes puzzles that involve no true crimes, but are nonetheless utterly captivating.Starter episode: “Case #1: Video Store”‘Passenger List’Blending the old-school pleasures of a radio play with a distinctly modern premise, ‘Passenger List’ is one of the best fictional podcasts of recent years. After a flight from London to New York disappears without a trace somewhere over the Atlantic Ocean, the twin sister of one of the doomed passengers (played by Kelly Marie Tran) sets out to uncover the truth about what really happened. Playing on timely anxieties surrounding events like the disappearance of Malaysia Airlines 370, the show from PRX’s “Radiotopia” is both an addictive popcorn thriller for your ears, and now an unexpectedly nostalgic treat for those missing air travel.Starter episode: “Traffic”‘Dolly Parton’s America’You don’t have to be into country music in general, or Dolly Parton in particular, to be pulled in by this Peabody-winning exploration of how the multifaceted star became such an enduring icon. Although much of the show from WNYC Studios is taken up with conversations about just how beloved Parton is by everybody who knows her, “Dolly Parton’s America” avoids hagiography by taking its title seriously, exploring the Dollyverse against a broader national backdrop. The host, Jad Abumrad (“Radiolab”), begins the series by explaining his own connection to the star — he hails from Tennessee just like Parton — and the moment in 2016 that made him see her as a unifying force in an otherwise divided nation. Featuring interviews with musicians, historians, fans and with Parton herself, this is the kind of nuanced and intimate profile that audio does best.Starter episode: “Sad Ass Songs”‘Escaping Nxivm’Last year saw the release of two buzzy rival documentaries about the sex trafficking cult Nxivm, whose leader, Keith Raniere, was recently sentenced to 120 years in prison. But long before either show, CBC Radio was the first to delve into the horrifying and deeply peculiar world of Nxivm, whose members famously included the “Smallville” actress Allison Mack and the liquor heiress Clare Bronfman. In “Escaping Nxivm,”, the first season of CBC’s ongoing “Uncover” podcast series, the journalist Josh Bloch interviews Sarah Edmondson, a former key member of Nxivm who has now become its most famous whistle-blower. An actress by trade, Edmonson makes for a compelling central figure, her voice vividly emotional as she recalls the nightmarish ways Raniere and his chosen leaders gradually chipped away at her sense of self. A tough listen that showcases the unique intimacy of podcasting.Starter episode: “The Branding”‘Bag Man’Many podcasts have found success by re-examining well-known political scandals through a fresh lens (most notably Slate’s “Slow Burn”), but this gem from MSNBC pulls off the same trick with a scandal that almost nobody remembers. That’s because Watergate was dominating headlines at the time, but in “Bag Man,” Rachel Maddow pulls back the curtain on an adjacent 1973 investigation that saw vice president Spiro Agnew accused of brazen political corruption. Maddow does not hesitate to point out what she sees as parallels to President Trump — Agnew angrily dismissed the investigation as a “witch hunt” in one example — and for anyone missing the juicy palace intrigue stories that came out of the Trump White House, this is a must-listen.Starter episode: “An Unsettling Secret” More

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      Kelly Marie Tran: ‘I’m Not Afraid Anymore’

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      #masthead-section-label, #masthead-bar-one { display: none }What to WatchBest Movies on NetflixBest of Disney PlusBest of Amazon PrimeBest Netflix DocumentariesNew on NetflixAdvertisementContinue reading the main storySupported byContinue reading the main storyKelly Marie Tran: ‘I’m Not Afraid Anymore’The actress has left the “Star Wars” bullies behind to star as Disney’s first Southeast Asian princess in “Raya and the Last Dragon.” She says, “I’m finally asking for the things I want.”Kelly Marie Tran in Los Angeles. Three years after enduring vicious online trolls, “I’m a much stronger person now,” she said. “And I have the tools to react to those situations.”Credit…Tracy Nguyen for The New York TimesMarch 5, 2021, 11:24 a.m. ETThere are two Kelly Marie Trans in this story.One is self-assured, confident and eager to show young Asian-American girls that, yes, women who do not have long blond hair, big doe eyes and porcelain skin can get major roles in films.The other is a distant, if prominent, memory.When Tran wrote a scathing essay in The New York Times in August 2018 excoriating a culture that had marginalized her for the color of her skin, she’d just deleted her Instagram posts amid online harassment from “Star Wars” fans. Her performance as Rose Tico, the first lead character in a “Star Wars” film to be played by a woman of color, had been a proud moment for her. But then, she wrote, she started to believe the racist and sexist comments from online trolls. “Their words reinforced a narrative I had heard my whole life,” the Vietnamese-American actress wrote. “That I was ‘other,’ that I didn’t belong, that I wasn’t good enough, simply because I wasn’t like them.”But recent box office successes like “Crazy Rich Asians” and critical hits like “Minari” that have focused on Asian characters have brightened her view of the film industry — and contributed to her own empowerment. “I’m finally asking for the things I want and learning to trust my own opinion,” she said in a video interview from Los Angeles last month. “And I wish so badly that I grew up in a world that taught me how to do that at a younger age.”Tran voices the starring role of the warrior princess Raya (which rhymes with Maya) in the animated film “Raya and the Last Dragon,” out March 5 on Disney+. That makes her the first actress of Southeast Asian descent to play a lead role in an animated Disney movie, a milestone she doesn’t take lightly. “I feel an overwhelming sense of responsibility,” she said. “To be honest, I haven’t slept in, like, two weeks.”Tran’s title character in “Raya and the Last Dragon.” She said she felt “an overwhelming sense of responsibility” as the first actress of Southeast Asian descent to get a lead role in a Disney animated movie.Credit…DisneyIn a conversation, Tran discussed how the “Star Wars” films prepared her for the pressure that comes with being a Disney princess, the boom in Asian and Asian-American screen stories, and the pros and cons of life without social media. These are edited excerpts from the conversation.Do you intentionally target barrier-breaking roles?I wish! I never thought in a million years that I would be doing what I’m doing now. I was the first woman of color to have a leading role in a “Star Wars” movie; I’m the first Southeast Asian Disney princess — these are things that no one that had looked like me had done before.In your New York Times essay, you spoke out about the harassment you experienced after your role in “Star Wars: The Last Jedi.” Given the recent slate of successful Asian and Asian-American films, does it feel like things have shifted in Hollywood?I’m so [expletive] excited that more of these movies like “Crazy Rich Asians,” “Parasite” and “Minari” are being made. I’m really proud to be part of that change in terms of making movies that honor people from those parts of the world. But there have also been a lot of anti-Asian hate crimes recently, so there’s still a lot of work to be done.Would you still have done “Star Wars” knowing the harassment you’d face?[Long pause] I think I would’ve done it anyway. Doing that first movie was so fun — it was like being admitted to Hogwarts. It was like, “This is impossible,” and then I was doing it. I don’t really look back with that much regret anymore. “Star Wars” feels like I fell in love for the first time, and then we had a really bad breakup, and then I learned how to love again, and now I’m in a better relationship with “Raya.” I’ve moved on, and it feels great.Tran with John Boyega in “Star Wars: The Last Jedi.” After enduring online harassment over her role in the franchise, the actress said, “I don’t really look back with that much regret anymore.”Credit…David James/DisneyHow are you a different person than you were three years ago?I was so afraid and put so much pressure on myself starting out. You feel like you have to do it the right way or else no one else is going to get a chance. But I’m a much stronger person now, and I have the tools to react to those situations when they happen. I’m not afraid anymore. I’m finally making room for myself and asking for the things that I want. God, I wish I knew how to do that 10 years ago!What are some of the things you feel comfortable asking for now?I’ve been very, very loud about the projects I do and don’t want to be involved in. I never want to further a stereotype or take a job that makes me feel like I’m perpetuating some sort of idea about what it is to be Asian. And I’ve been really, really adamant about my boundaries. Leaving social media was so mentally healthy for me, even though I’ve been told over and over again, “Kelly, you’re not going to get brand sponsorships.” I just don’t care, because I know what’s best for myself, and I know that I’m happier than I ever was being on it.What is most encouraging to you about the entertainment industry right now?I’m most inspired by the people who continue to fight in order for their voices to be heard, and not just in the Asian community, but in the Black, trans, L.G.B.T.Q. and other underrepresented communities. On my dark days, when I feel sad and insecure about myself, those are the shows that I watch and the stories that I turn to. It brings me so much hope that people are speaking their truths and actually having people listen.Asked if she sets her sights on barrier-breaking roles, she said, “I wish! I never thought in a million years that I would be doing what I’m doing now.”Credit…Tracy Nguyen for The New York TimesAre microaggressions something you still encounter?I haven’t recently experienced outward racism in the way I experienced it when I was a young child, but now I experience subtle racism in terms of people who are publicly allies but privately complicit. In Hollywood, there are people who outwardly are like, “We believe in this,” and then when you’re actually in the trenches with them, they do things that show you they are actually complicit with white supremacy, and with institutions of power that have allowed specific types of people to get away with injustice over and over and over again.Your Vietnamese name is Loan. When did you start using the name Kelly?The name on my birth certificate is actually Kelly. My parents, who are war refugees from Vietnam, adopted American names when they started working — my dad worked at Burger King for almost 40 years, and my mom worked at a funeral home. And they gave their children American names. I didn’t realize it until I was older, but it was them protecting us so that people wouldn’t mispronounce our names. But I didn’t realize until later on that it was also an erasure of culture. It makes my heart hurt a lot to think about it.What advice do you have for young Asian-American actors?Do not blame yourself if someone is not educated enough to understand that there are different types of people in the world who exist and who deserve to be heard. Do not internalize racism, do not internalize misogyny, make space for yourself and ask for what you want, because no one else is going to make space for you.AdvertisementContinue reading the main story More

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      ‘Raya and the Last Dragon’ Review: Fool Me Once

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      AdvertisementContinue reading the main storySupported byContinue reading the main story‘Raya and the Last Dragon’ Review: Fool Me OnceA new Disney princess from Southeast Asia battles factionalism and her own trust issues.A scene from “Raya and the Last Dragon.”Credit…DisneyMarch 4, 2021, 7:00 a.m. ETRaya and the Last DragonDirected by Don Hall, Carlos López Estrada, Paul Briggs, John RipaAnimation, Action, Adventure, Comedy, Family, FantasyPG1h 54mFind TicketsWhen you purchase a ticket for an independently reviewed film through our site, we earn an affiliate commission.Disney’s newest princess, Raya, has some serious trust issues.Not long after she follows her dad’s lead when he extends an olive branch to the fellow leaders of the other kingdoms that once comprised Kumandra — an ancient utopia of cross-cultural unity — she’s betrayed by a new friend, Namaari (Gemma Chan).Raya (Kelly Marie Tran) had giddily offered to give her pal — a fellow warrior princess with whom she’d bonded over swords and curry — a peek at the dragon gem that’s causing all the grown-ups to act out. Unfortunately for Raya, Namaari’s chumminess is part of a ruse to get that precious rock: in this factionalized, dog-eat-dog world, even the kids are con artists.Turns out the stone is the only thing standing between humanity and the Druun, a “mindless plague” that turns people into terra-cotta statues. This shapeless, electric-purple evil is unleashed when the gem shatters, throwing the planet into the Dark Ages.Six years later, Raya is a young woman and a solo adventurer zooming around a desert wasteland on her trusty pill-bug-armadillo. Her moment of past weakness haunts her — figuratively and literally, with a pugilistic Namaari always on her tail.Faith in the goodness of other people — even those from distant lands and of different persuasions — is the governing theme of “Raya and the Last Dragon,” which the directors Don Hall and Carlos López Estrada, and the screenwriters Qui Nguyen and Adele Lim, set in a fantasyland version of Southeast Asia complete with floating markets, water taxis and lots of shrimp congee.In typical Disney-princess fashion, our brooding heroine acquires a joke-slinging sidekick in nonhuman form: Sisu (Awkwafina), the titular last dragon, who (like Mushu in “Mulan” before her) isn’t a menacing behemoth so much as a klutzy, shape-shifting My Little Pony-like creature.Raya and company traverse multiple lands to collect the scattered pieces of the stone, giving the creators an excuse to indulge in expansive world-building, while snappy editing and rousingly choreographed action scenes animate these settings with comic strip panache. The animators don’t stray far from the overall style of recent Disney fare like “Frozen” or “Moana,” though the film’s meticulously detailed environments — rainforest shrines teeming with visible moisture, snowy mountain fortresses shrouded in fog — are particularly impressive.The Disney treatment, like the Druun itself, seems to neutralize whatever it touches, no matter how hard it works to preserve the distinctive elements of the non-Western cultures it has brought under its label, especially recently. Is Disney paying tribute to these cultures? Or are these cultures instruments of corporate strategy? Places as different as Mexico (“Coco”), the Polynesian Islands (“Moana”) and now Southeast Asia are flattened along the Disney continuum, with each feeling like one in a collection.In any case, the gender politics of the recent live-action “Mulan,” which some found to be retrograde, puts “Raya” in perspective: There’s no doubting our heroine’s abilities, nor is there mention of her being exceptional. “Disney princess” may eventually just become another word for “superhero,” but at least she won’t need saving.And here, the most meaningful and transformative relationships are between women, er, feminine beings. Raya and Namari must learn to trust each other despite the history of betrayal — and between them there’s maybe, just maybe even the faintest hints of sexual tension. Then there’s Sisu, whose unwavering faith in humanity will leave its mark on both ladies. The unity rhetoric feels awfully trite, but it also teaches forgiveness: a worthy lesson for the kids.Raya and the Last DragonRated PG. Running time: 1 hour 54 minutes. In theaters and on Disney+. Please consult the guidelines outlined by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention before watching movies inside theaters.AdvertisementContinue reading the main story More

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      ‘The Croods: A New Age’ Review: More Civilized

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      No one would call it a huge leap on the evolutionary ladder, but the animated sequel “The Croods: A New Age” is slightly funnier than its serviceable 2013 predecessor. That movie followed a family of cave persons — whose patriarch was the lunkheaded but big-hearted Grug (voiced by Nicolas Cage) — as they left the safety of the rocky alcove they called home and, thanks to the creativity of an outsider, Guy (Ryan Reynolds), embraced more innovative ways of thinking.“The Croods: A New Age,” directed by Joel Crawford, accelerates the Crood family’s clash with modernity. The clan stumbles into a verdant utopia that’s a cross between Shangri-La and Gilligan’s Island. This paradise is maintained by a family called the Bettermans, headed by Hope (Leslie Mann) and Phil (Peter Dinklage), who wear new-age garb and snobbishly show off their advanced ideas, like private rooms, windows and fruit baskets.[embedded content]They also have plans to set up Guy, who has been going steady with Eep (Emma Stone), the Croods’ eldest, with their daughter, Dawn (Kelly Marie Tran), in a subplot that the writers — perhaps because the world’s still-tiny population left them without enough characters to pair off — leave at least partly unresolved.While Dawn and Eep become besties, the dueling dads negotiate the common ground between Grug’s vestigial Cro-Magnonism and Phil’s proto-metrosexuality. Paradoxically, the movie’s energy ebbs as the proceedings turn more antic. The culture clash comedy becomes secondary once “A New Age” introduces a tribe of pugnacious, subtitled monkeys who appear to have a fairly advanced society of their own.The Croods: A New AgeRated PG. Hybrid animals — such as wolf spiders — that might frighten children. Running time: 1 hour 35 minutes. In theaters. Please consult the guidelines outlined by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention before watching movies inside theaters. More