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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Painter and sculptor Anselm Kiefer was born in war-ravaged Germany in 1945. Wim Wenders' new film conveys the beauty, bleakness and moral weight of Kiefer's art. -
Finnish director Aki Kaurismäki's melancholy romantic comedy about two lonely souls trapped in dead-end jobs builds to a gorgeous ending — with a great and revelatory final joke. -
Two lonely souls bond over an injured border terrier with thousands of dollars in medical bills in Colin from Accounts — a bawdy, Australian series brimming with life and honesty. -
Helen Garner, 80, embraces the many-sidedness of life. Her books crackle with curiosity and unpredictability — they win big prizes, kickstart controversies and say things other people rarely dare. -
While the drama of the 1954 film hinged on the high stakes of the Pacific theater during World War II, The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial involves an all-volunteer navy and no sea battles. -
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. -
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. -
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. -
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.
