Author Lisa Servon says a growing number of Americans are giving up on traditional banks and relying instead on alternatives, including prepaid debit cards, check-cashing centers and payday lenders.
Jeff Bridges on growing up, learning about acting from his father and brother, his new film, and the roles he's best known for, like the Dude in The Big Lebowski.
Jim Jarmusch's new film, Paterson, was loosely inspired by William Carlos Williams' epic poem of the same name. Critic David Edelstein says the film expertly evokes the inner state of an artist.
Director Damien Chazelle talks about his movie La La Land, a love story set in the present day, but the influence of old Hollywood and musicals of the past is all around.
Smith, who died on Friday, was a Methodist minister who traveled the world studying Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Buddhism, Confucianism, Hinduism and other religions. Originally broadcast in 1996.
Omar Saif Ghobash was 6 when an assassin killed his father, who was a diplomat from the United Arab Emirates. His new book is a collection of letters to his sons, urging them to reject extremism.
A new two-CD set features music inspired by Shakespeare as well as actors reading his work. Critic Lloyd Schwartz says any excuse to honor the master playwright is a good one.
In addition to playing Princess Leia in the original Star Wars movies, Fisher was also the author of Postcards from the Edge and The Princess Diarist. Originally broadcast in 1990, 2004 and 2016.
It's been 40 years since The Ramones released their self-titled first album. Rock historian Ed Ward remembers the debut as a confrontational and divisive record with a "cartoonish overlay."
TV critic David Bianculli says that 2016 wasn't a great year for broadcast TV — but that's OK, because audiences had a lot of streaming, cable and Web options to make up for it.
Edelstein notes that La La Land is just one of the releases that made 2016 "an excellent year" for movies. Below is his list of the best dozen films of the year.
Politico reporter Michael Crowley discusses President-elect Donald Trump's relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin. "There's something I think we don't completely understand," Crowley says.
Critic Kevin Whitehead remembers the jazz notables who died this year, including vibraphonist Bobby Hutcherson, singer/pianist Mose Allison, pianist Paul Bley and trumpeter Paul Smoker.
Mike Mills' latest film, 20th Century Women, is inspired by the yearning to understand his mother who raised him. Set in Santa Barbara in 1979, it stars Annette Bening as Dorothea, a 55-year-old woman who grew up during the Depression and is struggling to raise her teenage son, Jamie, on her own.
The nefarious Empire is building a giant weapon in the latest installment of the Star Wars saga. Critic David Edelstein says though Rogue One is part of a series, it also works as a stand-alone film.
