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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Eley Williams tells the story of two word-mad characters who work for the same dictionary publisher 120 years apart. This novel is perfect for anyone who loves puns, crosswords and witty writing.
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A new PBS Masterpiece psychological thriller stars Glenda Jackson as a woman desperately trying to solve two mysteries — even as her own grasp of reality is slipping away. -
From Lovers RocktoThe Good Lord Bird, the titles on John Powers' year-end list didn't simply distract; they also delved into enduring questions of freedom, dignity and survival.
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A new documentary reveals how corporate and government corruption led to the use of diluted disinfectants in Romanian hospitals. Collectiveis a gripping story that speaks to the present moment.
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The latest season of The Crownpulses with glamour and sizzle, as Elizabeth II greets the arrival of two women who threaten her preeminence: Margaret Thatcher and Princess Diana.
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A brilliant young woman crashes the traditionally male world of chess in Netflix's seven-part miniseries based on Walter Tevis' addictive novel.
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Lee's new film for HBO captures a live performance of Byrne's acclaimed Broadway show. David Byrne's American Utopia is a rousing blend of song, dance and revival meeting.
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A Mossad agent is charged with crippling the Iranian power grid. After a deadly snafu, she must survive in a city not exactly known for its hospitality toward Israeli spies.
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A new documentary shows how the CIA and Britain's MI6 engineered the forcible removal of Iranian Prime Minister Mohammad Mosaddegh. The 1953 coup continues to rattle history to this day.
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Critic John Powers recommends three stories to break up the monotony of coronavirus lockdown: Unorthodoxon Netflix; Baghdad Central on Hulu and a new translation of Magda Szabó's 1970 novel Abigail.
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A new film chronicles what happens when a Chinese billionaire reopens a former General Motors plant in Ohio. John Powers says it's an old-school observational documentary in the very best sense.
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Hatidze Muratova lives in a remote area of Macedonia and has one simple rule: When you harvest honey, you take half — and leave the other half for the bees. An elegant new documentary tells her story.
