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Steven Johnson, author of Everything Bad Is Good for You, aruges that rather than turning our brains to mush, entertainment options like video games are so complex that our brains rise to the challenge.

In a year when the industry bet on fresh tech and virtual worlds, NPR's hip-hop and R&B editor found these albums powerfully immersive all on their own.

Linda Holmes' annual list of highlights from pop culture includes TV, movies, games, podcasts, TikTok videos and whatever else made the year a little easier.

In his new book, Character Is Destiny Sen. John McCain passes along the stories of heroes — both famous and obscure — whose values exemplify the best of the human spirit.

How the members of Algiers — four musicians in three cities on two continents — made an album for a world as divided and unsettled as they are

In 2004, Waters shared music from his album A John Waters Christmas, an anthology of catchy, entertaining and ridiculous holiday songs that reflect his fascination with the odd and unusual.

A year ago, Bill Cosby set off a national debate in a speech to the NAACP where he criticized poor blacks in sometimes harsh language. Cosby emphasized personal responsibility, or the lack of it. In a new book, Michael Eric Dyson describes Cosby's remarks as a vicious attack on the most vulnerable among us.

The cost of 2020 — in lives, livelihoods, legacies and communities — is high and still being tallied. For jazz critic Nate Chinen, all that loss demands change to old ideas of critical objectivity.

As accusations of genocide in Gaza mount against Israel, NPR looks at how the term is defined legally and why previously reticent scholars have changed their minds.

The allegations against Michael Jackson in the documentary Leaving Neverland make listening to his songs a struggle, one that resists the comfort those songs once provided.