The Frame

Taylor Mac is the theater artist, drag performer, MacArthur fellow and creative mind behind a 24-hour-long retelling of American history through popular songs; was James Levine allowed to remain in power at the Metropolitan Opera because of "maestro worship"?

Boots Riley of the hip-hop group The Coup talks about his directing debut, "Sorry To Bother You" – a satire about race in America; “High Maintenance” co-creator Katja Blichfeld says she and fellow co-creator Ben Sinclair kept the show intact despite their breakup; the massive SxSW tech, film and music fest is underway in Austin.

"A Wrinkle In Time" author Madeleine L'Engle mixed spirituality and science in her controversial book, now it's a big Disney movie; filmmaker Alma Har'el challenges the advertising business to hire more women to direct commercials; Spotify promises to expand your musical choices, but does it?

Hiro Murai had only directed music videos when Donald Glover tapped him to direct "Atlanta"; Amy Adrion's documentary, "Half the Picture," takes an empowering view of women in filmmaking; Tom Brosseau's latest album is titled "Treasures Untold."

The company that produced "The Wolf of Wall Street" is fined $60 million in embezzlement case; Shawn Colvin's new album is made for kids and their parents; Quiara Alegría Hudes' trilogy of plays gets a first-ever simultaneous staging.

Aparna Nancherla manages to find comic relief in her own depression and anxiety; how to fix an Academy Awards broadcast that hit an all-time ratings low; Tamar-kali's score for "Mudbound" is "the blood beneath the mud."

From the diversity seen on the red carpet and onstage, to the pointed messages delivered during the ceremony, the movie industry is at a tipping point.

We take one last look at the nominees and the larger cultural and political issues surrounding the ceremony; talent agencies have been in the middle of Hollywood's abuse scandals. Maha Dakhil talks about what role the agencies should play to protect their clients.

Wall Street Journal reporter Ben Fritz's book, “The Big Picture: The Fight for the Future of Movies,” examines the fallout from Sony's computers being hacked; Spotify seeks cash infusion as it prepares to sell stocks in the company; the Independent Spirit Awards take place on the eve of the Oscars.

John Horn & Rebecca Keegan of Vanity Fair look at key Academy Award nominees in a year that saw significant contributions by women. And, at least this year, it's not #OscarsSoWhite.

On Today's Show:

The co-star and Emmy nominee says she isn't daunted by challenges being faced by the cast; ever seen James Corden and friends performing a musical on the streets outside CBS on Fairfax? That's the work of Emmy-nominated choreographer Chloe Arnold.

The Emmy-nominated director of "Atlanta" talks about his collaborations with Donald Glover, his love of the Coen brothers and how the show set out to accurately portray life in urban Georgia; in the documentary, "What Haunts Us," Paige Goldberg Tolmach examines multiple suicides at her prep school alma mater; director Jesse Peretz and actor Chris O'Dowd talk about their movie, "Juliet, Naked."

Sarah Paulson has a lead actress Emmy nomination for "American Horror Story: Cult" — the seventh season of the anthology series; Bing Liu's videos of his skateboarding pals turned into the intimate documentary, "Minding the Gap."

Wayne Kramer, guitarist and leader of the Detroit rock band MC5, discusses his new memoir, "The Hard Stuff: Dope, Crime, the MC5, and My Life of Impossibilities"; Amazon is in the running to buy Landmark Theatres.

The iconic singer has died at the age of 76. We hear from her longtime bass player, Chuck Rainey; why has a documentary about her landmark 1972 performance at a Baptist church in Los Angeles never been released?; Daphne Brooks, a professor of African American Studies and Theater Studies at Yale University on the transcendent power of Aretha's voice.

The new Hulu series unites themes and worlds that will be familiar to King's loyal fans; in a new episode of Song Exploder, singer-songwriter Neko Case dissects her song, "Last Lion of Albion"; why is TV's new "Batwoman" raising such a ruckus?

The Emmy-nominated actor talks about his role as the rapper Paper Boi on Donald Glover's offbeat series; film critic Justin Chang on the "flawed but vital milestone" that is "Crazy Rich Asians"; a look back at a landmark movie with an all-Asian cast: "The Joy Luck Club."

The actress, writer and musician has an Emmy nomination for directing an episode of "Portlandia"; John David Washington and the man he portrays, Ron Stallworth, in "BlacKkKlansman"; singer-songwriter Sam Buck contrasts '90s pop country with personal anecdotes of queer identity.

Desiree Akhavan talks about directing and co-writing the teen coming-of-age film, "The Miseducation of Cameron Post"; Spotify cuts a deal with Samsung, the biggest smartphone maker in the world; a new wave of protest songs by Radney Foster and Gaby Moreno.

The singer revisits work from his 50 years of writing and recording music; the semi-annual TV critics press tour has ended, so what's in store for viewers this Fall?; a new campaign calls for Hollywood to place a priority on telling stories about and by transgender people.

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced some surprising changes to the Oscar broadcast today, including a new category for 'popular film'; Sarah Silverman talks about her Emmy-nominated Hulu series, "I Love You, America."