The Frame

Rankine, whose poetry has examined everyday racism in America, and Wolfe, whose music addresses issues of the American worker, were both named MacArthur Foundation fellows; as the Fall TV season launches, we visit with producer Betsy Beers at Shondaland, one of the most successful companies in the industry.

Diavolo Dance Theatre is reinventing modern dance by combing architecture and wildly physical choreography; media critics have been piling on NBC for going soft on the GOP nominee, and now late night host Samantha Bee has joined the fray; Richard Nelson keeps his election-themed plays current by writing until the last minute.

The new documentary, “The Lovers and the Despot,” tells the true story of what happened in 1978 when Kim Jong-il ordered the kidnapping of a filmmaking couple from South Korea to jumpstart North Korea's movie industry; William Bell has revived the classic Stax sound; a new report shows that the music business is actually making money in the streaming age.

Playwright and performer Lucy Alibar draws on her Southern childhood for “Throw Me on the Burnpile and Light Me Up"; Aziz Ansari and Alan Yang, who won a writing Emmy for "Master of None," talk about their approach to diversity; the Toronto International Film Festival kicked off a lot of Academy Award talk.

Kent McCord of the 1960-70s TV cop show, "Adam-12," which was produced in partnership with the LAPD. McCord says a show about cops who aren't "edgy" wouldn't sell in today's TV business; In advance of TV's big awards night, we discuss what goes into an Emmy campaign, and how valuable is a nomination or a win in this era of "too much TV"?

Cheo Hodari Coker, creator and showrunner of the Netflix series "Luke Cage," unpacks the idea of building a show around a superhero who also happens to be a "bullet-proof black man" in a hoodie; Can Pandora and Amazon be the next disruptors in the streaming music space? They hope so.

The documentary "Audrie & Daisy" examines the sexual assault and cyber-shaming of two teen girls; with its third album, the band Local Natives remains entrenched in Silver Lake's indie rock scene; a group of songwriters is challenging the Dept. of Justice's control over royalty rates.

How do unconscious biases affect hiring practices in Hollywood? To dig deeper into this issue, Cathy Schulman (Oscar-winning producer/Women In Film) and Judith Williams (Global Head of Diversity at Dropbox) put Frame host John Horn to the test as if he's a studio executive; In 2005 Jackie Lopez co-founded the hip hop troupe "Versa Style" to teach kids not only how to dance but the cultural history behind hip hop.

"Kicks" filmmakers discuss how being outsiders who didn't fit society's views of manhood fueled the making of their lyrical coming-of-age drama; A new documentary explores why Brad Bird's 1999 animated film "The Iron Giant" was a critical darling, but a box office bomb; Inside Nate Parker's "The Birth of a Nation" press conference at TIFF; Can you scream like Nicholas Cage?

Every August, cultural festivals take over the Scottish city of Edinburgh with thousands of performances taking place day and night. This year The Frame host John Horn immersed himself in shows and brings an audio postcard of his creative excursion; TV reporter Whitney Friedlander joins us to preview some new and returning television shows that are worthy of our time and DVR space this fall.

Fifteen young musicians from L.A. are collaborating with counterparts from the Japanese region struck by disaster four years ago (pictured); Burger Records has built a mini-indie empire in Southern California; Alex Gibney's documentary about the Church of Scientology debuts on HBO.

The Youth Orchestra is in Japan to conduct some teenage musical diplomacy (pictured); "Marilyn Forever" gives the Hollywood icon the opera treatment; Chapman University's film program decides to compete at the multiplex; Rihanna’s singing career just collided with her film career — and not in a good way.

Considering the success of TV shows such as "Fresh Off the Boat" (pictured), two casting directors discuss whether the demand for diversity has turned into a new form of affirmative action; filmmaker Noah Baumbach joins us for a discussion about his new film, "While We're Young."

Last year, for the first time, the record industry made more money from streaming services than from the sale of CDs; British singer/songwriter Laura Marling (pictured) talks about her love-hate relationship with L.A.; “Justified” creator Graham Yost on how the show maintained its spirit after the death of co-creator, Elmore Leonard.

NPR music critic Ann Powers provides a rundown of standout acts, including Leon Bridges (pictured), at SxSW; Twin Shadow goes from indie rock to pop music on his latest album, “Eclipse"; Lacey Schwartz talks about uncovering her secret racial identity in her documentary, "Little White Lie."

This weekend GLAAD honors entertainment and media that best represent LGBT characters. But handing out awards isn’t the group's only job in Hollywood; Why the Iranian band Kiosk had to flee their country to fully realize their art; Suge Knight's bail is set to $25 million, and his lawyers accuse the prosecution of equating Knight with "Empire."

James Corden reveals his hopes and fears as host of the revamped "Late Late Show." Actor Ethan Hawke and pianist Seymour Bernstein talk stage fright and their new documentary. Mr. T gets a reality show gig.

ASCAP president and board chairman Paul Williams (pictured) advocates better pay for songwriters; The Emmys define TV comedies by length; Hammer Museum celebrates the work of artist Charles Atlas.

Apple plans to offer an online package of 25 TV channels including ABC, CBS and FOX, perhaps as soon as this fall; singer/songwriter Tobias Jesso Jr. turned his misfortune into a music career that's blowing up.

Violinist Bing Wang (pictured) is one of the 120-plus L.A. Philharmonic musicians on a two-week tour of Asia; HBO's "The Jinx" is just the latest documentary to play a key role in a criminal case; hanging out with the dudes at the 14th annual celebration of "The Big Lebowski."

How is SxSW in Austin different from all other film festivals?; artist Charles Gaines (pictured) reflects on being black in the art world and gets a retrospective of his very own at the Hammer Museum.

The L.A. Philharmonic is set to leave on a tour of Asia, where it will make its first visit to mainland China and conductor Gustavo Dudamel will work with a youth orchestra born out of the Fukushima disaster in Japan; We take an audio tour of the Bjork exhibit at MOMA that's generating so much snark