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.

Why was an ad attacking Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez allowed to air during the Democratic candidates debate?; N.Y. Times TV critic James Poniewozik on his new book, “Audience of One: Donald Trump, Television and the Fracturing of America”; "This Close" is a first: a TV show starring, created and written by deaf people.

The L.A.-based Grammy-winning quartet defies genres on its new album; a proposed state law could have major ramifications for independent musicians; in an excerpt from the podcast Song Exploder, Swedish singer and songwriter Robyn breaks down the title track from her 2018 album, "Honey."

The comedic actor talks about his live show, "All Rise," which he sees as medicine for a divided country; movie critic Beandrea July reports from the Toronto International Film Festival.

What's behind the rising price of concert tickets?; Grammy-winning classical music guitarist Sharon Isbin; photographer Robert Frank, RIP.

The singer is on top of the charts and she's in the upcoming movie, "Hustlers"; a preview of Variety's first-ever Climate Crisis issue; singer John Paul White.

Linda Ronstadt doc filmmakers reveal her range ; Eddie Redmaye and Felicity Jones show their new film in Telluride; Flor de Toloache is a modern mariachi band in more ways than one; the Oregon Shakespeare Festival gets a new Artistic Director and filmmaker Justin Chon takes us to Koreatown.

The festival is one of the leading regional theaters in the country, presenting traditional and non-traditional classics, along with cutting-edge new plays; the state of the music industry; the documentary, "Linda Ronstadt: The Sound of My Voice."

L.A.'s Koreatown is the setting for the filmmaker's new movie about a young woman who has to defer her musical dreams; what's new — and good — on TV right now; Flor de Toloache is not your traditional mariachi group.

The pioneering queer performance artist and writer talks about his evolution as an activist; highlights from the Telluride Film Festival; "Untouchable" is a new documentary about Harvey Weinstein and the multiple allegations of sexual assault and harassment that he faces.

Filmmaker Stanley Nelson talks about his new documentary on the iconic jazz trumpeter, Miles Davis; with more streaming services coming online, is binge watching the best way to enjoy TV?; producer Larry Klein takes "world music" literally on his new project.

Emmy nominees John Leguizamo ("When They See Us") and Mahershala Ali ("True Detective") talk about their acclaimed performances; Renée Zellweger chats with John Horn at the Telluride Film Festival about portraying Judy Garland.

The actress plays Judy Garland in a biopic that's premiering at the Telluride Film Festival; SAG-AFTRA keeps its president ahead of a crucial year; singer R&B singer Michael Marshall transforms a '60s hippie anthem for "The Last Black Man in San Francisco."