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.

Hear from a wide range of nominees including David Byrne (alternative album); Linda Perry (producer of the year); H.E.R. (album of the year, best new artist); Yuja Wang (classical solo performance); Janelle Monáe (album of the year); Mary Gauthier (folk album); Mark Ronson (song of the year); Boz Scaggs (contemporary blues album); and Max Baca of Los Texmaniacs (regional Mexican album)

Nadine Labaki directed Lebanon's entry to the Academy Awards, which tells the heartbreaking story of a 12-year-old boy who just wants a future; Spotify makes a big podcast play by purchasing Gimlet Media; singer/songwriter Bhi Bhiman's new album, "Peace of Mind," is released song-by-song as a podcast.

Filmmaker Joe Berlinger talks about his current docu-series and his coming feature film about the serial killer; how is Hollywood lining up behind Democratic presidential candidates?; Kurt Farquhar went from being homeless to becoming a prolific composer for TV shows.

Ganatra talks about the film she directed, which was written by Kaling and was a big hit at Sundance; the latest study from USC's Inclusion Initiative has some distressing news about women in the music industry; the search to replace a legendary drummer and professor at a prominent music program.

The actor immersed himself in the painter's life for "At Eternity's Gate"; what is, and isn't coming to your TV in the coming months; actor Bill Pullman on what it takes to play the president.

The rock/folk music veteran recounts his life and career in the documentary, "David Crosby: Remember My Name"; Domee Shi's "Bao" has an Academy Award nomination for Best Animated Short.

Comedian Abby McEnany is at the festival debuting her TV pilot, in which she co-stars with Julia Sweeney; John Horn reports from Sundance on the festival's final weekend; Lynell George reviews the new project by musician Anthony Wilson that combines his songs and photography.

The director becomes the rare woman to helm an action thriller; GLAAD puts the spotlight on LGBTQ-inclusive film scripts; the documentary "Of Fathers and Sons" is nominated for an Academy Award.

The singer/songwriters put their talents together for the album, “Better Oblivion Community Center”; an artificial intelligence company has an algorithm that writes movie scripts; cinematographer and Academy Award nominee Matthew Libatique ("A Star Is Born").

Rachel Lears on her documentary about a quartet of progressive women who ran for Congress, "Knock Down the House"; L.A. Times reporter Jen Yamato recaps her time at Sundance; Richard Ladkani's documentary, "Sea of Shadows," is about the tragic and illegal harvesting of fish in Mexico's Sea of Cortez.

The actor re-teams with writer/director Dan Gilroy ("Nightcrawler") for a horror film set in L.A.'s contemporary art world; film critic Claudia Puig assesses the first few days of Sundance; Alexandre O. Philippe, writer/director of the documentary, “Memory: The Origins of Alien.”

John Horn and a couple of producers are at the Sundance Film Festival where they will provide a daily recap of which films are getting the most buzz; also today: the director of "Untouchable," a documentary about Harvey Weinstein that is premiering at the very festival where he once ruled the roost.