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.

José James pays tribute to singer/songwriter Bill Withers with his new album "Lean on Me."

The acclaimed actor takes on the role of the iconic artist in "At Eternity's Gate."

The British actress plays war correspondent Marie Colvin, who died in 2012 while reporting in Syria.

The comic book icon died today at the age of 95. Bob Batchelor, author of "Stan Lee: The Man Behind Marvel," weighs in on Lee's influence; singer/songwriter Mary Gauthier collaborated with military veterans for her album, "Rifles and Rosary Beads."

New York Times pop music critic Jon Pareles on the elaborate 50th anniversary re-issue of the landmark album; Drew Love and Dante Jones are making noise as the hip-hop duo known as They; the Spanish singer Rosalía is updating flamenco.

Susan Rogers talks about being Prince's studio engineer for several years in the 1980s; a landmark L.A. music story fights to stay afloat; on the road with California Poet Laureate Dana Gioia.

Actor Jeffrey Wright produced the HBO film about a group of veterans using art to help heal their psychic wounds; L.A. Times TV critic Lorraine Ali looks at the late-night shows on election day; an exiled Iranian film composer makes his presence felt back home.

"They'll Love Me When I'm Dead" is Morgan Neville's insightful documentary about the ambitious film that Welles was unable to finish; taking a motorcycle ride with cast members from "Mayans M.C."

The story of the Colorado senator's ill-fated campaign to become the Democrats' 1988 presidential candidate is dramatized by director/co-writer Jason Reitman; NBC is being criticized for its decision to air an inflammatory anti-immigration ad.

The actor talks about his transformation into Queen's flamboyant singer in the new biopic; Netflix is amending its policy and will now release films in theaters before they hit the streaming service.

Comedy writers Merrill Markoe and Megan Koester talk about the making of their audiobook; Claire Warden on being an "intimacy director" on TV and movie sets; music veterans Dave Alvin and Jimmie Dale Gilmore celebrate their roots on the album, "Downey to Lubbock."

The filmmaker no longer sits in the director's chair, but he still composes the music for his frightful franchise; the scary voice of a four-year-old in "It"; and is the TV content boom leading to more stunt performer injuries and deaths?