Jaime Cortez's debut collection, Gordo, is set in and around the same dusty California town that inspired John Steinbeck. It's a lovely portrait of a time and place that still manages to be universal.

This week, we take a break from the news to feature some of our favorite moments from past shows.

Big companies are becoming more inclusive and featuring more Blacks and other minorities in their ads and marketing materials as a way to take a stand against racism, analysts say.

Words can seem infinite — but language has limits. In his new poetry collection, Pilgrim Bell, Kaveh Akbar shapes language into prayer, into body, into patchwork — but only into what can be known.

Despite having gotten good reviews for his guest-hosting stint, new host (and executive producer) Mike Richards has found himself greeted with mixed feelings at best.

Even well-worn notes can sound freshly resonant in the right hands. A new film about Franklin's early years doesn't entirely avoid biopic conventions, but there's real intelligence and feeling in it.

The family comedy-drama CODA nabbed big prizes at Sundance in January. Now, it arrives on Apple TV+. It doesn't hold back in going for the tears, but it mostly earns them.

The trippy Netflix series about a student filmmaker who uses dark magic to get revenge on a sleazy producer borrows heavily from Cronenberg and Lynch, but tells a weird, gruesome tale all its own.

Facing pressure to cede control of his daughter's finances, Jamie Spears filed documents Thursday to leave his position as conservator of the pop star's estate. No timeline has been laid out, however.