Avengers: Endgame is the 22nd feature film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. It is the fourth Avengers movie and the fourth MCU entry directed by Anthony and Joe Russo. It is the 10th film in the MCU's Phase Three and the last part of its Infinity Saga. I didn't understand very much of that stuff I just wrote, but I totally get this last bit: Avengers: Endgame may well be on its way to becoming the highest-grossing movie ever made.
And then: Taylor Swift's new single/video, "Me," is setting records of its own. Never mind that the duet with Panic! at the Disco's Brendon Urie is maybe kinda... terrible?
And terribleness just might be the new trend in movie trailers: There's Sonic the Hedgehog and his creepy human teeth. There's Will Smith's weird blue genie in Aladdin. Or the "live-action" Lion King and its new-look Scar. The Sonic backlash has been so bad that it looks like they might even redesign the character.
Some other stuff that happened this week, give or take:
- John Singleton Did Justice to a Poetic Vision of African-American Life
- Peter Mayhew, Chewbacca in the 'Star Wars' films, dies at 74
- ESPN The Magazine Is Shutting Down
- Why Everyone Is Watching TV with Closed Captioning On These Days
- "Would You Rather Be a Dog or a Ghost?" Is the Perfect Party Question
- Toward a Theory of the American TV Commercial, Vol. 3: Time Kills, Spuds Abides
- Every Burger King in the country will have meatless Whoppers by the end of the year
- Exclusive: Listen to the new 'Morning Edition' theme music
GUESTS:
- Susan Bigelow Librarian, columnist for CT News Junkie, and a science fiction/fantasy novelist
- James Hanley - Co-founder of Cinestudio at Trinity College
- Bill Yousman - Professor of Media Studies at Sacred Heart University
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Colin McEnroe and Chion Wolf contributed to this show.