Francesca Royster

professor of English at DePaul University; author of “Black Country Music: Listening for Revolutions”

Francesca Royster on KCRW

Beyoncé topped Billboard’s Hot Country Songs chart with a single from “Cowboy Carter,” but the album has drawn backlash over who’s qualified to make country music.

Pioneering Black artists laid the groundwork for ‘Cowboy Carter’

Beyoncé topped Billboard’s Hot Country Songs chart with a single from “Cowboy Carter,” but the album has drawn backlash over who’s qualified to make country music.

from Press Play with Madeleine Brand

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The latest film releases include Mickey 17, On Becoming a Guinea Fowl, Night of the Zoopocalypse, and The Rule of Jenny Pen.

from Weekend Film Reviews

The big sounds of this week's Top 30 are: emotional Ice Capades, frenetic bounce, and nervy darkwave.

Fanatic! I hope you had a great week. All around me leaves are exploding back into existence and the temperature is rising. Some cool records are coming out soon.

from Henry Rollins

Critics review the latest film releases: “Death of a Unicorn,” “Grand Tour,” “An Unfinished Film,” and “The Ballad of Wallis Island.”

from Weekend Film Reviews

Director Bong Joon Ho discusses his long-awaited “Parasite” follow-up “Mickey 17,” Susan Morrison talks profiling Lorne Michaels, and Zoe Saldaña has our Treat.

from The Treatment

The ongoing Murdoch family drama is ramping up again; this time coming in the form of courtroom details released from a private trial in Nevada.

from The Business

The 97th annual Academy Awards broadcast saw a 1% increase in viewership from last year’s telecast. What’s behind the ratings boost?

from The Business

A historian takes readers on a visual tour of buildings torn down from the 19th and 20th centuries in “ Los Angeles Before The Freeways: Images of an Era 1850-1950 .”

from KCRW Features

Fanatic! I hope you had a tremendous week with lots of music and good health. Tonight’s show is definitely a “spring oriented” gathering of tunes. I think it’s a good one.

from Henry Rollins