Journalist, Author & Syndicated Columnist
“Puerto Rico has the longest winter holiday season in the world,” said “Liberation” star Irene Sofia Lucio. “So it is very hard to beat a Puerto Rican Christmas. It is not a white Christmas with hot cocoa and PJs. It’s hot, loud and busy. You don’t cuddle by a fire, you go out to the beach or to the outdoor market, or to Old San Juan and likely run into live music.”
Made in Korea doesn’t flinch in its portrayal of corruption by both the Korean government and its strongest ally, the U.S. military. Director Woo Min-ho presents a Korea where there are no heroes, but rather desperate survivors caught in the crosshairs.
For Abbey Romeo, having her life featured on the Netflix reality show “Love on the Spectrum” was a way to show viewers that autistic people are not that different from individuals who are neurotypical.
NPR invited me to talk about “KPOP Demon Hunters” on their “Here & Now” podcast.
“Thailand is huge, but I personally love Chiang Mai, Pai and the southern islands,” said indie rock artist Meaningful Stone. “Thailand is, how should I put it, a place where sacredness and partying coexist. And since I love both, it’s a place I really need.”
The best K-dramas of 2025 tackle an array of relevant topics that made us cheer, scream, and cry this year. Get ready to binge. My latest for Teen Vogue.
Brian d’Arcy James said that when he was a young actor, he couldn’t have imagined landing prominent roles in three major projects in one year. “You never really aim to try to orchestrate these kinds of things,” said James, who this year is promoting a film (“The Family McMullen”), a series (“The Copenhagen Test”) and an off-Broadway show (“Anna Christie”).”
“Kpop Demon Hunters” ruled the world, Blackpink kept getting bigger, and new artists broke rules. My latest for Rolling Stone magazine.
“The Manipulated” is a film-to-series adaptation of the 2017 action film Fabricated City. Both share the same creative (Park Kwang-hyun) and leading man (Ji Chang-wook).
For Rolling Stone’s year-end list of best albums of 2025., I reviewed Hannah Bahng’s “The Misunderstood EP” and Chaeyoung’s “LIL FANTASY vol. 1.”
“Being a kid in Hawaii is like having a huge playground you can explore endlessly,” singer-songwriter Mikah said. “I used to hike to watch the sunrise, surf, bodysurf, dive, bike around the island, skateboard … the list just goes on. I always think back to my childhood and reminisce about how beautiful it was.”
Easy-to-make muguk recipe with ingedients you probably have at home already!
“The genesis of ‘Horn of Plenty” was a request from NPR to create a radio special celebrating Thanksgiving,” said Paul Winter. “Pieces on the album have been inspired by my experiences in Brazil, Ireland, Russia and Bulgaria, as well as the ocean and the Grand Canyon.”
How a children’s book reflects on the profound impact of losing your first language
“The house in Montebello where we film all of the exteriors of the mansion definitely feels like its own character on the show,” said “Ghosts” star Richie Moriarty. “It’s the site of the deaths of all of the ghosts, so it feels so deeply personal to each character and their backstory. And now that we’re 80-plus episodes into the show, we’ve gotten to explore and showcase so many parts of that amazing property.”
“As You Stood By” examines domestic abuse and how people are reluctant to help victims — most often because they are afraid of how their actions could be detrimental to their own lives (which is also a subplot in Our Unwritten Seoul).
Actress, producer and wellness entrepreneur Zina Wilde is used to traveling the world. Born in London and raised in Thessaloniki [Greece], she currently splits her time between homes in New York and Los Angeles. Wilde said that one of the things she has learned over the years is to go with the flow.
“When I was a wee child, my family took a trip to Key West and we climbed up to the top of some old lighthouse,” he recalled. “The perimeter of it had a chain-link fence around it prohibiting people from falling off the edge,” said Thurston Moore. “I thought that was rather controlling. I climbed over it and prowled around the edge until my father spotted me and yelled for me to come back, and I did. I was wondering why he was so angry. I climbed back over to the safe side and got a bit of a wallop.”
“I think travel shouldn’t turn into work, so I usually don’t do any songwriting while I’m away,” said singer-songwriter Song Sohee. “However, when I visit a place that inspires me or go somewhere peaceful where I can enjoy quiet reflection, I sometimes end up writing lyrics. None of those songs have been released yet, though.”
