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July 20, 2023
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Featured on the July 20th, 2023 edition of ARIZONA SPOTLIGHT with guest host Christopher Conover:
- While Hollywood’s future is clouded with uncertainty, two very different blockbuster films are premiering on the same date - “Barbie” and “Oppenheimer”. Now called “Barbenheimer” by many film goers, will it be the pop-culture event of 2023? Katya Mendoza takes a closer look at this unique situation, which features two history-shaping icons in the center.
Jeff Yanc, program director at The Loft Cinema says the two vastly different films have different tones and even different palettes. While both protagonists are based on real cultural figures from the ‘40s and ‘50s who changed American history in different ways, the cultural event of “Barbenheimer” proves that even during times of uncertainty, there is a hunger for more community engagement in the movie going experience.
From memes, t-shirts and itineraries, moviegoers have drawn connections between the two films in colorful ways.
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Katya Mendoza, AZPM News
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Katya Mendoza, AZPM News
- A small machine roars as it strips agave leaves, separating the long, thick fibers from the green flesh. It’s part of a pilot project aimed at reducing waste in Sonora’s budding bacanora industry by using its byproducts. Find out more in a story produced by Kendal Blust for Fronteras.
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Brian F. Powell
- Mike Stark is a former journalist who is now the creative director for The Center for Biological Diversity in Tucson. His new book Chasing the Ghost Bear: On the Trail of America’s Lost Super Beast details his journey to decipher the mysteries surrounding a now-extinct super predator.
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Courtesy of Blue Rhino Studio
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Courtesy of Mike Stark
ARIZONA SPOTLIGHT airs Fridays at 8:30 am and 6:00 pm, and Saturdays at 5:00 pm, on NPR 89.1 FM / 1550 AM.
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