The Nose looks at ‘We Own This City’ and ‘The Northman’

Your strength breaks men’s bones. This week’s Nose has the cunning to break their minds.

We Own This City is a six-part HBO miniseries developed by David Simon and George Pelecanos and based on the book by Baltimore Sun reporter Justin Fenton. It chronicles the Baltimore Police Department’s Gun Trace Task Force and corruption within and around it. Simon told NPR’s Eric Deggans that “this is the closest thing you’re going to get to a sequel” to The Wire.

And: The Northman is director Robert Eggers’s third feature and his first big-budget film. It is based on the Viking legend of Amleth, a prince who tries to avenge the murder of his father.

Some other stuff that happened this week, give or take:

• John Aylward Dies: ‘ER’ & ‘The West Wing’ Actor Was 75
• Hannah Gadsby Stays Sunny by Any Means Necessary
• George Carlin narrator edits make Thomas The Tank Engine even more blue Genius editor combines Carlin’s Thomas & Friends narration with foul-mouthed clips from his audiobook readings
• Hollywood Has No Idea What to Do With the Erotic Thriller Streamers are struggling to reboot a genre that died too young.
• The Untold Story of the White House’s Weirdly Hip Record Collection Jimmy Carter’s grandson is unlocking its mysteries
• Attack of the Clones is underrated — and it’s crucial to the current state of Star Wars George Lucas’ maligned prequel chapter deserves reconsideration as it sets up the Obi-Wan series [Ed. note: Links ≠ endorsement.]
• The Believer, a Beloved Literary Magazine, Goes Home After a Risqué Detour The magazine, bought by a marketing company, briefly hosted clickbait content. Scandal ensued. After a flurry of negotiation, it is now back with its first publisher, McSweeney’s.
• Can You Remember the Plot of Avatar? We asked a semi-random assortment of smart and funny people who were alive in 2009—from Broti Gupta to Brandon Wardell to Marianne Williamson—if they could recall the plot of the highest-grossing movie ever.
• The Puzzle That Will Outlast the World One move down, 1,298,074,214,633,706,907,132,624,082,305,022 to go.
• Star Wars: The Rebellion Will Be Televised An exclusive look at the master plan for Obi-Wan Kenobi with Ewan McGregor and Hayden Christensen, Andor with Diego Luna, Ahsoka with Rosario Dawson—and a fleet of new shows.
• Squid Game Season 2 Likely Won’t Release Until End Of 2023 Or 2024
• Taylor Swift’s NYU Commencement Speech Was About Cats, Cringe, And Getting Canceled The star’s NYU commencement speech was completely apolitical.
• Marvel Studios is licensing Stan Lee’s likeness from the company he sued before his death Lee sued POW! Entertainment in 2018
• Tom Cruise Is Being Boring at Cannes
• ‘Doctor Who’ has its first Black lead. Will the show contend with race?

GUESTS:

• Taneisha Duggan: A director, producer, and arts consultant
• Sam Hadelman: Works in music public relations and hosts The Sam Hadelman Show at Radio Free Brooklyn
• Irene Papoulis: teaches writing at Trinity College

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.