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For Beyoncé's Renaissance tour Es Devlin designed a spherical portal — a 50-foot wide aperture — from which the star, her dancers and musicians could emerge and withdraw between songs. Es Devlin/Thames & Hudson hide caption

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Es Devlin/Thames & Hudson

When stars are on stage, this designer makes it personal for each fan in the stadium

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When you're stuck at the airport, you need the right soundtrack. Alex Wong/Getty Images hide caption

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Alex Wong/Getty Images

Among the trove of games was an original version of the cult hit Chrono Trigger. Screenshot from NPR hide caption

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Screenshot from NPR

A forgotten trove of rare video games could now be worth six figures

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In Apple TV+'s Slow Horses, Gary Oldman plays Jackson Lamb, the slovenly, brilliant spy who's in charge of a group of failed British spies. The series is based on Mick Herron's Slough House novels. Herron says Lamb might not have "a heart of gold" but he does have "a moral code." Apple TV+ hide caption

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Apple TV+

Gary Oldman had 'free rein' in spy thriller 'Slow Horses' — now back for Season 3

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Illustration by Luke Medina. Luke Medina/NPR hide caption

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Luke Medina/NPR

2023 Books We Love: Staff Picks

NPR's Books We Love is a roundup of favorite books of the year, sorted and tagged to help you find exactly what you're looking for. Recommendations come in from critics and contributors and today, we're highlighting picks from NPR staff.

2023 Books We Love: Staff Picks

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Illustration by Sally Chen for NPR Sally Chen for NPR hide caption

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Sally Chen for NPR

John Cale says hip-hop is the avant-garde of today. Valerie Macon/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

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Valerie Macon/AFP via Getty Images

John Cale, ever restless, keeps moving out of his comfort zone

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Sean "Diddy" Combs has stepped down as chairman of Revolt, following multiple allegations against him of sexual assault. Here, Combs accepts the global icon award during the MTV Video Music Awards on Sept. 12 at the Prudential Center in Newark, N.J. Charles Sykes/Invision/AP hide caption

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Penguin Random House

'If you have a face, you have a place in the conversation about AI,' expert says

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Producer Marty Krofft arrives at the premiere of "Land of the Lost," at Gramuan's Chinese Theater in Los Angeles on May 30, 2009. Krofft, one of the producing pair that put "H.R. Pufnstuf" and the Osmonds on TV, has died at 86. Reed Saxon/AP hide caption

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Reed Saxon/AP

Bruce Willis in a scene from Die Hard. FlixPix/Alamy hide caption

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FlixPix/Alamy

A group of protestors march in front of the General Accounting Office on March 29, 1995, to raise awareness about the mysterious object that was found in Roswell, N.M., in 1947. Joshua Roberts/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

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Joshua Roberts/AFP via Getty Images

How the Roswell 'UFO' spurred our modern age of conspiracy theories

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