John Powers

In the end it wasn't about controversy and conspiracies and cronyism and whether or not Folarin Balogun should have been permitted to play.

FOXBOROUGH — Nobody thought they'd ever win it until they won it in 1998. Even playing at home, the challenge France's soccer team faced, L'Equipe's headline said, was like climbing “Everest in espadrilles.”

Aliens from outer space come in basically two kinds. The first are murderous invaders that need to be destroyed — think Alien or Predator . In more

The Apple TV series wraps noir inside science fiction. With subtlety and charm, Farrell plays an earnest alien just doing his best as a private eye in Los Angeles.

So after 32 days, 100 matches contested in 16 cities across three countries, eight extra-time sessions, four shootouts, controversial red cards, and

George Orwell famously wrote that it takes a constant struggle to see what's in front of one's nose. That may be truer than ever.

Transcript TERRY GROSS, HOST: This is FRESH AIR. The new literary thriller "Cloudthief," by Nathaniel Rich, is about the reaction against Big Tech.

Aristotle may not have known about soccer, but he defined catharsis as “the agonizing tension that builds to a fulfilling release.”

The philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein was one of the daunting intellects of the 20th century. But when it came to entertainment, he liked dumb comedies.

Transcript DAVID BIANCULLI, HOST: This is FRESH AIR. In the new TV series "The Hawk," Will Ferrell stars as a zany former golf star who's trying to regain his mojo and regain champion status.