Steve Baltin
The Greatest Show on Earth: Springsteen, E Street and ‘Road Diary’
Having been a music journalist for over 30 years for the likes of Rolling Stone, The L.A. Times, Billboard, Chicago Tribune and pretty much everywhere else, I have been to easily 5000 plus shows. I can safely say there is nothing on earth like being at a Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band show.
Norah Jones’ Streaming Watchlist
After three long years, Grammy-winning star Norah Jones is going back on tour. She tells the Watercooler’s Steve Baltin what she’s been listening to and watching — and what she’s up to on her podcast.
Meet The Real Beatles: Get Back and the Human Side of the Mythical Band
Veteran music journalist Steve Baltin analyzes the Beatles doc ‘Get Back’ and sees their human side, their joy — and the truth behind their split.
Community
At its best, this show is high art, mixing creativity, believability, thoughtfulness, and heart into some of the finest individual episodes of TV you can find.
Steve Baltin
Soundtrack to a Coup d’Etat
With all of the power and percussion of a Louis Armstrong horns ensemble, Soundtrack to a Coup D’Etat is a visceral must-watch that sheds fresh light on an era through an inventive new documentary format.
The Brutalist
Blending raw emotion, breathtaking cinematography, and a narrative that speaks to the resilience of the human spirit, The Brutalist is a top 2025 Oscar contender and a must-watch for lovers of bold, novelistic storytelling, American history, and cinematic experiences.
Escape Watch: The Best Historical Drama for Right Now
An immersive must-watch embraced by critics, the new Shōgun brings a new perspective on the epic historical drama about the battle between East and West in 17th century Japan.
Oscar Contender: How JFK inspired Dune‘s creator
With a Best Picture Oscar nomination and a haul of over $400 million at the global box office, Dune: Part Two continues to draw all new audiences into the science fiction epic based on the landmark 1965 novel. And the film’s mythic world and timely themes have raised some fresh questions: How did the author
Suddenly Timely Takes: Lessons from The Diplomat
In the midst of all the hype about a dating show (Love is Blind), a complex political drama that requires undivided attention rose to the top of the Netflix chart in 2023. At its core, The Diplomat is a series about bureaucratic machinations, yet the show ups the ante with fast-paced action, office romance, high
The Color Purple
A soaring, historically relevant epic that echoes the many struggles for human rights throughout the mid 20th century, The Color Purple’s musical film is a larger than life reinvention to a revered classic that has shaped three generations. Watch it with someone who’s struggling and in need of hope.
Rising Star: Our Interview with Dune & The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare‘s Babs Olusanmokun
He is best known for his recent breakout sci-fi roles – from the fierce fighter Doctor M’Benga in Star Trek: Strange New Worlds to Jamis – the Freman and best friend to the protagonist Paul – in Dune Parts One and Two. But Babs Olusanmokun has been acting for two decades. A Nigerian-American who speaks
Nosferatu
A cinematic experience that earns its many award nominations, Nosferatu (2024) is as much a meditation on the human frailty that leads to doomed obsession as it is a haunting epic about a vampire.
One Piece
A richly imaginative and immersive live-action adaptation that both first-time anime viewers and hardcore fans will appreciate, One Piece brings to vivid life a timeless masterpiece, transporting its vast and complex pirate-centric universe into the future.
Universal Language
An absurdist dramedy about the clash of two worlds, Universal Language entertains as much as it motivates. Beyond the madness lies an urgent plea for unity, an appeal that resonates with people hoping for a better, more harmonious future.
Industry S1
Industry is a series fueled by greed, drugs, sex, and money, and provides all of these ingredients in Federal Reserve-sized quantities. There’s never a dull moment.
Minx
The streaming series about the intersection between feminism and smut could endear even the most skeptical. And what it might lack in delicacy, it certainly makes up for in swagger.
The Sympathizer
Told through the perspective of a conflicted hero with contradicting loyalties, The Sympathizer is an ambitious examination of a spy who can’t help but sympathize — hence, the title of the series — with the enemy. It might make you rethink everything you were taught about the Vietnam War too.
Robert Redford’s Impact: Four Films to Watch
He was “one of the lions,” as Meryl Streep put it, an American touchstone who changed filmmaking and opened the gates for new generations of storytellers, becoming a central force in independent cinema. To understand the impact his films have had – on previous generations, on our culture, on so many other films – we’ve
Itaewon Class (Itaewon Keullasseu)
A colorful, ultimately inspiring tale for budding entrepreneurs, restauranteurs, and empire-builders. It also works as a vicarious adventure in Seoul.
The Back-to-College Binge Watch Playlist
Remember when you could sleep until noon, stumble to class in pajamas, and stay up until 2am watching weird art films? Fall is when many of us become wistful about that bumpy chapter of extended adolescence, when you start to discover who you truly are and make some truly regrettable choices. In honor of all
Eddington is a pandemic parable. But what is it trying to say?
Set in May 2020 in a fictional New Mexico town, Pedro Pascal and Joaquin Phoenix’s new film Eddington draws some parallels to two of the biggest breakout shows of the past decade: The Last of Us and The Walking Dead. It’s a story about a virus that’s less about death and more about exposing the living.
A Watercooler Watch: Barbara Walters: Tell Me Everything
Before social media and podcasts, there was one undeniable truth about news-making interviews: if a story mattered, Barbara Walters would be the one to tell it. Landing a one-on-one with her didn’t just mean publicity, it meant you had become part of a national conversation. But while the interview signified that you had made it,