Doctor Who is enlivened by its new Black, openly queer star

Pop Culture Happy Hour

NPR

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4.5 • 10.6K Ratings

🗓️ 6 June 2024

⏱️ 29 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

The venerable British science fiction series Doctor Who is back with a new season. Ncuti Gatwa — who is Black and openly queer — brings a vibrant energy to the story of an alien who travels through space and time in a blue box. The series, now streaming on Disney+, also features the return of showrunner Russell T. Davies, who birthed the modern era of Doctor Who. But what does this mix of new and old mean for the sci-fi institution?

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Transcript

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0:00.0	What does it mean to be black in America?
0:04.3	And NPR's Black Stories, Black Truths,
0:07.3	a collection of stories as varied, nuanced, and dynamic as the Black experience, you'll hear it means everything.
0:15.0	Search NPR, Black Stories, Black Truths, wherever you get your podcasts. casts. Doctor Who is about an alien who travels through space and time in a blue box.
0:34.3	The latest season brings a lot of change.
0:36.5	The doctor is now played by an actor who is black and queer and who was born outside of the UK.
0:44.0	It also features the return after more than a decade of the showrunner who
0:47.4	birthed the modern era of Dr. Who.
0:50.1	What does this mix of new and old mean for a series that is a sci-fi institution?
0:54.4	I'm Glenn Weldon and today we're talking about Dr. Who on Pop Culture Happy Hour from NPR. Support for this podcast and the following message come from Wise, the app that
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1:25.5	Grab your coffee and join editor of the New Yorker David Remnick as he presents a mix of
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1:40.8	This message comes from the run-through with Vogue.
1:44.0	Listen as designers, Vogue editors, and industry icons like Erica Badu and Florence Pugh
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1:55.9	Thursday wherever you get your podcasts. This message comes from Hangup, a reality dating
2:02.1	podcast from Radiotopia that's kind of like a queer cross between
2:06.0	The Bachelor and Love is Blind.
	...

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