Kevin Kloss

A beekeeper discovers that 60,000 of his bees are dead and have been beheaded and a race against time to track and eradicate the killer ensues.  The new documentary film, Attack of the Murder Hornets, chronicles the search for the newly arrived invasive insect known as the Murder Hornet.  The film’s director, Michael Paul Stephenson chats with Pop Life host, Joe Lee, about the movie, its non-traditional treatment of nature films, and the thrill of tracking down the Asian Giant Hornet.

Legendary American Actress, Cicely Tyson passed away on January 28, 2021 leaving behind a body of work that represents a significant part of groundbreaking productions important to Black television history.  On this Black History episode of Pop Life, television historian Bob Thompson of Syracuse University, joins host Joe Lee in exploring Ms. Tyson’s career and the two discuss other notable Black television shows that have made important contributions to the growth and development of Black images on the small screen.

Media historian Bob Thompson says of the late Cloris Leachman’s role as Phyllis on the Mary Tyler Moore show, “She was the best 3rd banana in all of American comedy.”  Bob joins host Joe Lee on the latest episode of Pop Life to pay tribute to one of America’s favorite comedic actors. 

The Syracuse area has heard rumblings about the Salt City Market for months, and now the wait is finally over. The market features a wide variety of culinary options including Soul food, Jamaican, Thai, and more from local entrepreneurs.

On this episode of The 315, Joe Lee and Kevin Kloss head to downtown Syracuse to experience everything that The Salt City Market has to offer.

Supernatural, the WB network television series about two brothers who follow in their father’s footsteps as hunters fighting evil supernatural beings, has developed one of the most devoted fanbases of any popular American TV show.  For 15 seasons, Supernatural offered its fans compelling storylines, riveting characters, and an abundance of demon hunting.

There is little doubt about social media’s influence on American popular culture.  It influences our culture and our language including how we advocate, call to act, and use language to influence the behavior of others or silence them altogether.  This behavior has come to be known as cancel and callout culture.  On this episode of Pop Life, host Joe Lee visits with Charisse L’Pree, Syracuse University Associate Professor of Communications and author of 20th Century Media and the American Psyche: A Strange Love, to talk about cancel culture’s impact on pop culture entertainment.

With $1 million earmarked for capacity building among black led non-profits in Syracuse, a local foundation now waits to assess the impact of its grant-making.  In this episode of City Limits Winds of Change, we examine how first round grant recipients of the Central New York Community Foundation’s Black Equity and Excellence fund are using their awards to strengthen their operations adapt to the challenges caused by the global pandemic.

Gone are the days when you had to wait for Christmas movies and specials like A Charlie Brown Christmas or A Christmas Carol to get scheduled for a one-and-done airing by the big three networks.  Today, outlets like the Hallmark Channel and streaming services like Netflix combined have more content than you can watch in an entire year.  Does the proliferation of this content make it less special?  Who are the major players?  What are the new classics?  Pop Life host Joe Lee is joined by Syracuse University Newhouse professor and popular TV expert, Bob Thompson, to discuss this and more.