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Oprah debuts free Apple TV+ series discussing COVID-19
If you want to explore the societal impact of the coronavirus pandemic, you might just have to fire up a stream in your living room. Oprah Winfrey has launched a free Apple TV+ series, Oprah Talks COVID-19, that has her talking to "experts and everyday people" about how people can deal with the virus while maintaining their humanity. There are two episodes at present, including a chat with Idris Elba (who tested positive for COVID-19) and his wife Sabrina Dhowre as well as a spirituality-focused discussion with Pastor Wintley Phipps.
'The Oprah Show' was secretly a great podcast all along
During its record-setting 25-year run from 1986 to 2011, The Oprah Winfrey Show became a pillar of pop culture. Equal parts TED Talk, group therapy session and self-help sermon, Oprah educated and inspired a generation. Last week, 34 years after the award-winning show's debut, it returned as a curated collection of podcasts hand-picked by the media icon herself. I gave the first batch of 10 episodes a listen and now rather regret having never watched the show during its heyday.
After Math: Steven Seagal-like longevity
Say what you will about Steven Seagal but the '80s action star is still somehow able to draw headlines in 2020, even when he's not premiering his latest passion project. Granted, yes, those headlines most recently have involved the SEC and a $314,000 settlement for him not disclosing that his endorsements for a digital currency were compensated for by the company selling them. Regardless, let's take a look at some more headlines of surprisingly persistent products from this past week.
Oprah’s Book Club is coming to Apple TV+
Oprah Winfrey is one of the A-list celebrities Apple has enlisted for Apple TV+. Winfrey has already signed on for a series with Prince Harry on mental health, and she's expected to release another documentary, Toxic Labor, about workplace harassment. Today, we learned that Oprah's Book Club will get a place on the streaming platform, too.
Apple signs Prince Harry and Oprah for new mental health docu-series
Celebrity royalty is commonplace on streaming services, but Apple+ has just gone and snagged an actual royal. It's teaming Prince Harry (aka the Duke of Sussex) with Oprah Winfrey on a new mental health docu-series. The Prince, who's also exec-producing alongside Winfrey, announced the news on Instagram. It arrives on Apple+ in 2020, before which we should get more information, including a title.
Oprah launching 'Book Club 2.0,' your mom now knows what 'webisode' means
Everyone! Check under your chairs! It's a...new book club from Oprah! Yep, the former queen of daytime TV is revamping her famed literary organization for the 21st century. Winfrey says she was so taken by Cheryl Strayed's Wild, that she absolutely had to get back on the book peddling bandwagon. The talk show icon will be launching digital editions of the book for the Kindle, Nook and iPad on Monday, featuring exclusive content like a reader's guide. Webisodes featuring Winfrey will go up each week and readers can submit questions via Twitter and Facebook. The whole thing leads up to a live streaming interview with the author on July 22nd. More info -- and a video of a woman who desperately needs someone to give her that talk show back -- after the break.
MMObility: Survival on a desert island
We've all played that age-old game of pondering what we might take with us on an endless trip to a desert island. What music would you bring? Whom would you bring with you? What food would you bring, if you could choose only one food? I've recently been thinking about this old game again, mainly because of my obsession with portability and all-in-one devices. Which device would I bring with me to that island, if I had to choose? (Let's forget the fact that I could just make a call or otherwise contact the authorities to rescue me off the island!) The ultimate question is this: Which MMO would I bring installed on that device? Or, going a bit further, which apps or other downloads would I include? Once I started asking, my fantasy turned into somewhat of a challenge to myself: Could I survive a week without any access to a desktop at all? Could I write, play, and otherwise continue to do my job with only a pocket-sized device? Join me past the cut and let's see what I might include on this trip.
Dish Network will be the first to broadcast OWN HD nationally tomorrow
While we originally heard Oprah Winfrey's OWN network would get an HD simulcast, most haven't been able to watch it that way since it launched but that will change tomorrow when Dish Network adds OWN HD to its channel lineup. Check for it on channel 189 -- assuming you're on the America's Top 200 channel pack or higher.
Oprah studio guests scream for free iPads, her "favorite thing ever"
Do I now have to buy an iPad to give to all my Oprah Winfrey-watching relatives for Christmas? Oprah just helped Apple boost their 2010 iPad sales figures even higher by featuring it on her "Favorite Things" episode on Monday. Oprah has aired this segment each year since 2002 and in the past has given her readers cars, trips, electronics, jewelry and clothing. While Oprah has picked the iPod 5G for inclusion on her favorite things list in the past, this year the iPad was chosen as her most favorite thing, and all 275 studio guests received one. Calling the iPad her "number one favorite thing ever," Oprah said that from "our very first moment together I knew it had stolen my heart." The audience was pretty excited about the freebie but seemed to be a little more excited (and rightly so) about the 2012 VW Beetle they also received. I wonder if they know they have to pay the taxes on that "free" car? Update: Seems VW is paying the taxes on the cars. (Thanks @Doug) Studio guests this year also received a five-year subscription to Netflix, a 52-inch Sony Bravia 3D television, and a Nikon D3100 digital camera. Click Read More to watch video of the audience screaming when they find out about the iPads. [via CNNMoney]
Motorola Defy hitting T-Mobile this holiday season, details to come... on Oprah
Remember that Defy that Motorola outed at the front end of this month? Turns out the Europeans won't be the only ones seeing it this Christmas, as Moto has just revealed that it'll be hitting US airwaves exclusively on T-Mobile "in time for the holidays." You already know the details -- a 3.7-inch WVGA scratch-resistant touchpanel, plenty of rigidity, Android 2.1, the ability to withstand dust and water, a five megapixel camera (with flash and auto focus), DLNA support and the outfit's own Blur interface (despite Jha's claims that it would fade from view) -- but it looks as if you'll have to wait a tick to find out anything about pricing. How long? Tune into today's farewell season premiere of "The Oprah Winfrey Show" to find out. Yeah... strange. But true! %Gallery-102035%
Roger Ebert dramatically regains his voice with help from CereProc (video)
Roger Ebert, perhaps best known as the Hardy to Siskel's Laurel during his days spent thumbing up and down criticisms at films, has achieved a technological miracle of sorts. After a series of cancer treatments and operations left the man mute and without a lower jaw, Ebert regained his voice in dramatic fashion on Oprah, of all places. A company called CereProc has recreated his voice through its text-to-speech technologies assisted by decades of recordings captured from his television appearances and DVD movie commentary tracks -- not exactly applicable to everyone with speaking disorders. Nevertheless, check the clip after the break to witness the impact his semi-recovered voice has on his wife, Chaz. While it definitely needs tweaking, the results are pretty remarkable.
Oprah knows where the fun is at
Seriously, she does! Caught by TMZ at a Hawaiian Wal-Mart, the super-celeb was seen doing a little shopping. What did she pick up? The Wii, of course. It's the only way to guarantee a good time. At least, we think so.Hey, Oprah! If you're looking for some games to go with that new Wii, we suggest you check this out.
Oprah's latest giveaway is HD for all
Don't feel bad, we're not saying you missed out on a Kuro/XEL-1/what-have-you giveaway, gadget mavens. One thing is for sure, though -- Oprah understands that HD is about more than just sports and nature. Since rolling out her "OWN" network in conjunction with Discovery Health, the one-woman media empire has decided that she can't be outdone by the likes of Big Bird and is bringing her namesake "Oprah Winfrey Show" to HD beginning this fall. We're not sure that the picture quality will make the content more appealing to us personally, but we won't be able to give it the "how good can it be, if it's not in HD?" brush-off anymore!
Oprah Winfrey gets her own channel, will simulcast in HD
If you thought Oprah Winfrey was big time currently, get a load of this. Starting sometime in 2009, the talk show superstar will launch her own network, which will unsurprisingly be dubbed The Oprah Winfrey Network. Apparently, Discovery will be handing over its Discovery Health channel "to be rebranded as OWN" and simulcast in high-definition, and seeing that the joint venture will be evenly split between Discovery and Harpo, no cash will be involved. Wondering what kind of content to expect? Look for programming aimed at inspiring, entertaining and empowering viewers -- whatever that means.[Via USAToday]
Bono, Oprah introducing iPod nano Red tomorrow?
If there's anyone better than U2 frontman Bono at playing both sides of the fence in the OS wars, we haven't met them yet. One day this guy is hanging out with Bill Gates and sleeping over at his cushy pad, and the next day he's convincing Steve Jobs to release a special (non-U2) iPod and donate 5% of the proceeds to his HIV / AIDS charity. Well, at least that's the word from AppleInsider, who's claiming that the rocker was at the Apple Store in Chicago today filming a promo spot with Oprah Winfrey to prepare for the device's debut on her show tomorrow. This iPod nano Red (artist's rendition pictured above), as it's being called, will supposedly be yet another addition to the rainbow of 4GB 'Pods first unveiled at last month's "Showtime" event, but unlike the U2 models, this one will cost the same $200 as its multi-colored brethren. Each DAP sold will reportedly net PROJECT RED $10, which will then be re-donated to The Global Fund to help African women and children afflicted with the deadly disease. Get a Mac? Get a PC? An iPod? A Zune? When you're Bono, you don't have to decide.[Thanks, Tom]
