3.9.15: Hollywood's Richest Extras, TV Needs A Makeover, & Maz Jobrani

Before Maz Jobrani was a panelist on Wait Wait…Don’t Tell Me!, he was an actor trying to get a break. On today’s show we’ll talk to the Iranian-born comedian about being typecast as a terrorist.

And like Maz, many Hollywood hopefuls get their start as extras, making less than minimum wage, hoping to be noticed. We’ll hear about an elite group who have made blending into the background an incredibly lucrative career.

Listen to the full show and click Read more for individual segments.

For Some Extras, It's Hurry Up and Wait...For a Big Paycheck

• Hillel Aron is a staff writer for L.A. Weekly where we found his article, “Some Hollywood Extras Suffer, But Others Are Rolling in It.”

It's Time For an Easier Way to Watch Television

• Boston Globe TV critic Ty Burr has had it with all the add-on boxes and passwords and remotes required to turn the television on, never mind chase down shows he wants to watch. You can read his article: "Time to Put TV Back in the Box?" at the Boston Globe.

Latina Stereotypes in Television and Film

• Maid, illegal immigrant, bombshell. These are the most common roles for Latina actresses in television and movies. These roles often re-enforce stereotypes that negatively affect Latina Americans in the real world. And they've existed since Latinas made their entrance onto the screen. Ramona Martinez has more.
• You can listen to this story again at PRX.org.

Maz Jobrani 

• Wait Wait…Don’t Tell Me! panelist and comedian Maz Jobrani  is out with a  new memoir, I’m Not A Terrorist, But I’ve Played One On TV.

A Doctor Shares His Struggle With Misophonia

• Dr. Barron Lerner a primary care physician, author and professor at NYU wrote about his experience suffering with misophonia for the New York Times Well blog: "Please Stop Making That Noise!"
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