Pop Culture Happy Hour: Recent Episodes
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Get obsessed with us. Five days a week, Pop Culture Happy Hour serves you recommendations and commentary on the buzziest movies, TV, music, books, videogames and more. Join arts journalists Linda Holmes, Glen Weldon, Stephen Thompson, and Aisha Harris - plus a rotating cast of guest pop culture aficionados. The Happy Hour team leaves room at the table for exploring a range of reactions and opinions on every bit of the pop universe. From lowbrow to highbrow to the stuff in between, they take it all with a shot of cheer.
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The new HBO documentary Pee-Wee As Himself isn't the boilerplate Hollywood profile you think it is. You get the biographical details you expect – how young avant-garde artist Paul Ruebens created the persona of Pee-Wee Herman, and the meteoric rise and fall that followed. But you also get a sense of what it cost Reubens to insist that Pee-Wee wasn't simply a persona, but in fact a real person. It's streaming now on Max.
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Stephen King's work has often contemplated the inevitability of death. But his latest adaptation, The Life of Chuck is a life-affirming film that challenges the cynic in everyone. It has a big cast including Tom Hiddleston, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Jacob Tremblay, Mark Hamill, and Nick Offerman. The film was directed and written for the screen by Mike Flanagan (The Haunting of Hill House and Midnight Mass).
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Should you date for love or financial security? That's the central premise of the new movie Materialists. It stars Dakota Johnson at the center of a love triangle with Pedro Pascal and Chris Evans, and is directed by Celine Song (Past Lives).
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Disney has been remaking its animated classics for years to great financial success – Lilo & Stitch has been dominating the box office for weeks now. So it's no surprise that DreamWorks is now getting in on the action with a remake of How to Train Your Dragon. It's full of epic battles, majestic countrysides and, of course, dragons galore.
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In Almost Famous, writer and director Cameron Crowe looks at the ecosystem surrounding a rising rock band in the early '70s. Starring Patrick Fugit, Kate Hudson, Frances McDormand, and many more, the movie is a coming-of-age story that touches on journalism, sex, rock 'n' roll, parenthood, and the perils of trying to be cool. Almost Famous turns 25 this year, so today we are revisiting our conversation about the movie.
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Fifty years ago Steven Spielberg's Jaws was released in theaters, kicking off the summer blockbuster phenomenon. And you know a summer blockbuster when you see one: It's a film that's hugely popular and as a result, financially successful, and seen by lots of people. But not everyone has seen every last one of them. Today, we fill in some personal blockbuster gaps, and finally see a movie that absolutely everyone saw, except for us — including Armageddon, Beverly Hills Cop II, Ghost, The Fast and the Furious.
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Wes Anderson's new film The Phoenician Scheme is classic Wes Anderson, complete with a great cast delivering heightened dialogue and stylized cinematography. It stars Benicio del Toro as one of Europe's richest men, an amoral industrialist, who, along with his daughter (Mia Threapleton) and a tutor (Michael Cera), travels to convince his business partners to fund his latest venture. But where does the film rank among Anderson's past movies?
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John Wick's back in a spinoff new film, Ballerina, starring Ana de Armas. She plays a ballerina-turned-assassin making her way through the international criminal underworld, and crossing paths with some new and familiar faces — including the one and only Keanu Reeves.
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Every generation gets its versions of a "20-somethings hang out and make mistakes" sitcom, such as Living Single, Friends, New Girl and Broad City. Now Gen Z's got the FX/Hulu series Adults. The silly new series is about a group of friends cohabitating in Queens, New York and it makes for fun and possibly all-too-relatable TV fodder.
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Succession creator Jesse Armstrong is back with Mountainhead, a new movie with characters who are just as wealthy, powerful, and insecure as the Roy family. Steve Carell, Jason Schwartzman, Ramy Youssef and Cory Michael Smith star as four tech moguls gathering for a low-key guys' weekend of poker. But business and unchecked, overinflated egos quickly lead them all down a very dark path.
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The hit Australian horror movie Talk To Me was both very good and deeply unsettling. Now its directors (Danny and Michael Philippou) have returned with Bring Her Back, which ups the ante when it comes to disturbing, nightmarish storytelling. The film stars Sally Hawkins as a woman whose grief manifests in terrifying, ugly ways.
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The Karate Kid has been sequelized, serialized, spun off and rebooted, and now it's back, as Karate Kid: Legends. The new film stars Ben Wang as a kid who's mentored by Jackie Chan and Ralph Macchio, reprising their roles from the franchise. But at its heart, the movie is about a kid who must train hard, learn life lessons, and kick a bully hard in the face.
In honor of Toy Story's 30th anniversary, we're ranking the Pixar movies. What do you think is the best Pixar feature? Vote now! We'll talk about the results in an upcoming episode.
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Online discourse has become a fun part of enjoying and dissecting big pop culture events. But after seeing all the commentary around Ryan Coogler's Sinners, our pal Brittany Luse has one question: are we in a media literacy crisis? Difference of opinion is one thing, but it feels like some viewers are missing important clues or misreading the film entirely - and it doesn't stop with Sinners. Today we've got an episode of the podcast It's Been A Minute that explores what this could mean for the way we engage with the world at large.
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The new Lilo & Stitch is mostly live-action and retells the original Disney animated film's story of two orphaned Hawaiian sisters and the chaotic alien who upends their lives. The movie deviates from the original in many ways, but the central story is a tale of sisterhood and found family with lots of rowdy chaos along the way. The cast includes Maia Kealoha, Sydney Elizebeth Agudong, Zach Galifianakis, and Chris Sanders returns as the voice of Stitch.
In honor of Toy Story's 30th anniversary, we're ranking the Pixar movies. What do you think is the best Pixar feature? Vote now! We'll talk about the results in an upcoming episode.
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Season two of The Last of Us just ended, and to say the story has gone in some new directions is an understatement. The HBO series starring Bella Ramsey and Pedro Pascal continues to push forward with its complex story while still and always putting the "ick" in "post-apocalyptic."
In honor of Toy Story's 30th anniversary, we're ranking the Pixar movies. What do you think is the best Pixar feature? Vote now! We'll talk about the results in an upcoming episode.
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In Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning, Tom Cruise has to save the world (again). But this time, as the movie stresses repeatedly, the stakes are really, really high. Higher than the buildings Tom sprints across or the planes he fights bad guys on. There's an AI that wants to destroy humanity, and Tom and his allies try to pull off the feat of all our lifetimes. Will he? Does it even matter? It's Tom Cruise doing Tom Cruise things in London, the Bering Sea, and beyond.
In honor of Toy Story's 30th anniversary, we're ranking the Pixar movies. What do you think is the best Pixar feature? Vote now! We'll talk about the results in an upcoming episode.
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The movie ends, and the credits roll. That used to be your cue to start heading to the parking lot to debrief with your friends. That was before the era of the post-credits scene, which often teases the next installment, or offers one last joke or thrill that you'll miss if you don't stick around. But is it really worth it to stick around? Today we're talking about the state of the post-credits scene, including Sinners, Pixar and Marvel movies, and more.
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Murderbot is a very smart, very funny new sci-fi comedy series on Apple TV+. The show stars Alexander Skarsgård as a cyborg who works security for a team of hapless, bumbling scientists exploring a dangerous planet. Murderbot hacked its own system and gained free will – a fact it tries to hide from the team, even as it sardonically judges their naïve and foolhardy actions, and craves nothing more than to be left alone to watch soap operas.
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In the cringe comedy Friendship, a deeply strange and intense guy forges a troubled friendship with his new neighbor, a TV weatherman, played by Paul Rudd. The film stars Tim Robinson, an SNL veteran who's best known for his work in TV shows like Netflix's I Think You Should Leave.
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You can't beat death. That's the message of the Final Destination film franchise. Almost 15 years after the last new installment, we're back with Final Destination Bloodlines, a movie all about the fact that you really, really, really can't beat death. It will come for you, and in fact, it may come for your whole family — in the most convoluted, bloody, gnarly ways it possibly can.
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When the Star Wars prequels came out, they were polarizing for fans of George Lucas' beloved space opera. The three films - The Phantom Menace, Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith – followed Anakin Skywalker's transformation into Darth Vader. It's been 20 years since the final prequel hit theaters, so it seems like a fitting time to reevaluate the movies.
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It's not easy being a teenager in love. The hormones are raging, the parents are parenting, and the pressure is on to figure out life after senior year. Judy Blume tackled this in her 1975 novel Forever. It's now been reminaged as a Netflix series centering on a pair of Black high schoolers from showrunner Mara Brock Akil (Girlfriends). And it thoughtfully captures the pangs and joys of young romance in a modern context.
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If you're a celeb visiting The Jennifer Hudson Show, it's almost guaranteed you're going to make your way down the Spirit Tunnel – and possibly go viral. In just a few seconds, these videos can reveal a lot about a celeb's personality and persona: Do they have rhythm? Are they any good at improv? And how famous are they, really? The answers are (sometimes) really surprising!
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The new action movie Fight or Flight finds Josh Hartnett playing a onetime Secret Service agent who is pressured into one more job: fighting off a series of increasingly over-the-top assassins trying to kill a mysterious criminal. And they're all packed onto a plane together. Plus, what's making us happy, including a classic R&B song, a new sports documentary series and a iconic thriller.
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Another Simple Favor reunites Blake Lively and Anna Kendrick in a new movie full of murder, deceit, and great hats. Set at a splashy wedding in Capri, it turns out you can't keep a good – or in this case, a very bad – woman down. Directed by Paul Feig (A Simple Favor, Bridesmaids), the film also stars Henry Golding, Allison Janney and Elizabeth Perkins. It's streaming on Prime Video.
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Monday was fashion's biggest night: the Met Gala. And our pal Brittany Luse was paying attention to all the best and worst dressed. Today we've got an episode of the podcast It's Been A Minute – they've got a recap of the highs and lows of the night.
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Tina Fey returns to TV on the charming Netflix comedy The Four Seasons. It's about a group of couples whose friendship dynamic is rocked by their midlife crises. The impressive cast includes Colman Domingo, Will Forte, and Steve Carell. And while the jokes may not fly quite as fast as they did on 30 Rock, Fey's comedic sensibilities are written all over it.
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Thunderbolts* is the latest Marvel movie and this one's a bit more fun than they've been lately. It stars Florence Pugh, Sebastian Stan, David Harbour and emotionally broken super-people who've done some very bad things. Will they manage to put their guilt aside and come together to form a rag-tag team of losers who somehow manage to save the day?
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If you wanted to escape reality and move to a fictional TV world, where would you live? Many are dystopian hellscapes and stressful workplaces. But other TV shows are a fun hang. Today, we're talking about TV shows where we'd like to live — including Game of Thrones, Derry Girls, Parks and Recreation, and Gilligan's Island.
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Weddings make great fodder for TV writers. It's wedding season, so today we're breaking down the different types of TV weddings featured on Friends, General Hospital, A Different World, Grey's Anatomy, Cheers, Schitt's Creek and more.
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Étoile is the latest series from Amy Sherman-Palladino, the creator of Gilmore Girls and The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel. It's about the wacky goings-on between two prestigious but struggling ballet companies, one in New York, and one in Paris. You'll see some of your favorite actors from the Gilmore and Maisel universes all speaking that signature rapid-fire, joke-dense patter. But can a comedy set in the rarified world of professional ballet find its audience – and be funny? Étoile is streaming on Prime Video.
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There was Barbenheimer Summer, then Brat Summer, what will this year bring? Maybe it's the season of actually good superhero movies, like The Fantastic Four and Superman. We've got a guide to the movies and TV we're most excited about this summer, including M3gan 2.0, Pixar's Elio, and Mission: Impossible.
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Pope Francis' death not only led to an outpouring of remembrances. It also unleashed a new wave of memes from the Oscar-nominated movie Conclave. It tells a very fun and very fictional story of the secretive process by which a pope is replaced. It's a twisty political thriller, it's a tense jury drama, and it's got some strong commentary on the state of the Catholic Church. Conclave stars Ralph Fiennes, Stanley Tucci, John Lithgow, and Isabella Rossellini, and it's available to rent or stream at home.
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The lovely rom-com The Wedding Banquet has a stellar all-star cast, including Kelly Marie Tran, Lily Gladstone, and Bowen Yang. It's a twisty comedy of errors where proposals, hookups, and harsh words fly. Directed by Andrew Ahn (Fire Island), the film offers a modern take on Ang Lee's classic queer film.
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We cover a lot of TV on this show, but we don't get to everything. Today we're recommending some of our favorite recent TV comedies you don't want to miss, including #1 Happy Family USA, The Righteous Gemstones, North of North, and Deli Boys.
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The very scary movie Sinners finds Michael B. Jordan playing twin brothers who open a 1930s juke joint. And opening night does not go as planned. Written and directed by Ryan Coogler, (Black Panther), the film mixes blues music with classic horror in a standoff between the brothers and their friends on the inside and the bloodthirsty – and growing – menace outside.
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In the Apple TV+ series Your Friends and Neighbors, a very rich guy reacts to becoming a bit less rich by turning to a life of crime. Played by Jon Hamm, in full charming-but-morally-compromised mode, he starts sneaking into people's and taking their stuff. Part drama and part dark comedy about rich jerks, the series also stars Amanda Peet and Olivia Munn.
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The last season of the venerable British science fiction series Doctor Who brought a lot of change. The Doctor is now played by Ncuti Gatwa, who is Black and openly queer. And it marked the return of the showrunner who birthed the modern era of Doctor Who. The show just returned for a new season on Disney+, so today we're revisiting our conversation about the series.
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The new film Warfare dispenses with a lot of things you've come to expect from Hollywood war movies. It's based on the memories of a platoon of Navy SEALS, and attempts to capture the chaos of one specific Iraq War conflict as accurately as possible. The only thing Hollywood about it is its cast of young actors, including Joseph Quinn, Will Poulter, Kit Connor and D'Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai.
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In the bonkers thriller Drop, Meghann Fahy plays a woman whose first date goes off the rails when she starts getting increasingly alarming message drops from someone nearby. And this potentially romantic dinner turns into a life-or-death situation, real quick.
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At a certain point, most of us settle into a groove with our pop culture consumption. We know what we love and what we're not into. But sometimes, all it takes is one great outlier or a willingness to step outside our comfort zone to make us reconsider what we don't like. Today we're talking about our pop culture revelations, including Friday Night Lights, Train to Busan, the poetry of Mary Oliver, and Watchmen.
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The premise might be a tough sell: a young woman attempts to finally own her sexuality following a terminal diagnosis. In the new show Dying For Sex, Michelle Williams stars as a cancer patient confronting the unsatisfying relationships in her life. The series is also a raunchy sex comedy that suggests it's never too late to insist on your own happiness. And it's got a stellar cast, including Jenny Slate, Rob Delaney, and Sissy Spacek.
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Season three of The White Lotus just wrapped up, but not before serving up a tropical buffet of sex, betrayal, violence, revenge, privilege, incest, drugs, death, and spirituality. We finally found out whose dead body was floating in the pond way back in the season premiere. From creator Mike White, this season stars Walton Goggins, Carrie Coon, Natasha Rothwell, Aimee Lou Wood, Parker Posey, and Lisa of BLACKPINK fame.
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Based on the best-selling game, A Minecraft Movie stars Jack Black and Jason Momoa in a goofy and sprawling adventure full of blocky animals and magical macguffins. Directed by Jared Hess (Nacho Libre, Napoleon Dynamite), the film also features Danielle Brooks and Jennifer Coolidge.
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In Daredevil: Born Again, Charlie Cox returns as everyone's favorite blind-but-with-heightened-senses Marvel superhero. This time out, he hangs up his horns and throws himself into his career as a lawyer. At the same time, the criminal mastermind Kingpin (played by Vincent D'Onofrio) decides to go straight and run for mayor of New York City. The two men declare a truce, but will it last?
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The delightful Netflix series Survival of the Thickest is about an up-and-coming stylist whose professional and personal ambitions go sideways when she finds herself newly single. With the help of her best friends, she recalibrates her life and steps outside her comfort zone to varying results. It stars the charming comedian Michelle Buteau, who also co-created the show. Survival of the Thickest just returned for a second season, so today we are revisiting our conversation about the series.
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In the very funny new satire The Studio, Seth Rogen plays a Hollywood studio head desperately trying to do a job he's afraid of failing at every single day. The Apple TV+ series features comedy MVPs like Catherine O'Hara, Bryan Cranston, and Kathryn Hahn, but also cameos from actors and directors playing themselves — including Anthony Mackie, Zoë Kravitz, Ron Howard, Martin Scorsese and Ice Cube.
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In Death of a Unicorn, Paul Rudd and Jenna Ortega star as dad and daughter facing off against some angry-as-hell horned beasts. Like so many creature features, it poses a direct question amid all the chaos and carnage: Who's the real monster here? The film also stars Will Poulter, Richard E. Grant, and Téa Leoni.
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In the new Netflix series The Residence, a dead body shows up in an awkward location: the White House. A sprawling list of suspects try to outsmart a brilliant detective played by Uzo Aduba. She's joined by a cast that includes Giancarlo Esposito, Ken Marino, Randall Park, Kylie Minogue, and many others.
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The Apple TV+ series Dope Thief is a great high-stakes crime thriller to stream now. It stars Brian Tyree Henry as a man running a risky con: Robbing small-time drug dealers by posing as a DEA agent. His luck runs out, however, when he and his buddy-in-crime (Wagner Moura) mess with the wrong house.
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In season two of Severance (streaming on Apple TV+), we got a blowout finale with answers to mysteries and even more layers of weirdness. The show stars Adam Scott as an employee of a sinister corporation called Lumon. He has undergone a process called severance, which separates your work self and home self.
Listen to Short Wave's episode about Severance.
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Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs was Disney's first fully animated feature film back in 1937. Now, it's getting a hi-tech "reimagining" complete with new songs, seven CGI-rendered dwarfs, and live-action leads. Rachel Zegler stars as Snow White, while Gal Gadot plays the Evil Queen with a magic mirror and terrible intentions.
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In the gleefully grisly action movie Novocaine, Jack Quaid plays a sweet, nerdy guy who does not experience physical pain. He falls for a woman (Amber Midthunder) who's determined to get him to leave his safe, risk-averse life behind. That happens in a big and very bloody way when she gets kidnapped by bank robbers, and he sets out to rescue her.
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Anora recently cleaned up at this year's Oscars, winning five awards, including best picture. Directed by Sean Baker, the movie follows an enterprising sex worker (Mikey Madison), who links up with a very rich and very immature young man (Mark Eydelshteyn). Their transactional encounter turns into a quickie Vegas wedding. But her new in-laws are Russian oligarchs, and they'll do everything in their power to put an end to this whirlwind romance. Anora is now streaming on Hulu, so now's your time to catch up with the movie if you missed it in theaters.
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In the new movie Opus, Ayo Edebiri plays a journalist who attends a press event at the compound of a reclusive pop star (John Malkovich) who'd been in hiding for decades. And then, things get weird and questions arise.
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The cool, stylish new Steven Soderbergh film Black Bag is about a group of British spies who discover there's a traitor in their midst. It stars Michael Fassbender and Cate Blanchett. He's a lie detector expert; she's one of his chief suspects. The thing is: They're married.
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You should watch the surreal new movie On Becoming a Guinea Fowl. It opens with a Zambian woman finding her uncle's body on the road. His death brings the family together from near and far, but also resurfaces old wounds — wounds the elders would much rather ignore. It's a powerful story about the silence that keeps families from breaking, but only in superficial ways, and with devastating consequences.
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Lady Gaga has kept busy as a singer and actor, but it's been five years since she's released a full-blown pop album. Now, she's back with Mayhem, which has already produced three hits — including the chart-topping Bruno Mars duet "Die With A Smile." It's got bangers, it's got ballads, it's Lady Gaga through and through.
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Live television is all about high risk, high reward. Whether it's musical performances, awards ceremonies, sports events, or comedy shows, there's an electric charge to watching something as it's happening. Today, we're debating the greatest moments of live television in pop culture - including a viral news blooper, John Travolta's "Adele Dazeem" flub at the Oscars, Kanye stating "George Bush doesn't care about Black people", and The Beatles making their debut on The Ed Sullivan Show.
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Mickey 17 is writer-director Bong Joon Ho's follow-up to the Oscar-winning film Parasite. In the sharply satirical sci-fi film, Robert Pattinson is a manual laborer on a spaceship who just keeps dying. But then he gets reprinted – his memories get downloaded into a new body. What could go wrong? The film also stars Mark Ruffalo, Toni Collette, and Naomi Ackie.
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What is it about a show that turns you into a bitter-ender, that keeps you dutifully watching every last episode, long after the train has jumped the tracks? Even when you know it's not good, but, for you anyway, it's just good enough to muddle through, all the way to the finale? Today, we're revisiting our conversation about terrible but bingeable TV shows
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Perhaps you've heard that Saturday Night Live is celebrating its 50th anniversary — they've mentioned it once or twice. From Lazy Sunday to Domingo to a ton of iconic musical performances, SNL's had a long and fascinating relationship with music. Today, we're talking about some of our favorite SNL musical moments.
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This year's Oscars was a big night forSean Baker's Anora, including wins for best picture and director. The film's star Mikey Madison scored one of the night's few upsets, winning best actress. Adrien Brody, Kieran Culkin and Zoe Saldaña also took home acting wins. We also recap the hilarious bits from host Conan O'Brien, the long and discursive speeches, and show stopping musical numbers.
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This year's Oscar nominees include Wicked, The Substance, Emilia Perez, and Conclave. And we watched all the nominated movies so you don't have to. We're making some bold predictions for who will win, plus vouching for who should take home those shiny gold statues.
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In Hulu's twisty drama series Paradise, Sterling K. Brown plays a Secret Service agent caught up in a web of intrigue after the president of the United States (James Marsden) is assassinated, with no suspect in sight. But at the end of the first episode, we learn this show is about way more than the murder of the head of state. Paradise was created by Dan Fogelman, who created the hit show This Is Us.
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The Netflix series Zero Day begins with a terrifying moment in which everything in the United States goes briefly offline. Thousands of people die, and even after everything is restored, a widespread panic leads to a government investigation of who did it. With a cast headed by Robert De Niro and Angela Bassett, the show hopes to be a paranoid political thriller for our times.
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The standard line for awards season goes: "It's an honor just to be nominated." But when it comes to the Oscars, there's quite a long list of great performers who have never received this honor. Today, we're talking about some of our favorites who should have at least one Oscar on their mantle — including Pam Grier, John Goodman, Oscar Isaac, and Regina Hall.
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In the new horror-comedy The Monkey, Theo James plays a pair of identical twin brothers who get saddled with a cursed wind-up toy monkey that causes people around them to die freakish, gory deaths. It's based on a Stephen King short story, and directed by Osgood Perkins, who made last year's Longlegs.
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For more than 20 years on screen, Bridget Jones has been making her way through dating, working, having a baby, and even ending up in jail. Now in the fourth film, Bridget Jones: Mad About The Boy, Bridget (Renée Zellweger) is dealing with a whole new phase of life, and a new pair of possible love interests.
In the run-up to the Oscars, Pop Culture Happy Hour is watching all 10 best picture nominees – and you're invited to join us! Sign up for the NPR Movie Club newsletter series and tell us what you thought of the movies you watched this week.
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The Peacock reality show The Traitors continues to be a delightful mix of treachery, foolishness, and Alan Cumming's outfits. In the United States, the cast is made up exclusively of so-called celebrities. So today on the show we're fantasy casting who we think should be on the next season of The Traitors.
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In the new movie Paddington In Peru, Paddington Bear and the Brown family fly across the globe, into the wilds of Peru, in search of Paddington's Aunt Lucy. Along the way, they meet a not-remotely-suspicious singing nun (Olivia Colman) and a boat captain (Antonio Banderas). The adventure that follows involves lost treasure and narrow escapes — and leads to new revelations about Paddington's past, and a new appreciation for what it means to be home.
In the run-up to the Oscars, Pop Culture Happy Hour is watching all 10 best picture nominees – and you're invited to join us! Sign up for the NPR Movie Club newsletter series and tell us what you thought of the movies you watched this week.
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In the Marvel Cinematic Universe, there's a new Captain America, played by Anthony Mackie. And with Captain America: Brave New World, he's finally got his own movie. Cap finds himself battling a literally monstrous president played by Harrison Ford whose rages threaten to destabilize the whole world.
In the run-up to the Oscars, Pop Culture Happy Hour is watching all 10 best picture nominees – and you're invited to join us! Sign up for the NPR Movie Club newsletter series and tell us what you thought of the movies you watched this week.
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The Substance is a bloody, campy, fiercely feminist body horror film. Demi Moore plays a TV aerobics instructor who learns of a mysterious drug that causes another younger, entirely separate version of herself (Margaret Qualley) to splurt out of her back and assume her consciousness. The movie has earned Moore her first Oscar nomination, and she's the frontrunner in this year's best actress race. So we thought it would be the perfect time to revisit our conversation about the movie.
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In the age of streaming content and "Prestige TV" it's easy to forget that old school TV networks are still out here, pumping out television shows. ABC, CBS, Fox, and NBC have launched new series that adopt familiar formats – cop shows, lawyer shows, doctor shows – but each has something special to recommend it. So we're talking about St. Denis Medical, Doc, Doctor Odyssey, Matlock and High Potential.
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At this year's Super Bowl, the Philadelphia Eagles beat the Kansas City Chiefs 40-22. During the halftime show, Kendrick Lamar performed his Grammy-winning diss track "Not Like Us," and brought out special guests Samuel L. Jackson, Serena Williams, and SZA. And we watched plenty of commercials featuring celebrities.
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In the new action movie Love Hurts, Oscar-winner Ke Huy Quan stars as a real estate agent who has remade his life after leaving the employ of his terrifying gangster brother. But when a beautiful and mysterious former associate (Ariana DeBose) returns into his life, everything goes haywire. The movie has hand fighting and a touch of romance--just in time for Valentine's Day.
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In the raunchy movie You're Cordially Invited, Will Ferrell and Reese Witherspoon face a mortifying conundrum: Their families' destination weddings have been double-booked for the same weekend. They reluctantly agree to share the venue, but, unsurprisingly, nothing goes smoothly as planned. Directed by Nicholas Stoller (Forgetting Sarah Marshall and Neighbors), the movie feels like a familiar throwback to the 2000s.
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We watched many films at this year's Sundance Film Festival. Today, we're recommending some of the best things we saw, including a thrilling debut from a writer on The Bear, a timely doc about the wave of book bans across America, and a bizarro horror comedy starring Alison Brie and Dave Franco.
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This year's Grammys was a huge night for Beyoncé, who finally won album of the year for Cowboy Carter. Kendrick Lamar picked up record and song of the year for "Not Like Us." And Chappell Roan edged out a crowded field to win best new artist.
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In the smart, twisty thriller-comedy Companion, three young couples gather at a swanky lake house for the weekend. One of the couples is not like the others – that's because the girlfriend (Sophie Thatcher) turns out to be a companion robot, built to satisfy the boyfriend's (Jack Quaid) every fantasy. Inevitably, things go wrong, which sets off a chain of twists and revelations that comes with a body count.
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The excellent Netflix series Mo is about a man who figures out how to get by: how to find work as someone who can't work legally, how to navigate the asylum process as a Palestinian refugee in Texas, and how to care for the people he loves. The show's star and co-creator is the standup Mo Amer. The story dives into immigration, identity, and a family as they work to map out a secure future. Mo just returned for a second season, so in this encore episode, we revisit our conversation about the series.
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In the new Steven Soderbergh film Presence, a family moves into an old house, and weird stuff starts happening. But what's different about this haunted house story is that the movie told from the point of view of the ghost. We only get glimpses of the family, but gradually we start to piece together their brittle dynamic.
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The Max hospital drama The Pitt stars ER veteran Noah Wyle. It takes some elements that are common to the medical genre and mixes them with some very contemporary thinking about health care and an inventive structure. Each episode follows one hour in the ER over the course of a very long day – so the layout is less Grey's Anatomy and more 24.
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An FBI agent working in a lonely, secret office in the White House basement gets a phone call. A woman needs help, right away. That's the beginning of The Night Agent, a Netflix spy thriller series full of action and intrigue. Created by The Shield's Shawn Ryan, the series follows Peter and Rose — the agent and the tech expert he's protecting — as they try to uncover a conspiracy that goes right to the heart of the government. The show just returned for a second season, so today we're revisiting our conversation about the series.
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This year's Oscar nominations are out, and if you liked Emilia Pérez, Anora, Wicked, The Brutalist, and A Complete Unknown, then you're in luck. As always, there's an eclectic mix of heavy favorites, left-field surprises, and the dreaded snubs. We give a broad sense of this year's major storylines, while also lamenting a few decisions we found baffling.
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Keke Palmer is one of Hollywood's most charismatic leads, and SZA is one of the world's biggest pop stars. Now, they've teamed up for the raunchy buddy comedy One of Them Days. The movie is about two best friends in L.A., who endure a wild series of misadventures as they try to make rent over the course of one very eventful day. It's rowdy and profane, but it's also got something to say about gentrification, predatory businesses, and other factors that make it hard to survive and advance in America.
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The new movie The Brutalist is earning a lot of Oscar buzz. Adrien Brody plays a fictional Hungarian architect who settles in America after his family is torn apart during World War II. It's a three-and-a-half-hour epic with much to say about assimilation, wealth, and the creative process.
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Everything old is new again, it seems, and there's no reason that wouldn't apply to werewolves. We now have a chance to enjoy a new Wolf Man starring Christopher Abbott and Julia Garner. Directed by Leigh Whannell (The Invisible Man), it maintains that sometimes the monster is inside you all along. Plus, we take a minute to remember director David Lynch.
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The Netflix series XO, Kitty is a spinoff of the hit YA book and movie franchise, To All the Boys I've Loved Before. The show follows the messy adventures of teenage matchmaker Kitty Song Covey (Anna Cathcart), who moves across the globe to be with her long-distance boyfriend in Korea. The show is a mash-up of genres, including rom-coms, Korean dramas, and coming-of-age tales. XO, Kitty just returned for a second season, so in this encore episode, we're revisiting our conversation about the series.
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In Netflix's gritty, brutal Western series American Primeval, Betty Gilpin plays a woman determined to get herself and her son across the frontier. But along the way, they find themselves caught up in a brewing war between the federal government and a violent Mormon militia. A gruff guide (Taylor Kitsch) might be of some help, but the land is rife with violent factions with competing claims to the blood-soaked soil.
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Some bands are The Beatles and some singers are Beyoncé: Smash after smash, their legend grows. And some artists aren't. For any one of a bunch of reasons — commercial, artistic and mysterious — some artists have one big hit song, but they don't have others. But what makes for a great one-hit wonder? Today we're debating: what is the best one-hit wonder of all time.
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In the new movie The Last Showgirl, a woman finds herself with few options as she approaches the end of her long career as a dancer in Las Vegas. The film marks a new chapter in the star-crossed acting career of Pamela Anderson. Directed by Gia Coppola, it tells a story about aging, parenthood, the underbelly of show business, and what happens when the world no longer buys what you're selling.
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In the past year, there have been a lot of movies that feature older women falling in love with much younger men. There's The Idea Of You, A Family Affair, Lonely Planet, and Babygirl, just to name a few. But why now? Today we're bringing you an episode of the NPR podcast It's Been A Minute. In this episode, host Brittany Luse sits down with New York Magazine features writer Rachel Handler to unpack what these films say about Hollywood's changing attitudes towards older women and why the category of, quote-unquote, "women's film" still feels behind the times. behind the times.
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Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl is the latest film in the beloved stop-motion animation series. This time, clueless inventor Wallace and his long-suffering pooch Gromit are dealing with Wallace's latest invention, a robotic garden gnome. But when an old enemy gets involved, they must face down an army of evil robots and expose the criminal mastermind behind it all.
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We covered dozens of new movies in 2024, some we loved, some we didn't, and everything in between. And there are always a few favorites that we don't get a chance to talk about. Today, we're making recommendations for great movies we missed in 2024.
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Adapted from the Pulitzer prize-winner novel from Colson Whitehead, Nickel Boys tells the story of two Black boys who form an unshakeable bond at a segregated reform school in the Jim Crow South. It's quite ambitious and unlike other prestigious book to film adaptations you've probably seen — most of it unfolds in the first-person perspective.
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The Korean drama Squid Game became the most popular offering in Netflix's history by combining pitch-black satire of late-stage capitalism with bloody violence. In Season 2, Gi-hun (Lee Jung-jae) winds up sucked back into the games, where he must fight for his life, try to destroy the system from the inside, and rally new players to his cause.
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As a new year arrives, it's only natural to have some goals in mind: What you want to achieve, what heights you want to hit. Today, we make pop culture resolutions for 2025, and look back on last year's goals and assess our progress with brutal honesty.
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Nobody can predict what the future holds, but that doesn't stop us from trying. Trying, that is, to predict what will happen in the world of pop culture in 2025. We do it every year, so we'll look back on our predictions for 2024 and see how things turned out.
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A Complete Unknown isn't a traditional biopic. Instead of covering Bob Dylan's life story from birth to old age, it covers the period shortly after his arrival in New York City, as he first begins to fall in with the city's folk music scene. Timothée Chalamet plays Dylan — and does all his own singing. We see Dylan become a superstar, as well as his famous set at the 1965 Newport Folk Festival —where he and his band plugged in for an electrified set that's often viewed as a cultural turning point in America.
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In the new movie Babygirl, Nicole Kidman plays a high-powered CEO who has an affair her mysterious intern (Harris Dickinson). Their affair gets complicated by the many power dynamics involved — not just in the office, but also in a sexual relationship defined by dominance and submission.
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Nosferatu is a Dracula story with a twist. It stars Lily Rose-Depp as a new bride stalked by an evil bloodsucking creature of the night who brings death and terror in its wake. A handful of stalwart men – including her husband, played by Nicholas Hoult – attempt to defend Rose-Depp's virtue and defeat the undead scourge.
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Some people hate jury duty, but in Clint Eastwood's new film Juror #2, one guy's experience is worse than most. Nicholas Hoult plays a man assigned to serve on a jury who gradually realizes that the defendant might not be guilty. And he might just know who is. The film also stars Toni Collette, J.K. Simmons, and Kiefer Sutherland. It's streaming now on Max.
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The new Peacock series Laid is a very dark rom-com. Stephanie Hsu plays a young woman who discovers that all of her exes have started to die under mysterious, sometimes freakish, circumstances. This causes her to conduct a kind of sexual audit of her life, and she sets out to warn everyone she's ever slept with that they are about to die. It's funnier than it sounds, and makes for a good holiday hangover binge.
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It's been five years since Disney remade its animated classic The Lion King as a photorealistic blockbuster. This leads us to Mufasa: The Lion King, a new prequel telling the story of Mufasa's rise — as well as the origins of his rivalry with Scar. The film was directed by Barry Jenkins (Moonlight, If Beale Street Could Talk) and features new songs from Lin-Manuel Miranda.
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Watching a movie on a plane can be a great way to pass the time if you're traveling for the holidays – particularly if you're going a long way. But picking the right movie can be very tricky. Today, we're debating the best movies to watch on an airplane, and making recommendations, including Moana, Jackie Brown, The Holdovers, and The Lion in Winter.
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We first met the Garvey sisters two years ago when the Apple TV+ series Bad Sisters made its debut. The show follows four sisters in Ireland who are hell bent on murdering the husband of the fifth sister. Now, the series is in its second season, with more banter, wickedness and secrets. Today we're bringing you an episode of the NPR's podcast Consider This, where host Mary Louise Kelly caught up with creator and star Sharon Horgan to talk all about the new season.
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Nobody ever said the housing market was easy. In the new Netflix ensemble dark comedy No Good Deed, a couple played by Lisa Kudrow and Ray Romano, along with several other couples and families, get tangled up in the sale of a home that holds a secret.
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The movie Queer stars Daniel Craig as you've never seen him: as a junkie prowling the streets, hooking up, shooting up and guzzling tequila. He meets a handsome young man (Drew Starkey) he longs to connect with, and they embark on a quest into the jungle in search of a drug that will unite them on a deep, spiritual level. Directed by Luca Guadagnino (Challengers, Call Me By Your Name), the film is based on a short novel by William S. Burroughs.
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For a lot of people, It's A Wonderful Life is the Christmas movie. George Bailey's story of learning how much you really matter to the world has family, community, an angel, a mean rich guy, and a little kid playing carols on the piano. It has become a staple of holiday viewing, so we thought it was a perfect time to revisit our discussion about the movie.
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We check out a lot of things in a given year: Lots of movies, TV shows, and music. Today, we are highlighting some of the best pop culture moments we enjoyed the most in 2024.
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The new Netflix series Black Doves is a pulpy and stylish British spy show starring Keira Knightly and Ben Whishaw. Knightly plays a politician's wife who's been secretly funnelling information to a mysterious spy network for years, and Whishaw plays her old partner who's been out of the game. But when Knightly's character gets targeted, Whishaw's returns to protect her. It's all set in London at Christmastime, so if you like your holiday cheer spiced with British wit and gunplay, Black Doves may be for you.
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The new movie Nightbitch stars Amy Adams as an exhausted stay-at-home mom to a toddler. Missing her career and frustrated by her inattentive husband (Scoot McNairy), her woes begin to manifest in a bizarre way: She transforms into a dog at night. She enjoys tapping into her animal instincts. But eventually, she's forced to confront her resentments toward motherhood and the lack of support from her husband.
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It's holiday movie season, and there are so many new movies to choose from. So where do you start? We've got you covered. This year we've got the return of Lindsay Lohan, a shirtless Chad Michael Murray, and a cameo from Travis Kelce's mom. We discuss: Our Little Secret, Meet Me Next Christmas, Holiday Touchdown: A Chiefs Love Story, and The Merry Gentleman.
Check out Linda's full holiday movie guide here.
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What do you do when you need a good movie, but you don't have much time? The answer is that you find a short one. In this encore episode, we recommend three films that deliver a lot of punch without taking up your whole day.
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In the Netflix series The Madness, Colman Domingo plays a CNN pundit who witnesses a brutal murder, and then finds himself on the run as he's framed for the crime. What follows is a paranoid thriller full of sinister forces, evil billionaires, underground militias, devious assassins, and lots of red herrings.
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The super-meta Hulu series Interior Chinatown mashes up a whole bunch of genres — including kung fu movies and police procedurals — to explore Asian-American identity in interesting ways. Jimmy O. Yang plays a waiter who dreams of a more exciting life outside his close-knit community. After witnessing a crime, he has a chance to help investigators solve the case — and he soon realizes he's more deeply connected to the mystery than he initially thought. The show was created by Charles Yu, who based it on his own novel.
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In the hit Disney film Moana, a girl (Auli'i Cravalho) finally gets her chance to see more of the world. And with a whole new batch of songs, in Moana 2, she's older and has a new purpose. With the help of her chicken, her pig, and her demigod pal Maui (Dwayne Johnson), Moana wants to reunite her island with people from across the ocean.
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You may not see Denzel Washington in the new Netflix film adaptation of the August Wilson play The Piano Lesson, but his influence as producer – and parent – is unmistakable. Denzel's son Malcolm Washington is the director, and his son John David Washington plays one of the leads alongside Danielle Deadwyler and Samuel L. Jackson. It's a story about family, legacy and community. And the hauntings both literal and figurative make a big impression.
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The charming Netflix sitcom A Man on the Inside stars Ted Danson as a lonely widower who's hired by a private investigator to live undercover in a senior living facility. His mission is to find out who stole a precious item from one of the residents. Created by Michael Schur (The Good Place, Brooklyn Nine-Nine), the series is also a tender and poignant depiction of loss, aging, and finding community.
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The musical Wicked is a bold, revisionist take on The Wizard of Oz. It imagines that back in college, the Wicked Witch of the West (Cynthia Erivo) and Glinda the Good Witch of the North (Ariana Grande) were best friends. The sprawling film delivers lavish spectacle, costumes, music, and choreography. But does the long-awaited film live up to the hype?
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The new film Gladiator II is a sequel to Gladiator, Oscar-winning swords-and-sandals blockbuster that starred Russell Crowe. It tells a similar tale — a soldier, sold into slavery, becomes a gladiator in the Roman arena. This time out, it's Paul Mescal whose prowess in the coliseum earns him fame that threatens Rome's tyrannical rulers. Directed by Ridley Scott, the film also stars Pedro Pascal and Denzel Washington.
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The moving dramedy A Real Pain stars Jesse Eisenberg and Kieran Culkin as two very different cousins attempting to reconnect by going on a heritage tour of Poland. As they make their way across the country, they mourn their late grandmother, confront the fractures in their relationship, and reckon with the grief left in the wake of the Holocaust. A Real Pain was written and directed by Eisenberg.
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If you've ever loved a movie musical, then you've probably got a favorite movie musical number — a song that makes you want to sing along, swoon, celebrate, or simply dance with the nearest lamppost. But what makes these moments great? With Wicked hitting theaters, there's never been a better time to debate the best movie musical numbers.
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In the deeply goofy Christmas action comedy Red One, the holiday season comes to an emergency halt when Santa (J.K. Simmons) is kidnapped. It's up to his head of security, played by Dwayne Johnson, and a ne'er-do-well played by Chris Evans to save Christmas.
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One night in Belfast in 1972, a mother of ten was abducted from her home in front of her children and never seen again. But the new FX series Say Nothing isn't just true crime – it's part of a more complex history. Because this particular woman was kidnapped and killed by members of the Irish Republican Army during the period known as the Troubles. And decades later, one of the women involved in her disappearance still grapples with her memories and whether to tell the truth about what happened.
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Emilia Pérez is Netflix's new divisive musical about a Mexican cartel boss who disappears from the criminal underworld to create a new life as a woman. But when her love for her kids proves overpowering, she ingratiates herself back into their lives, posing as a distant relative. The movie stars Karla Sofía Gascón, Zoe Saldaña, and Selena Gomez.
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There are songs you want to groove to, and songs you want to pump up to. But sometimes, you just want something for the come down at the end of a long day. If you're having trouble sleeping in silence, or are just looking for some new songs to throw into your bedtime rotation, we've got you covered. In this encore episode, we are recommending three great songs that will help you fall asleep.
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In the claustrophobic thriller Heretic, two young Mormon missionaries (Sophie Thatcher and Chloe East) knock on the door of a charming man played by Hugh Grant. At first he seems genuinely interested in learning more, and invites them in. But it quickly becomes clear that this guy doesn't actually want to have a good-faith discussion.
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Today, we're bringing you an episode of How To Do Everything, a new NPR podcast from the team behind Wait Wait...Don't Tell Me! On each episode, Mike Danforth and Ian Chillag offer practical advice for everyday problems — like how to tell if you smell, or how to get close to a panda — with help from celebrity guests. This episode, their guest is Tom Hanks. Mike and Ian also help a listener who's curious about world fame. Plus, a bottoms-up approach to recognizing your family members. Follow How To Do Everything on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.
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Elections can be pretty stressful. And it never hurts to have some emergency distractions on hand if you just need to shut down for a while. One of our favorites is YouTube: a place for the good, the bad, the bizarrely detailed, and the wildly specialized. Today, we're talking about our favorite YouTube rabbit holes that are great distractions.
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In the HBO new series The Penguin, an unrecognizable Colin Farrell reprises his role as Oswald Cobb from The Batman. This time though, the caped crusader is nowhere to be found. Instead, we've got an unexpectedly fresh take on Gotham, and a crackling turf war involving the vengeful daughter of a crime boss, played by Cristin Milioti.
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What if you spent eternity in one living room? That's the premise of Here, a new drama starring Tom Hanks and Robin Wright as a married couple whose lives unfold in that living room over the course of many decades. Directed by Robert Zemeckis, the film also shows vignettes of other people who lived in the house, and moments throughout history.
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In the Netflix drama The Diplomat, Keri Russell plays an ambassador who's thrust into an international incident with massive stakes. She's also sorting through a tumultuous marriage with her husband, a hotshot veteran diplomat (Rufus Sewell). The series combines the tension of Homeland with the administrative drama of The West Wing. The Diplomat just returned for a new season, so in this encore episode, we revisit our conversation about the series.
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The new movie Conclave is a fun and twisty political thriller. Ralph Fiennes plays a cardinal tasked to managing the secretive process in which the pope is replaced. The film offers plenty of scandals, surprises, and dark horses, along with some strong commentary on the state of the Catholic church. Directed by Edward Berger (All Quiet on the Western Front), the film also stars Stanley Tucci, John Lithgow, and Isabella Rossellini.
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Agatha All Along is a darkly funny new Marvel show on Disney Plus. It stars the selfish, sardonic and hilariously petty witch Agatha Harkness, played by the great and good Kathryn Hahn. When a mysterious goth teen saves her from a spell she's been trapped in, she assembles a coven of witches so they can together undergo a series of trials that will grant them each what they most desire. The thing is – the other witches hate Agatha's guts, and there's more to this goth kid than meets the eye.
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In Venom: The Last Dance, Tom Hardy returns for a third time as a sad-sack loser with an alien symbiotic life-form bonded to him. This time out, it's a buddy comedy and road movie, as the two are hunted by another race of aliens. And along the way, they meet some hippies, hit the Vegas strip, and get in a quick dance number.
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Netflix's Woman Of The Hour is not your conventional serial killer movie. It's based on the true story of a serial killer who appeared on The Dating Game in the 1970s. But it's also about the women who became — or almost became — his victims. Directed by and starring Anna Kendrick, it's a tense, thoughtful film that has much to say about the systems that make life easier for dangerous and otherwise crummy men.
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We've all been there. A major movie is mentioned, you shrug, sheepishly, and someone says, "I can't believe you've never seen that!" Today, we make a dent in our own lists of classic films we somehow had not yet gotten to, including Erin Brockovich, Flower Drum Song, Enter the Dragon and Raging Bull.
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The new movie Anora is a dark rom-dramedy about an enterprising sex worker (Mikey Madison) who links up with a very rich and very immature young man (Mark Eydelshteyn). Their transactional encounter turns into a quickie Vegas wedding. But her new in-laws are Russian oligarchs, and they'll do everything in their power to put an end to this whirlwind romance. Anora is the latest feature from writer and director Sean Baker (The Florida Project). Follow Pop Culture Happy Hour on Letterboxd at letterboxd.com/nprpopculture.
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The horror movie Smile was a massive hit. Its flashy new sequel Smile 2 finds the franchise's terrifying entity infecting a new host: a pop star (Naomi Scott) who's about to head out on tour after experiencing a trauma. And the movie has a lot to say about the horrors of pop stardom.
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Two people meet, they fall in love, and someone gets sick. The new film We Live In Time tries to bring something new to that familiar story of the preciousness of life. Florence Pugh and Andrew Garfield laugh and cry as a couple trying to make the most of their time together. Director John Crowley (Brooklyn) utilizes an unconventional structure that jumps around from their first meeting to their later crisis and several key points in between.
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A lot of us are about to have the experience of opening our front doors to find witches, goblins, ghosts, and Moo Deng standing on our porches. Why? Because it's almost Halloween. In this encore episode, we talk about what kinds of entertainment scared us when we were kids, and whether they still scare us now.
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In the powerful new Apple TV+ drama Disclaimer, Cate Blanchett plays a woman who's terrified after she's sent a novel that's based on a chapter of her past that she's desperate to keep secret. From Oscar-winner Alfonso Cuarón, the series was also stars Kevin Kline, as a man who's also consumed by the events recounted in the book.
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The new film Saturday Night attempts to capture the chaotic 90 minutes leading up to the very first broadcast of Saturday Night Live. Untried producer Lorne Michaels (played by Gabriel LaBelle) and his cast of complete unknowns prepare to make television history. At the same time, network suits breathe down their necks, and just about everything that can go wrong does.
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The word "basic" often gets thrown around to describe anything that's mainstream, popular, frictionless, or otherwise inoffensive. But sometimes basic stuff is just what we crave, whether it's a binge-watch, a popular song, or a pumpkin spice latte. It's fall, so today we're talking about what we're calling... Pop Culture Pumpkin Spice Lattes.
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We're in a pretty critical election year. And in times like these, a lot of us are turning to political comedy to help make sense of (and fun of) the bizarre, ongoing news cycle. Today on the show, we're talking about how late night comedy shows like Saturday Night Live, Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, and The Daily Show are speaking to the moment.
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The off-beat psycho dramedy A Different Man follows Edward (Sebastian Stan), an aspiring actor living with facial disfigurement. He takes an opportunity to try a new procedure and reconstruct his appearance. But then, he encounters a guy with the same condition he once had, and who lives a fun, fulfilling life. To put it mildly, Edward now has some regrets.
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The new film Joker: Folie à Deux is the sequel to 2019's Joker, which won Joaquin Phoenix an Oscar. This new film is a courtroom drama and a romance tossed into a musical blender set to liquefy, as the Joker goes on trial for the murders he committed in the last film and falls in love with a groupie played by Lady Gaga.
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The Wild Robot is a gorgeous and moving new animated movie from Dreamworks. It follows a helper robot named Roz (Lupita Nyong'o) who washes up on the beach of a remote island and learns to blend in with the wildlife. After an accident, Roz unexpectedly finds herself the caregiver of a baby gosling named Brightbill (Kit O'Connor) Soon, it's learning lessons about parenthood and sacrifice while teaching the animals to work together.
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In the new Netflix series Nobody Wants This, Kristen Bell plays an agnostic podcaster, who meets a rabbi, played by Adam Brody. They like each other immediately, but there are some hurdles for them when it comes to being together. The show offers plenty of romantic comedy banter and good chemistry, as well as some pretty deep questions about faith and compatibility.
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The latest season of HBO's Industry was over the top. The drama is about backstabbing, morally compromised investment bankers. But it managed to make its characters even more backstabb-y and ethically dubious than ever before. Frenemies fought hard. Buried vices and addictions came to light. And death hovered over the entire season in shocking fashion.
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Francis Ford Coppola, the legendary filmmaker behind The Godfather trilogy and Apocalypse Now, is back with his first new film in over a decade. It reimagines the fall of Rome through a futuristic American city, and has a lot of big and messy ideas about time and the fate of humanity. It's also jam-packed with stars like Adam Driver, Giancarlo Esposito, and Aubrey Plaza. We try to make sense of it all.
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Elizabeth Olsen, Carrie Coon, and Natasha Lyonne are often the best thing about their projects, and they're all together in the moving new Netflix film His Three Daughters. They play three sisters who are odds with one another, but must gather in their father's apartment when he's dying. As his illness progresses, their own sibling relationships are tested.
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The fun series Colin From Accounts is part raunchy comedy, part romantic comedy, part friendship story, and part very cute dog. It begins with a chance encounter between two strangers (played by Harriet Dyer and Patrick Brammall) who meet after accidentally injuring an adorable dog. They reluctantly decide to take joint responsibility for the pup, and form a strange bond. The show is about to return for a second season on Paramount+, so we are revisiting our conversation about the series.
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The Substance is a bloody, campy, fiercely feminist body horror film. Demi Moore plays a TV aerobics instructor desperate to stay in the spotlight. She learns of a mysterious drug she can inject that causes another, younger, entirely separate version of herself (Margaret Qualley) to splurt out of her back and assume her consciousness. They must switch back and forth or very bad bloody things will happen.
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The Transformers franchise has been around for decades, and it's brought us many toys, TV shows and movies. Now, in the new animated film Transformers One, the origin story of Optimus Prime and Megatron finally gets told. With a voice cast that includes Chris Hemsworth and Brian Tyree Henry, the movie hopes to offer a fresh entry point for the long-running franchise.
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What would you do if you met your future self, who's a couple of decades older and maybe a little wiser? Would you freak out? In the delightful new movie My Old Ass, a teenager named Elliott (Maisy Stella) faces this very scenario. Her older self is played by Aubrey Plaza, and she's got some advice to impart. But her younger self may or may not take it.
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Fall is beginning, and it's the perfect time to talk about all the great things we're excited to watch and listen to between now and the end of the year. Today, we're offering up a guide to spotlight some of the movies, TV, and music we are looking forward to this fall.
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Last night's Primetime Emmy Awards included big wins for Hacks, The Bear, Shōgun, and Baby Reindeer. And if you're nostalgic for shows like Schitt's Creek or Happy Days, the telecast had you covered.
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Never visit your weird new friends at their enormous isolated country estate. That's a basic rule that an American family fails to follow in the new horror thriller Speak No Evil starring James McAvoy. By the time they figure out they are in way over their heads, it's much much too late.
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In Netflix's new film Rebel Ridge, Aaron Pierre plays Terry, a young Black man who enters a small Southern town to post bail for his cousin. But when the local cops seize his money, he faces off against the corrupt chief of police (Don Johnson). Things escalate, and soon he uncovers a sinister conspiracy that threatens his life.
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Maybe you think you've seen every scary mother-in-law fiction has to offer — you absolutely haven't. In the new movie The Front Room, a pregnant woman (Brandy Norwood) allows her mother-in-law (Kathryn Hunter) to move in. In a film that's part creepy and part very darkly funny, the two women square off for control of the house and the child on the way.
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We all love a fancy wedding. The music, the flowers — the body washing up on the beach. At least that's what happens in Netflix's fun new thriller The Perfect Couple. Based on the novel by Elin Hilderbrand, the series stars Nicole Kidman as the matriarch of a wealthy Nantucket family that suddenly finds itself in the middle of a whodunit. And in this family, it seems like almost anybody could be guilty.
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There's a reason Beetlejuice was a hit back in 1988: it delivered both the spectacle and big stars of a major studio film, and the hilarious, weird vision of director Tim Burton. Now he returns with the sequel, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice — which stars Winona Ryder, Catherine O'Hara, Michael Keaton, and Jenna Ortega. But does Beetlejuice Beetlejuice capture any of the original's silly, surreal, singular magic? Should it even try?
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Maybe you're going up for a promotion, or just got out of a bad relationship. Whatever it is, your mood needs a boost. Today, we're recommending three songs that make for great motivators and pick-me-ups when you need them most.
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In the clever new Netflix series Kaos, the Greek Gods are a rich and powerful modern-day family. They're led by an impulsive and deeply insecure Zeus (Jeff Goldblum), who lives on Mount Olympus with his wife Hera (Janet McTeer). But there is a plan to overthrow Zeus that depends on a slew of gods, demigods and mortals working together, whether or not they are aware of the roles they each are playing.
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Some people may flinch at the genre of reality TV – it's full of tropes and manipulative editing and ridiculous premises. It's been referred to as a funhouse mirror of our culture. But it can reflect back to us new ways of understanding what we accept as a society – especially when it comes to things like gender, sexuality, class and race. Today we're bringing you an episode of NPR's Code Switch that zeroes in on the The Bachelor and Love Island.
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The new movie Afraid is latest in the well-established genre of "the computer is alive" stories. John Cho plays a dad who has a chance to try out a very advanced AI system at his home — and it does a lot more than talk back.
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In the new film The Crow, Bill Skarsgård plays a man who gets brutally murdered alongside his soulmate (FKA twigs). He returns to life as an unstoppable figure of vengeance, hunting down their killers. It's not a remake of the 1994 cult classic; the filmmakers are pitching it as a brand new reimagining of the comic book series that inspired the original film. But how does this new movie stack up?
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Sabrina Carpenter has had two of the year's biggest hits with "Espresso" and "Please Please Please." Now, she's released a new full-length album called Short n' Sweet, which serves up more catchy silliness and high drama. But does the album keep that "Espresso" magic alive?
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It's practically a tradition for famous people to portray a really offbeat version of themselves in TV and movies. The latest season of Only Murders in the Building features Eugene Levy, Zach Galifianakis, and Eva Longoria all playing fictional versions of themselves. So we thought it would be the perfect time to talk about about the many ways actors portray themselves on screen, and why it does and doesn't work.
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In the new psychological thriller Blink Twice, Naomi Ackie plays a woman who is invited to the private island of a tech billionaire, played by Channing Tatum. He's recently re-entered public life after a scandal and has gathered his friends for a long party. But as the party stretches on, it's clear that something is seriously amiss. Blink Twice is the directorial debut of Zoë Kravitz, and the vibes are definitely pretty weird.
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Part of the fun of reality TV is putting yourself in the shoes of the people you're watching. Maybe you'd make a great Real Housewife. Maybe you could win The Amazing Race. Maybe you could even win the fickle hand of The Bachelor. We're not here to make friends, but we are here to pick the reality shows that we think could thrive on.
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In the new Apple TV+ series Bad Monkey, a fishing boat in the Florida Keys pulls in a human arm, and a suspended detective is the only one who can crack the case. Created by Bill Lawrence (Ted Lasso) and starring Vince Vaughn, the series is a beachy, sun-drenched comedy-mystery with plenty of twists and turns as well as, yes, a monkey. But does it successfully capture the vibe of Carl Hiaasen's book that it's based on?
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The vinyl record, the CD, the DVD, the VHS tape — even the paper book has been the subject of debate and concern over its future. But we haven't given up our collections just yet. Today, we're revisiting our conversation about the physical media we still treasure.
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Alien: Romulus is the latest entry in the venerable Alien sci-fi/horror film franchise, and it leans hard into the horror. The new movie stars Cailee Spaeney as one of a young crew of space miners, along with David Jonsson as her android brother. You'll never guess what species of slimy extraterrestrial evil they encounter. Faces get hugged, chests get burst, and acid blood eats through everything.
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The movie Didi is a vibrant coming-of-age dramedy and was a Sundance film festival favorite. It stars Izaac Wang as a 13-year-old just trying to survive the awkwardness of puberty as a Taiwanese-American kid living in the Bay Area. He's got a crush to impress, complicated friendships to navigate, and family members who are sooooo embarrassing. Didi was directed by Sean Wang, who earned an Oscar nomination earlier this year for his documentary short Nai Nai & Wai Po.
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We've got dirty words on the brain, and we're chatting about the use and functions of profanity in entertainment. In this encore episode from 2013, we cover everything from Anchorman to South Park to Shakespeare.
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In the new, stylishly odd horror film Cuckoo, Hunter Schafer plays an American teenager who reluctantly moves with her family to a mysterious resort in the German Alps. Her rebellious spirit clashes with the resort's creepy proprietor, played by Dan Stevens. When weird stuff starts happening, long-buried family secrets come to light and the resort's true nature stands revealed.
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The 2016 Colleen Hoover novel It Ends With Us was a massive bestseller. And now that book is a movie. Blake Lively stars as Lily Bloom, a woman who falls for a hot neurosurgeon played by Justin Baldoni — who also directs the film. But their relationship is complicated by the return of her old flame (Brandon Sklenar). She also has to reckon with her feelings about her abusive father and the mother who stayed with him.
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It's summer, and whether you're taking a trip – or simply staying out of the heat with the AC running – there's nothing like relaxing with a good audiobook. So in this encore episode, we are recommending three of our favorite fiction audiobooks.
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There is nothing better for the summer doldrums than a blast of Olympic glory. For a couple of weeks this summer, athletes are showing us how they flip, run, swim, climb, and paddle and even breakdance to prove they are the best in the world. We're checking in with the 2024 Olympics, including wins for gymnast Simone Biles, swimmer Katie Ledecky, and sprinter Noah Lyles.
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The moving drama Sing Sing stars Colman Domingo as the leader of a tight-knit theatre ensemble within one of the most notorious maximum-security prisons in the United States. Most of the cast are alumni of the actual program who had input on the filmmaking process. The movie showcases the ups and downs of putting on a show without being overly sentimental or cliché.
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M. Night Shyamalan's new thriller Trap stars Josh Hartnett as a father attending a pop concert with his teenage daughter. But all is not as it appears. It quickly turns out that the entire concert is surrounded by police who are trying to catch a dangerous serial killer in the most difficult way possible. There is a lot going on in this bonkers movie: lots of pop songs, and lots of strange decision-making.
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The second season of HBO's House of the Dragon is almost over. The war between two rival factions of the Targaryen dynasty is fully underway, complete with stealth missions, palace intrigue, battle scenes and hot dragon-on-dragon action. But now that the Dance of the Dragons is in full swing, has the Game of Thrones prequel finally hit its stride?
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The dryly funny new Apple TV+ series Time Bandits reimagines the 1981 Terry Gilliam film of the same name. A squad of inept thieves — including their sort-of leader, played by Lisa Kudrow — have stolen a map of the universe. They use it to jump through portals to various time periods to steal stuff. One jump takes them into the bedroom of a British kid (Kal-El Tuck), who tags along as they're chased by Taika Waititi's Supreme Being and Jemaine Clement's Pure Evil.
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Trying to declare the "official" song of the summer isn't a new sport. But this year feels like the first in a while where the field's been so crowded from the domination of pop girls like Charli XCX, Sabrina Carpenter, and Chappell Roan to country twang with Post Malone, Morgan Wallen, and Shaboozey. Today, we discussing the songs and artists who seem to be everywhere this summer, and why they are so catchy and inescapable.
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In the highly meta Deadpool & Wolverine, Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman finally meet up for their own big movie. Deadpool is still smarmy, Wolverine is still tragic, and they have to get together to save the world. Along the way, Deadpool continues his usual routine of endless wisecracking. The movie is jam-packed with fan service and Easter eggs. But how will casual Marvel fans like the movie?
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In Netflix's weirdly compelling dark comedy The Decameron, the bubonic plague is ravaging Florence in 1348. A group of rich nobles and their servants decide to retreat to a picturesque villa in the country to wait it all out. The large ensemble includes Tony Hale and Zosia Mamet. Every character is hiding something, and those secrets get revealed — and more than a few uglies get bumped.
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What makes a good karaoke song? In this encore episode, we're suggesting three great songs to sing at karaoke night.
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In the new Apple TV+ series Sunny, Rashida Jones stars as a woman living in Kyoto, whose husband and young son go missing in a plane crash. To help console her, her husband's electronics company gives her a robot companion. The show is an interesting mix of styles and genres – it's a buddy comedy, a crime thriller and a drama about loss. But at the center of it all is the mystery of what happened to her husband and son – and why.
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Twister was one of the biggest disaster movies of the '90s. Now, it's finally got a sequel — one with an all-new cast, state-of-the-art effects, and a whole lot of tornadoes. The new film stars Glen Powell and Daisy Edgar-Jones as rival storm-chasers who have a habit of running into tornadoes while everyone else is fleeing. Twisters was directed by Lee Isaac Chung, who also directed the Oscar-nominated Minari.
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The nominations the Emmy Awards were just announced, and it was a good day for The Bear, which set a new record in the comedy category. And plenty of our favorites also got Emmy nods, including Mr. and Mrs. Smith, Shōgun, Reservation Dogs and What We Do in the Shadows. We'll help you unpack this year's the notable nominees and snubs.
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The best-selling card game Exploding Kittens has been adapted into a new Netflix animated series. It does plenty of its own world-building: God (Tom Ellis) and the devil (Sasheer Zamata) are sent to earth, where they take the form of talking cats — and meddle in the lives of a struggling family.
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They're calling it the scariest movie of the year. The new horror film Longlegs follows FBI special agent Lee Harker (Mika Monroe) tracking a serial killer in the 1990s. If that sounds like familiar ground, consider this – the clues she follows hint at the involvement of the occult in general and Satanism in particular. And the killer in question: Nicolas Cage, uncaged.
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The cheeky new romantic dramedy Fly Me to the Moon stars Scarlett Johansson as a NASA publicist at the height of the space race. She must stage a top-secret fake version of the moon landing as backup, just in case the real attempt fails. No one else at NASA can know about it — especially the upstanding launch director, played by Channing Tatum. The pair clash (and flirt) as they prepare for Apollo 11 to launch.
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Sports aren't just games. They're intertwined with epic stories about struggle, human behavior, historic greatness and grand emotions. In other words, sports make for great documentaries. And if you're looking for some good ones, we've got recommendations: Winning Time: Reggie Miller vs. The New York Knicks, The Armstrong Lie, and Athlete A.
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Despicable Me 4 is the latest film in an animation franchise that made household names of reformed supervillain Gru (Steve Carrell) and his army of nattering Minions. The franchise has grossed billions of dollars, and the latest movie topped the weekend box office. But are these films growing up with their audience, or continuing to cater to young kids? And does that matter?
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It's summer, so we're talking all about road trips. Should you blast music that's familiar or unfamiliar? What makes for a good road trip audiobook? What are some road trip games we hate? Pop Culture Happy Hour talked all about how to entertain and amuse ourselves in the car way back in 2012. Today, in this encore episode, we're revisiting that conversation.
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The new movie MaXXXine stars Mia Goth as an adult-film actress who gets her big break in Hollywood, only to be revisited by horrors from her past. Set in 1985 Los Angeles, it's the final film in director Ti West's beloved horror trilogy that began with the movie X. MaXXXine also features performances from Kevin Bacon, Elizabeth Debicki, and Giancarlo Esposito.
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The Pop Culture Happy Hour team is off today, so we're bringing you an episode of the NPR podcast Wild Card with Rachel Martin. This episode is an interview with Bowen Yang. He is the first Chinese American cast member on SNL, the co-host the podcast Las Culturistas, and he starred in the rom-com Fire Island. He talks to Rachel about living too much in the present, hard truths from Tina Fey, and why the afterlife should have a rollercoaster.
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A lot has happened to rapper Megan Thee Stallion over the last couple of years including a highly publicized trial after being shot by a former friend, a messy breakup, and a feud with artist Nicki Minaj. She confronts all of that and more on her boastful and vulnerable new album Megan. But she also has fun on playful tracks like 'Down Stairs DJ' and 'Otaku Hot Girl' that are odes to self-pleasure and her anime nerddom.
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The Bear just returned for its third season and it's still one of the most stressful and most interesting shows on TV. Carmy (Jeremy Allen White) and Sydney (Ayo Edebiri) are launching their new fine dining restaurant, but he's estranged from some of the people who are closest to him just as he sneaks up on a new level of success. The series is streaming now on Hulu.
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In the post-apocalyptic world of A Quiet Place, aliens kill anyone who makes a sound, forcing humans into a near-silent existence. The new movie A Quiet Place: Day One takes us back to the beginning, but this time through the eyes of a terminally ill cancer patient played by the excellent Lupita Nyong'o.
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Kinds of Kindness is a surprisingly weird, dark, and bleak film. It's directed by Yorgos Lanthimos (Poor Things) and it reteams him with Emma Stone and Willem Dafoe, along with Jesse Plemons. Each actor plays different characters in three different stories — which all involve someone going to extreme measures to regain something they've lost.
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The new film Fancy Dance offers something all-too-rare on screen: contemporary Indigenous perspectives, front and center. Lily Gladstone plays a woman trying to keep it together under stressful circumstances. Her sister's gone missing, and she steps in to look after her young niece (Isabel Deroy-Olson). The pair take what turns out to be a rocky road trip and a unique bonding experience.
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Jim and Pam. Mulder and Scully. Janine and Gregory. Carmy and Sydney. Meredith and McDreamy. You know how it goes: two television characters with obvious chemistry who fight or look at each other longingly. You know that there's only one question: will they, or won't they? Today, we break down the different types of will-they-won't-they couples and discuss some of the best and worst couples in television, including Abbott Elementary, The Bear, Cheers, Grey's Anatomy, Dawson's Creek, and more.
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The new Disney+ Star Wars series The Acolyte is a murder mystery. Someone is killing great Jedi masters, and while we learn the killer's identity early on, the real mystery driving the series is why they're doing it. It stars Amandla Stenberg as Force-sensitive twins Osha and Mae, and Squid Game's Lee Jung-jae as Osha's former Jedi master. By the time it's finished its eight-episode run, The Acolyte may shed new light on the nature of the Force, and the hidden history of the Jedi.
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Financial scams are an unfortunate phenomenon, but what happens when a fraudster messes with the wrong grandma? The very fun action-comedy Thelma imagines exactly this scenario. The movie stars June Squibb as a woman scammed by someone pretending to be her grandson. She then enlists her old friend (the late Richard Roundtree) to help get her money back.
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The brilliant and idiosyncratic new HBO series Fantasmas has a simple plot. Creator and star Julio Torres searches New York City for an earring he lost at a club. In the execution, that quest gets transformed into something epic and surreal and queer in every sense of the word. He keeps bumping into random New Yorkers whose stories play out in a series of sketch-like vignettes. They are played by actors including Emma Stone, Bowen Yang, and Tilda Swinton.
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The second half of Bridgerton'slatest season just dropped on Netflix, and naturally the course of true love continues to not run smoothly. Colin Bridgerton (Luke Newton) and Penelope Featherington (Nicola Coughlan) may have finally declared their feelings for each other, but there's still a lot left to figure out. We previously talked about the first part of the third season in May, so today, we're diving in everything that happens in the conclusion.
We want to hear your opinions about summer snacks. Are you Team Hot Dog or Team Hamburger? What's better: churro or a funnel cake? Click here to cast your votes. The results will be revealed at a virtual live event for Pop Culture Happy Hour+ supporters on Thursday, June 27th at 6 p.m. ET.
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Whether they're lightly perspiring, gently glowing, or soaked through from sweltering, people in the movies sweat a lot. But what movie has had people sweat the very most? With summer underway, we are debating what is the sweatiest movie of all time — including Do the Right Thing, Dog Day Afternoon, Y tu mamá también, and Body Heat.
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Pixar's Inside Out introduced us to the core emotions inside an 11-year-old girl named Riley. We met Joy (Amy Poehler), Sadness (Phyllis Smith), and Anger (Lewis Black). In Inside Out 2, Riley is experiencing puberty and a whole new crop of emotions have popped up. Most notably Anxiety (Maya Hawke) who has literally bottled up Riley's original core emotions and sent them hurtling into the back of her mind, where they plot to get back and set things right.
We want to hear your opinions about summer snacks. Are you Team Hot Dog or Team Hamburger? What's better: churro or a funnel cake? Click here to cast your votes. The results will be revealed at a virtual live event for Pop Culture Happy Hour+ supporters on Thursday, June 27th at 6 p.m. ET.
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Presumed Innocent was a blockbuster legal thriller as a novel, and then a hit movie starring Harrison Ford. Now, Apple TV+ brings back the story of the accuser turned defendant as a limited series. Jake Gyllenhaal plays the lead this time, as a prosecutor who is accused of the murder of the colleague he'd had an affair with. David E. Kelley (Big Little Lies, The Practice, Ally McBeal) created the show.
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This is the time of year when so many students graduate. Whether it's graduation episodes of our favorite TV series, high school songs, or movies about the last wild night of high school, we're revisiting our episode about the best moments about graduation in pop culture.
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Am I OK? is a about what happens when you finally come to accept your sexuality much later in life than many do. It stars Dakota Johnson and Sonoya Mizuno as two women in their 30s who have been best friends a long time. But Johnson's character is grappling with the possibility that she's queer – and with the fact that her most treasured friendship is in trouble. Directed by Tig Notaro and Stephanie Allynne, it's streaming on Max.
We want to hear your opinions about summer snacks. Are you Team Hot Dog or Team Hamburger? What's better: churro or a funnel cake? Click here to cast your votes. The results will be revealed at a virtual live event for Pop Culture Happy Hour+ supporters on Thursday, June 27th at 6 p.m. ET.
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Netflix's entertaining dark comedy Hit Manis not about a hired killer. It's about a guy who pretends to be a hired killer. Director Richard Linklater co-wrote this film with movie star of the moment, Glen Powell. Based very loosely on a real guy, Powell plays a mild-mannered professor who also works undercover for the police as a fake hitman.
We want to hear your opinions about summer snacks. Are you Team Hot Dog or Team Hamburger? What's better: churro or a funnel cake? Click here to cast your votes. The results will be revealed at a virtual live event for Pop Culture Happy Hour+ supporters on Thursday, June 27th at 6 p.m. ET.
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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?
We want to hear your opinions about summer snacks. Are you Team Hot Dog or Team Hamburger? What's better: churro or a funnel cake? Click here to cast your votes. The results will be revealed at a virtual live event for Pop Culture Happy Hour+ supporters on Thursday, June 27th at 6 p.m. ET.
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The new FX limited series Clipped tells the story of Donald Sterling, the then-owner of the Los Angeles Clippers, who was outed as a racist. Sterling's girlfriend – who was Black and Mexican – secretly recorded their conversations. When those tapes leaked, he was embroiled in a scandal that upended the NBA – an industry that profits off the star power of its majority Black players. The series stars Ed O'Neill and Laurence Fishburne as the owner and the head coach who clashed as it all went down.
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The Sopranos changed television. The HBO series was centered on mobster Tony Soprano (James Gandolfini), a deeply flawed male antihero. That then- innovative approach cast a long shadow on television, but what really set The Sopranos apart was the fact that Tony was in therapy — a genius touch that granted viewers special access to his inner conflicts. This year marks the 25th anniversary of the show's premiere, so we're revisiting our conversation about the series.
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Sometimes, our favorite musical artists are too good to be true because they're sprung from the imaginations of Hollywood screenwriters. But what makes a fake band great? Today, we are debating the best fictional bands in TV and film — including from Mamma Mia!, Josie and the Pussycats, It's Your Move, and Miami Connection.We want to hear your opinions about summer snacks. Are you Team Hot Dog or Team Hamburger? What's better: churro or a funnel cake? Click here to cast your votes. The results will be revealed at a virtual live event for Pop Culture Happy Hour+ supporters on Thursday, June 27th at 6 p.m. ET.
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The Peacock series We Are Lady Parts is a bold and very funny comedy about an up-and-coming London punk band called Lady Parts. The members of Lady Parts, and its manager, are all young Muslim women, from various racial and ethnic backgrounds. Over the course of its first season, each member experiences triumphs and setbacks – including its lead guitarist, who strives to overcome stage fright. The show is about to return for a new season, so today, we are revisiting our conversation about it.
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What is it about a show that turns you into a bitter-ender, that keeps you dutifully watching every last episode, long after the train has jumped the tracks? Even when you know it's not good, but, for you anyway, it's just good enough to muddle through, all the way to the finale? Today, we're talking about terrible but bingeable TV shows.
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Today, we are bringing you an episode of a new NPR podcast hosted by our pal Rachel Martin. It's called Wild Card, and it's a new interview show where the game controls the conversation. Each week, the guest chooses questions at random — about the memories, insights, and beliefs that have shaped their lives. This episode is an interview with the actor Pop Culture Happy Hour listeners voted as their favorite Chris — Chris Pine.
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Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga is packed with bone-crunching practical stunts and lots of gnarly, diesel-powered chase scenes. It also shows a commitment to worldbuilding that grapples with themes of feminism, environmentalism, and humanity. Directed by George Miller, the prequel film tells the story of a Furiosa (Anya Taylor-Joy), who was taken from her home as a girl, raised to be a warrior in a post-apocalyptic wasteland, and now seeks revenge on an evil warlord (Chris Hemsworth).
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It's rare to find a series with such an impeccable pedigree as HBO's The Sympathizer. It's based on a Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, co-created by auteur director Park Chan-wook, and features Robert Downey, Jr. in four supporting roles. Set during and after the Vietnam war, the series follows a man (Hoa Xuande) juggling a position with the South Vietnamese military and one as a spy for the North Vietnamese. But is it a worthy adaptation?
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In the new movie IF, a 12-year-old girl (Cailey Fleming) discovers she can see other people's imaginary friends. It stars Ryan Reynolds, and directed by John Krasinski. It mixes the real world and animation, but does it capture the heart of the Pixar movies that inspired it?
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The Netflix series Bridgerton is back, as gossipy and over-the-top as ever. Penelope Featherington (Nicola Coughlan) and her crush on childhood best friend Colin Bridgerton (Luke Newton) take center-stage. When Penelope is determined to find a husband, Colin wants to help her and they start spending extra time together. But where will this lead? Well, you know the answer to that. It's all about the journey, and the clothes, and the nudity, and obviously, the Queen's hair.
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The new music biopic Back to Black chronicles the life of singer-songwriter Amy Winehouse. The film stars Marisa Abela, and follows Winehouse as she records her breakthrough album, gets married, and struggles with addiction. But does the movie do justice to the singer and her music?
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The new movie Babes stars Ilana Glazer and Michelle Buteau as longtime best friends who've made very different life choices. It's also about the inherent joys, stressors, and grossness of parenthood, and what it means to embrace your chosen family. It's the feature directorial debut of Pamela Adlon (Better Things).
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For years, Black Twitter was the watering hole. It was where we could pop off jokes about Olivia and Fitz on Scandal. It's also where you could call out social injustices. It was both a state of mind and a state of being online. A new Hulu docuseries called Black Twitter: A People's History puts the massive global reach of that space into perspective. But what's changed now that it's owned by Elon Musk?
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I Saw the TV Glow is a strange and pleasantly unsettling new film from writer and director Jane Schoenbrun. It's about two teenagers (Justice Smith and Brigette Lundy-Paine) who bond so strongly over a cult monster-of-the-week TV show that it becomes their entire identities. When the show gets canceled, their bond dissolves – until years later, when one of the teens sweeps back into the other's life, bearing secret knowledge that could change everything.
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If you're familiar with Interview with the Vampire — because you read the Anne Rice novel or you saw the 1994 movie — the AMC series has some surprises. It revolves around a young man named Louis, his handsome vampire lover, and the creepy vampire child they adopt — but it's funnier, sexier and queerer than you remember. But this Louis isn't a white plantation owner — he's an ambitious and closeted Black man. The show just returned for a new season, so we're revisiting our conversation about the series.
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Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes follows Noa (Owen Teague), an extraordinary chimpanzee whose clan is enslaved by a mercenary ape king named Proximus Caesar (Kevin Durand). As he sets out to gets them back, he's joined by a sage orangutan (Peter Maykin) and a scavenging human (Freya Allan). The movie is set hundreds of years after the recent Planet of the Apes trilogy, but the spirit of Andy Serkis' revolutionary character Caeser still looms large over this new film.
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2024 seems destined to go down as the Year of Pop Culture Grievances. Megan vs. Nicki. Beyoncé vs. Nashville. But above all: Kendrick Lamar vs. Drake, who are currently engaged in the nastiest lyrical warfare rap fans have seen in a minute. Today, we're talking about all the pettiness: Why so much beef, and what makes a good battle? And is there ever a clear "winner" in these battles?
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The British singer Dua Lipa has become one of the world's biggest pop stars. Now, she's back with Radical Optimism, a sort of concept record about moving through life with a more mature and constructive attitude. But it's also a pretty straightforward collection of grievance-free, hyper-catchy bangers.
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The new Netflix film Unfrosted tells a fanciful invented version of the Pop-Tart's origin. The film was directed and co-written by Jerry Seinfeld, who also stars as a Kellogg's executive who's in a race to release a new breakfast idea before their rival beats them to it. Seinfeld is joined by a big cast of funny people including Melissa McCarthy, Amy Schumer, Jim Gaffigan, and Hugh Grant. But is the movie as satisfying as the Pop-Tart itself?
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In Jerrod Carmichael Reality Show, the comedian doubles down on the uncomfortable intimacy of his stand up special Rothaniel, where he came out publicly as gay for the first time. Jerrod Carmichael gets a film crew to follow him around as he bares his soul to the camera as he cheats on his boyfriend and forces his parents into deeply uncomfortable conversations. The HBO series is funny and poignant. But it isn't a spotless, media-managed facade. It's a portrait of a man who absolutely delights in letting us know just how flawed and selfish he is.
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In the entertaining new film The Fall Guy, Ryan Gosling plays a down-on-his-luck stunt performer who gets a big new opportunity to get his career on track. And maybe get back the woman (Emily Blunt) whose heart he broke. Directed by David Leitch, it's a knowing comedy about action movies, and a character study of a man who likes to think he's invincible. And the movie has amazing stunts.
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The new movie The Idea Of You tells the story of a boy band star (Nicholas Galitzine) who falls in love with an older divorced mother (Anne Hathaway). It's based on a hit novel that's at least partially inspired by Harry Styles' life and career.
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The new Netflix series Baby Reindeer has a lot of people talking, including us. It tells the haunting semi-autobiographical story of a man (Richard Gadd) who becomes the romantic obsession of a mentally ill woman (Jessica Gunning) who proceeds to stalk him. Eventually, her threatening actions force him to address a past trauma in his own life that leaves him shaken and confused.
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Today, we're offering up a guide to spotlight some of the movies, TV, and music we are most excited about this summer.
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The new show Dead Boy Detectives is a spinoff of Neil Gaiman's beloved series The Sandman – both the comic and the Netflix series. It's about a pair of detective ghosts (played by George Rexstrew and Jayden Revri) who refuse to move on to the afterlife. Aided by a young psychic (Kassius Nelson), they stick around and solve mysteries that will resolve the unfinished business of other ghosts.
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The terrific new film Challengers is about being intense about tennis, sex, and competition. Directed by Luca Guadagnino, the film stars Zendaya as Tashi, a tennis coach and object of desire to two men. She's married to Art (Mike Faist), who is facing his old friend Patrick (Josh O'Connor) at a Challengers event. This reopens all the trio's old wounds, and they excavate all of their relationships with each other.
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It's easy to notice when a sex scene is bad. But what makes a sex scene good? Today, we are recommending films with good sex scenes, including Bound, Love & Basketball, Magic Mike's Last Dance, and Oppenheimer.
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In the new Starz series Mary & George, Julianne Moore plays a low-born, scheming woman who recognizes that her handsome son George (Nicolas Galitztine) could seduce the king and become his favorite. Inspired by the true story of King James I, the series is packed with seduction, vicious dialogue, and ruthless political intrigue.
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Taylor Swift dropped an epic new albumthat spans two hours — and two high-profile breakups. The Tortured Poets Department delves deeply into two of the singer's recent relationships — one with the English actor Joe Alwyn and the other with Matty Healy, who's the lead singer of The 1975. And while Taylor Swift indulges in a few beefs on this record, the target she returns to most often is herself.
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The new show Fallout is based on a hugely successful video game series known for its sardonic, very dark comedic sensibility, and its violence. It's set in the game's post-apocalyptic world – an America divided into factions wrestling for control of an irradiated wasteland. When the hopeful Lucy (Ella Purnell) steps out of the comfortable life she's known in an underground vault, the world she's confronted with is harsh, brutal, merciless – and kinda funny.
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Hot Ones is the YouTube show where famous people answer questions while eating increasingly hot chicken wings. Hosted by Sean Evans, the series is a phenomenon. And Conan O'Brien is its most recent high achiever, and possibly the best guest ever. What exactly makes a good Hot Ones guest?
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For millions of kids, the popular 1990s X-Men animated series served as a gateway drug into the world of the X-Men and comics in general. Now, the new Disney+ series X-Men '97 picks up right where the original ended. But changes are also taking place: secrets get revealed, the team roster gets shuffled, and characters meet shocking fates. What hasn't changed is everything fans expect from the X-Men: big fights, big powers, and lots of mutant melodrama.
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NPR's Books We Love is a roundup of favorite books of the year, sorted and tagged to help you find exactly what you're looking for. From the meet cutes to the happy endings and through all the ups and downs in between, we're recommending great books for people who love love and romance.
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The new film Civil War depicts a contemporary America torn apart by a military conflict between the federal government and an alliance of secessionist states. Directed by Alex Garland (Ex Machina), the film follows a small band of journalists led by Kirsten Dunst's jaded war photographer. They embark on a harrowing journey to the heart of the conflict, encountering brutality and bloodshed along the way.
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The new Apple TV+ documentary Girls State asks: how would high school girls do things if they were in charge? The film is a follow-up to 2020's Boys State, and this time, follows an annual high school program that gives hundreds of girls a chance to create a mock government, complete with elections and a Supreme Court. It was made during the 2022 session, which ended days before the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, and the case is very much on the minds of the girls in the program.
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The sweeping historical epic has roared back with Shōgun. The FX miniseries takes place beginning in 1600, in a fictionalized but historically inspired feudal Japan, where the previous ruler has died with an heir not yet old enough to be in power, and everything has become chaotic. Shōgun has war, power struggles, violence, impossible love, beautiful naked people, and thorny questions about whose story it really is.
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Stephen King is one of the most successful living writers. He's written more than 50 books that have sold hundreds of millions of copies. And his works have been adapted into a number of classic films, including The Shining, The Shawshank Redemption, and It. This month marks the 50th anniversary of his first novel, Carrie, so we are revisiting our guide to Stephen King.
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The new action film Monkey Man is Dev Patel's film – he serves as star, director, and co-writer. He plays a young man whose village was destroyed and mother murdered by elite members of society. He sets out to infiltrate their corrupt, rarified existence and seek his bloody, bloody revenge. There's plenty of gunplay, knife-play, ax-play, bone-crunching, tuk-tuk chases, and gouts of blood.
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Tom Ripley is back — and still can't be trusted. The character — created by novelist Patricia Highsmith — was made indelible by Matt Damon in the film The Talented Mr. Ripley. Now, he's played by Andrew Scott on a Netflix series called simply Ripley. Tom once again worms his way into the life of one Dickie Greenleaf and attempts to sabotage his luxurious life in the Italian countryside.
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Throw on those boots with the spurs, grab your cowboy hat, and saddle up that horse, because Beyoncé's highly anticipated album, Cowboy Carter is here. Cowboy Carter is a country-fied album, full of legendary guests like Dolly Parton and Linda Martell, and duets with stars like Post Malone and Miley Cyrus — all tied together with the unbridled swagger of Queen Bey. But is Beyoncé knocking down the doors of the country establishment, or looking for validation?
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Movies had a big year in 1999. Today, we're going back 25 years to talk about some of the most interesting movies released in 1999 — including Drop Dead Gorgeous, Office Space, and The Talented Mr. Ripley. In this encore episode, we'll talk about what holds up, what looks really different, and what we miss the most.
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Godzilla has been around for 70 years and recently won his first Oscar. The beloved 2023 Japanese production Godzilla Minus One won an Oscar for visual effects. Now, the Hollywood MonsterVerse franchise rolls on with Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire, which pairs the two titans as they face a common enemy. Today, we talk about both movies and how they offer different takes on the decades-old monster story.
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In the new Netflix sci-fi series 3 Body Problem, a killing during the Chinese Cultural Revolution sparks a chain of events that puts humanity at risk. When scientists start dying in mysterious ways, five friends just might be the key to saving the world.The series' showrunners include David Benioff and D.B Weiss, the team behind Game of Thrones, who are once again adapting an epic book series.
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The new docuseries Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV examines the working environment of the young stars who fueled Nickelodeon's rise. The series pays close attention to allegations of sexual harassment, manipulation, and other problematic behavior by Dan Schneider, who was in charge of shows like iCarly, Sam & Cat, and All That. And Drake & Josh star Drake Bell talks publicly for the first time about the sexual abuse and assault he says he experienced at the hands of his dialogue coach. Today, we talk about the series and how it fits into a larger conversation about protecting kids who work in entertainment.
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Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire is the latest entry in the blockbuster action-comedy franchise. This time, the crew has set up shop in New York, and, with the help of the surviving original Ghostbusters, tries to stop a demon looking to freeze the world and rule over it. The film is packed with both newer and nostalgic cast members, including Finn Wolfhard, Mckenna Grace, Paul Rudd, Dan Aykroyd, Ernie Hudson, and more.
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The 1989 movie Road House starred Patrick Swayze as a no-nonsense bouncer who saves a honky-tonk bar from a local toughs. Now, in the new remake, Jake Gyllenhaal plays a former UFC fighter who accepts a job to clean up a seaside bar in the Florida Keys that's being terrorized by a motorcycle gang. There's still plenty of fighting and plenty of brooding, but how does it hold up to the original cult classic?
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In the new movie Immaculate, Sydney Sweeney plays Cecelia, an American woman who joins a convent in Italy. But after she arrives, she encounters strange occurrences and mysteriously winds up pregnant. Almost everyone in the convent touts it as a miracle, but Cecelia isn't so sure. Horror, of course, ensues. Immaculate was directed by Michael Mohan – who previously collaborated with Sweeney on the Hitchcock-esque thriller The Voyeurs.
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If there is a spot in your heart-shaped like a rom-com, we've got some good news for you. You can stream a few playful love stories from your couch, whether you're a fan of Lindsay Lohan's red hair shining in Irish sunlight, Glen Powell's gleaming chest, or Camila Mendes navigating the glamorous art world. Today, we're rounding up three recent romantic comedies: Irish Wish, Anyone But You, and Upgraded.
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In the very funny and gently surreal new film Problemista, Julio Torres plays Alejandro, a young man from El Salvador scraping by in New York City as he pursues his dreams. But those dreams – and his immigration status – become imperiled. He must turn to a frazzled, fire-breathing art critic played by Tilda Swinton for emotional and financial support, which proves very fraught.
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The movie Love Lies Bleeding is a fun and weird erotic thriller. It's set in the late 1980s and stars Kristen Stewart as a brooding gym manager who falls in love with a hitchhiking bodybuilder, played by Katy O'Brian. Directed by Rose Glass (Saint Maud), the film's got a killer electronic soundtrack, and cinematic references of everything from John Waters to Showgirls.
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The bingeable comedy series Girls5eva is a silly parody of the music industry. It's about four down-on-their-luck members of a 90s girl group who reunite to stage a comeback, and find that a lot has changed. The show features a stacked cast, including Sara Bareilles, Renée Elise Goldsberry, Busy Philipps, and Paula Pell. Girls5Eva recently moved to Netflix and just returned for a new season, so today, we revisit our conversation about the series.
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Kung Fu Panda 4 is the latest movie in the popular and surprisingly thoughtful animated film franchise. Jack Black returns to voice Po, a gigantic, adorable panda who becomes the highly unlikely Dragon Warrior. He embarks on a quest alongside a devious fox, played by Awkwafina, to face a new villain, the Chameleon, played by Viola Davis. You got your hero's journey and training montages and some pretty stellar voice acting.
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Netflix's Love is Blind is like a bad relationship that's hard to give up. We've had doubts. We've had fights. And now, in its sixth season, we just can't seem to call it quits. This season has more strange proposals, more fights between people who obviously should not get married, and more moments when we find ourselves saying, "Really, Love Is Blind?"
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At this year's Oscars, Christopher Nolan's Oppenheimer won in most of the major categories, including best picture and best director. It was also a big night for Emma Stone, and Robert Downey Jr. Plus, Ryan Gosling brought the kenergy with a performance from Barbie.
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Will it be Oppenheimer? Will it be Barbie? Or will it be some other story entirely? It's time to get down to business, because the Oscars are upon us. In this guide, we're talking about actors, directors, best pictures — and everything we think will and should win.
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This year's Oscar nominees for outstanding documentary feature are really strong entries that are available on streaming now. They also happen to be pretty heavy, gripping watches — and well worth checking out. Today, we get into what we think will win, what should win, and where to watch this year's nominees.
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Most dating shows have two things in common: They are terrible and they are watchable. That dynamic continues on Peacock's new dating show Couple to Throuple. Four couples exploring polyamory arrive at a resort and are allowed to choose from a smorgasbord of single people in the hopes that they will find a "third" who can put the "throup" in "throuple." Drama ensues.
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This year's crop of Oscar nominees for the best international feature adopt vastly different approaches to tell their disparate stories. There's a couple that tackle the specter of fascism, one about the plight of migrants and one about an infamous real-life plane crash and its aftermath. Also there's one about a guy who cleans toilets.
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This year's Oscar nominees for best original song are headlined by two songs from Barbie: one from Billie Eilish, and the other from Ryan Gosling. But there's also an intriguing mix of tracks from Jon Batiste, the Osage Tribal Singers, and Becky G — with an assist from perennial Oscar nominee Diane Warren. Today, we get into what we think will win, what should win, and what criteria should we use when we judge original songs in movies?
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Dune: Part Two is a sweeping, soaring space epic and this year's first big movie. Starring Timothée Chalamet and Zendaya, and directed by Denis Villeneuve, the film delivers plenty of spaceships and big explosions like any good sci-fi blockbuster should. But it also tackles themes of rebellion, religion, and the use and abuse of political power.
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The new and unsettling Lifetime docuseries Where Is Wendy Williams? documents the former daytime talk show host as she struggled with alcohol addiction, serious health ailments, and financial issues. Days before the documentary aired, we learned that Williams had been diagnosed with aphasia and frontotemporal dementia. The four-episode series raises many ethical questions related to celebrity, privacy, and perceived exploitation.
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The animated series Avatar: The Last Airbender is regarded as a classic. Now, it's gotten a live-action adaptation on Netflix. The series tells the story of a boy named Aang (Gordon Cormier) who must learn how to harness the power of air, water, earth, and fire — and ultimately save the world. But how does the new show hold up to the beloved original?
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Oppenheimer tells the story of the brilliant physicist (Cillian Murphy) who oversaw the construction of the first atomic bomb. It goes on to chart the dark, complicated legacy of what he made – a technology that has gone on to irrevocably change the world, and that retains the real possibility of ending it. Christopher Nolan's film was a blockbuster hit last summer, and it earned 13 Oscar nominations – including best picture and best director. Today, we are revisiting our conversation about the movie.
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The movie Drive-Away Dolls is a shaggy comedy about a couple of lesbian friends (Margaret Qualley and Geraldine Viswanathan) who take a road trip and unwittingly find themselves wrapped up in a bizarre criminal caper. There's a strange briefcase, a shady senator, and psychedelic vibes, which makes for one weird little movie. The movie directed by Ethan Coen, who co-wrote the screenplay with Tricia Cooke.
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The wait to learn more about Jennifer Lopez's love life is finally over. The singer and actress has released a new film on Prime Video called This Is Me...Now: A Love Story, in conjunction with a new album and an upcoming documentary. It's all about her journey from Gigli to joyful, from falter to altar, with her now-husband Ben Affleck. She sings, she dances, and is cared for by the weirdest council of advisors ever assembled — including cameos from Neil deGrasse Tyson, Post Malone, Jane Fonda.
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Madame Web, the latest Spider-Man-adjacent film that stakes out its own corner of the Spider-Verse. Dakota Johnson plays a New York paramedic who sees glimpses of the future. She bonds with three young women who are being hunted by a mysterious and remorseless supervillian. It has gotten pilloried by critics and has been ruthlessly mocked by a series of memes. But is it as bad as all that?
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HBO/Max's True Detective: Night Country is the fourth season of the murder mystery anthology series. It's a bit of a welcome departure, with new showrunner Issa López at the helm. Set in a remote Alaskan mining town, this season's victims are a team of scientists, and the mismatched pair of cops investigating the murders are two women, played by Jodie Foster and Kali Reis.
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Feud: Capote Vs. the Swans is the latest reimagining of historical events produced by Ryan Murphy. The series follows famed author Truman Capote (played by Tom Hollander), who hobnobs with a close-knit circle of New York socialites known as the Swans. But then he embarrasses them by airing their dirty laundry — and things get nasty. The Swans are deliciously played by actors like Naomi Watts, Diane Lane, and Chloë Sevigny.
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There have been countless romantic movies and TV shows — and a virtually infinite number of ways to watch people fall in love. But we're here to celebrate pop culture that revolves around friendship — where people love and care about each other deeply, even though they'll never kiss. Today we're recommending things to watch that get platonic love right.
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The fantastic ABC series Abbott Elementary is a workplace sitcom set at a severely underfunded Philadelphia public school. It's a giant hit, and it's become an Emmys darling, including two wins for its creator and star Quinta Brunson. Abbott Elementary just returned for its long-awaited third season, so in this encore episode, we are revisiting our conversation about the show's first season.
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This year's Super Bowl featured an exciting game in which the Kansas City Chiefs beat San Francisco 49ers. It also featured an attention-grabbing halftime show from Usher, many Taylor Swift sightings, and a big announcement during the commercials: Beyoncé is releasing a new album in March, and she just dropped two new singles.
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In the new '80s horror comedy Lisa Frankenstein, an introverted teen (Kathryn Newton) finds comfort in visiting the grave of a young Victorian bachelor (Cole Sprouse). When his corpse comes to life, he becomes her confidante as they embark on a murderous spree. Written by Diablo Cody (Jennifer's Body) and directed by Zelda Williams, the movie is an over-the-top mix of romance, jealousy, self-realization, horniness and murder.
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On Prime Video's fun new spy show Mr. & Mrs. Smith, Donald Glover and Maya Erskine play spies going undercover as a married couple. The show is part tense thriller and part romantic comedy. But it's also a character study, of two people who have made their way into the spy life and aren't sure how they feel about being in it together.
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The new Prime Video series Expats fits quite neatly into the recent work done by its star, Nicole Kidman. She plays a rich woman who is one of three American so-called expats living in 2014 Hong Kong whose stories intersect. The series was created by Lulu Wang (The Farewell) and looks at the lives of these three women, who are all affected by one catastrophic event and its aftermath.
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Every night is a big night for Taylor Swift. But this year's Grammy night proved especially big: Swift won album of the year for Midnights and announced her next album, titled The Tortured Poets Department. It may be time to pose the question: Have we reached peak Taylor Swift? Other major winners included Miley Cyrus, Billie Eilish and SZA. In fact, women swept all nine categories presented during Sunday night's telecast.
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In the comedic spy thriller Argylle, a reclusive author (Bryce Dallas Howard) gets sucked into a web of danger and intrigue when her books mirror the inner workings of a rogue spy agency. Argylle is full of globe-trotting action, with more twists than you can count. It's directed by Matthew Vaughn (Kick-Ass, the Kingsman movies) with a cast that includes Henry Cavill, Sam Rockwell, Bryan Cranston, and Dua Lipa.
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Maybe you think you shouldn't read a book before seeing the movie adaptation, or you're convinced season two is the best season of The Wire. We've all got that one argument we're always making: that non-negotiable stance, that immutable truth we're sticking to no matter what. Today, we're talking about the pop culture hills we'll die on.
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Marvel's Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur is an all-ages animated series that's got style and energy – and original songs – for days. It's the story of a 13-year-old Black girl genius who accidentally transports a T-Rex from the prehistoric past to present day. She then launches into a side-hustle fighting crime. The Disney+ show is about to return for a second season, so today we are revisiting our conversation about the series.
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Over 75 feature films premiered at the Sundance Film Festival this year, including a deeply personal coming-of-age story, a film starring Saoirse Ronan, and Steven Soderbergh's highly immersive ghost tale. It was impossible to catch them all, but today, we're highlighting some of the standouts we think are worth keeping on your radar.
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For more than a decade, Vanderpump Rules has been a hit reality show on the Bravo network. The show reached new heights of tabloid infamy last season due to a much-discussed affair between two members of its cast. The whole thing was nicknamed "Scandoval" and led to record-breaking ratings and countless memes. Vanderpump Rules is about to return for its 11th season, and if you want to catch up on all the drama from last year, we've got you covered.
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In her smart and funny comedy special Get On Your Knees, performer Jacqueline Novak delivers a kind of Ted Talk on the subject of oral sex. It's also a passionate and thoughtful coming-of-age tale delivered in language that's been finely honed to accomplish its very funny purpose. Directed by Natasha Lyonne, the Netflix special began as an off-Broadway show.
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Barbie was the biggest movie of last year. We saw the memes, we heard the songs, and it was 2023's highest grossing movie. It recently racked up eight Oscar nominations, including best picture. Today in this encore episode, we revisit our conversation about Barbie.
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This year's Oscar nominations were announced today and Christopher Nolan's Oppenheimer leads the field with 13 nominations. Other leading nominees include Poor Things, Killers Of The Flower Moon, and Barbie. We run down the nominees in the major categories and talk about some of the surprising snubs.
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In The Zone of Interest, a German couple and their family live a bucolic life, but over the garden wall lies the Auschwitz concentration camp. The father is one of the chief architects of the Holocaust, and over the course of the film, he and his wife attempt to preserve their compartmentalized lives. But the horrors taking place outside refuse to be held at bay. Directed by Jonathan Glazer, the film is favored to pick up a best picture nomination at the Oscars.
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Origin is the story of a writer who faces personal loss at the same time she works on a book based on her unified theory about systems of oppression. Written and directed by Ava DuVernay, the film is adapted from Isabel Wilkerson's best-selling book, Caste: The Origins Of Our Discontents, and dramatizes the book's ideas and the way it comes together. Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor stars as Wilkerson, and also features Jon Bernthal and Niecy Nash-Betts.
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The new Marvel series Echo spotlights Maya Lopez (played by Alaqua Cox), whom we first met as the stoic badass enforcer for the criminal Wilson Fisk (Vincent D'Onofrio). She's now on the run, fleeing to her tiny Oklahoma hometown determined to nurse her wounds and make plans to take over Fisk's criminal empire. But her friends and family – including generations of her Choctaw ancestors – may have other plans. It's streaming on Disney + and Hulu.
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The TV cartoon Bluey is a hit with young children. But it's also found a devoted following among their parents, who've embraced the show's emotional depth – as well as its messages about creativity, collaboration, and learning through play. Bluey just returned with a batch of new episodes on Disney+, so today we're revisiting our conversation about the series.
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The 75th annual Emmy Awards are over, and it was a big night for The Bear, Beef, and Succession. Plus Elton John earned his EGOT, and Jennifer Coolidge and Niecy Nash Betts gave memorable speeches.
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In the new Netflix action-comedy-heist movie Lift, Kevin Hart plays an experienced thief and con man whose crew is backed into a corner and forced to work for the government. Their next theft will be their greatest, and it's all to avert an enormous disaster. They'll have to fly planes, use disguises, sneak around, beat the bad guys, and look great doing it.
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Mean Girls is a film adaptation of the Broadway adaptation of the beloved Lindsay Lohan and Tina Fey comedy. The songs are there, the dances are there, and the nasty, nasty high school drama is there. But does the retelling capture the energy, the style, and the jokes of the original? The new cast includes Reneé Rapp, Auliʻi Cravalho, and Angourie Rice.
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Baldur's Gate 3 was the most acclaimed video game of last year and recently won Game of the Year at The Game Awards. It maps the experience of Dungeons and Dragons onto the mechanics of videogames. You and your companions embark on an epic quest, going through dark dungeons and dangerous wilderness — all while being confronted with choices that change the game in ways big and small. But what makes it so beloved?
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In the new horror film Night Swim, Wyatt Russell plays a former baseball player who's been forced into retirement due to the early stages of MS. He and his wife, played by Kerry Condon, decide to buy an old house and refurbish its dilapidated swimming pool. But there is a catch: the pool is haunted.
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The movie All of Us Strangers is a wistful fantasy drama that tells two intersecting stories about different kinds of love: One between a son and his long-deceased parents; the other of two lonely men and neighbors who long for connection. Directed by Andrew Haigh, the film stars Andrew Scott as Adam, a TV writer living a lonely existence in London, and Paul Mescal as his neighbor Harry. Adam's parents are played by Claire Foy and Jamie Bell.
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The new Netflix series The Brothers Sun isa fun genre mashup of action, comedy, and family drama. Michelle Yeoh plays Eileen Sun, who married into a powerful Taiwanese crime family, and then secretly raised her youngest son (Sam Song Li) in the U.S. to protect them both from being targeted by rival gangs, while her oldest son (Justin Chien) was left in Taiwan and is now a remorseless killer. But when danger threatens the family, they must band together by any means necessary.
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NPR's Books We Love is a roundup of favorite books of the year, sorted and tagged to help you find exactly what you're looking for. Today, we're highlighting books about show business, including a memoir, a history of the Oscars, and a biography about two iconic film critics.
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The delightful new Disney+ series Percy Jackson and The Olympians is a new adaptation of a beloved series of books by Rick Riordan. The series tells the story of how Percy (Walker Scobell) finds out the startling truth that his father is a Greek god. Percy soon discovers what that means, with the help of some faithful friends. The series also features Jason Mantzoukas and Megan Mullally.
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Your local library is a great source for books. But it can also be a great resource for helping you with your new year's resolution. Perhaps you want to learn a new language, take a cooking class, or research your family's genealogy. Or maybe you just want to save a ton of money. Today, we're presenting an episode of the podcast Life Kit all about the ways to get the most out of your library.
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Do you make resolutions in January? We do. Today, we make pop culture resolutions for 2024, and we check in on what we resolved to do this last year, and whether we are inclined to bask in our victories or fret about our defeats.
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What do we do at the end of every year? We hope, we fear, and we make wild guesses. Today, we're checking-in on how we did making predictions for 2023, and then we boldly make new ones for 2024.
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We cover a lot of new movies around here, and some even become our new faves of the moment. Yet at the end of the year, we always have a list of gems we didn't get to talk about, and now's our chance to show them some love. Today, we're making recommendations for great movies we missed in 2023.
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The new film Ferrari tells one chapter in the life of a man who wanted everything to go as fast as possible. Starring Adam Driver, the film is a portrayal of Enzo Ferrari's complex personal life, defined by relationships with his wife (Penelope Cruz) and his mistress (Shailene Woodley). Ferrari is the latest film from director Michael Mann, but how does it stack up to his previous work such as Heat and Collateral?
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The very good new film The Iron Claw tells the tragic story of the Von Erich family. They were professional wrestlers in the early 1980s, with patriarch Fritz (Holt McCallany) directing several of his sons into the sport, with disastrous consequences. Directed by Sean Durkin, and starring Zac Efron and Jeremy Allen White as two of the sons, the film considers the way their father's version of masculinity and strength echoes in their lives.
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The Pop Culture Happy Hour team is off today. So we're bringing you a very special holiday extravaganza from NPR Music's All Songs Considered podcast. In this festive episode, All Songs' annual celebration of the season returns with a trip to a snowy cabin in the woods – as they attempt to throw a party for the ages. Eggnog will be had, plenty of delightful holiday music will be played – and some special guests might just drop by, including Carly Rae Jepsen, Robert Glasper, and Olivia Rodrigo.
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The Color Purple was a Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, then it was a movie, and then, a Broadway musical. Now it's a movie adaptation of the musical. In the new film, Fantasia Barrino plays Celie, who survives the abuse by the men in her life and longs to be reunited with the sister who was taken from her. The film also stars Danielle Brooks and Taraji P. Henson. Directed by Blitz Bazawule, The Color Purple is in theaters on Christmas Day.
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In American Fiction, Jeffrey Wright stars as an author who finds that the books he loves to write aren't selling. What is selling is books by Black authors that he finds reductive and drowning in stereotypes. So, he sets out to write the ultimate Black novel under a pseudonym, with all the tropes and simplifications he thinks publishers expect. But his life gets very complicated when it turns out that he's right. The cast includes Issa Rae, Sterling K. Brown, and Tracee Ellis Ross. It's the directorial debut of Cord Jefferson, a writer whose credits for television include Watchmen, The Good Place and Station Eleven.
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The Netflix film Maestro is an Old-Hollywood style biopic about the composer and conductor Leonard Bernstein. Bradley Cooper directed, co-wrote, and stars in the film as Bernstein. It examines Bernstein's life through the lens of his complicated marriage to his wife played by Carey Mulligan. And of course, there are many scenes in which we watch Cooper passionately conducting orchestras of both the work of classical composers as well as Bernstein's own music.
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Maybe you're at school and need to concentrate while hitting the books. Maybe you're trying to get work done and need some sounds to drown out distractions. When silence isn't cutting it, sometimes you need music that'll fill your head without distracting you with words. Today, we're recommending three great songs to help you study.
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Alice Walker's novel The Color Purple has been adapted a few times. Next week, a new version based on the Tony-winning musical hits theaters. The 1985 film is remembered as a fan-favorite centering Black women's lives, but this acclaimed adaptation was received quite differently among female viewers and male viewers. Today, we revisit our episode about the original film from our three-part documentary series Screening Ourselves, which explored films through the lens of representation – and misrepresentation – on screen.
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The story of Willy Wonka and his chocolate factory has been told and retold, both in the classic Roald Dahl children's books and in two hit films. Now, in the new movie musical Wonka, Timothée Chalamet takes on the iconic role. In this prequel, Wonka arrives in the big city with dreams of opening a chocolate shop, but his plans are complicated by a host of corrupt villains. Wonka is directed by Paul King, who also directed the Paddington films.
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The lovely new animated film The Boy and the Heron is the first film in 10 years from visionary Japanese filmmaker Hayao Miyazaki (Spirited Away, My Neighbor Totoro). The heron in question is part-heron, part-man who serves as a guide for a boy as they navigate a realm somewhere between life and death. The English dubbed version features the voices of Robert Pattinson, Mark Hamill, and Florence Pugh.
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Taylor Swift has had a very big year. Her career-spanning Eras Tour is on pace to become the biggest and most lucrative concert tour in history, and the subsequent concert film set box office records. She's been streamed on Spotify globally more than any other artist in 2023, and was named Time Magazine's Person of the Year. Today, in honor of her birthday, Taylor Swift is releasing The Eras Tour film digitally, so we thought it was the perfect time to revisit our conversation about what made the tour such a juggernaut.
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As we come to the end of 2023 we find ourselves in the familiar position of wrapping up the year. From the sublime to the slightly ridiculous we're talking about our favorite TV, movies, memes, and music from this year.
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Last month, a civil lawsuit was filed against rap mogul Sean "Diddy" Combs by his ex-girlfriend and former protégé Cassie Ventura. She alleged to have suffered years of emotional and physical abuse during the course of their relationship. Diddy denied the allegations and settled the suit quickly, but other damning claims have resurfaced in its wake. His reputation seems to have been tarnished — at least for the moment. And it has us wondering: Is this a crucial turning point for a long-awaited reckoning within the music industry? Or merely a blip in the routine of business as usual?
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In the wild and wonderful new film Poor Things, Emma Stone plays a woman brought back to life from the brink of death. She's a clean slate, unconcerned with the bonds a repressive society tries to put on her. The film reunites Stone with director Yorgos Lanthimos (The Favorite)and sharesthat film's darkly comedic sensibility, but it's even weirder.
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What would the end of the world actually look like? That's the creeping fear behind the new Netflix movie Leave The World Behind. The movie stars Julia Roberts, Ethan Hawke and Mahershala Ali, in a story about strangers who are alone together as things get eerie out in the world. The film was written and directed by Sam Esmail (Mr. Robot).
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Beyoncé's album Renaissance drew on generations' worth of Black and queer dance music — and the subsequent tour packed stadiums with an epic, lavish spectacle. Now, with the new concert film and documentary Renaissance: A Film by Beyoncé, she's shows the work that went into putting on the tour while also providing a sense of her journey as a highly driven artist.
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What's the best Christmas gift you ever received? You probably didn't have to think about it; you knew it in your bones. Today, we're talking about the actual, tangible gift you found waiting for you under the tree and still think about it from time to time.
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The fun new Australian series Colin From Accounts is part raunchy comedy, part romantic comedy, part friendship story, and part very cute dog. It begins with a chance encounter between two strangers (played by Harriet Dyer and Patrick Brammall) who meet after accidentally injuring an adorable dog. They reluctantly decide to take joint responsibility for the pup, and form a strange bond.
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In the campy film May December Julianne Moore stars as a tabloid fixture who was at the center of a scandal after she sexually abused a minor she later married. Charles Melton (Riverdale) plays her husband and Natalie Portman plays the famous actress who's preparing to play her in a movie decades later. It's directed by Todd Haynes (Carol) and is streaming on Netflix.
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If you travel by plane with any regularity, you've been there: stuck in an airport because your flight is delayed. So we thought it best to give your most stressful travel moments a soundtrack. Today, we're recommending three songs for when your flight is delayed.
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NPR's Books We Love is a roundup of favorite books of the year, sorted and tagged to help you find exactly what you're looking for. Recommendations come in from critics and contributors and today, we're highlighting picks from NPR staff.
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Since the holiday season is upon us, it's time to talk about an action classic that many consider to be a Christmas classic: Die Hard. The Bruce Willis movie turned 35 this year, so today we're bringing you this encore episode about the film that was recorded back in 2018.
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It's been said that a dream is a wish your heart makes. But what happens when you entrust your dream to a charismatic but shady leader? That's the premise of Disney's latest animated movie Wish. It's a musical fantasy that stars Ariana DeBose as an idealist who goes head-to-head with Chris Pine's selfish King. There are catchy songs, cute talking animals, and a few heartfelt moments — in other words, the Disney blueprint.
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Regional Mexican music has taken the music industry by storm. Earlier this year, Mexican artist Peso Pluma and band Eslabon Armado made history when their song "Ella Baila Sola" topped the Billboard Global 200 chart. But this musical trend didn't come out of nowhere. In this episode of NPR's Alt. Latino, hosts Anamaria Sayre and Felix Contreras head to Peso Pluma's performance in Nashville and try to understand the root of the phenomenon.
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Martin Scorsese's Killers of the Flower Moon is everything an Oscar contender might be: long, epic, morally complicated and expensive. While many movie-goers left theaters moved, others called the film a problematic disaster. Today, we're bringing you an episode of NPR's It's Been A Minute, where host Brittany Luse and guests talk about what Killers of the Flower Moon got wrong and how it fits into a broader history of Native Americans on screen.
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The delightful Netflix animated series Scott Pilgrim Takes Off starts off in the same way as the 2010 movie Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World and comic. Scott Pilgrim (Michael Cera) is a dim-bulb young Torontonian who falls in love and must fight to win the hand of Ramona Flowers (Mary Elizabeth Winstead). But in the animated series, the show's focus shifts to Ramona. The show reunites the entire cast of the film including Chris Evans, Jason Schwartzman, and Aubrey Plaza.
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In the new film Napoleon, director Ridley Scott tells the story of French leader Napoleon Bonaparte (Joaquin Phoenix). It's a lavish war epic that tracks Bonaparte's rise to power through epic military battles, and explores his tumultuous marriage to the love of his life Joséphine (Vanessa Kirby).
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Saltburn is a provocative and fun thriller. Barry Keoghan plays Oliver, an outcast at Oxford University who befriends one of his popular and posh classmates, Felix (Jacob Elordi). When Felix invites Oliver to spend the summer at his family's lush estate, a twisty game of obsession and manipulation ensues. The film is written and directed by Emerald Fennell (Promising Young Woman), and it seems safe to say it will leave audiences in heated debate.
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The Hunger Games: The Ballad Of Songbirds & Snakesis the latest adaptation in the beloved blockbuster franchise. The new prequel film follows the early life of Coriolanus (Tom Blyth), the man who would one day become the evil President Snow, and Lucy Gray Baird, (Rachel Zegler), the singer who becomes his mentee.
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The underdog sports comedy Next Goal Wins is based on the true story of American Samoa's soccer team and its attempts to improve its status as a worldwide laughingstock. Directed by Taika Waititi, the film stars Michael Fassbender as the real-life coach tasked with helping the team compete in a World Cup qualifying match.
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The new Netflix movie The Killer is a stylish new thriller starring Michael Fassbender as a stoic and ruthlessly efficient international hitman. When a hit goes wrong, his very detached and methodical life begins to fall apart. The film from director David Fincher and also features Tilda Swinton.
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The sweeping new Showtime series Fellow Travelers chronicles a relationship between two gay men played by Matt Bomer and Jonathan Bailey. It spans the McCarthy Era of the 1950s through the AIDS crisis of the 1980s. One is perfectly content to stay in the closet and live a lie, and the other wants more out of their relationship. As the years pass the two men keep coming back together only to find the power dynamic between them shifting back and forth.
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The new movie The Marvels is one of the Marvel Cinematic Universe's breezier outings, full of energy and jokes and zappy light powers. Brie Larson returns as Captain Marvel, and sees her teaming up with newer characters, Monica Rambeau (played by Teyonah Parris) and Kamala Khan (played by Iman Vellani). They must team up when their powers become entangled and cause them to switch places whenever they try to use them.
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In the trippy new A24 absurdist comedy Dream Scenario, Nicolas Cage plays a schlubby, unremarkable biology professor. Suddenly and inexplicably, he starts appearing in the dreams of people around the world. This phenomenon brings him a weird and difficult-to-manage kind of fame for a while–until the dreams turn into nightmares.
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The movie Quiz Lady is a fun new take on the classic comedic trope of polar opposites: Awkwafina plays Anne, an uptight, lonely trivia nerd. Her sister Jenny, played by Sandra Oh, is the outgoing, perpetual screw up. Together, they must set aside their differences to try and win a TV game show and save Anne's kidnapped dog.
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The Max series Rap Sh!t feels like a comedy for The Moment. Created by Issa Rae, the show focuses on Shawna and Mia (played by Aida Osman and KaMillion), two aspiring rappers from Miami, and documents the challenges they face as young women trying to break into the music industry. The show is about to return for a second season, so today we're revisiting our conversation about the series.
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The new film Priscilla tells the story of Elvis Presley's wife, but it's not a by-the-book biopic. Written and directed by Sofia Coppola, the movie shows how Priscilla (Cailee Spaeny) and Elvis (Jacob Elordi) first meet, fall in love, get married, and eventually split in the early '70s. But it's also a moodier look at the way Priscilla is walled off, isolated from family, and kept at a distance from his life of superstardom.
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The Golden Bachelor is the latest show in ABC's long-running Bachelor franchise, in which the bachelor is a 72-year-old widower named Gerry Turner. Gerry's potential matches are also significantly older than the usual crop, so the priorities are a little different. But the weird dates, the awkward conversations, and the fixations on who has kissed remain.
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In the new movie Five Nights At Freddy's, Josh Hutcherson plays Mike, a down-on-his-luck security guard who winds up getting hired to keep an eye on a family-friendly theme restaurant that's gone out of business. It also happens to be haunted by murderous animatronic mascots. The film is based on the hugely successful video game series, and now it's a box-office sensation.
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Britney Spears just released one of the most hotly anticipated celebrity memoirs of the year. The Woman In Me details her meteoric rise to fame, her family history, and her 13-year-long conservatorship. Today we're bringing you a special episode of It's Been a Minute, where host Brittany Luse and her guests discuss all the juicy, strange, and sad highlights from the new book.
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In the funny, melancholic and weirdly moving new film, The Holdovers, Paul Giamatti plays a widely disliked teacher at a prestigious New England boarding school in 1970. He's forced to look after the boys who can't go home for the Christmas break, including one kid (Dominic Sessa) who's a particular pain in the butt. The film is directed by Alexander Payne, and also stars Da'Vine Joy Randolph as the school cook, who's spending the first Christmas without her son.
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It's weird, it's funny, and it's very, very naked. The title of the dating show Naked Attraction tells you everything you need to know. A single person is presented with six entirely naked strangers and whittles them down to one person they want to go on a date with. The long-running U.K. dating show has recently found success in the U.S after streaming on Max. There's some controversy and consternation, but do a bunch of naked bodies really merit all this chatter?
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With HBO's The Gilded Age, creator Julian Fellowes basically airlifts Downton Abbey's soapy plots, ball gowns, sneering servants and quippy old ladies out of Yorkshire and plops them down in the Manhattan of 1882. The series stars Christine Baranski, and Cynthia Nixon, plus a sprawling cast of socialites, servants, and members of the working class. The Gilded Age is about to return for a second season, so today we're revisiting our conversation about the series.
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The bingeable new Netflix series Bodies has a great hook: The same murdered corpse turns up in the same London location in four different periods. The four detectives assigned to the cases are played by Kyle Soller, Jacob Fortune-Lloyd, Amaka Okafor and Shira Haas. What each of them doesn't know is that their investigations are inextricably linked to the same dark secret that can change the world forever.
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Kelsey Grammer is back as Frasier Crane. After nine seasons on Cheers and 11 more on the spin-off Frasier, the snobby psychiatrist joins the long list of characters rebooted for the streaming age. In the new Frasier series on Paramount+, Dr. Crane returns to Boston with a new supporting cast and a new set of challenges. But what made the original series so watchable, and how does the new show stack up?
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The compelling new film Killers of the Flower Moon is a sweeping three-and-half-hour-long crime saga, romance and Western. Directed by Martin Scorsese, it's told through the lens of a marriage in 1920s Oklahoma. It stars Lily Gladstone as an Osage woman and Leonardo DiCaprio as the low-level white thug who professes to love her. But he continues to do the bidding of his uncle (Robert De Niro), who's stealing from and murdering her people.
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Bad Bunny is one of the biggest stars in music. His previous album Un Verano Sin Tí topped the Billboard charts, won a Grammy, and helped him become most streamed artist on Spotify for a third straight year. Now he's back with a supersized new album, Nadie Sabe Lo Que Va A Pasar Mañana. The record finds him wrangling with the trappings of fame amid the sounds of trap and electronic music, and the reggaeton sounds that helped make him an icon.
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In the complex and compelling French film Anatomy of a Fall, a husband is dead and his wife is the chief suspect. The investigation and trial expose the many rifts in their marriage, as the couple's young son yearns to understand what happened and why. Directed by Justine Triet and starring Sandra Hüller, the film won the Palme d'Or at this year's Cannes Film Festival.
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Sometimes there's a time and place for a long movie — whether it's because you've got an afternoon off, or you just aren't in the mood to flip from one entertainment to another. Martin Scorsese's latest movie Killers of the Flower Moon clocks in at over three hours, so today we're recommending other great movies over three hours long.
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The Netflix movie Fair Play stars Phoebe Dynevor and Alden Ehrenreich as a couple that's young, in love, and hot for one another. At least until one gets a promotion over the other at the hedge fund where they both work, and things get tense at home and in the office. Can their relationship withstand the pull of cutthroat ambition and male ego, or is their stock doomed for a free fall?
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The new Netflix horror miniseries The Fall of the House of Usher makes for a terrifically spooky October binge. It cleverly reimagines and remixes several works by Edgar Allan Poe in a modern setting. Created by Mike Flanagan, the series follows doomed siblings Roderick (Bruce Greenwood) and Madeline Usher (Mary McDonnell), and the dark secrets that even their unimaginable wealth and privilege can't manage to keep buried.
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The frantic, absurdist new movie Dicks: The Musical is about a pair of misogynistic narcissists (played by Josh Sharp and Aaron Jackson) who discover they're long-lost twins. Also starring Megan Mullally, Nathan Lane, and Megan Thee Stallion, the movie's got cheeky song and dance numbers — plus crude humor and a distinctly queer sensibility.
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Do you like scary movies? It's spooky season, after all, so what better way to get into the Halloween spirit than plopping down in front of a film engineered to scare your pants off. Today we're talking about the scariest movie we've ever seen.
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The Exorcist came out 50 years ago, and it's still widely considered one of the greatest horror movies of all time. Now, The Exorcist: Believer serves as both a reboot and a sequel. Directed by David Gordon Green, the film stars a mostly new cast, including Leslie Odom, Jr., Lidya Jewett and Olivia O'Neill, but also brings back Ellen Burstyn, who reprises her iconic role from the original film.
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The Changeling is an ambitious new series spanning generations and continents to tell an epic tale of a family torn apart by spirits and fairies. The Apple TV+ series stars LaKeith Stanfield as Apollo, a new dad whose dreams of fatherhood morph into nightmares following the birth of his son. Apollo's rude awakening sets him on a horrifying journey to confront his demons, past and present.
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The hilarious comedy series Our Flag Means Death follows the misadventures of Stede Bonnet (Rhys Darby), a posh aristocrat who decides to give up his pampered life and become a swashbuckling pirate on the high seas. But when he meets the fearsome Blackbeard (Taika Waititi), the two men find they have much to teach one another about pirating – and about accepting who they are. The second season is about to return to Max, so today we're revisiting our conversation about the series.
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Ahsoka is the latest Star Wars TV series on Disney+. This one's about a character who's beloved by fans of the franchise's animated series – but if you only know the Star Wars movies, you're likely meeting her for the very first time. Ahsoka Tano (Rosario Dawson) was once a Jedi who rejected the Order's stuffy, bureaucratic ways and is harboring a great sense of guilt over her mentor becoming Darth Vader. She's back with a new Jedi mentee of her own (Natasha Liu Bordizzo) as they try to stop a new threat to the galaxy.
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In the new movie The Creator, humanity is at war with artificial intelligence. It stars John David Washington as a former soldier who's been recruited to find and kill the creator of a powerful AI weapon. Directed by Gareth Edwards, the film's big themes involve the role of AI, the brutality of war, and the building blocks of life and society.
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Talking Heads' Stop Making Sense has been called the greatest concert film of all time. Directed by Jonathan Demme, the iconic 1984 film takes the audience onstage with the band and captures them at the height of their power. Now, a restored version of the film is back in theaters, featuring propulsive performances of early hits like "Psycho Killer," along with deeper and funkier cuts, too.
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In the new film Cassandro, Gael García Bernal plays the real-life Mexican-American wrestler who came to international stardom by adopting the persona of the flamboyant Cassandro, the Liberace of Lucha Libre. It's the story of a queer man who challenges a macho and homophobic system through sheer showmanship – and earns the respect of his fellow wrestlers and audiences.
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The snappy "eat the rich" comedy Dumb Money is about a sly bunch of Reddit users who made some Wall Street billionaires sweat, in an infamous stock market incident known as the Game Stop short squeeze. With a star-studded ensemble including Paul Dano, Seth Rogen, and Pete Davidson, the movie has got class warfare and needle drops galore. But will it inspire you to fight the power or just go out and buy some stocks?
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Netflix's hit series Sex Education is a refreshing and frank coming-of-age story about modern teens learning about their bodies and themselves in awkward, relatable ways. In the final season, amateur sex therapist Otis (Asa Butterfield), his best friend Eric (Ncuti Gatwa), and their friends juggle academic life and young adulthood.
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Starfield is one of the biggest and most anticipated video game releases of the year. It's a massive open world game set in humanity's future, when we've settled on star systems throughout the galaxy. There's over 1000 planets to explore, multiple factions to join, spaceships to pilot and quests to go on. But does Starfield live up to the hype?
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When you're talking about the movies of the 1990s, you have to mention the decade's huge assortment of thrillers. From courtroom standoffs and frantic chases to wild twists and A-list stars, today, we are recommending three of our favorite 90s thrillers.
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Part blistering workplace satire, part creepy thriller, Hulu's The Other Black Girl packs a lot of punches. Nella (Sinclair Daniel) is a young editorial assistant who forms a fast-friendship with her new-coworker, Hazel (Ashleigh Murray) as they both navigate working in a mostly white publishing company. Hazel is confident, a bit mysterious, and full of secrets. The Other Black Girl is based on the novel by Zakiya Dalila Harris.
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Today we offer up a guide to some of the most exciting movies, TV, and music you can check out this fall.
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Olivia Rodrigo's debut album, Sour, was one of the biggest hits of 2021. Now, she's back with a new record called GUTS, which has already spawned two hits with "vampire" and "bad idea right?" The album sharpens a sound inspired by pop, punk and singer-songwriters.
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This summer, millions of us got cozy with Beyoncé during the Renaissance World Tour. With stunning visuals, an array of costume changes, and the occasional Blue Ivy cameo, this is reportedly Beyonce's highest-grossing tour yet. Renaissance has been unlike any other Beyoncé experience, a truly communal and social media-hyped dance party.
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Recently, late night talk show hosts Jimmy Fallon, Seth Meyers, Stephen Colbert, John Oliver and Jimmy Kimmel started the chat podcast Strike Force Five to raise money and support their staff during the actors and writers strikes. Shortly after it launched, an investigation in Rolling Stone outlined allegations of erratic and aggressive behavior by Jimmy Fallon and a generally terrible working environment at The Tonight Show. So now, this unusual project finds itself in an awkward position.
The family comedy My Big Fat Greek Wedding was a very big hit back in 2002. So it was inevitable that the movie spawned a couple of sequels – thus, we now have My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3. Writer and director Nia Vardalos is back as Toula, John Corbett is back as her husband, and this time, they're headed to Greece for a family reunion.
Movie stars are larger than life, and usually have some sort of mystique or mystery. And they defined the movies for generations, from Charlie Chaplin to Denzel Washington and Julia Roberts. But in an age of Disney and Marvel, the movie star seems to have been eclipsed by the franchises in which they appear. So are we witnessing the death of the movie star? Today we present an episode of NPR's Consider This podcast about the history of movie stars, and their place in Hollywood today.
Taylor Swift's Eras Tour is on pace to become the biggest and most lucrative concert tour in history. Each night's show offers up a career-spanning three-hour epic, with a sprawling setlist that includes a nightly assortment of surprises. But what made the tour such a juggernaut this summer?
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New seasons of FX's The Bear and Hulu's Only Murders in the Building are bringing in big talent like Jamie Lee Curtis, Olivia Coleman and Meryl Streep. So we decided to discuss: What makes a great TV guest star? And who are some of the best guest stars of all time?
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The long-running lawyer show Suits is this summer's streaming sensation, and riding high on Netflix's top ten. Starring Gabriel Macht and Patrick J. Adams, the series originally ran on the USA Network and ended its run four years ago. So why is it now so popular? Is it nostalgia for a different kind of television? Is it Meghan Markle? And how good is this show?
In a little more than a year, NewJeans has become huge in the world of K-pop, with a reputation for upending industry conventions. They've become the fastest K-Pop act ever to reach one billion streams on Spotify, and their new EP, Get Up, just hit number one on the Billboard charts. Plus, their single "OMG" went viral on TikTok, spawning dance challenges and memes.
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HBO has two great new documentary projects about two very different scams. BS High is about a high school football team that came from what turned out to be a nonexistent high school. Telemarketers is about telemarketing scams, and how hard it is to stop them. Both stories are about not just the very colorful nitty-gritty details of a successful scam, but also the conditions and the systems that make scams possible.
The FX animated comedy Archer explores the raunchy exploits of Sterling Archer (H. Jon Benjamin), who is known from Berlin to Bangkok as the world's most dangerous spy. The show is violent, smutty, and packed with profanity, wordplay, and callbacks. The final season is about to premiere, so we thought now would be the perfect time to revisit our conversation about the series.
Hollywood loves a movie about horny teens desperate to lose their virginity, and the smart new comedy Bottoms is a welcome addition to the canon. Ayo Edebiri and Rachel Sennott star as unpopular best friends who start a fight club in hopes of seducing the cheerleaders of their dreams. Bottoms was co-written by Sennott and Emma Seligman, who also directs. They previously collaborated on the movie Shiva Baby.
In the great new DC superhero film Blue Beetle, Xolo Maridueña plays Jaime Reyes, a young Mexican-American man who stumbles across a creepy bug-like alien artifact that bonds to him and gives him superpowers. It may seem like just another story about a reluctant hero, but in execution, centering the film on a Latino family changes the familiar formula in ways big and small.
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We know you read on your own. But we also know you read together. Today we're recommending some great books for your next book club.
In the raunchy new comedy Strays, four talking dogs embark on an incredible journey. Reggie (voiced by Will Farrell) doesn't realize his owner Doug (Will Forte) is desperate to abandon him on the streets. But when Doug's intentions become clear, Reggie's motivation shifts from a reunion to revenge. Strays' voice cast also features Jamie Foxx, Isla Fisher and Randall Park.
The Apple TV+ murder mystery comedy series The Afterparty looks at the events around a murder and its investigation from a different character's point of view in each episode. Starring Sam Richardson, Zoë Chao, Tiffany Haddish, and many others, each installment is made in a different film style — like an erotic thriller, a midcentury melodrama, or a Wes Anderson sendup.
On Sunday morning, England and Spain will face off in the Women's World Cup Final. Both countries are playing in the women's final for the first time. And whether you'll be watching for the first time or a diehard soccer fan, we've got you've covered. Plus, we'll talk about why the U.S. was knocked out in the round of 16, and the impact of the American team on the sport.
The fantastic Max animated series Harley Quinn is set in its own separate version of the DC Universe where the violence is frequent and the raunchy jokes come at you fast. In the show, Harley (Kaley Cuoco) has ditched the Joker and started making her own brand of mayhem alongside her best friend and romantic partner Poison Ivy (Lake Bell). Harley Quinn recently returned for a new season, so we decided to revisit our conversation about the series.
What makes for an unshakable rap verse — the kind that shifts your world view and sticks around years after the first time you encountered it? This month marks 50 years since the birth of hip-hop, so we reached out to some NPR colleagues and a few hip-hop luminaries and asked them what hip-hop verse changed their lives. You can hear all the tracks discussed in this episode in our Spotify playlist.
The new film Red White & Royal Blue is a classic enemies-to-lovers rom-com, though in this case the rom is queer, and the com arises out of the fact that there are huge geopolitical stakes involved. That's because the two lovers in question are Alex (Taylor Zakhar Perez), the son of the American president and Henry (Nicholas Galitzine), the prince of England. Directed by Matthew López, the movie is based on Casey McQuiston's wildly successful and much-loved novel.
The tart comedy Shortcomings is about a cynical cinephile with a lot of hang-ups. Ben (Justin H. Min) hates his job and is emotionally checked out of his relationship with his longtime girlfriend (Ally Maki). When the couple goes on a hiatus, he's forced to confront unresolved insecurities tied to his Asian-American identity. Directed by Randall Park, the film has a lot to say about interracial dating and intraracial conflict.
Kokomo City is a remarkable documentary depicting the lives of Black trans sex workers. The women speak candidly about facing transphobia, misogynoir, and economic instability on a daily basis. Directed by D. Smith, the movie is definitely a conversation starter about finding strength in sisterhood and speaking truth to power.
They're young, they're in love, and they're navigating the hallways of high school. The Netflix series Heartstopper is a romcom for soft hearts everywhere. The two teenage boys at the center of the story go from rugby teammates to good friends to, you guessed it, something more. The series just returned for a second season, so we decided to revisit our conversation about the first season.
The fun new animated movie Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem reboots the iconic series. It's directed by Jeff Rowe (The Mitchells vs. the Machines), who co-wrote the script with Seth Rogen and others. The formula is familiar — an ooze turns four baby turtles into ninja-fighting warriors who must save humanity and find acceptance along the way. The film is bolstered by its funny pop-culture references and a strong voice cast, including Jackie Chan, Ice Cube and Ayo Edebiri.
Idris Elba is in full action hero mode in the Apple TV+ series Hijack. He stars as a corporate business negotiator onboard an airplane that is taken hostage by an eclectic bunch of assailants with mysterious motives. The series is very fun and very silly.
The Hulu comedy series This Fool is set in South Central Los Angeles and follow an odd couple of cousins named Julio and Luis. They bicker, help each other out and try to figure out what's next for themselves. Star and co-creator Chris Estrada, who plays Julio, based a lot of the show on his standup.
The second season of Prime Video's Good Omens re-teams Michael Sheen and David Tennant as the angel Aziraphale and the demon Crowley. In season one they worked together to prevent the apocalypse. Now, they're stuck hiding an amnesiac archangel (Jon Hamm) while Heaven and Hell maneuver to take advantage of his absence. The series is based on characters in a best-selling novel by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman.
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In Disney's Haunted Mansion, a rag-tag group of paranormal experts attempt to get rid of ghosts that haunt a crumbling New Orleans mansion. Based on the beloved theme park experience, the film stars Rosario Dawson, LaKeith Stanfield, Owen Wilson, Danny DeVito and Tiffany Haddish — who band together to confront the dangers of the unseen world. But despite its star power, does the movie live up to its supernatural premise?
The Netflix movie They Cloned Tyrone is a thrilling, quirky sci-fi comedy about a drug dealer, a sex worker, and a pimp who uncover a vast government conspiracy against their community. It's got a great cast: starring John Boyega, Teyonah Parris, and a very flamboyant Jamie Foxx.
In Barbie, Margot Robbie plays the most stereotypically blonde-and-perky Barbie, who finds herself facing an existential crisis. But there are many more twists along the way. Today in this spoiler-packed episode, we discuss Barbie's weirder plot elements and gags that stood out, one perfectly selected song, and what the heck is going on with Ken (Ryan Gosling).
The new film Oppenheimer tells the story of the brilliant physicist who oversaw the construction of the first atomic bomb. Cillian Murphy plays J. Robert Oppenheimer at various stages in his career, and the film's strong supporting cast features Matt Damon, Robert Downey Jr., Florence Pugh, and Emily Blunt. Written and directed by Christopher Nolan, Oppenheimer is in theaters now.
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After many months of buildup and memes, the Barbie movie is finally here. Margot Robbie plays the stereotypically blonde-and-perky Barbie, who finds herself facing an existential crisis. Joined by Ken, played by Ryan Gosling, she heads off on a journey from Barbie Land to Los Angeles. The movie is directed by Greta Gerwig.
In honor of the upcoming clash between the same-day releases of Barbie and Oppenheimer, we asked our listeners to weigh in on some of pop culture's most contentious matchups. And boy, did you deliver. We've got NSYNC versus Backstreet Boys. Superman versus Batman. And most importantly, who is the best Chris?
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The delightful Netflix series Survival of the Thickest is about an up-and-coming stylist whose professional and personal ambitions go sideways when she finds herself newly single. It stars comedian Michelle Buteau as Mavis who leans on her best friends Marley (Tasha Smith) and Khalil (Tone Bell) for emotional support and sound advice. Buteau co-created the series with Danielle Sanchez-Witzel (New Girl, My Name Is Earl).
Actors and writers are on strike, and it looks like it could last a while. Production of TV and film has largely stopped, and there are deep divides in Hollywood over issues including how creative people should be compensated in the streaming era, how work is structured, and how artificial intelligence will be used. Today, we unpack everything you need to know and expect about the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes.
In the funny new mockumentary Theater Camp, a summer camp for musical theater kids falls on hard times when its founder slips into a coma. The movie stars Ben Platt and Molly Gordon as two codependent instructors staging an original musical, and Jimmy Tatro as the business influencer son of the camp's founder, who reluctantly takes over the camp. Directed by Gordon and Nick Lieberman, the film both skewers and glorifies the love of theater.
Can something bad really be good? Or are we just using "bad" to mean "silly"? Where does a classic like Rocky Horror Picture Show fit into this scheme? And how do you know whether your appearance in a Sharknado movie bodes well or ill for your acting career? In this encore episode from 2014, we explore the idea of questionable pleasures.
The nominations for this year's Primetime Emmy Awards were just announced. There were many familiar series in the mix like Succession and Ted Lasso, exciting first-time nominees like Andor and Jury Duty, plus plenty of satisfying surprises. We're gonna help you unpack the notable nominees and galling snubs.
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In the new film Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One, Tom Cruise is back as superspy Ethan Hunt. This time he has to defeat an all-powerful AI known as "The Entity." With many familiar faces and new ones like Hayley Atwell, the movie has chases, peril, and explosions. And yes, Cruise still does a lot of his own stunts. Take our Barbie v. Oppenheimer survey. We're throwing out a few other pop-cultural either-ors, to see if we can't settle a few age-old disputes once and for all. We'll talk about some of the results in an upcoming episode of the show.
The new film Joy Ride followsfour friends (Ashley Park, Sherry Cola, Sabrina Wu, and Stephanie Hsu) embarking on a trip to China. The film is in step with The Hangover and Girls Trip. Sex, drugs, and musical interludes ensue, but the friends also deal with issues of identity and family. It's directed by Adele Lim, who co-wrote the screenplay for Crazy Rich Asians.Take our Barbie v. Oppenheimer survey. We're throwing out a few other pop-cultural either-ors, to see if we can't settle a few age-old disputes once and for all. We'll talk about some of the results in an upcoming episode of the show.
In the breezy comedy series Platonic, Seth Rogen and Rose Byrne play former best friends who reconnect years after a falling out. The show follows their misadventures as they try to navigate their respective midlife crises and become friends again. Created by Francesca Delbanco and Nicholas Stoller, the series is streaming now on Apple TV+.
The great new Netflix animated film Nimona is the tale of a mysterious shapeshifting teenage girl. Nimona (Chloë Grace Moretz) declares herself the sidekick to a knight (Riz Ahmed) who's been accused of a murder he didn't commit. He just wants to clear his name, but she encourages him to become the villain she needs him to be.
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The Pop Culture Happy Hour team is off today, so we're bringing you an episode of NPR's It's Been A Minute. Host and our pal Brittany Luse recently spoke with our other pal Tre'vell Anderson. They recently published a book called We See Each Other. It's about the complicated history of trans representation in TV and film.
Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny is the fifth and apparently final film starring Harrison Ford as everyone's favorite globe-trotting, whip-cracking, Nazi-punching archeologist. The movie finds Indy on the cusp of retirement, when he's forced to chase an ancient artifact around the world to keep it from falling into the wrong hands. Directed by James Mangold, and also starring Phoebe Waller-Bridge and Mads Mikkelsen, it's in theaters now.
There's nothing as exciting as a great mystery or a thriller. The unreal and the all too real combine to give a good scare, with often something to say about the world. Today we're recommending some great mysteries and thrillers.
I'm A Virgo follows Cootie (Jharrel Jerome), a 13-foot tall young Black man who's grown up completely isolated and makes his first clumsy steps out into the world. Created by filmmaker Boots Riley (Sorry to Bother You), the Amazon Prime series delves into systemic racism and social injustice that forces Cootie to question his naïve faith in the law, and in those who enforce it.
Jennifer Lawrence has starred in The Hunger Games, played a member of the X-Men, and won an Oscar — but she hasn't done a ton of broad comedy until now. She makes a left turn in the movie No Hard Feelings, in which rich helicopter parents hire a woman to seduce their teenage son, in the hopes that he'll come out of his shell in time for college.
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Writer/director Wes Anderson's latest film Asteroid City is about a tiny town in the middle of the American desert where several young scientific prodigies gather to receive a distinguished award. Also, there's an alien. If you know Anderson's work, the themes are familiar – teenage awkwardness, grief, wistful alienation, strained familial bonds. The ensemble includes Jason Schwartzman, Jeffrey Wright, Tilda Swinton, and Tom Hanks.
It's been four years since the Netflix anthology series Black Mirror made new episodes of terrifying speculative fiction. The series is now back with a new season that dives into questions of identity, celebrity, apocalyptic demons, and the true crime explosion. This season's cast includes Annie Murphy, Aaron Paul, Zazie Beetz, Salma Hayek Pinault, Kate Mara, andmore.
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Disney and Pixar's latest film Elemental is a family story and a love story. And yes, it's about fire and water and how they come together. Full of the studio's usual imaginative visuals, it also dives into the experience of a family of immigrants who sometimes find it tough to be who they are when they're shut out of parts of their own community.
The FX on Hulu series The Bear understands how intense working in a restaurant can be. The dramedy stars Jeremy Allen White as Carmy, a fine dining chef who takes over his family's beloved but troubled Italian beef sandwich shop following the death of his brother. The second season premieres later this week so we thought it would be a good time to revisit our conversation about the first season.
The new superhero movie The Flash has had a rocky trip to theaters. It's faced rewrites, studio turnover, and COVID delays. Plus it's star Ezra Miller is surrounded by controversy and legal troubles. The film was always intended as a hard reset of the DC cinematic universe, which has had a rough past few years. In that context, what are audiences to make of The Flash? We talk about the film's troubled production, then get review the film itself.
In the fantastic new film The Blackening, a group of college friends reunite at a house in the woods to celebrate a Juneteenth holiday weekend. For decades it's been a cliché to kill off the sole black character first in horror movies. But The Blackening turns that hackneyed trope on its head by asking: What happens when all the main characters are Black? It's silly, smart, and even a little bit deep.
Bravo's hit reality show Vanderpump Rules has become infamous due to a much-discussed affair between two members of its cast. The whole thing has been nicknamed "Scandoval" and has led to record-breaking ratings, countless memes, and even a joke at the White House Correspondents Dinner. In a world were reality television is synonymous with secret affairs and drama, why is "Scandoval" such a big deal?
In Transformers: Rise Of The Beasts, good space-robots and evil space-robots battle for the fate of the universe. Led by Optimus Prime, the Autobots return to do battle with the forces of the villainous Unicron, and our heroes enlist new helpers along the way. Directed by Steven Caple Jr., the movie stars Anthony Ramos, Dominique Fishback, Pete Davidson, Michelle Yeoh and more.
In the Netflix comedy series Never Have I Ever, Maitreyi Ramakrishnan plays Devi, an overachieving high schooler, who will go to extreme lengths to climb the social ladder. In the show's final season, Devi's dealing with raging hormones and doing whatever she can to get into her dream college, stumbling a lot along the way.
It's summer, and if you've maybe thought about taking a road trip, you're gonna need road-trip music. You might need a pick-me-up, a sing-along, or something for when you need a break from podcasts. Today we're recommending three songs to blast on your next road trip.
The new film Past Lives follows Nora (Greta Lee), a writer who lives in New York with her husband, and meets up again with a man she knew long ago as a girl in South Korea. Written and directed by Celine Song, the movie is an emotional study of how Nora tries to understand both the path she took and the many paths she didn't.
Love stories are close to many of our hearts. We want to swoon, maybe laugh and cry, we want that romance. Today we're recommending great books for people who love love stories.
The new animated film Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse is the sequel to the Oscar-winning Into The Spider-Verse. It continues the story of Miles Morales (Shameik Moore), as he battles a new villain, The Spot (Jason Schwartzman). The stakes grow as Miles and Gwen Stacy (Hailee Steinfeld) face greater conflicts as they traverse the multiverse.
You Hurt My Feelings is the latest film from the writer and director Nicole Holofcener. It stars Julia Louis-Dreyfus as a writer who discovers that her husband (Tobias Menzies) doesn't like her new book. She's rattled so hard that it threatens her marriage. The supporting cast also includes Michaela Watkins, Arian Moayed, and Owen Teague.
The HBO series Barry ended on Sunday. Throughout its run, the dark comedy brought a delicate tonal balance to Bill Hader's hitman-turned-actor. Its sharp take on Hollywood was funny, but it never let us forget that Barry was a violent sociopath. Barry's final season made choices so surprising and emotionally brutal that everything that came before it looked almost light and frothy.
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is the latest, and fastest-selling game in Nintendo's beloved franchise. Many critics and gamers are declaring it not only the best game of the year, but maybe the best game, period.
The series finale of HBO's Succession was truly a meal fit for a king. Backs were stabbed, alliances were realigned, and a new CEO of the media conglomerate Waystar Royco was crowned. How did the squabbling Roy siblings shake out in the fight to control their family's dynasty?
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The Little Mermaid is Disney's latest property to receive the live-action remake treatment. While some scenes match the original film, there are changes. Alan Menken and Lin-Manuel Miranda wrote several new songs for the film. And it stars Halle Bailey as Ariel and Melissa McCarthy as Ursula. The film is directed by Rob Marshall and is in theaters now.
The word "icon" is thrown around a lot these days, but Tina Turner was the epitome of that and more. The legendary pop star died today at the age of 83, leaving behind an indelible legacy that spanned decades across the music world, the stage, and the screen. We talk about her life and career, including her hits "River Deep, Mountain High," "Proud Mary," and "What's Love Got To Do With It."
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In the Disney+ show American Born Chinese, Jin is an insecure Chinese-American kid just trying to get through high school when he befriends the new kid in town, Wei-Chen. Wei-Chen is actually a god on a divine quest, and he drags Jin along with him. And the two come to realize they're more alike than they ever imagined.
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The Netflix series XO, Kitty is a spinoff of the hit YA book and movie franchise, To All the Boys I've Loved Before. Anna Cathcart returns as Kitty Song Covey, a teenager with a penchant for matchmaking. The show is a mash-up of genres, including rom-coms, Korean dramas, and coming-of-age tales.
More than 20 years into the Fast & Furious franchise, the saga keeps roaring on with the latest installment, Fast X. With a star-studded cast including Vin Diesel and Jason Momoa and many more, the film has plenty of absurd action sequences and logic-defying stunts that have become a trademark. But after all this time, does the magic of fast cars, backyard BBQs and family persist?
In the charming Amazon Freevee sitcom Primo, Rafa is a typical 16-year-old kid navigating life with the help of his enterprising mom and five very colorful uncles. The show was created by journalist and podcaster Shea Serrano and is executive produced by Mike Schur (The Good Place, Parks & Recreation).Sounsurprisingly, there's no shortage of pop culture references, silly situations, and a heartfelt moment or two.
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The Fast & The Furious debuted as a scruffy car-culture movie, and it was a hit. The franchise, fronted by Vin Diesel, has become a blockbuster machine. In anticipation of Fast X, we're encoring our episode about the legacy of the Fast & Furious franchise.
Book Club: The Next Chapter is a sequel that reunites four legendary actresses: Jane Fonda, Diane Keaton, Candice Bergen, and Mary Steenburgen. In this iteration, the ladies jet-set to Italy. It's a light-hearted, very silly romp with a meet-cute, an old paramour, lost luggage, and multiple jokes about meatballs.
Today we offer up a guide to some of the most exciting movies, TV, and music you can check out this summer.
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Books can take you anywhere. Across oceans, across borders, to places you may have never seen. And those books are some of the ones that we treasure the most. Today we're recommending great books that take you around the world.
The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, Barry, and Succession will conclude this month, and it's not easy to end a TV series. So we decided to debate: what is the greatest TV finale of all time?
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After two seasons of Bridgerton, Netflix is ready for a spin-off. The new series Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story dives into the past as it explores the monarch's long marriage to King George III, the way her racial identity affects her experience and her country, and her early relationship with her dear friend Lady Agatha Danbury. It both is and is not like the Bridgerton we know.
In Marvel's Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 3, our heroes are attacked by a new mysterious villain, and must embark on a dangerous mission to save the life of Rocket Raccoon. Written and directed by James Gunn, the movie brings back Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Karen Gillan, Pom Klementieff, Dave Bautista, Bradley Cooper and Vin Diesel as our ever-expanding Guardians team. It's in theaters now.
A nun, an all-knowing AI, the Holy Grail, a secret society of women, and a falafel shop. These are just some of the many elements that collide in the messy, delightful, joyfully silly Mrs. Davis. Starring Betty Gilpin, and co-created by talent from Lost, The Leftovers, and The Big Bang Theory, the Peacock series lives up to all the chaotic promise of that lineup.
Judy Blume's 1970 novel Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret. was a staple of countless childhoods. But until now, it's never been adapted into a film. Like the book, the movie tells the story of a preteen girl who moves to New Jersey, makes new friends, and waits for the arrival of her period.
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John Mulaney wants to talk about drugs. In his latest Netflix comedy special, Baby J, he recounts the intervention in late 2020 that sent him to rehab. He talks about his resistance to giving up cocaine, his schemes to avoid sobriety, and how it feels to have your star-studded friends tell you how worried they are over Zoom.
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In the fun, genre-mashing action comedy Polite Society, Priya Kansara plays Ria, a spunky teen who aspires to be a movie stuntwoman. When her older sister Lena (Ritu Arya) suddenly gets engaged, Ria becomes determined to sabotage the wedding. The movie is the feature debut of Nida Manzoor, who created the acclaimed series We Are Lady Parts. And it's a sharp, yet loving exploration of sisterhood — though with a bit more fighting and stunts.
In the extremely divisive film Beau Is Afraid, Joaquin Phoenix stars as a schlubby, anxiety-ridden man whose existence is an extended nightmare of guilt, shame, dread and paranoia. Written and directed by Ari Aster (Hereditary, Midsommar), the film follows Beau as he attempts to visit his mother. But he gets repeatedly frustrated by a series of deeply disturbing obstacles that may be real, or may be entirely of his own making.
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The iconic singer, humanitarian, and actor Harry Belafonte died today at the age of 96. His career spanned many decades, giving award-winning performances, where he dazzled regardless of the genre. We're remembering Belafonte's life and legacy – and talking about some of his great performances.
Sam Raimi's 1981 horror movie The Evil Dead became a cult classic, spawning two sequels, a TV series, and a 2013 film that "reimagined" the franchise. Now, the series gets another reset with Evil Dead Rise – complete with a new writer and director (Lee Cronin), a new cast (including Lily Sullivan and Alyssa Sutherland), and a truly extraordinary amount of blood.
In the new Netflix drama, The Diplomat, Keri Russell plays an ambassador who's thrust into an international incident with massive stakes. She's also sorting through a tumultuous marriage with her husband, a hotshot veteran diplomat (Rufus Sewell). The series combines the tension of Homeland with the administrative drama of The West Wing – which makes sense, given that The Diplomat's creator worked on both shows.
Judy Blume has been a prominent author for more than 50 years and her books are incredibly beloved. She's written for kids and adults, and has faced controversy. Perhaps her most treasured book, Are You There, God? It's Me, Margaret, is about to get its first film adaptation, and Blume is the subject of a new documentary. Today, we're talking about why we love Judy Blume, and recommend some of our favorite books.
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Jean-Luc Picard captained the starship Enterprise on the beloved series Star Trek: The Next Generation some 30 years ago. Patrick Stewart returned to that iconic role in the Paramount Plus series Picard. Now in its third and final season, Picard has brought the old Next Generation gang together for one last mission.
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In Showing Up, Michelle Williams plays a sculptor preparing to exhibit her work in a small art gallery, even as family and friends complicate her life and steal her focus. It's the latest feature from Kelly Reichardt, a director known for quiet, intimate films about isolation, alienation, and community.
The new horror comedy Renfield is about Count Dracula's long-suffering servant. Renfield (Nicholas Hoult) is trapped in a toxic relationship with his narcissistic boss Dracula (Nicholas Cage). So he sets out to free himself from the vampire's thrall, with the help of group therapy, inspirational posters, and friendly police officer (Awkwafina).
Oscar-winner Mo'Nique has had a storied career in entertainment. She's a successful standup comedian, and a former sitcom star turned talk show host. But she's also had a contentious relationship with the industry, and alleges she was blackballed for not playing by Hollywood's rules. In her candid new Netflix comedy special My Name is Mo'Nique, she deconstructs her own public persona with keen observations about her childhood and family. She also reveals a long-held secret and, as always, keeps it very real.
In the great new Netflix series Beef, two people have a lot of beef with each other. Created by Lee Sung Jin, the series stars Ali Wong and Steven Yeun as characters whose worlds collide when they engage in a manic road rage war. Neither can help trying to one up the other in a long-running, increasingly mortifying tit-for-tat that reveals past traumas and existential dread.
Almost 40 years ago, a young Michael Jordan signed what was then the NBA's most lucrative sneaker deal with Nike. The new movie Air traces the origin of that deal and the creation of the culture-shifting Air Jordan. It's directed by Ben Affleck and stars Matt Damon, Viola Davis and Jason Bateman — and features a lot of talk about "greatness" and the meaning behind a shoe.
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In The Super Mario Bros. Movie., Chris Pratt and Charlie Day play Mario and Luigi, two New York City plumbers who get transported to another world. Soon, Mario must team-up with Princess Peach (Anya Taylor-Joy) to stop Bowser (Jack Black) from destroying the Mushroom Kingdom. The animated movie is heavy on Easter eggs that draw from Nintendo's many decades of video games.
Even after 20 seasons, we still get a thrill every time we hear "hands up utensils down" on Top Chef. Controversial winners, heartbreaking losses, food that looks good enough to eat, and the foolishness of even attempting risotto — they've all been backbones of the Top Chef franchise over its many, many years. So we thought now would be the perfect time to revisit our conversation about the Bravo series.
In The Big Door Prize, a small town is forever changed when a mysterious machine pops up in the local general store. Each person who gets in the "Morpho" machine receives a card that reveals their life's potential, and it often leads them to radically change their lives, sometimes in surprising ways. Starring Chris O'Dowd and Gabrielle Dennis, the series is now streaming on Apple TV+.
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The snappy new romantic comedy Rye Lane follows Dom and Yas, two South Londoners who meet in the restroom of an art show and wind up spending the day together. It's a day of adventures, long conversations and terrible exes. But it might just offer them a little bit of hope for the future. Directed by Raine Allen-Miller, the movie is streaming now on Hulu.
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In Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves, Chris Pine stars as a wise-cracking and charismatic thief who leads a band of misfits with different reasons to hate a malevolent ruler played by Hugh Grant. It's a fantasy epic meets heist movie, complete with some dragons, talking corpses, relics and spells, an epic quest, and LOTS of jokes.
When we asked our listeners to tell us which Muppets were their favorites, we knew you'd all come through. More than 6,000 of you cast more than 18,000 votes — and we have the results.
Today we are tackling two of the most important questions of our time: who are our favorite Muppets? And which Muppets do we most identify with? As they always say, the Muppets are the window to the soul.
An FBI agent working in a lonely, secret office in the White House basement gets a phone call. A woman needs help, right away. That's the beginning of The Night Agent, a Netflix spy thriller series full of action and intrigue. Created by The Shield's Shawn Ryan, the series follows Peter and Rose — the agent and the tech expert he's protecting — as they try to uncover a conspiracy that goes right to the heart of the government.
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NPR's Books We Love is full of stories. The feature rounds up fiction and nonfiction of many different kinds, and it gives you lots of ways to find what you might love, too. Today we're recommending great books for people who love show business, including a fictional take on a popular gossip Instagram account, a love story, and a memoir.
In previous John Wick films, Keanu Reeves played a retired hitman out of revenge. In the latest entry, John Wick: Chapter 4, his reasons are a little more simple — he just wants to be left alone. Wick's quest for freedom takes him all across the world, as encounters would-be assassins, busy traffic, and a sadistic French aristocrat.
Actor Jonathan Majors is having a moment right now: he recently starred in Creed III and Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania. Friend of the show and host of NPR's Weekend Edition Sunday Ayesha Rascoe recently sat down with Majors for a fun and wide-ranging conversation about his path to acting, how he picks his roles, and how he defines masculinity.
In the new Amazon Prime series Swarm, Dominique Fishback plays Dre, a socially awkward young woman who is obsessed with the mega pop star Ni'Jah, a thinly veiled analog for Beyoncé. When a life-changing event occurs, Dre's obsession with Ni'Jah takes on a more sinister tone. Donald Glover co-created the show with Janine Nabers, and it definitely shares an off-kilter vibe with his previous hit Atlanta.
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The very funny, bingeable NBC sitcom Grand Crew has a dependable sitcom setup: Six friends hang out together to decompress and commiserate about their careers and their love lives. They're Black, their hangout is a Silver Lake wine bar, and the show – like the vino they're always guzzling – has gotten better with age.
Shadow and Bone is a fantasy series based on a successful set of novels. There's a lot to take in — at least six main characters, people who can wield wind and shadow and light, and a Chosen One. That all sounds familiar, but there's enough here to make this series worth your consideration. Shadow and Bone recently returned for a second season, so we thought it would be a good time to revisit our conversation recorded back in 2021 about its first season, featuring panelists Mallory Yu and Petra Mayer. Petra died unexpectedly later that year, and we always loved having her on the show. Even though we will always miss her terribly, we hope you'll agree how great it is to hear her voice, and her passion, in your podcast feed once again.
Four years ago, Shazam! was a surprise hit and a lighthearted entry in the DC Extended Universe. It follows teenager Billy Batson (Asher Angel) who's bestowed with magical powers and turns in an adult superhero, played by Zachary Levi. In the new sequel Shazam! Fury Of The Gods, Levi returns with a big cast that includes newcomers Helen Mirren, Lucy Liu and Rachel Zegler.
The Ghostface killer is taking yet another stab at the box office as Scream 6 has arrived in theatres. It's a sequel to last year's reboot – or requel – of everyone's favorite deeply meta slasher franchise. Starring Jenna Ortega and Melissa Barerra, Scream 6 takes the characters who managed to survive the last Scream movie out of bucolic Woodsboro and into the urban jungle of New York City.
When the thriller series You premiered five years ago, it started a lot of conversations. The show was told largely from the point of view of a charismatic serial killer named Joe (Penn Badgley), and he hasn't changed much as a person, even though his circumstances have. The Netflix series recently returned for a fourth season, so we thought it would be a good time to revisit our conversation about the third season.
Marvel's Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur is an all-ages animated series that's got style and energy – and original songs – for days. It's the story Black girl genius Lunella (voiced by Diamond White) who accidentally transports a T-Rex with the personality of a golden retriever from the prehistoric past to present day. She then launches into a side hustle fighting crime. The show is now streaming on Disney+.
At this year's Oscars, Everything Everywhere All At Once won seven awards, including best picture and best director. The film's actors Jamie Lee Curtis, Ke Huy Quan, and Michelle Yeoh also won Oscars. Yeoh's win was historic — she's the first Asian woman to win a lead actress Oscar. Brendan Fraser and All Quiet On The Western Front also won awards.
If you're entering an Oscar pool, or if you're just figuring out which Oscar-nominated movies are worth your time, we're here to help. Today we're offering up a guide to this year's nominations with some predictions about who will win in the major categories.
The five films nominated for international feature at this year's Oscars wrangle with some tough ideas and issues. There's the brutality of war, the human cost of fascism, animal cruelty, neglectful parenting and the prison of masculinity. Yet all of these films find room to offer glimmers of hope — some more than others.
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This year's Oscar nominees for best animated feature don't have a lot in common besides animation. You've got a dark vision of Pinocchio, a red panda from Pixar, a swashbuckling sea adventure, the latest entry in the Shrek franchise, and a tiny shell. Today, we run through what we think will win and what should win.
This year's Oscar nominees for documentary feature include films about two brothers who rescue birds, a man who takes on Vladimir Putin, and a couple that chases volcanoes. From Ukraine to India, Russia to New York City, these films will take you places you couldn't go otherwise. And you can stream them from home.
The Oscar nominees for best original song can be anything from soaring ballads over the credits to toe-tappers that ground musical numbers. This year, they include entries from big artists like Rihanna, Lady Gaga, and frequent Oscar nominee Diane Warren. Today, we get into what we think will win, what should win, and what makes a great original song.
In Creed III, Michael B. Jordan is back as Adonis "Donnie" Creed, the scrappy underdog-turned-world champion boxer from the Rocky franchise. Adonis has decided to retire on top and focus on family. But his plans are blown up when an old friend, played by Jonathan Majors, suddenly reappears. The film is also Jordan's directorial debut.
In the moving film Return To Seoul, a young woman named Freddie visits South Korea for the first time since her birth, when she was adopted by a French couple. Freddie's attempt to contact her biological parents sets her on an uneasy path toward self-discovery and reconciliation. Written and directed by Davy Chou, the film spans several years and many emotions, and features a vivid lead performance by newcomer Park Ji-Min.
In the darkly satiric, highly bingeable Amazon Prime series The Consultant, Christoph Waltz plays a mysterious businessman who takes over a videogame company upon the violent death of its founder and CEO. When two of the company's employees attempt to investigate Waltz's shady past, they get drawn into his sinister circle and realize that their jobs (and their lives) are on the line.
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In the wonderful film The Forty-Year-Old Version, playwright Radha Blank plays a variation on herself. Frustrated by a stall in her theater career, Radha finds a new passion: she becomes a rapper. The film is so good that we recently added it to the New Black Film Canon – a list of the best films by Black directors that we updated in partnership with Slate. And you can watch it on Netflix.
NPR has teamed up with Slate to expand the Black Film Canon, a collection of the best films directed by Black filmmakers. The intent is to challenge both gatekeepers and makers of best of lists to consider the breadth of artistry black creators have demonstrated on screen–despite the odds being historically stacked against them. In this episode, we're picking a few of our favorite additions, and you can check out the full list of 75 movies here.
A movie called Cocaine Bear needs two things: a bear, and some cocaine. Both are abundant in the new action comedy about a large quantity of cocaine that accidentally winds up deep in the Georgia forest. And who eats it? That's right: a bear. The movie was directed by Elizabeth Banks, and the cast includes Keri Russell, Ray Liotta, Margo Martindale, and O'Shea Jackson Jr.
The HBO series The Last Of Us is a huge hit and it offers a novel, fungus-based twist on a zombie apocalypse. Civilization is in ruins, and its only hope is a young girl (Bella Ramsey) who's mysteriously immune to the fungal infection – and her gruff, taciturn protector (Pedro Pascal). Together they must travel across a desolate wasteland peppered with outposts of humanity that house violent factions competing for control, or at least, survival.
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In the Apple TV+ series Dear Edward, a plane crashes, and there is only one survivor – a 12-year-old boy named Edward, who loses his whole family. He goes to live with relatives, and the web of people grieving loved ones who died in the crash grows and connects. The show was created by Jason Katims, who has a long history making high-octane emotional ensemble shows including Friday Night Lights and Parenthood.
NPR's Books We Love is full of stories. The feature rounds up fiction and nonfiction of many different kinds, and it gives you lots of ways to find what you might love, too. Today, we're diving into the category of nonfiction and highlighting some of our favorite picks.
Top Gun: Maverick has earned six Oscar nominations, including best picture, adapted screenplay, and original song. The movie stars Tom Cruise, and you can catch up with it on Paramount+. We really like Top Gun: Maverick, so we thought this would be the perfect moment to revisit our conversation about the movie.
In Ant-Man And The Wasp: Quantumania, Paul Rudd and Evangeline Lilly return as Marvel's tiniest titans. With their extended family in tow, they get shrunk down into a subatomic universe called the Quantum Realm, and come to meet Jonathan Major's Kang the Conqueror. He's a time-traveling villain who we'll be seeing a lot more of as the Marvel Cinematic Universe enters its next phase.
Our pal and Culture Desk reporter Andrew Limbong teamed up with NPR's Life Kit to getadvice on how to be a better movie watcher – how to pick a film, get outside your comfort zone, and deepen your enjoyment of a movie.
The Apple TV comedy Shrinking boasts a lot of big names in its cast, including Harrison Ford, Jason Segel, and Jessica Williams, all of whom play therapists. The series shares some of its creators with Ted Lasso. It has a big heart and a lot of jokes, even if you absolutely, definitely would not want your therapist to take any cues from it.
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Titanic was a box office juggernaut 25 years ago, and it catapulted Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet into a whole new stratosphere of fame. The film recently returned to theaters, but we've got some distance from Leo Mania and "king of the world" jokes. So how does James Cameron's epic hold up all these years later? In this encore episode, we're revisiting our conversation about Titanic.
We recap this year's Super Bowl, including Rihanna's halftime show, the Kansas City Chiefs' win against the Philadelphia Eagles, and the most memorable commercials.
In the new movie Magic Mike's Last Dance, Channing Tatum returns as a dancer and male entertainer from Tampa. This time, he must put on a show bankrolled by a wealthy socialite played by Salma Hayek Pinault. The film is directed by Steven Soderbergh and is in theaters now.
In the movie 80 for Brady, four best friends (Lily Tomlin, Jane Fonda, Rita Moreno, Sally Field) take a road trip to the 2017 Super Bowl so they can see their favorite quarterback Tom Brady play in person. The film stars four legends of stage and screen, one superstar quarterback and a boatload of cameos. Subscribe to Pop Culture Happy Hour Plus at plus.npr.org/happyhour
In the fantastic but terrifying thriller Infinity Pool, Alexander Skarsgård plays a struggling writer in search of inspiration. While vacationing with his wife on a fancy island resort, they meet a mysterious woman played by Mia Goth. She takes them on a trippy and disturbing journey that leads them far beyond the confines of the hotel. Directed by Brandon Cronenberg, Infinity Pool is in theaters now.
The very entertaining Poker Face is an offbeat case-of-the-week mystery show starring Natasha Lyonne as a dryly witty, down-to-earth oddball who has an uncanny ability that helps her solves murders. The Peacock series comes from Rian Johnson (Glass Onion), and it features an impressive array of guest stars including Adrien Brody, Lil Rel Howery, Hong Chau, Judith Light and more.
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Beyoncé broke a major record at this year's Grammys and has now won more awards than any other artist. But she was shut out of the major categories and lost to Harry Styles, Lizzo and Bonnie Raitt. We break down the awards and telecast, including our favorite performances.
In the horror film Knock at the Cabin, a gay couple and their young daughter are vacationing at a remote cabin when four strangers arrive and take them hostage. They are told the only thing that will prevent the apocalypse is if one of the family members willingly sacrifices his or her life. The film is directed by M. Night Shyamalan, with a cast that includes Dave Bautista, Jonathan Groff, Ben Aldridge, and more.
The very funny Hulu comedy Extraordinary is about a smart but directionless young woman named Jen who lives in London and doesn't feel great about herself. She hurls herself into a lot of hilariously bad choices and that's a familiar comedy premise. But there's more to Extraordinary because in the world of the series, Jen is the only one she knows who does not possess superpowers. Subscribe to Pop Culture Happy Hour Plus at plus.npr.org
It was a game changer when Prince Harry and Meghan Markle stepped down as senior members of the royal family. Since then, they've given interviews, secured lucrative multimedia deals, and launched several personal projects — Harry recently published the highly anticipated memoir Spare. And they've done it all while bringing long-overdue conversations about race and the royal family's legacy to the forefront. So how, exactly, do we process all of this?
Over 100 feature films played at this year's Sundance Film Festival. There were deeply personal stories told by emerging filmmakers, buzzy narratives ripped from the headlines, and so much more. And we've picked a few favorites we think are worth keeping on your radar in the coming year.
Beyoncé's Renaissance is a joyful, sonic immersion made for dance floors of all kinds. The album earned nine Grammy nominations, and during this Sunday's telecast, Beyoncé could win her first-ever, much overdue award for album of the year.
The Amazon Prime action comedy Shotgun Wedding delivers on its title in the sense that it's got a wedding, and it's got lots of guns. The film stars Jennifer Lopez and Josh Duhamel as a couple whose wedding day at a beautiful resort is interrupted by pirates who take their guests hostage. Will they save the guests? Will they save themselves? Will they ever actually get married? And just how great will J.Lo look the entire time?
Everything Everywhere All At Once is a zany and profound sci-fi action comedy set in multiple dimensions. It stars Michelle Yeoh as a businesswoman whose world is turned upside down the day her family attempts to file their taxes. The film earned 11 Oscar nominations, including best picture, director, and a lead actress for nomination Yeoh. So we thought this would be the perfect time to revisit our conversation about one of our favorite movies of the past year.
Nominations for this year's Oscars dropped today, and it's a big year for Everything Everywhere All At Once, The Banshees Of Inisherin, and All Quiet On The Western Front. We run down the nominees in the major categories, plus talk about some surprises and snubs. Subscribe to Pop Culture Happy Hour Plus at plus.npr.org/happyhour
Cheers is one of the most celebrated TV sitcoms of all time. Set in a Boston bar, the show won major awards and turned stars like Ted Danson, Shelley Long, and Rhea Perlman into household names. Cheers ended its run 30 years ago this spring, so we thought this would be a good time to revisit the series and answer your questions.
The adult animated series Velma chronicles the origin story of the bespectacled brains of the original Scooby Gang. We meet Velma, Fred, Daphne and Shaggy in high school, as Velma struggles with mean girls, a neglectful father, a missing mother, patriarchal beauty standards, same-sex attraction and a serial killer. Velma is voiced by Mindy Kaling, and the rest of the show's voice cast includes Sam Richardson, Constance Wu, and Glenn Howerton.
The new movie Missing is about our connected world. The social media, the surveillance cameras, the news footage, the video chats — the many, many things we can see from our screens. In this sequel to the 2018 thriller Searching, Storm Reid plays a young woman whose mother leaves on a trip with her boyfriend and seems to just vanish. Desperate to solve the mystery, Reid uses technology to figure out what's going on and save her mother's life.
In Peacock's new reality competition series The Traitors, contestants and reality TV veterans undergo missions at a Scottish castle to earn cash for the money pot. But there are three "traitors" among them, secretly working to "murder" the other players before these "faithfuls" find them out. The series is hosted by a slyly sinister Alan Cumming. Subscribe to Pop Culture Happy Hour Plus at plus.npr.org/happyhour
There are pop culture figures we love, and those we could maybe do without. And then there are the ones we're rooting for: The underdogs, the comeback kids, the stars-on-the-rise, and everything in between. Today we're talking about the pop culture people we're pulling for.
The moving new drama Saint Omer tells the story of a young mother (Guslagie Malanda) brought to trial for the killing of her infant daughter. Meanwhile, another woman (Kayije Kagame) who has come to observe and write about the trial wrestles with her own feelings about impending motherhood. Directed by Alice Diop, the French film is shortlisted for an Oscar for best international feature.
The Pop Culture Happy Hour team is off today, so we're bringing you an episode from our pals at Code Switch all about Dungeons & Dragons. It's one of the most popular tabletop roleplaying games of all time. But it has also helped cement some ideas about how we create and define race in fantasy — and in the tangible world. Host Gene Demby and producer Jess Kung take a deep dive into that game, and what racial stereotypes and colonialist supremacy it's illuminating.
What do you need to know about the movie Plane? Well, there's a plane. Specifically, there's a plane that goes down when it's struck by lightning and ends up on the worst possible island. It's then up to a captain, played by Gerard Butler, and his passengers to survive.
If you're looking for a charming romantic comedy, consider checking out the Netflix series Smiley. Set in Barcelona, it follows Alex and Bruno, two very different men who meet and experience an overwhelming attraction that they then, as they must, struggle with enormously. Can these two ever find happiness?
In the new movie M3GAN, an orphaned 8-year-old girl is given a lifelike interactive doll. The doll in question was designed by roboticist Gemma (Allison Williams) and is programmed with artificial intelligence that allows her to learn, evolve and possibly commit murder. The movie is a cautionary tale about AI, a killer-doll flick, and the source of some truly creepy memes.
The Netflix series Ginny & Georgia follows a young single mom, her teenage daughter, and their efforts to create a life for themselves in the suburbs of Massachusetts. It's got high school standbys like new friendships and first sexual experiences, but it's also got adult soap standbys like secret pasts and shady figures. The series recently returned for a second season, so in this encore episode, we revisit our conversation about the first season.
NPR's Books We Love is full of stories. The feature rounds up fiction and nonfiction of many different kinds, and it gives you lots of ways to find what you might love, too. Today, we're diving into the category of realistic fiction – the stories that may not be literally true, but they feel true to the world that people encounter when they walk out the door.
In the excellent new film Women Talking, a group of Mennonite women gather to discuss the abuse they've suffered at the hands of their men. They settle upon two possible solutions: stay and fight – or leave the only world they've ever known. Written and directed by the acclaimed filmmaker Sarah Polley, the movie has a powerhouse cast that includes Rooney Mara, Claire Foy, and Jessie Buckley.
Roald Dahl's novel Matilda has been adapted many times over the years, including as a 1996 movie directed by Danny DeVito. The newest iteration is now streaming on Netflix. Roald Dahl's Matilda The Musical, a feature film based on the hit Broadway show, boasts a cast of talented kids, Emma Thompson as the signature villain Miss Trunchbull, and eye-popping choreography. But does it stand on its own apart from its predecessors?
We talk about a lot of movies on Pop Culture Happy Hour,but we definitely don't talk about all of them. All kinds of films fall through the cracks for all kinds of reasons, but we're here to give them their moments to shine. Today, we're recommending three movies from 2022 that we loved and think you should see.
On the HBO Max sitcom South Side, the everyday absurdities of living in Chicago's Englewood neighborhood make for hilarious fodder. The show follows an eclectic bunch that includes employees at a rent-to-own shop and a pair of bickering cops as they embark on adventures around the city. Diallo Riddle, Bashir Salahuddin, and Sultan Salahuddin created and co-star in the series.
The Pop Culture Happy Hour team is off today, so we're bringing you an excerpt of the podcast Bullseye with Jesse Thorn. Normally, when you tune into an episode of Bullseye, you'll hear interviews with pop culture creators like David Letterman, Sudan Archives, or Weird Al. But once a year, the show breaks format. The team at Bullseye listens through every stand-up comedy album from the year past to bring you the best of the best. Here's an excerpt from 2022's Bullseye Stand-Up Comedy Spectacular, featuring Josh Gondelman.
A lot of people make resolutions in January, and we are no different. Today, we put our stakes in the ground and make our 2023 pop culture resolutions. We also check in on what we resolved to do in 2022, and whether we did it perfectly, imperfectly, or perhaps not at all.
It's that time of year again, time for hopes and fears and accountability. What's to come in the new year? We can only guess, and guess we will! Plus, we'll look back at what we thought was coming on the pop culture front in 2022 and we'll see how things turned out.
The new film Whitney Houston: I Wanna Dance With Somebody starsNaomi Ackie, and traces the pop superstar's rise in the 1980s and 90s as she breaks records and becomes an icon. The film also follows the singer's tragic downfall as drug abuse and other setbacks take their toll on her life. Directed by Kasi Lemmons and written byAnthony McCarten, the movie is in theaters now.
There are many secrets at the heart of the comedy mystery Glass Onion, just as there were in its predecessor Knives Out. Who lives, who dies, whodunit, and what's the truth behind the glamorous glass onion itself? Rian Johnson's latest film to feature detective Benoit Blanc is now on Netflix, and we're ready to get into the nitty-gritty and spoil the heck out of Glass Onion.
The Pop Culture Happy Hour team is off today, so we're bringing you an episode of NPR's It's Been A Minute. In this episode about the Kardashians, host Brittany Luse unpacks how the Kardashian family went from Hollywood D-listers to an American institution. The episode also includes a look at the celebrity skincare syndicate: what are all these people trying to sell us, and what are they buying?
The new film Babylon is all about silent-era Old Hollywood, new technology, the intoxication of being famous, and whether love can really conquer all. Babylon is the latest from writer-director Damien Chazelle, the sometimes divisive creator of La La Land. Here, he doubles down on his nostalgia for cinema with Diego Calva and Margot Robbie leading this expansive production.
When The Best Man franchise kicked off in 1999, it tapped into a specific kind of Black Gen Xer sensibility. The two films explored the dynamics of a tight-knit group of young urban professionals, played by Taye Diggs, Nia Long, Regina Hall, and Terrence Howard, to name a few. In the new Peacock miniseries The Best Man: The Final Chapters, the crew has reunited for one last hurrah. Everyone's a little older, but, are they any wiser?
The new FX on Hulu series Kindred is the first on-screen adaptation of any work by the great science fiction writer Octavia Butler. It's the story of Dana, a young Black woman who suddenly finds herself transported onto a Maryland plantation in 1815. She has a connection to the plantation owner's son, and while getting a handle on that, she makes both bitter enemies and surprising allies in the past and present day.
The Sundance favorite Nanny is a moody thriller starring Anna Diop as Aisha, a Senegalese immigrant who cares for the young child of a rich Manhattan couple. As her tenure with the family progresses, the workplace dynamic becomes fraught and the lines between the real and the imagined are blurred. Nanny is the feature debut of writer and director Nikyatu Jusu and is streaming now on Amazon Prime Video.
Right now, families across the world are celebrating Hanukkah, so we thought it would be a good time to revisit our conversation all about the Jewish holiday. In this encore episode, we get into why Hanukkah is not Jewish Christmas, and how the minor holiday has an outsized place in pop culture.
James Cameron's science-fiction epic Avatar is the highest-grossing movie of all time. But it took 13 years to get a sequel into theaters. Avatar: The Way of Water continues Jake Sully and Neytiri's journey: complete with their children, a new Na'vi tribe and a familiar enemy to confront.
It's been five years since the artist SZA released her debut album Ctrl. Her new album SOS is home to 23 tracks that seamlessly blends pop, R&B, hip-hop, and dips into rock and pop-punk along the way. It features appearances by Travis Scott, Phoebe Bridgers, Don Toliver, and the late Ol' Dirty Bastard.
It's tradition here at Pop Culture Happy Hour to look back on some of our favorite things from the last 12 months of television, movies and music. Today, we're revisiting the pop culture we saw, heard and loved all year.
In the new Darren Aronofsky film The Whale, Brendan Fraser plays Charlie, a housebound 600-pound gay writing teacher whose health is failing. His hopes to spend his last days reconnecting with his estranged daughter (Sadie Sink) are complicated by her lingering resentment of him and his own feelings of guilt, shame and self-loathing.
The Hulu miniseries Welcome to Chippendales takes us back to the 80s and the rise of the famed male revue Chippendales. Kumail Nanjiani stars as the club's founder, whose obsession with money and fame ultimately lead to murder. The supporting cast includes Murray Bartlett and Juliette Lewis.
Director Guillermo Del Toro has brought a new take on the classic tale of Pinocchio – the little wooden boy who goes on adventures and learns valuable life-lessons about the dangers of lying, laziness and disobedience. Unlike it's Disney predecessor, this new stop-motion animated film is more faithful to its source material. It's darker, weirder, more emotionally complex – and it's gorgeous to look at.
Violent Night dares to ask the question: What if Santa Claus was a jaded drunk who steals booze while leaving presents under the tree on Christmas Eve? David Harbour plays Santa as he finds himself caught in the middle of the home invasion of an insanely wealthy family. And as the movie's title suggests, violence and plenty of Christmas-themed puns ensue.
The smartly written Hulu series Fleishman Is In Trouble stars Jesse Eisenberg as an Upper East Side doctor who finds himself divorced at 41. When his ex-wife, played by Claire Danes, leaves him with their two kids and disappears, he loses control of the new life he's made for himself. The show is based on the best-selling novel by Taffy Brodesser-Akner, who adapted the series herself.
Books We Love is a yearly labor of love here at NPR. Every year, the Books We Love team solicits recommendations from NPR staff and book critics and culls through them, creating an interactive reading guide you can use to find the perfect book for you or someone you love. Today, we're talking staff picks.
The HBO Max series Sort Of follows Sabi, played by Bilal Baig, a gender-fluid millennial in Toronto trying to figure their life out. They're the child of Pakistani parents, they've got a loser boyfriend, they work at a queer bookstore/bar and they're a nanny to a troubled professional couple with a couple of troubled kids. It's a slyly innovative show that makes for a great Saturday afternoon binge. The series recently returned for a second season, so we thought it would be a good time to revisit our conversation about the first season.
The Fabelmans is Steven Spielberg's semi-autobiographical and deeply personal film about a Jewish American boy who dreams of making movies. Growing up he learns to tell stories through his 8mm camera while life-altering events within his family's household significantly affect how he views the world. The cast includes Michelle Williams, Paul Dano, Seth Rogen, and Judd Hirsch.
In Disney's new animated adventure Strange World, a family gets lost in a mysterious land underground. It's a story about discovery and intergenerational conflict — with a cast that includes Jake Gyllenhaal, Gabrielle Union, Jaboukie Young-White, and Dennis Quaid.
The Disney Plus movie Disenchanted brings back Amy Adams, Patrick Dempsey and James Marsden in the continuing story of a cartoon princess making a life in the real world. A follow-up to 2007's Enchanted, it has more songs, gags and conflicts between fairytale life and reality that animated, so to speak, the original.
Luca Guadagnino's weirdly beautiful romance Bones and All is a familiar road trip tale of young, angsty lovers drifting from state to state against the backdrop of breathtaking wide-open vistas. But the kicker is that the couple, played by Timothée Chalamet and Taylor Russell, are — wait for it — cannibals. And they're on the lookout for their next feeding. Subscribe to Pop Culture Happy Hour Plus at plus.npr.org/happyhour
The Netflix series Wednesday breaks the beloved Addams Family character Wednesday Addams (Jenna Ortega) out of her home environment and into the gloomy, gothy Nevermore Academy. It's the alma mater of parents Gomez (Luis Guzmán) and Morticia Addams (Catherine Zeta-Jones). As Wednesday navigates her new environment she's drawn into the investigation of a series of grisly murders. The show was created by Alfred Gough and Miles Millar (Smallville) with Tim Burton directing half of the episodes
The Pop Culture Happy Hour team is off today, so we're bringing you an excerpt of the podcast Raised By Ricki. If you were a fan of Ricki Lake's talk show back in the '90s, this is the podcast for you. Ricki is back, and each week she's breaking down all the historic moments from her hit talk show with her co-host Kalen Allen. Part re-watch podcast, part cultural retrospective, Raised by Ricki features conversations with John Waters, Andy Cohen, Sally Jessy Raphael, and many more. In this excerpt, Ricki sits down with writer and podcast host Tracy Clayton. Tracy watched Ricki Lake every day after school, and talks about what makes the show so unforgettable, the importance of seeing Black representation on-screen, and how Ricki influenced her own career in media.
The Pop Culture Happy Hour team is off today, so we're bringing you a story from Mandalit del Barco's radio series about Latinos in Hollywood. Latinos have been a part of Hollywood since the days of silent movies, but they continue to be underrepresented in front of and behind the camera. For example, there aren't many Latina actresses in leading movie roles-- fewer than two percent, according to USC's Annenberg Inclusion Initiative. And those who do make it also multitask as directors, producers, and activists.
What has a murder mystery, a big cast of stars, some amazing fashion, and the deep blue waters of Greece? The eagerly awaited Glass Onion, the follow-up to the 2019 Oscar-nominated comedy Knives Out. Daniel Craig returns as brilliant detective Benoit Blanc and this time, he's trying to solve a murder that involves a tech billionaire and his glamorous but sketchy friends.
It's that time of year again, when many cable outlets and streaming services put on their holiday best. That's right, it's holiday movie season, and we're diving in. From the splashy musical Spirited featuring Will Ferrell and Ryan Reynolds to a big comeback for Lindsay Lohan, we're dipping a toe in some of the highest-profile movies of this season.
Maybe you've got guests coming over for the holidays. Maybe an onslaught of news has kept you glued to the couch or hiding under your covers. Either way, you need to clean the bathroom, and you need a playlist. In this encore episode, we're recommending three songs for cleaning the bathroom.
In the final chapter of our special documentary series Screening Ourselves, host Aisha Harris recounts the debates ignited by Steven Spielberg's The Color Purple. The 1985 film is remembered as a fan-favorite centering Black women's lives, but the acclaimed adaptation of Alice Walker's novel was received quite differently among female viewers and male viewers.
The film She Said is about the New York Times investigation of movie producer Harvey Weinstein. Zoe Kazan plays Jodi Kantor and Carey Mulligan plays Megan Twohey. Their reporting on Weinstein's sexual misconduct and assault allegations contributed greatly to the #MeToo movement, and helped lead to criminal charges that sent Weinstein to prison. The film was directed by Maria Schrader and written by Rebecca Lenkiewicz and is in theaters now.
Even if you don't watch the TV show Yellowstone, there's a good chance you know people who do. The very popular western is entering its fifth season, it's already got multiple spin-offs planned, and it's not slowing down. Kevin Costner plays the patriarch of the Dutton family, and their story and sprawling ranch is one of television's biggest current success stories.
When the FX series Atlanta arrived six years ago, it was unlike anything else on TV. It depicted its namesake city as a surreal landscape rich with offbeat characters. And it turned its creator and star Donald Glover from a niche comedic actor and rapper into an A-list Hollywood auteur. Atlanta recently concluded its fourth and final season, and it remained dark and weird until the very end. But did it go out on top?
In the latest season of Netflix's The Crown, a new cast steps into the roles of Queen Elizabeth II and her family just in time for the 1990s – and a series of scandals growing out of the bitter separation and divorce of Prince Charles (Dominic West) and Princess Diana (Elizabeth Debicki). The world around the royal family undergoes sweeping changes while Elizabeth (Imelda Staunton) strives, in her own stolid way, to hold on to privacy, tradition, and duty.
The excellent BBC America/AMC+ drama series Mood considers how one young woman, at one of her most difficult moments, finds herself making choices she assumed she never would. Its writer and star is Nicôle Lecky, and the show is about sex work, social media and the way economic reality can make following your true passions very challenging.
In the second chapter of our special documentary series, Screening Ourselves, host Aisha Harris revisits the politics and legacy of Basic Instinct. Paul Verhoeven's 1992 thriller is a sexy and violent cult classic. But the film was also a problematic mainstream portrayal of queer women at a time of great political crisis for LGBTQ politics and representation.
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is the sequel to 2018's Black Panther, which starred the late Chadwick Boseman. This film begins with T'Challa's death and allows its characters time to grieve him, including his sister Shuri (Letitia Wright) and his mother Queen Ramonda (Angela Bassett). But a new threat rises out of the waters in the form of Prince Namor (Tenoch Huerta). The film is directed by Ryan Coogler.
The reality dating show Love Is Blind is built around a simple premise: Couples date without meeting face to face, fall in love with each other's personalities, and don't meet in person until after they've gotten engaged. Viewers are bound to have strong opinions on the couples. The Netflix show just wrapped its third season, and we're going to unpack what happened.
The new Disney Plus series Andor tells the story of Cassian Andor (Diego Luna), the rebel captain who stole the plans for the Death Star in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. This series takes place years before that, and traces Andor's evolution from an apolitical scoundrel to a rebel hero dedicated to the cause of freedom. The series was created by Tony Gilroy, the screenwriter behind Rogue One.
Chadwick Boseman was a gifted actor who was probably best known for his role as T'Challa in Black Panther and the Marvel Cinematic Universe.We'll be talking about the film Black Panther: Wakanda Forever later this week, but today we're revisiting our episode looking back at some of Chadwick Boseman's essential performances.
You should expect to learn nothing about the life of "Weird Al" Yankovic from the new film Weird: The Al Yankovic Story. That's because in keeping with his history of parody and comedy and sendups, the film, starring Daniel Radcliffe, is itself a sendup of biopics. From unsupportive parents who hate the accordion to a scandalous affair with Madonna, the movie is an avalanche of fictions mixed with the occasional dash of truth.
Today we debut Screening Ourselves, a new documentary series hosted by Aisha Harris. The Godfather is considered an American film classic with an enduring legacy that still shows up in TV, hip hop, and even Muppet culture. But the film also sparked a complicated relationship with the real-life Italian-American community about how they were seen and screened. In this episode, Aisha looks into the politics and the legacy of representation in Francis Ford Coppola's Godfather saga.
In The Banshees Of Inisherin, Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson play two longtime drinking buddies who face a crisis when one of them decides he really doesn't want to be friends anymore. Set on a fictional island off the coast of Ireland, the film was written and directed by Martin McDonagh (Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri) and is in theaters now.
The Netflix anthology Guillermo del Toro's Cabinet of Curiosities looks at horror storytelling from many angles. Its eight installments come from different directors, and it includes both new stories and adaptations of tales from writers like H.P. Lovecraft. The mix of the tragic, the comic, the just plain scary, and the gross will serve a lot of different horror appetites.
If you're familiar with Interview with the Vampire — because you read the Anne Rice novel or you saw the 1994 movie — the new AMC series has some surprises in store. The story still revolves around a young man named Louis, his handsome vampire lover Lestat and Claudia, the creepy vampire child they adopt. But it's funnier, sexier and queerer than you remember. Most importantly, this Louis isn't a white plantation owner — he's an ambitious and closeted Black man.
When 14-year-old Emmett Till was murdered by two white men in 1955, his mother Mamie Till-Mobley became a voice of the civil rights movement. And now, the events surrounding his death have been dramatized in the new movie Till. Danielle Deadwyler's performance as Mamie is the focal point and standout, as she taps into the depths of a mother's grief.
It's Halloween, and maybe you're into the idea of horror movies, but you aren't looking to be grossed out by gore or freaked out by jump scares. If that's the case then this is the episode for you. In this encore episode, we're revisiting a conversation about three great horror movies for scaredy cats.
Director and animator Henry Selick, best-known for films like The Nightmare Before Christmas and Coraline, has teamed up with co-writer Jordan Peele for Wendell & Wild, a new stop-motion animated movie from Netflix. Peele also stars in the film, reuniting with Keegan-Michael Key as a pair of demon brothers who escape the underworld with the help of Kat, a teenager with a tragic past.
In the film Ticket to Paradise, George Clooney and Julia Roberts play divorced parents determined to stop the wedding of their adult daughter. It's part romantic comedy, part wacky adventure, and part gorgeous travel movie. Clooney and Roberts star alongside Kaitlyn Dever, Maxime Bouttier and Billie Lourd.
Taylor Swift's tenth studio album, Midnights, once again reshapes her music in unexpected ways. Along with producer and co-writer Jack Antonoff, she's working with a palette of buzzy electro-pop. Midnights showcases love songs, confessions, and anthems — and all of them are rendered in the singer's distinct songwriting voice.
Carly Rae Jepsen is back with a new album called The Loneliest Time. The Canadian singer first broke through with the inescapable banger "Call Me Maybe." But in these last few years Jepsen has become a full-blown pop star, thanks to well-received albums like Emotion and Dedicated. Her new album mixes hard-driving pop jams with breezy ballads.
In Decision to Leave, a man is found dead and the prime suspect is his widow. Things become complicated when the detective assigned to the case becomes enamored with her. This is the latest movie from South Korean director Park Chan-wook, who made Oldboy and The Handmaiden.
It's hard to believe Dwayne Johnson hasn't played a superhero before, but he's finally filling this gap in his resume with Black Adam, in which he joins the DC Universe. Brought out of a tomb after thousands of years, the character Black Adam has a mostly dour demeanor which doesn't exactly play to the wisecracking side Johnson has showed in other films. Black Adam also stars Pierce Brosnan, Aldis Hodge, and Sarah Shahi.
House of the Dragon returns us to the world of George R.R. Martin's Seven Kingdoms, almost 200 years before the events of Game of Thrones. When the Targaryen family dynasty is threatened by a rift between the king's second wife and his oldest daughter, the fate of the Iron Throne – and of this whole brutally violent, morally gray world – hangs in the balance.
The lucrative horror franchise Halloween has spanned more than four decades and includes 13 films. And in that time it's amassed countless bloody deaths at the hands of the killer Michael Myers. The series has seemingly reached its conclusion with Halloween Ends, which brings Jamie Lee Curtis back for one last showdown.
The Korean pop band BTS will complete mandatory military service under South Korean law, meaning they will reconvene as a group around 2025. This break presses pause on a career that includes mega hits like "Dynamite" and "Butter." But their discography is farther-reaching than casual fans might think. So we're revisiting our episode from earlier this year that showcases some discoveries in the BTS catalog.
Halloween and Dia de los Muertos are creeping up on us, which means it's peak spooky music season. In this episode the hosts of NPR Music's Alt.Latino podcast share some of their favorite seasonal songs.
Writer-director Todd Field's fantastic new film Tár stars Cate Blanchett as a world-famous composer and conductor. Intelligent, charismatic and supremely confident, she's been able to orchestrate her own life, and those of the people around her. But a reckoning is coming.
The Netflix series The Midnight Club is set in a mysterious seaside hospice where teens with terminal conditions spend their final days gathering in the library every midnight to tell each other scary stories. The result is both a straight ahead horror show and a stealth anthology series. The show was created by Leah Fong and Mike Flanagan (The Haunting of Hill House, Midnight Mass).
Catherine Called Birdy is a novel beloved by many who grew up in the '90s. One millennial in particular who remembers the book fondly is writer and director Lena Dunham. She's translated the novel into a wry coming-of-age movie starring Bella Ramsey as Catherine, a smart and spirited teen living in medieval England. When her parents set out to match her with a suitor, she finds increasingly clever ways to resist any such arrangement.
The film Amsterdam is a screwball comedy very loosely based on a real historical event from the 1930s. Christian Bale, John David Washington, and Margot Robbie play friends who get caught up in a political conspiracy. Written and directed by David O. Russell, the movie's sprawling ensemble also includes Robert De Niro, Rami Malek, Anya Taylor-Joy, and Zoe Saldana.
The Pop Culture Happy Hour team is off today, so we're bringing you an episode from our pals at NPR Music's Alt. Latino podcast. In each episode, hosts Felix Contreras and Anamaria Sayre talk with a different living legend or rising star to discuss Latinx culture, heritage, and the shared borders of our experiences. In this episode, Anamaria talks with Spanish pop superstar Rosalía, who released the album Motomami earlier this year, and recently earned eight Latin Grammy nominations. Anamaria talks with Rosalía about her musical inspirations, divine sensuality and constant pull to transform.
The witchy Disney comedy Hocus Pocus wasn't a huge hit when it came out in 1993. But it found a devoted following and became a Halloween staple over time, so much so that it's finally got a sequel 29 years later. Hocus Pocus 2 brings back the Sanderson sisters, played by Bette Midler, Kathy Najimy and Sarah Jessica Parker, as they sing songs, get into mischief and contend with a new world of confusing technology. But does it live up the original?
The Amazon Prime Video series The Rings of Power is a prequel to J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings, and traces the early history of Middle-earth, thousands of years before Bilbo and Frodo's adventures. The story takes place in various locales all around Tolkien's world – places both familiar and unfamiliar – and the show introduces a cast of both new characters and some friendly faces.
In the Netflix movie Blonde, Ana de Armas steps into the billowing white dress of one of the most iconic figures of the 21st century: Marilyn Monroe. Itwas written and directed by Andrew Dominik and is an adaptation of Joyce Carol Oates' novel of the same name, which took extensive creative liberties with Monroe's life.
Los Espookys is very odd and very good comedy series about a group of horror-loving friends who start up a business that provides scary experiences for their clients. It's co-written by two of its stars, comedians Julio Torres and Ana Fabrega. The second season is currently airing on HBO so we thought it would be a good time to encore our episode about the first season.
The Hulu series The Patient is a terrifying thriller with a simple premise. A therapist (Steve Carell) is imprisoned in the basement of a serial killer (Domhall Gleeson) who wants to stop killing and thinks therapy can help. The show unfolds over 10 intense episodes and comes from Joel Fields and Joe Weisberg, who last worked together on the The Americans.
In the grand tradition of the modern rom-com, stories about queer couples are still few and far between. Which is part of what makes the new movie Bros so special: Billy Eichner stars as a lanky intellectual who boasts a proud aversion to romance until he has a meet-cute with his polar opposite, a hyper-masculine gym rat played by Luke Macfarlane. Eichner co-wrote the movie, and Judd Apatow is a producer, so unsurprisingly, the jokes can be broad and raunchy. But there's plenty of heart here, too.
In the Disney Plus series She-Hulk: Attorney At Law, Tatiana Maslany plays Jennifer Walters, an ambitious, eager lawyer. She's also the Hulk's cousin, and accidentally acquires some of his powers after an accident. So now she has to juggle her career as a lawyer with the fact that she sometimes turns into a super-strong green giant.
For more than three decades, Maury has been a platform for flamboyant guests seeking paternity and lie detector tests for significant others. They've yelled, bawled and kicked over chairs. Now, the show's host Maury Povich is retiring and it's the end of an era for a particular brand of uber-trashy daytime TV.
Mariah Carey's landmark album Butterfly recently turned 25. The album is certified five-times platinum, and includes singles like "Honey" and "My All." The singer-songwriter and pop star seems as omnipresent and ever, thanks to a perennial holiday hit and her devoted and social media-savvy fanbase. In this encore episode, we revisit our conversation about Mariah Carey.
In the new film Don't Worry Darling Florence Pugh plays Alice, a woman living in an idyllic planned community with her husband Jack, played by Harry Styles. But strange things begin to happen that make her suspect that all is not well in the community run by Jack's mysterious employer (Chris Pine). The film is directed by Olivia Wilde and in this spoiler-packed episode, we try to chase some answers down.
In the new movie Don't Worry Darling, Florence Pugh plays a woman living with her husband (Harry Styles) in an idyllic planned community that looks like it came out of about 1955. But soon, strange things begin to happen that make her suspect that all is not well. Directed by Olivia Wilde, the film is now in theaters after some behind-the-scenes tensions that put it in the public conversation.
The new comedy See How They Run is a whodunit for people who really like a whodunit. Set behind the scenes at a 1950s production of Agatha Christie's The Mousetrap, the film is a murder mystery with a big cast that includes Sam Rockwell, Saoirse Ronan, David Oyelowo, Ruth Wilson, and Adrien Brody. And it's an entertaining send-up that takes some very meta swings at the very idea of a murder mystery.
The new Netflix film Do Revenge takes its cues from a lot of other films. Some are comedies about the psychology of high school, like Clueless and Heathers. Some are more traditional tales of dark plotting, like Strangers on a Train. Directed and co-written by Jennifer Kaytin Robinson, the film stars Camila Mendes and Maya Hawke as two teenagers committed to getting back at each other's enemies.
The new Hulu show Reboot follows a fictional behind-the-scenes attempt to create a gritty update of a TGIF-style family sitcom. The effort is led by Hannah (Rachel Bloom) who is constantly clashing with the show's original showrunner Gordon (Paul Reiser). The reunited cast is played by Judy Greer, Keegan-Michael Key, Johnny Knoxville, and Calum Worthy. Reboot was created by Modern Family alum Steven Levitan.
The animated comedy Archer explores the exploits of Sterling Archer (H. Jon Benjamin), the world's most dangerous spy. Now in its 13th season, it's a workplace comedy full of guns, sex, and the occasional mad scientist. Created by Adam Reed, the series airs on FXX and streams on Hulu.
The new movie The Woman King tells the story of the Agojie, a real-life group of women warriors who protected a West African kingdom in the 1820s. Directed by Gina Prince-Bythewood, the film stars Viola Davis, Thuso Mbedu, Lashana Lynch, and John Boyega – and it mixes bloody battle scenes with discussions of leadership and chosen family.
Today, we're telling you what new shows, movies and albums we're excited about this fall.
Serena Williams recently played what might be her final professional tennis match. She's had a singular, remarkable career, including 23 singles Grand Slam titles. Along the way, she's had an enormous impact on culture inside and outside sports, and even she's started more conversations about the tennis itself and the way athletes' public lives change as they get older.
At last night's Emmy Awards, The White Lotus, Ted Lasso, and Succession all picked up major awards. But there were also unexpected wins for Abbott Elementary and Squid Game. And several of those wins came with wildly charismatic acceptance speeches.
Netflix's Korean drama Squid Game was a worldwide sensation. It's a violent and artful horror series, a survival drama, and a commentary on debt and capitalism. The show earned 14 Emmy nominations, and could make history as the first-ever non-English series to win in the outstanding drama category. In this encore episode, we revisit our conversation about the first season.
The new Disney Plus movie Pinocchio is a mostly live-action remake of the 1940 Disney animated classic about a wooden boy who longs to become real, but must first undergo a series of trials and temptations in order to do so. You may already know the story, but director and co-writer Robert Zemeckis has corralled stars like Tom Hanks, Cynthia Erivo, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, and Keegan-Michael Key to give it new life.
Queen Elizabeth II died today at the age of 96. She was the longest-serving British monarch, and she was undeniably a major figure in pop culture. Her image on television shows like The Crown, and in movies like The Queen, never seemed to quite capture who she was, and yet people kept trying and trying. We try to wrap our heads around the pop culture understanding of the queen, and how her legacy played out on television and in movies.
The excellent new Netflix series Mo is about a man who figures out how to get by: how to find work as someone who can't work legally, how to navigate the asylum process as a Palestinian refugee in Texas, and how to care for the people he loves. The show's star and co-creator is the standup Mo Amer, whose story dives into immigration, identity, and a family as they work to map out a secure future.
The children's TV cartoon Bluey centers on a family of four anthropomorphic dogs. Each episode balances gentle humor with some kind of lesson about emotional intelligence. Bluey is an Australian series that first premiered in 2018, and is streaming in the United States on Disney Plus.
The 1991 film Mississippi Masala stars Sarita Choudhury and Denzel Washington as two very beautiful people who meet and unexpectedly find they're just right for each other. Directed by Mira Nair, it's also about family and displacement, knowing your history, and making your own way in the world. And after being hard to track down for many years, the film is newly available again on the Criterion Channel.
The Pop Culture Happy Hour team is off today, so we are bringing you an episode the podcast Snooze. It's a show about things people put off, how they conquer them, but most importantly, how they conquer themselves. In each episode, host Megan Tan, the Snooze Squad and guest celebrities strategizes an action plan for people like you and me to face our fears. In this episode, RuPaul's Drag Race helped Gerardo come out of the closet and eventually find his love for drag. But is he ready to finally apply to be a contestant on the show? He starts applications, but never finishes them. Gerardo will decide whether this year is the year he hits submit on his application.
In the movie Honk For Jesus. Save Your Soul., a Southern Baptist megachurch has been rocked by a lurid scandal. The always delightful Regina Hall and Sterling K. Brown star as the first lady and pastor of the church, who must reopen their doors and woo back their former congregants. The satire is framed as a mockumentary that dives into Black Christian culture, a marriage on the rocks and the politics of faith.
Manti Te'o was a decorated college football player at Notre Dame with a heartbreaking story. Early in his senior year, he had learned on the same day of the deaths of his grandmother and his girlfriend. But a few months later, the story broke that there was no indication that the girlfriend had ever existed, and Te'o was catfished. Now a new Netflix documentary, Untold: The Girlfriend Who Didn't Exist, explores what really happened.
The HBO series Industry is a workplace drama about a cutthroat investment bank in London, where employees cater to wealthy client egos and undermine one another. Bosses are bad, drugs are plentiful, business jargon is everywhere. But even if you care little about the world of finance, the show still manages to be riveting.
What makes a good karaoke song? Today, we're suggesting three great songs to sing at karaoke night.
The vinyl record, the CD, the DVD, the VHS tape — even the paper book has been the subject of debate and concern over its future. But we haven't given up our collections just yet. Today we're talking about the physical media we still treasure.
In the new George Miller-directed film Three Thousand Years of Longing, Tilda Swinton plays an academic who buys a glass bottle and soon discovers it contains an ancient djinn, played by Idris Elba. He says he will grant her three wishes, but as a scholar of stories about wish-granting, she's going to need some time to think this through. Meanwhile, he tells her the story of his immortal life, and the many times he's found himself literally imprisoned by love.
On HBO's reality series The Rehearsal, Nathan Fielder hires actors and production crews to create spaces to help real people practice for real moments in their real lives. Then he puts them through every possible permutation, attempting to account for every variable. Soon, his role as host and director becomes that of eager participant... and the boundaries between reality and reality TV come crashing down.
This year marks the 25th anniversary of King Of The Hill the animated sitcom King Of The Hill. Created by Mike Judge and Greg Daniels, the series ran for 13 seasons on FOX from 1997 to 2010, and is now streaming on Hulu. The show is in fictional Arlen, Texas and focuses on the Hill family - Hank, a propane salesman, his wife Peggy, a substitute teacher, their son Bobby, and Peggy's niece, Luanne. In this encore episode we revisit our conversation about the series.
This summer, NPR asked its staff and contributors: What are the best video games of 2022, so far? Join The Game, NPR's column on games and gaming culture, has the results in a sortable guide of recommendations. Today, we round up a few of those picks, from epic blockbusters to indie favorites that might just win your heart.
The HBO Max series Rap Sh!t feels like a comedy for The Moment. Created by Issa Rae, the show focuses on Shawna and Mia (played by Aida Osman and KaMillion), two aspiring rappers from Miami, and documents the challenges they face as young women trying to break into the music industry. And for these women on the cusp of Millennial and Gen Z, life exists largely on social media, through the lens of a camera phone.
The sleazy lawyer Saul Goodman was meant to appear in only a handful of episodes of Breaking Bad. Instead, Saul (played by Bob Odenkirk) became an integral part of the series and eventually earned his own acclaimed spin-off, Better Call Saul. Now, after six seasons, the AMC drama has come to an end. In this tense and meticulously-paced origin story, we've witnessed his complete transformation from struggling public defender to overconfident fraudster.
The HBO Max animated series Harley Quinn is filled with characters from a version of the DC Universe where the violence is frequent, the language is explicitly salty, and the jokes come at you fast. In the show, Harley (Kaley Cuoco) has ditched the Joker and started making her own brand of mayhem alongside her best friend Poison Ivy (Lake Bell). And slowly, over the course of three seasons, she's found true, queer love.
The 1992 film A League Of Their Own is a beloved sports movie classic – thanks to a memorable all-star cast led by Geena Davis and Tom Hanks, and repeat showings on cable TV. It's a fictionalized account of The Rockford Peaches, the real-life professional women's baseball team that was formed during World War II. With a new TV series adaptation on Amazon, now seems like the perfect time to revisit the original and reflect on its enduring legacy.
The professional women's baseball team the Rockford Peaches were immortalized in the 1992 box office hit A League Of Their Own. Thirty years later, they're back in a new Amazon Prime series of the same name. Co-created by and starring Broad City alum Abbi Jacobson, the series showcases a new set of fictionalized characters, played by Chanté Adams, D'Arcy Carden, and more. While exploring queer themes and racial segregation, the show is a fresh take that both pays homage and stands on its own.
There's marriage, and then there's love marriage. That's the philosophy of Sima, the matchmaker at the center of the Netflix reality series Indian Matchmaking. The show has gotten a lot of attention, but also some critiques. It recently returned for a second season, so in this encore episode, we thought we'd revisit our conversation about the show's first season.
Bodies Bodies Bodies starts with a fairly standard horror-movie premise: A group of wealthy and attractive pleasure-seekers gather at a mansion to party and ride out an oncoming hurricane. But things get quickly messy when one of them turns up dead. With a cast that includes Amandla Stenberg, Maria Bakalova, Chase Sui Wonders, Myha'la Herrold, Rachel Sennott, Pete Davidson, and Lee Pace, the movie mixes horror, comedy, Gen-Z satire, and a whodunit-style mystery that will keep you guessing.
The new film Prey isn't just another installment of the Predator franchise. For one thing, it's a prequel to the original 1987 movie — set more than 300 years ago. More important is who's telling the story this time: Amber Midthunder plays Naru, a tough, smart, young Comanche woman determined to prove herself, as well as to protect her people — and her dog — from a seemingly undefeatable enemy.
For nearly a decade, Desus and Mero cultivated a unique space in media. With popular podcasts and late night talk shows, the comedy duo earned a devoted fanbase and became the destination for any celebrity looking to earn some cultural cache. But, alas, the brand is gone. Recently the pair announced they've parted ways. Today, we offer five favorite Desus and Mero moments, and look back on their legacy and influence.
The new Netflix series The Sandman is based on Neil Gaiman's much-beloved comic book series about an immortal and powerful being known as the Master of Dreams. The series introduces us to a world of fantastic adventure where dreams and nightmares come to life. But beneath all its imaginative trappings is a story of a man who loses everything, and has to fight to get it all back, even if that means facing down Hell itself.
This year marks the 20th anniversary of HBO's crime drama The Wire. Creators David Simon and Ed Burns spent five seasons dissecting various institutions in Baltimore, producing what is now considered one of the best television series of all time. The large cast included many then-unknown actors who've gone on to become stars, like Idris Elba, Michael B. Jordan, Dominic West and the late Michael K. Williams.
In the new film Bullet Train, Brad Pitt plays an assassin hired to steal a briefcase from a pair of rival assassins played by Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Brian Tyree Henry. Also in the mix are Andrew Koji, Joey King, Bad Bunny, and Hiroyuki Sanada. It's directed by David Leitch (Deadpool 2, Atomic Blonde, Fast and Furious Presents: Hobbs and Shaw).
On Beyoncé's new album Renaissance, the superstar channels a rich history of Black and queer music. There's disco, dancehall, bounce, house, gospel, freestyle and funk — all served up in a confident, sexy and thotty gumbo. Now that we've had some time to sit with (and get down to) the album, how are we feeling? Was it worth the wait?
The new Netflix comedy series Uncoupled stars Neil Patrick Harris as a man whose partner leaves him after 17 years together. The show comes from Darren Star, the prolific producer behind Sex and the City, and Jeffrey Richman, who worked on Modern Family and Frasier. They bring that experience to this new story about being gay and middle-aged and suddenly single.
What do you do when you need a good movie, but you don't have much time? The answer is that you find a short one. We recommend three films that deliver a lot of punch without taking up your whole day.
We've got dirty words on the brain. In this encore episode from 2013, we chat about the use and functions of profanity in entertainment. We cover everything from Anchorman to South Park to Shakespeare.
B.J. Novak (The Office)wrote, directed,and stars in the new indie comedy Vengeance. He plays Ben, a New York City journalist who decides to turn the mysterious death of his former hookup into fodder for a podcast. The film features Issa Rae as his podcast editor and Ashton Kutcher as a record producer.
The Netflix movie The Gray Man stars Ryan Gosling as an inmate who becomes an assassin for the CIA in exchange for his freedom. When a mission goes awry, he has to contend with a sociopathic ex-agent played by Chris Evans. It's directed by Joe and Anthony Russo, who made the Captain America and Avengers movies for Marvel.
Today there's more TV than ever before. And in such a crowded landscape, we can't get around to everything. That's why we wanted to highlight some of the recent shows that we didn't get around to, but we still think you might wanna check out. We recommend: The Summer I Turned Pretty, Dark Winds, Loot, Flowers In The Attic: The Origin, Chloe, and Trixie Motel.
Actors Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward had one of the most legendary partnerships in Hollywood. They were married over 50 years, and made 16 films together. Now they are the subject of a compelling new HBO Max docuseries called The Last Movie Stars. Directed by Ethan Hawke, it's a tale of Hollywood and love, but also of how heroes are made and sometimes robbed of their complexities.
The film Nope stars Daniel Kaluuya and Keke Palmer as siblings and horse wranglers living in a small California town where things get weird, people disappear, and a threat must be stopped.Jordan Peele wrote and directed the film, so there are bound to be some surprises. So we're hitching a ride on horseback into spoiler territory.
Jordan Peele's third film Nope comes with some hefty expectations: eclectic thrills, unexpected twists, and standout performances. Starring Daniel Kaluuya and Keke Palmer as siblings who get caught up in some weird occurrences in a small California town, the film is giving Steven Spielberg and M. Night Shyamalan vibes. And it's sure to stir up a lot of debate.
The novel Persuasion is the story of a woman who gives up a great love, then finds him again. Written by Jane Austen, it's now the subject of a Netflix adaptation starring Dakota Johnson. The film tries to be of its own time and contemporary, with Austen characters talking about self-care and being "single and thriving."
Grammy-winning artist Lizzo enjoyed a major breakthrough in 2019 with her album Cuz I Love You. Now she's back with Special, which features one of the summer's most inescapable songs "About Damn Time." The album features songs about love, affirmation, friendship, empowerment, and confidence.
The fun mystery-comedy Only Murders in the Building series stars Steve Martin, Martin Short and Selena Gomez as a trio of true-crime podcast fans who live in the same ritzy building on New York's Upper West Side. The Hulu series recently racked up 17 Emmy nominations, and its second season is airing right now. So we thought it would be a good time to encore our conversation about the first season.
The new film Where The Crawdads Sing stars Daisy Edgar-Jones as Kya, a girl who was abandoned in the marshes of North Carolina as a child and raised herself into adulthood. It's part mystery, part courtroom drama, part love triangle, and part nature film. The film is based on Delia Owens' bestselling novel, and features a new Taylor Swift song.
The Korean pop sensation BTS recently announced that its members are taking a break to pursue solo projects. The band has had massive success in the U.S. with songs like "Dynamite" and "Butter", but their discography is farther-reaching than casual fans might think. So we thought now would be a good time to showcase some of the best deep cuts in the BTS catalog.
The Emmy nominations have arrived, and Succession leads the pack in most nods, followed closely by Ted Lasso and The White Lotus. This was also a good year for the folks behind Only Murders In the Building, Hacks, Squid Game, and Abbott Elementary, which each picked up their fair share of recognition from voters. We're going to get into the snubs, surprises, and everything in between.
If you've ever worked in a restaurant, you likely understand how intense it can be — it's fast-paced and you're constantly in close proximity with your colleagues. The excellent new FX on Hulu series The Bear understands this environment well. The dramedy stars Jeremy Allen White as Carmy, a fine dining chef who takes over his family's beloved, but troubled Italian beef sandwich shop following the death of his brother.
RRR is one of the most expensive and highest grossing Indian films ever made, and also the most-watched non-English language film on Netflix. It's a sweeping and bloody sort-of-historical epic about an unlikely friendship between a villager fighting against India's British colonizers (N.T. Rama Rao Jr.) and a soldier working with them (Ram Charan). Directed by S.S. Rajamouli, RRR has breathtaking stunts and stirring songs that's made it an international phenomenon.
Marvel's Thor: Love And Thunder follows in the footsteps of the much-loved Thor: Ragnarok. Both are directed by Taika Waititi, and both offer a lighthearted take on the godlike superhero, played again by Chris Hemsworth. The new film introduces Christian Bale as a villain named Gorr, The God Butcher, and brings back Natalie Portman as Jane Foster — who now wields Thor's hammer.
The fourth season of Stranger Things was split up into two chunks, with its nearly 2.5-hour-long season finale airing on Friday. This time around, those kids on bikes we met in season one are scattered to the four winds. We got some major revelations about the origin of the Upside Down, we met the Big Bad of the series and we got teed up for the show's fifth and final season.
The Peacock comedy Rutherford Falls is now back for its second season, and makes for a great summer binge watch. Co-created by Mike Schur, and starring Ed Helms (also a co-creator), the series follows a conflict over a historical statue in a small town. But what really sets it apart is that it centers several Native American characters, and its third co-creator, Sierra Teller Ornelas, is TV's first Native American showrunner. In this encore episode, we revisit our conversation about the first season.
The Disney+ series Ms. Marvel introduces Kamala Khan, a Muslim teenager from Jersey City who loves superheroes. When she discovers an artifact linked to her family's history that imbues her with superpowers, she's delighted — at first. But she's dealing with family, friends, school and faith, all of which tend to get in the way of saving the day.
There are new, (mostly) more accurate dinosaurs to squeal over in Jurassic World: Dominion, the sixth and reportedly final film of the Jurassic film franchise. In this episode from our friends at NPR's Short Wave, get to know them a little more with help from Riley Black, a paleontologist and author of the book The Last Days of the Dinosaurs.
Minions: The Rise Of Gru is the fifth film in the animated Despicable Me series. Set in the late 1970s, the new movie chronicles the early days of the supervillain Gru (voiced again by Steve Carell) and his relationship with the silly yellow babbling banana-loving henchmen who do his bidding.
There are songs you want to groove to, and songs you want to pump up to. But sometimes, you just want something for the come down at the end of a long day. If you're having trouble sleeping in silence, or are just looking for some new songs to throw into your bedtime rotation, we've got you covered.
In the supernatural horror film The Black Phone, Ethan Hawke plays the Grabber, a sinister masked figure who abducts a series of teenage boys in a Colorado suburb. When 13-year-old Finney (Mason Thames) gets grabbed, he's locked in a dank basement, waiting to be murdered, when suddenly a disconnected telephone on the wall starts to ring.
Sunday's BET Awards were a four-hour celebration of Black culture, with a heavy emphasis on music. The night was packed with live performances from Latto and Jack Harlow, and surprise guests Mariah Carey and Brandy, and featured a lavish tribute to Lifetime Achievement Award winner Sean "Diddy" Combs.
The new film Marcel The Shell With Shoes On tells the story of a tiny shell who searches for his long-lost family. He's voiced by Jenny Slate and rendered using stop-motion animation. Based on a series of viral YouTube shorts, the feature-length movie is directed by Dean Fleischer Camp, who also appears on-screen as a filmmaker who discovers and interviews Marcel while living in an Airbnb.
The legacy of Elvis Presley is often reduced to gaudy iconography and tales of excess: the white jumpsuit, Las Vegas, drugs. So what happens when director Baz Luhrmann takes on the man, the myth, the legend? You get the dizzying biopic Elvis. Austin Butler stars as "the King of Rock and Roll," and Tom Hanks plays Elvis' shady longtime manager Colonel Tom Parker.
In Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, USS Enterprise Captain Christopher Pike (Anson Mount), Spock (Ethan Peck) and their diverse crew boldly go exploring the galaxy. The Paramount+ series takes place a few years before the original series from the '60s, and new show's tone and narrative certainly feel like a return to old-school Star Trek.
In Cha Cha Real Smooth, Andrew (Cooper Raiff), an aimless 22-year-old, finds a new direction when he becomes a party motivator at bar and bat mitzvahs in his hometown. He develops a bond with Domino (Dakota Johnson), who's at her own crossroads in life. The film was a breakout hit at Sundance earlier this year and is now streaming on Apple TV+.
The Starz drama P-Valley is set in a Black strip club in the Mississippi Delta. The dancers are acrobatic, artistic and independent. The show is about their labor, but also about a wide variety of stories about power, money, and a community's identity. It recently returned for a second season, so in this encore episode, we revisit our discussion about the show's first season.
If you've seen any of the Toy Story movies, you know about Buzz Lightyear, the heroic space ranger immortalized in a line of action figures. Now, the character is getting a Disney and Pixar prequel — an origin story starring Chris Evans as the space ranger who started it all. (Take our annual survey at npr.org/podcastsurvey)
In Good Luck to You, Leo Grande, Emma Thompson plays a widow yearning to fulfill a desire that's somehow eluded her her entire life: an orgasm. She sets about achieving her goal by hiring a much younger, highly attractive sex worker (Daryl McCormack). But their time spent together turns out to be much more than transactional. Good Luck To You, Leo Grande will stream on Hulu starting June 17th.
This summer marks the 50th anniversary of the break-in at the Watergate Hotel that eventually led to the resignation of President Richard Nixon. Watergate not only had profound impacts on how Americans see the government and the press, but it has influenced decades of film and TV, books and podcasts.
The big winners of the 75th Tony Awards included the play The Lehman Trilogy, and the Pulitzer Prize-winning musical A Strange Loop. The evening was hosted by the charming and completely committed Oscar winner Ariana DeBose, and filled with musical performances, emotional acceptance speeches, and a tribute to Stephen Sondheim.
In the Star Wars Disney+ series Obi-Wan Kenobi, Ewan McGregor returns as one of the last remaining Jedi Knights as he's hiding out on Tatooine. When young Princess Leia is kidnapped, Obi-Wan is convinced to come out of retirement and pull "one last job" to rescue her — even if that means crossing lightsabers with his former apprentice, the evil Darth Vader, played by Hayden Christensen. (Take our annual survey at npr.org/podcastsurvey)
Jurassic World Dominion is the sixth and reportedly final film in the Jurassic film franchise, in which genetically engineered dinosaurs run dependably amok in the modern world. This film brings together Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard with Sam Neill, Jeff Goldblum and Laura Dern, the three leads of the film that started it all — 1993's Jurassic Park. (Take our annual survey at npr.org/podcastsurvey)
Crimes of the Future marks director David Cronenberg's return to the body horror genre. The film is set in a dystopian future where humans no longer feel pain, as they are evolving to adapt to a world riddled with synthetic chemicals. Viggo Mortensen stars as a man who spontaneously grows new organs. Together with his partner, played by Léa Seydoux, he turns the tattooing, surgical removal and display of these organs into performance art.
This is Going to Hurt is by turns a caustically funny and gut-wrenching series about a young doctor of gynecology and obstetrics struggling to keep his mind, body, and soul intact. Ben Whishaw stars in the British series, which is based on the bestselling memoir of a doctor in Britain's National Health Service. It's streaming on AMC+ and Sundance Now.
This Friday would have been Judy Garland's 100th birthday. Everyone of course knows her iconic portrayal of Dorothy Gale in the Wizard of Oz, but Garland delivered a variety of unforgettable performances over her variously triumphant, troubled and ultimately tragic life. If you're not familiar with her non-Oz-related work, here is a guide that speaks to her unique and enduring appeal. (Take our annual survey at npr.org/podcastsurvey)
The Netflix game show Floor Is Lava is so silly, so stupid, so low-stakes that we can't stop watching it. Teams of three try to cross a course made of furniture and obstacles without touching the ground. Floor Is Lava recently returned for a new season, so in this encore episode, we revisit our conversation about the series.
The new rom-com Fire Island puts a queer spin on Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice. Written by and starring Joel Kim Booster, the film centers around a group of queer friends who decamp to Fire Island every summer. Booster and his best friend (Bowen Yang) are outsiders among the cliquish community of white wealthy gay privilege, and when love comes along, it places their friendship in jeopardy. Fire Island is directed by Andrew Ahn and is streaming on Hulu.
It's been 20 years since the beginning of American Idol. It has inspired imitators and parodies, and it's also a show that actually made people stars. So we asked you to vote for the best American Idol contestants of all time.
The Emmy-winning animated series Bob's Burgers is making the hop to the big screen. The Bob's Burgers Movie captures the show's distinct look and feel, but introduces a new sense of urgency. Perpetually worried fry-cook Bob Belcher, his wife Linda, and their three oddball kids need to pay off the bank right away or lose their restaurant.
This is the time of year when so many students graduate from so many schools in so many caps and gowns. Whether it's graduation episodes of our favorite TV series, high school songs, or movies about the last wild night of high school, we're here to commence a show about commencement.
Our pals at NPR's Wait Wait Don't Tell Me have a new show called "Everyone & Their Mom." In this episode, host Emma Choi and comedian Emmy Blotnick discover long lost love letters and learn how to use bookmarks properly. They also interviewdirector Domee Shi about her Pixar movie Turning Red.
Top Gun first hit theaters in 1986, starring Tom Cruise as a cocky fighter pilot who trains in an elite military program. Now, there's finally a sequel called Top Gun: Maverick, in which Cruise returns to train a new generation of pilots.
Harry Styles has just released his third solo album, called Harry's House. The new record finds the former One Direction singer presiding over a bunch of breezy, unfailingly pleasant love songs. The new album has already spawned a No. 1 single with the song "As It Was" and comes after 2019's Fine Line, which won Styles his first Grammy.
The hugely influential Canadian sketch comedy troupe The Kids in the Hall is back in a new Amazon show that marks their first return to writing and performing original sketches on television. These 8 episodes look and feel like another season of their first show, though of course the kids aren't kids anymore – something the new series has some fun with.
In Men, Jessie Buckley plays Harper, whose estranged husband (Paapa Essiedu) has recently died in a horrific manner. To decompress, she rents out a quiet stately home in the English countryside from Geoffrey (Rory Kinnear). It doesn't take long before her trip is disturbed by increasingly strange and invasive occurrences. The film was written and directed by Alex Garland, whose previous features include Ex Machina and Annihilation.
The latest edition of NPR's Books We Love project rounded up hundreds of book recommendations from critics, writers and NPR journalists to try to give you just the read you're looking for. Today, we're giving recommendations for our favorite books about identity and culture.
Downton Abbey is back again. Three years after the 2019 movie that extended the popular TV series, the Crawleys are once again dealing with the clash of the old ways and the new ways. This time, the interloper is early Hollywood. While a director, a crew, and a bunch of actors descend upon the estate for filming, the story also travels to the south of France for a story that might reveal secrets from the Dowager Countess' past.
It's been five years since Kendrick Lamar released his last album, DAMN. Since then, he's won a Pulitzer Prize, been nominated for an Oscar, and become a parent. His new double-length album, Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers, is anything but a breezy victory lap. Lamar examines generational trauma, sexual politics, and his own attempts to grow amid high expectations and heavy introspection.
Irish writer Sally Rooney's book Normal People was adapted into a Hulu series in 2020. Now, her first novel Conversations with Friends gets its own Hulu adaptation. It tells the story of two college friends and exes (Alison Oliver and Sasha Lane) who meet a married couple (Joe Alwyn and Jemima Kirke) and get very deeply entangled with them, which makes everything very complicated.
A woman wakes up after a night of partying and realizes something is very, very wrong. That's the premise of the HBO Max series The Flight Attendant. It's a taut, darkly funny thriller starring Kaley Cuoco of The Big Bang Theory as a woman in search of some answers about the present that also might shed light on the past. In this encore episode, we're revisiting our conversation about The Flight Attendant, which recently returned for a second season.
The 66th Eurovision Song Contest took place in Italy over the weekend. Every year, dozens of countries face off in a competition full of pageantry, strobe lights, and sparkles. But Eurovision isn't just a talent search. It's also a lavish spectacle that attempts to unify the world in song. This year's winner was Kalush Orchestra, from Ukraine.
The Netflix series Heartstopper is a new romcom for soft hearts everywhere. Based on Alice Oseman's graphic novels, the show follows Charlie and Nick, who are young and navigating the hallways of high school. When the two meet, they instantly take a shine to each other and go from rugby teammates to good friends to something more.
Bad Bunny is one of the world's biggest pop stars and a multimedia superstar. Now, the Puerto Rican singer is back with a new record called Un Verano Sin Ti, or A Summer Without You. It's a 23-song, double-length album that sprawls across many genres, including pop, trap, reggaeton and much more — and features musical guests galore.
HBO's We Own This City zeroes in on rampant corruption and abuse within Baltimore's criminal justice system. It features drug dealers, civilians and the police officers who recklessly target them both. There's also politicians and federal agents with competing interests and egos. If this sounds like The Wire, they do share some DNA: David Simon and George Pelecanos are its creators. And while a few Wire-verse alumni appear, is this series more than just a rewiring of Baltimore politics?
NPR's annual Books We Love project rounded up hundreds of books that scratch whatever your reading itch might be. Today, we're going to talk about some of the nonfiction we loved.
Hosted by Kelly Clarkson and Snoop Dogg, NBC's American Song Contest is a singing competition that tries to duplicate the Eurovision formula by having each entry represent their home state or territory.
In Marvel's Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness, Benedict Cumberbatch returns as a powerful sorcerer who must protect Earth from mystical menaces. The new film finds Doctor Strange battling an unexpected nemesis as he comes to the aid of America Chavez, played by Xochitl Gomez, who has the power to travel across alternate universes. Directed by Sam Raimi, the film also stars Elizabeth Olsen, Benedict Wong, and Rachel McAdams.
In the first season of the Netflix show Russian Doll, we meet Natasha Lyonne's Nadia, a woman who gets stuck in a seemingly endless loop of death scenarios, and is forced to confront her personal demons in the process. Now season two has arrived, and Nadia's next phase of self-discovery manifests itself in a completely different way: time travel.
The delightfully cheesy Netflix comedy Grace and Frankie stars Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin as frenemies-turned-co-dependent besties after their husbands (played by Martin Sheen and Sam Waterston) come out as gay and marry each other. As the final episodes of the final season are out now, the series is attuned to the realities of aging, as well as the importance of bonds both familial and romantic.
The Netflix series Ozark recently dropped its final episodes. After a lot of Emmy recognition and four seasons of the increasingly criminal Byrde family seen through moody blue filters, it's over. Did Wendy and Marty Byrde (Laura Linney and Jason Bateman) make it? Did young Ruth Langmore (Julia Garner) manage to get away from the life Marty and Wendy dragged her deeper and deeper into?
When Titanic pulled into theaters 25 years ago, it quickly became an inescapable cultural juggernaut. Everything about it was huge: Its budget, runtime, box office, and accolades. And it catapulted Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet into a whole new stratosphere of fame. Now that we've got some distance from Leo Mania and "king of the world" jokes, how does James Cameron's epic hold up all these years later? Vote for your favorite American Idol contestants at npr.org/AmericanIdol
It's about to be summer. While that means sunshine and maybe even a chance to relax, it also means summer entertainment. Whether you're ready to venture out into theaters or you're still enjoying the comforts of your couch, we are here to talk about some of the best TV, film and music that's coming straight to you. Vote for your favorite American Idol contestants at npr.org/AmericanIdol
In the terrific horror thriller X, a ragtag film crew sets up shop in a creepy rural farmhouse, where they plan to shoot a porno movie without attracting the attention of their elderly hosts. But it's only a matter of time before things get stabby. Starring Mia Goth and Brittany Snow, and directed by Ti West, X has an arty, stylish feel – as well as larger points to make about filmmaking, aging, exploitation, and sex. Vote for your favorite American Idol contestants at npr.org/AmericanIdol
A Very British Scandal focuses on the tumultuous marriage and bitter divorce of the Duke and Duchess of Argyll. The Amazon Prime miniseries chronicles the couple's courtship, marriage, and their eventual split. Paul Bettany plays the drunken, abusive Duke, and Claire Foy plays Margaret, a woman determined to hold onto her station in life, even as she gets pilloried by a misogynistic British press and legal system. Vote for your favorite American Idol contestants at npr.org/AmericanIdol
In The Northman, Alexander Skarsgård plays a Viking prince who flees his island kingdom when his uncle kills his father and marries his mother. It's based on a very old but familiar story that predates Shakespeare's Hamlet by a few centuries. Directed by Robert Eggers, The Northman is a tale of bloody revenge with painstakingly researched historical accuracy surrounding the gods and monsters of Viking culture. Vote for your favorite American Idol contestants at npr.org/AmericanIdol
In Slow Horses, Gary Oldman plays Jackson Lamb, the slovenly, burnt-out head of Slough House — a rundown, disregarded division of MI5, and serves as a dumping ground for British spies who've made huge mistakes. This team of misfits is the laughing stock of the British intelligence community, led by Diana Taverner (Kristin Scott Thomas). Based on a series of spy novels by Mick Herron, series is streaming on Apple TV+. Vote for your favorite American Idol contestants at npr.org/AmericanIdol
In the action comedy The Unbearable Weight Of Massive Talent, Nicolas Cage plays a fictionalized Nicolas Cage. This down-on-his-luck version of the actor must get out of a jam after he is offered a million dollars to attend the birthday party of a potentially deadly superfan, played by Pedro Pascal. Also starring Tiffany Haddish, Ike Barinholtz and Sharon Horgan, the movie gets meta as it draws heavily on the Cage's career and long history of eccentric performances. Vote for your favorite American Idol contestants at npr.org/AmericanIdol
The hilarious HBO Max comedy series Our Flag Means Death follows the misadventures of Stede Bonnet, a posh aristocrat who decides to give up his pampered life and become a swashbuckling pirate on the high seas. It soon becomes clear that he lacks the ruthlessness necessary to be any good at the job, but when he meets the fearsome pirate Blackbeard (played by Taika Waititi) the two men find they have much to teach one another about pirating and self-acceptance.
Law & Order and its trademark format evolved into a massive TV franchise. The original Law & Order ended in 2010, but this year, in the middle of a broader conversation about policing and the problems with police procedurals, NBC has decided to bring the original Law & Order back. The result is a strange effort to replicate an old success in a very different environment.
In Marvel's Moon Knight, Oscar Isaac plays Steven, a mild-mannered Londoner who works in a museum gift shop. He also plays Marc, a mercenary who can turn into the mysterious Moon Knight. The series has psychodrama, tomb raiding, and a bad guy (Ethan Hawke) with very familiar motivations. Several episodes were directed by Mohamed Diab, the first Arab director in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and the show also features strong performances from May Calamawy and F. Murray Abraham. Moon Knight is streaming on Disney+.
The Great Pottery Throw Down is one of the gentlest, kindest, and warmest competitive reality shows you will ever see (even when things literally explode). The fifth season aired in the U.K. earlier this year, and it's now streaming on HBO Max. In this encore episode, we talk about a show that will help you relax at the end of even the longest day.
Pachinko is a deeply intimate, yet hugely expansive multi-generational historical saga on Apple TV+. Adapted from Min Jin Lee's 2017 novel, the series features several intersecting characters and storylines, but focuses mainly on Sunja, a Korean woman whose family suffers under Japanese imperial rule. With an impressive cast including Lee Min Ho and Oscar-winner Yuh-Jung Youn, Pachinko depicts Sunja throughout her life amid conditions of poverty, bigotry and institutionalized injustice against Koreans.
To comedy fans, Jerrod Carmichael is known as a stand-up comic with an acerbic brand of observational humor, and he's starred in his own family sitcom, The Carmichael Show. Now his recent HBO special Rothaniel has made headlines. Carmichael comes out publicly as gay for the first time and he talks about secrets that have haunted his family for multiple generations. It's a profoundly immersive experience that pushes the boundaries of stand-up and confessional art.
There's been no shortage of biographical material about Julia Child, who in the 1960s became one of the first food television personalities in the United States. HBO Max adds to the story with Julia, a scripted series about her life in the early years of public television's The French Chef, when she was uneasily navigating a transition from cookbook author to TV star.
Cameo is an online service where you can pay a celebrity to record a personalized video message. Maybe it's for your birthday, maybe it's for someone's anniversary — or maybe you're just bored. The videos can costs you tens, hundreds, or even thousands of dollars. In this episode we play a game involving the Cameo prices of some extremely famous, modestly famous, and delightfully niche celebrities.
The latest edition of NPR's Books We Love project rounded up hundreds of books to try to give you just the read you're looking for. Today, we're talking about some of the books we loved in 2021 about life in the United States, present and past.
Ambulance is Michael Bay's latest action movie, and if you think you know exactly what you're going to get — you'd be correct. It's more than two hours of pure, unrelenting adrenaline featuring gun fights, explosions and dizzying camera work. The film stars Yahya Abdul-Mateen II and Jake Gyllenhaal as adoptive brothers who get caught up in a bank heist gone spectacularly wrong. And true to the title, it involves a high-speed ambulance chase.
In Morbius, Jared Leto stars as the mysterious and brilliant Dr. Michael Morbius, who was born with a rare and debilitating blood disorder. With the aid of vampire bats, he comes up with a treatment that gives him superpowers, but also gives him a taste for blood. The movie takes place in the Sony wing of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and serves as an origin story for this vampiric antihero.
On the FX series Better Things, Pamela Adlon plays Sam Fox, a working actor in L.A. and a single mother to her three children. Sam and her family deal with many familiar pangs of life, like aging and puberty, in ways that are funny, profound, and sometimes cosmic. The semi-autobiographical show was co-created by Adlon, and after five seasons, it's coming to a close.
It might sound like fun to date a glamorous movie star, but in reality, it would probably get very messy. That's the premise of HBO Max's Starstruck, created by and starring New Zealand comedian Rose Matafeo. The romantic comedy series is complicated, funny and charming — treating fame as the isolating pain in the neck it often can be. It's a great weekend binge watch, and just returned for a second season. In this encore episode, we discuss the first season.
Last night's Grammys featured wins for Olivia Rodrigo, Silk Sonic, Jon Batiste, and more. Plus we got a lavish stage show with performances from BTS, Lady Gaga, and many others.
Everything Everywhere All At Once is the kind of movie that lives up to its title. It's a zany and profound sci-fi action comedy set in multiple dimensions, bursting with ideas about the pursuit of happiness, familial duty and the meaning of life. It stars Michelle Yeoh as a businesswoman whose world is turned upside down the day her family attempts to file their taxes. Forced to confront her life choices, she clashes with her daughter, her husband and a cranky IRS inspector in the weirdest of ways.
In the new film The Lost City Sandra Bullock plays a romance novelist who is kidnapped by a duplicitous billionaire (Daniel Radcliffe) looking for the real-life lost treasure referenced in her writing. Her cover model (Channing Tatum) embarks on a bumbling quest through the jungle and save her.
The Netflix series Bridgerton is back for a second season. And now, Anthony Bridgerton (Jonathan Bailey) is having his story told with the addition of a new love interest, played by Simone Ashley. Based on a series of Regency romance novels by Julia Quinn, there's still high drama, scandalous gossip and elaborate period costumes that sometimes take over entire scenes. So what's different, what's the same and how do Daphne and her duke figure into this season?
The Netflix animated series Human Resources is a spinoff of the filthy and funny Big Mouth. The series takes place in an office where the creatures that embody human emotions work, including Hormone Monsters voiced by co-creator Nick Kroll and Maya Rudolph. The show centers on a Love Bug voiced by Aidy Bryant. And there are plenty of other new faces, including a Logic Rock voiced by Randall Park and an Ambition Gremlin voiced by Rosie Perez. We also spend some time with Aidy Bryant's human client, a new mother named Becca, voiced by Ali Wong.
The 2022 Oscars included a best picture win for CODA, plus awards for Jessica Chastain, Dune, Encanto, and Jane Campion. But the proceedings were overshadowed when Will Smith slapped Chris Rock. Later in the ceremony, Smith won a best actor Oscar for his role in King Richard.
The 2022 Oscars are finally upon us. There are always two big questions as we approach the Oscars: Who will win, and who should win. Today, we're offering up a guide to this year's nominations to try to help you win your Oscar pool and see some terrific movies at the same time.
The new Hulu thriller Deep Water is about unhappily married couple Vic and Melinda, played by Ben Affleck and Ana de Armas. Melinda is involved with other men, and when those other men start to run into some bad luck, suspicion falls on Vic. Directed by erotic thriller king Adrian Lyne, Deep Water delves into the specifics of this particular marriage, the intersection of sex and violence, and one man's lonely devotion to his collection of snails.
History and music, economics and journalism, freedom and family are all prominent in this year's impressive crop of Oscar nominees for documentary feature. They tackle issues including mass incarceration, the plight of refugees, and what parts of the past we celebrate most. Plus, most of the films are available to stream now.
In honor of this year's Oscars, we polled listeners to ask a simple question: What's the best best picture winner of all time? Today, we run through our listeners' ranking of the Top 10, and give our picks for the best winner of all time.
The latest edition of NPR's Books We Love project rounded up hundreds of book recommendations from critics, writers and NPR journalists to try to give you just the read you're looking for. Today, we're talking about the love story.
The new film Master is a thriller set at a predominantly white liberal arts college, where a history of systemic racism still haunts the campus in the present day. The film stars Regina Hall as a professor who steps into a new role as the school's first Black house master. Plus, a Black incoming freshman (Zoe Renee) is facing challenges in adjusting to her surroundings. The film, directed by Mariama Diallo, is sure to get viewers talking. It's streaming on Amazon Prime.
In Netflix's The Adam Project, Ryan Reynolds is a pilot from the future who goes back in time to the present day, where he enlists the aid of his 12-year-old self (Walker Scobell) to save the timeline. Toss in small roles for Jennifer Garner and Mark Ruffalo as Adam's parents, and you've got yourself a 13 Going on 30 mini-reunion. This is Reynolds' second team-up with director Shawn Levy, who directed last year's Free Guy.
Films from Italy, Norway, Denmark, Japan, and – for the first time in Oscars history – Bhutan are vying for this year's Academy Award for international feature. While they share several common themes – finding yourself and your purpose, coming to terms with your past – they're five films that vary wildly in subject, in tone, and in what they have to say. Plus, many of the films are streaming now.
In the excellent new Apple TV+ series Severance, a group of office workers are experiencing work-life balance on a whole other level. Adam Scott, John Turturro, and others play employees that have undergone brain surgery that completely separates their memories of work from their memories of their regular lives. Severance is a workplace satire, a futuristic thought experiment about identity, and a drama about the dimensions of grief.
Hulu's The Dropout moves the needle on the Theranos story. The series stars Amanda Seyfried as Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes, and shows how the tech wunderkind and her company went from darlings to defendants. The cast also includes Naveen Andrews, William H. Macy, Sam Waterston, Stephen Fry, Alan Ruck and Laurie Metcalf.
Pixar is back with another movie aiming to hit you in all the feels: Turning Red. It's about a charismatic 13-year-old girl named Meilin (Rosalie Chiang) who discovers that whenever she gets too excited about anything, she now turns into a giant red panda. Directed by Domee Shi, the film features the voice talent of Sandra Oh, as well as some fun nods to the early 2000s boy band era. The film is streaming on Disney+.
In the new sci-fi film After Yang, a family suffers a loss when their human-like android Yang (Justin H. Min) suddenly breaks down. It stars Colin Farrell and Jodie Turner-Smith as the parents of an adopted child who are faced with deep existential conundrums. The film was written and directed by Kogonada, and is currently in theaters and streaming on Showtime.
What if you took The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, but made it a gritty, modern drama where Will is sent to Bel-Air to avoid facing an illegal gun possession charge? That's the basic premise of Bel-Air — the reboot of the classic 90s sitcom that made Will Smith a TV star. Jabari Banks steps into the role of Will, who this time around is less a goofy charmer and more a cool star athlete. It's a show that barely resembles its predecessor, with each member of the Banks family getting a radically dramatic makeover, too.
Few shows had quite the same reach and impact in the 1990s as The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. The NBC series catapulted Will Smith into movie stardom, and it remains infinitely memeable — from the Carlton Dance to its instantly recognizable theme song. And while it was a goofy fish-out-of-water sitcom, the series also revealed layers and heft, with humor (and occasionally some very special drama) that frequently touched on class and race.
Kanye West is a successful rapper and producer who has won 22 Grammys. But West has also been a public lightning rod for his outbursts at awards shows, his outspoken support of Donald Trump, his acrimonious divorce proceedings with Kim Kardashian, and much more. Netflix recently released a documentary called jeen-yuhs: A Kanye Trilogy. So it seems like a good time to assess the artist himself.
The new film The Batman slaps both a definite article, and an emo haircut, on the Caped Crusader. This time, it's Robert Pattinson who is cleaning up the streets of Gotham. He's facing off against Paul Dano's Riddler, and – under a lot of padding and prosthetics – Colin Farrell's Penguin. Bruce gets help from not-yet-Commissioner Gordon, played by Jeffrey Wright, as well as Zoë Kravitz's Catwoman.
Tyler Perry's character Madea has occupied a unique and polarizing space within Black American culture for more than two decades. A gun-toting elderly lady who curses and often finds herself at odds with the law, Madea has been criticized for playing into harmful stereotypes by some and beloved by others. After a brief absence, she's back in her 12th film, now streaming on Netflix: A Madea Homecoming. We talk about the film and how Tyler Perry's work straddles the line between being extremely topical and extremely old-school.
This year's Academy Award nominees for original song are a mix of old and new. Songs by Beyoncé, Billie Eilish and Lin-Manuel Miranda are squaring off against tunes by boomer mainstays Van Morrison and Diane Warren. They're all emotional songs, which is no surprise, though some are more anthemic than others. But whichever original song takes home the Academy Award this year, it stands to make some kind of Oscars history — including a possible EGOT.
The latest edition of NPR's Books We Love project rounded up hundreds of books to try to give you just the read you're looking for. Today, we're going to talk about some of the books we loved in 2021 about the lives of women.
Belfast is nominated for seven Oscars, including best picture and best director for Kenneth Branagh. The film is loosely based on Branagh's own childhood as he came of age during The Troubles in 1969 and 1970. Judi Dench and Ciarán Hinds are up for best supporting actress and best supporting actor, respectively, and it's also nominated for best sound and best original song for Van Morrison's "Down To Joy".
With HBO's The Gilded Age, Julian Fellowes airlifts Downton Abbey's soapy plots, its baubles and ball gowns, its sneering servants and quippy old ladies out of Yorkshire and plops them down in 1882 Manhattan. The series stars Carrie Coon, Christine Baranski, and Cynthia Nixon, plus a sprawling cast of socialites, servants, and members of the working class.
In the HBO Max film Kimi, Zoë Kravitz plays a woman with high anxiety and agoraphobia, who may or may not have observed a murder via a Siri-like voice assistant. Directed by Steven Soderbergh, the film is a tight, 90-minute surveillance thriller that takes its cues from some classics of the genre, including Rear Window and The Conversation. Yet it feels contemporary and fresh, particularly as it plays against the backdrop of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The HBO drama Euphoria depicts a world in which modern teenagers navigate a minefield of traumas. We see heavy drug use, illicit sex, destructive technology, damaged parents, physical violence, and so much more. The series stars Zendaya as Rue, whose drug addiction threatens both her life and the stability of those around her.
The Hulu miniseries Pam & Tommy is about what was arguably the first viral celebrity sex tape. It depicts the stars of the tape, actor Pamela Anderson (Lily James), and musician Tommy Lee (Sebastian Stan) as sympathetic figures and victims. It also tells the story of Rand Gauthier (Seth Rogan), the man who unwittingly stole the tape from them and began selling it through the internet.
In Netflix's dating show Love Is Blind, couples sit in separate cells that they call pods, where they can hear each other but not see each other. And once they've had a conversation or two, if they're getting along, they get engaged. And only then do they meet. The second season is now airing on Netflix and in this encore episode, we're revisiting our baffling fascination with the dating show.
In Netflix's Texas Chainsaw Massacre, online influencers descend on the mostly abandoned town of Harlow, Texas, only to be slaughtered by the man known as Leatherface. Directed by David Blue Garcia, the film is the ninth installment in the long-running horror franchise that started in 1974. The movie stars Sarah Yarkin and Elsie Fisher, and it also brings back the character of Sally Hardesty (Olwen Fouéré) the lone survivor of Leatherface's first rampage.
The new Showtime docuseries We Need to Talk About Cosby seeks to better understand Bill Cosby, a man full of contradictions and complexities. Director W. Kamau Bell traces Cosby's remarkable career and legacy and how he became one of the biggest stars of the 20th century. He also traces the comedian's downfall – over 60 women have accused Cosby of sexual assault.
In our current era of headline-making scammers, Anna Delvey is one of the splashiest. A few years ago, she posed as an heiress and conned several wealthy people out of their money before ultimately spending time in prison. Now, her schemes have been dramatized in Inventing Anna, a Netflix miniseries created by Shonda Rhimes. The show is inspired by a viral New York Magazine article, but is Anna's story as fascinating on screen as it was on the page? (Vote for the BEST best picture Oscar winners at npr.org/bestpicture)
The funny, tender-hearted HBO series Somebody Somewhere is a semi-autobiographical story starring comedian and cabaret performer Bridget Everett. She plays a woman who long ago gave up on her dream of being a singer and moved back to her hometown in Kansas to care for her beloved sister. After her sister dies, she reconnects with a high school classmate (Jeff Hiller) who urges her to sing again. (Vote for the BEST best picture Oscar winners at npr.org/bestpicture)
The 2022 Super Bowl resulted in Los Angeles Rams coming from behind to win over the Cincinnati Bengals. There was also the halftime show, which showcased some of the biggest stars in the history of hip-hop and R&B: Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Eminem, Mary J. Blige, Kendrick Lamar, and 50 Cent. And, of course, there were nostalgia-packed commercials for cars and crypto. (Vote for the BEST best picture Oscar winners at npr.org/bestpicture)
In the romantic comedy Marry Me, Jennifer Lopez plays as a pop star who is set to marry a singer played Maluma. The wedding is supposed to take place on stage as part of an elaborate publicity stunt, but she learns her fiancé has been cheating on her. Devastated, she decides to marry a man in the crowd, who is played by Owen Wilson. You can find it in theaters or streaming on Peacock. Vote for the BEST best picture Oscar winners at npr.org/bestpicture
The HBO Max series Peacemaker stars John Cena as a shiny-helmeted super soldier who loves peace so much he's willing, even eager, to slaughter folks to get it. It's a direct spinoff of the 2021 film The Suicide Squad, and the series shares a lot of that movie's comedic DNA. And it, too, was written and directed by James Gunn.
This year's Oscar nominations were announced today, and it's a big year for The Power of the Dog, Dune, West Side Story, Drive My Car, and more. We've got an overview of the nominees in the major categories, plus some surprises and snubs. Vote for the BEST best picture Oscar winners at npr.org/bestpicture
In the film Mogul Mowgli, Riz Ahmed stars as Zed, an on-the-rise rapper whose biggest gig yet is threatened by the sudden onset of an illness. He's also forced to confront his own insecurities about his family and British-Pakistani identity. Ahmed co-wrote the movie along with the director Bassam Tariq, and the result is a compelling and surprising story that dances between fiction and autobiography, realism and fantasy.
The moody, introspective film Drive My Car is one of the best-reviewed films of the last year. It's about a widowed theater director who grows closer to the young woman hired to drive him to and from rehearsals. Directed by Ryûsuke Hamaguchi and based on a short story by Haruki Murakami, the film has already racked up a number of critics awards, and it's Japan's entry for this year's best international feature Oscar.
If you've ever posted a celebrity's picture inside a locker, used a photo of them as your lock screen, or followed every moment of someone's career, you know all about pop culture crushes. There are the ones you're proud of, the ones you're less proud of, and the ones that never quite go away. Today, we're sharing some of our earliest crushes and how they informed our later adorations along the way.
Janet Jackson. is a four-part TV documentary from Lifetime and A&E that shows how the pop star became one of the biggest and most influential artists of the last four decades. With new interviews and never-before-seen footage, the series also documents many of her personal struggles and controversies, including the infamous wardrobe malfunction at the 2004 Super Bowl.
One of our favorite movies of the last few years is now streaming on Hulu. Hustlers is based on the true story of a group of women who danced at a strip club together and later drugged and scammed some of their wealthy Wall Street customers. Directed by Lorene Scafaria, the film stars Jennifer Lopez as their ringleader Ramona, Constance Wu as her protégé Destiny — and also features Cardi B and Lizzo. In this encore episode, we're revisiting our conversation about Hustlers.
The sitcom The Golden Girls followed the adventures of four women who were living together in Miami. The women were Dorothy (Bea Arthur), Sophia (Estelle Getty), Rose (Betty White), and Blanche (Rue McClanahan). Betty White's death in December marked the passing of the last of the four actresses who made up this cast, each of whom won an Emmy for her work on the show. It's a fine time to take a look at what is, for a lot of us, an old favorite.
When it comes to the Sundance Film Festival, you never really know what you're going to get. Each year brings a chance to stumble upon surprises and delights from filmmakers both well-known and emerging. Today, we've picked a few films, touching on everything from misogyny to arrested development to racism, that we think are worth keeping on your radar in the coming year.
The daily online word game Wordle has absolutely exploded in popularity in recent weeks. It's a game that gives you six chances to guess a five-letter word, giving you clues along the way about which letters are right and whether they're in the right places. It's addictive, but it can drive you mad.
What do Dancing With The Stars, the Sex and the City spinoff, and one of the most viral ads of 2019 have in common? They represent some of the many pop culture touchpoints of the ubiquitous fitness brand Peloton. We talk about the Peloton universe, including it's star-making stable of instructors complicated relationship with the wellness industry.
A Hero is the latest film from Oscar-winning Iranian director Asghar Farhadi (A Separation, The Salesman). In this story, Amir Jadidi plays Rahim, a man who comes into possession of a lost handbag and some coins. But nothing goes as expected, and he becomes everything from a local celebrity to a suspected criminal. A Hero is on the short list for this year's international feature film Oscar, and is streaming on Amazon Prime.
In the new Disney+ series The Book of Boba Fett, Temuera Morrison brings new layers to the mysterious bounty hunter from the original Star Wars films. The story vacillates between flashbacks to how he escaped his presumed death in Return of the Jedi, and the present day as he and his lieutenant Fennec Shand (played by Ming-Na Wen) take over Jabba the Hutt's criminal empire on Tatooine.
If you're looking to discover a new book, NPR has a marvelous mechanism to help you out: It's called Books We Love, and it's a sortable guide to hundreds of great books from 2021, as handpicked and recommended by the NPR staff. Today we're talking about some of the music-related books we loved in 2021.
The fantastic new ABC series Abbott Elementary is a sitcom set at a severely underfunded Philadelphia public school. Quinta Brunson is the creator and very funny star of the mockumentary-style comedy, which follows a cast of teachers who are dedicated, but burnt out as they make do with limited resources and a hilariously incompetent principal.
And Just Like That... the ladies of Sex and the City are back. (Well, most of them anyway.) The HBO Max series finds Sarah Jessica Parker, Kristin Davis and Cynthia Nixon reprising their roles as Carrie, Charlotte and Miranda. The new cast features several non-binary characters and performers of color including Nicole Ari Parker, Sara Ramirez, Karen Pittman, and Sarita Choudhury. But do these updates make the nostalgia trip worth it?
Today we're recommending some of the great music documentaries we missed in 2021: The Velvet Underground, Framing Britney Spears, Controlling Britney Spears, and Tina.
The slyly innovative HBO Max series Sort Of follows Sabi, a gender fluid millennial in Toronto trying to figure their life out. Sabi, played by co-creator Bilal Baig, nannies for a family whose matriarch winds up in a coma, placing Sabi in a tough spot between living their life and caring for others first. It's a show with good word of mouth that makes for a great Saturday afternoon binge.
The Tragedy of Macbeth adapts Shakespeare's familiar tale of blood and betrayal, dreamlike daggers and stubborn stains. But its stars Denzel Washington and Frances McDormand are significantly older than the leads usually are, which makes the whole thing hit differently. Directed by Joel Coen, the film fuses black-and-white cinematography with a clean, minimalist production design that underscores the story's theatrical roots. It's now streaming on Apple TV+.
The Weeknd's album After Hours was one of the biggest hits of 2020, and now the elusive artist is back. He's had a decade of massive highlights from "Blinding Lights" to last year's Super Bowl Halftime Show. His new album is Dawn FM, and it's a set of sleek synth-pop songs with assists from Oneohtrix Point Never and comedian Jim Carrey.
The HBO Max miniseries Station Eleven begins with a highly contagious and deadly virus wiping out 99 percent of humanity. That might not sound like comfort viewing, but hear us out. The show follows many characters as their individual stories intersect — both in the 100 days after the virus hits, and 20 years later, as civilization attempts to rebuild. Based on Emily St. John Mandel's novel, the series stars Himesh Patel, Mackenzie Davis, Gael García Bernal, Danielle Deadwyler, and Lori Petty.
In the movie C'mon C'mon, Joaquin Phoenix plays an audio journalist who, after visiting his sister (played by Gaby Hoffmann), takes his young nephew (played by Woody Norman) on the road as he interviews kids about the world. Along the way, the two learn a lot about each other. Directed by Mike Mills, it's a film about family, loss, and joy — and it's about radio.
Hollywood legend Sidney Poitier died last week at age of 94. He was a man of many firsts, including the first Black performer to win the best actor Oscar for the 1963 film Lilies of the Field. He was also a humanitarian who was active during the civil rights movement, and also someone who was quite obviously dedicated to his craft. And today we remember Poitier's work, including In The Heat Of The Night and To Sir With Love.
We cover a lot of movies here on Pop Culture Happy Hour, but we can't come close to hitting every great film. Today, we're inviting some of our favorite film critics to share the movies they loved from 2021 — the ones that got past us the first time, but should definitely get added to your queue.
The Showtime drama Yellowjackets is a series in two halves: In the first part, a plane crashes in 1996, and a high school girls' soccer team is stranded in the Canadian wilderness. The other part follows some of the girls more than 20 years later, as they realize the full ramifications of what they did during the time before they were rescued. Part horror and part suspense, Yellowjackets boasts a killer cast and a tangle of dark mysteries at its heart.
In the Netflix film The Lost Daughter, Olivia Coleman plays Leda, a professor on a working holiday in Greece who becomes fascinated by a young mother played by Dakota Johnson. This leads Leda to think about her own past, and to flashbacks in which the young Leda is played by Jessie Buckley. Adapted from the 2006 Elena Ferrante novel of the same name, The Lost Daughter marks the directorial debut of Maggie Gyllenhaal. The film also stars Peter Sarsgaard, Ed Harris, and Paul Mescal.
This winter, we've been at home, playing games. And we've been exploring games for the Nintendo Switch. We've been trying adventure games and puzzle games, beautiful games and silly games. And in this encore episode, we have a few to recommend.
Actress and icon Betty White died Friday at the age of 99. Her career as a comic actress – on TV, on radio, in movies, and more – lasted more than 80 years. She was probably best known for her work on The Golden Girls and The Mary Tyler Moore Show. But White was a trailblazer, a record-setter, and one of the most venerated figures in the history of television.
It's the end of 2021, and the cusp of a new year — which means we're looking back, and we're looking ahead. It's time to see how we did sticking to our pop culture resolutions we made a year ago. And it's time to make some new ones for 2022.
If there's one thing we can tell you about 2021, it's that we didn't see it coming. And we might not see 2022 coming either, but we're going to try — by making some pop culture predictions for next year. And on top of that, we'll look at last year's predictions and see how things turned out.
The new Netflix film Don't Look Up has a crazy Academy Awards pedigree. Writer-director Adam McKay won an Oscar for The Big Short and the Oscar-studded cast includes Leonardo DiCaprio and Jennifer Lawrence as scientists who discover that a massive comet is hurtling toward Earth. The only problem: They can't get the media's attention (represented here by Cate Blanchett and Tyler Perry) or get the president (played by Meryl Streep) to care. But with all these stars in the mix, did Don't Look Up miss the mark?
When Insecure premiered on HBO in 2016, Issa Dee (played by the show's co-creator Issa Rae), her bestie Molly (played by Yvonne Orji) and the rest of their cohort were a bunch of millennials who were stuck in unhappy relationships and jobs, and didn't have a clue how to make better choices for themselves. After five seasons, we're bidding farewell to Insecure — only now, these characters have finally seen some growth.
Licorice Pizza is a freewheeling slice of life story about an odd friendship/flirtation set in the San Fernando Valley. Written and directed by Paul Thomas Anderson, the film stars Cooper Hoffman and Alana Haim (who play 15- and 25-year-olds, respectively) as they deliver waterbeds and embark on meandering adventures during the gas crisis of the 1970s.
When The Matrix opened in 1999, it thrilled audiences with its strangely cerebral mix of stylized violence, existential crisis, and tight, black leather. The new movie The Matrix: Resurrections continues the story. Directed by Lana Wachowski, the film takes us back inside the simulation that the machines are using to keep humanity docile as they harvest our energy. Keanu Reeves and Carrie-Anne Moss return as Neo and Trinity, who, alongside an array of new characters, attempt to, once again, lead an uprising to let us all live authentic lives.
Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz were the TV power couple. In the new film Being the Ricardos, we spend an eventful week with Lucy (played by Nicole Kidman) and Desi (played by Javier Bardem) as they try to get a show on the air. Written and directed by Aaron Sorkin, the film showcases the complicated relationship and creative process of America's favorite couple.
Nightmare Alley is a stylish neo-noir that's as seedy as its title sounds. The film is directed by Guillermo del Toro and is inspired by the book and 1947 movie adaptation of the same name. It stars Bradley Cooper as Stan, an ambitious 1940s drifter who joins a traveling carnival and learns to develop his own mentalist act. An encounter with a mysterious psychologist, played by Cate Blanchett, leads to a fateful and destructive turn of events.
In Spider-Man: No Way Home, we spend time with some familiar characters. The film stars Tom Holland as Peter Parker and Zendaya as MJ, and, this time, also brings in Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch), plus an array of villains who'll already be familiar to fans of the franchise. But the film is more complicated than that, as the Marvel Cinematic Universe delves deeper into the mysteries of the Multiverse.
It's tradition here at Pop Culture Happy Hour to look back on some of our favorite things from the last 12 months of television, movies and music. Today, we're revisiting the pop culture that thrilled us, moved us and kept us company in our best and worst moments.
Spotify Wrapped has become both an annual end-of-year event, and a viral sensation. In 2019 the service starting pairing its year-end listening data with eye-catching and extremely shareable graphics. But, when the algorithm curates so much of our listening experience... are we just creating a perpetual feedback loop?
Marvel's latest TV entry is the series Hawkeye. Jeremy Renner reprises his role as the arrow-slinging Avenger, and the show gives us a glimpse of what the guy gets up to when he's not busy saving the universe. Here, he's just trying to enjoy New York at Christmastime with his kids, but he's forced to team up with Hailee Steinfeld's Kate Bishop — a young, wealthy and headstrong Hawkeye superfan who runs afoul of some Russian gangsters.
For many, It's A Wonderful Life is the quintessential Christmas movie. George Bailey's story is filled with life lessons, the importance of community, and a little kid playing carols on the piano. While it wasn't a box office hit when it first debuted 75 years ago, It's A Wonderful Life has somehow persisted and become a staple of holiday viewing.
The classic musical West Side Story has now been remounted and rethought in a new film directed by Steven Spielberg with a screenplay from Tony Kushner. The new film stars Rachel Zegler as Maria, Ansel Elgort as Tony, and Ariana DeBose as Anita. Rita Moreno, who played Anita in the 1961 film, returns in a new role.
The Beatles: Get Back captures the tumultuous process of writing and recording some of their best-known songs. Directed by Peter Jackson, the mammoth three-part docuseries shows the day-to-day boredom and grind and thrill of life in the studio — plus, lots of goofing around and never-before-seen footage of The Beatles. If you didn't have opinions about Paul McCartney, John Lennon, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr, you surely will after watching The Beatles: Get Back, which is now streaming on Disney Plus.
Season 3 of HBO's Succession had us all — yet again — asking ourselves that perennial question: Why do we love watching this show about terrible, horrible, no-good, and very bad people? We may still not know the answer, but it's been a wild ride with the Roy dynasty nonetheless. The empire has been threatened and is sputtering, while these megalomaniacs continue to do what they do best: look out for themselves.
Amazon Prime's The Wheel of Time series is an adaptation of Robert Jordan's best-selling 14-volume fantasy epic of the same name. It's set in a high-fantasy world of magic and mystery, and it stars Rosamund Pike as Moiraine, a member of the Aes Sedai an elite organization of female mages who are seeking someone called the Dragon Reborn. The twist? There are several possible candidates for the Dragon Reborn title.
NPR's Books We Love is back! Previously known as the Book Concierge, we have a whole new crop of great reads and today, we're highlighting a few NPR staff picks. Whether you want sci-fi or romances, books about politics or literary fiction, you can find exactly what you're looking for, just in time for a chilly winter night.
The new Netflix film The Power of the Dog stars Benedict Cumberbatch and Jesse Plemons as a pair of brothers who run a cattle ranch in Montana in the 1920s. When one brother marries, and brings his new bride (Kirsten Dunst) and her teenage son (Kodi Smit-McPhee) back to live with him at the ranch, the other brother gets jealous and sets out to destroy their happiness. The film is the latest from writer and director Jane Campion, and it's bound to be a big contender come Oscar time.
The Netflix movie tick, tick...BOOM! is the story of composer Jonathan Larson and the musical he wrote a few years before he wrote Rent. The film marks the directorial debut of Lin-Manuel Miranda, and stars Andrew Garfield as Jonathan. It's set in 1990 and takes place over a few days leading up to Jonathan's 30th birthday.
Adele is one of the most successful artists of her generation. Her last two records combined sold more than 25 million copies and both won Album Of The Year at the Grammys. Now, the U.K. pop star has put out her fourth studio album 30, which finds Adele reflecting on her divorce with songs that don't shy away from emotional vulnerability or deep melancholy.
Encanto is the latest animated Disney musical that tells the story of the Madrigal family, whose members are tucked away in the mountains of Colombia. The film is stuffed with characters who wield magical powers and perform lavish musical numbers written by Lin-Manuel Miranda. But for all its magical realism, it's also a fairly simple story about a family whose bonds need healing.
Stephen Sondheim, the most influential composer in modern Broadway history, died on Friday at the age of 91. He wrote music and lyrics for Sweeney Todd, Into The Woods, Sunday In The Park With George, Company, and more. Sondheim won eight Tony Awards, eight Grammy Awards, a Pulitzer Prize for Drama, and the Presidential Medal of Freedom. And along the way, he made work so beloved that it's been produced again and again around the world, and influenced other Broadway composers like Lin Manuel-Miranda and Jonathan Larson.
In this episode of NPR's Book of the Day podcast, we're spotlighting two thrillers. First, astronaut Chris Hadfield talked with former NPR host Lulu Garcia-Navarro about his novel The Apollo Murders, which is set in the 70's around, you guessed it, the Apollo missions. Then, a 2015 interview with NPR's Robert Siegel and author Anthony Horowitz about his James Bond novel Trigger Mortis, and what it's like giving a classic a 21st century twist.
Ridley Scott's House of Gucci is a whole lot of movie. Adam Driver plays the wealthy Mauritzio Gucci, and Lady Gaga plays his wife Patrizia. Al Pacino and Jared Leto play Mauritzio's uncle and cousin, who eventually battle Mauritzio for control of the Gucci empire. It's got fashion, it's got tragedy, and it's got terrible accents.
King Richard is a sports movie about the early days of superstar tennis champions Venus and Serena Williams. But, as its title suggests, the film focuses on their demanding and ambitious father, Richard Williams. Directed by Reinaldo Marcus Green, the movie stars Will Smith as a man who'll do anything to get his daughters from Compton to Wimbledon.
The new Netflix series Cowboy Bebop is a live-action remake of the wildly popular Japanese anime about bounty hunters in a neo-noir future. Stylish and satirical, violent and cynical, the show is a bold mashup of genres – western, crime, science-fiction, buddy comedy, melodrama, thriller, and martial arts. It stars John Cho, Mustafa Shakir, and Daniella Pineda as bounty hunters with dark pasts. But does the series hold up to the original?
Ghostbusters: Afterlife reconnects with the original timeline of the Ghostbusters films from the 80s while introducing a bunch of new characters. Carrie Coon, Mckenna Grace, and Finn Wolfhard play a family who teams up with Paul Rudd to fight a new supernatural threat. The movie is directed by Jason Reitman — son of Ivan Reitman, who directed the first two Ghostbuster films.
There's no good way to share terrible news. Pop Culture Happy Hour panelist and NPR Books editor Petra Mayer died suddenly on Saturday of what is believed to be a pulmonary embolism. We take some time to remember our friend and colleague, and revisit some of our favorite episodes featuring Petra.
Silk Sonic is a new musical showcase for two familiar faces: Bruno Mars and Anderson .Paak. Their soulful collaborations started trickling out this past March, when the duo released the single "Leave The Door Open." Now they've dropped the album An Evening With Silk Sonic, which features classic funk and soul updated for the present day.
If you've always wondered what it would be like to see the world while making espresso martinis for the super-rich, you might already be watching the Below Deck franchise. For the past eight years, the Bravo reality series and its many spinoffs have been showing viewers the world of deckhands and chefs, housekeeping and party planning, as young hot people work on luxury yachts chartered by people who have too much money.
Earlier this month, ABBA released a new album called Voyage. It's the Swedish pop sensation's first set of new material in 40 years. Voyage gives us a perfect excuse to talk about all things ABBA: the massive sales, the jukebox musical Mamma Mia!, the endless hiatus, and — of course — those classic songs.
What has a wisecracking Ryan Reynolds, a glamorous Gal Gadot, a muscled Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson and a very convoluted story about priceless eggs? It's the new Netflix action comedy Red Notice, which combines cars, boats and secret safes with ballroom dancing and a jailbreak — all in the same frame as three big-budget action leads.
When Project Runway launched in 2004, competitive reality shows were in their infancy. Now, they're in their mature pantsuit years, as Project Runway airs its 19th season. Longtime mentor Tim Gunn has been replaced by former winner Christian Siriano, but the sewing machines continue to buzz, and it's still hard to make a dress in a day. In this encore episode we're revisiting our conversation about Project Runway.
In the Netflix melodrama Passing, Tessa Thompson and Ruth Negga play childhood friends who are reunited years later in 1920s Harlem. Both women are Black and fair-skinned, but only one of them has chosen to "pass" — to completely abandon their ties to the Black community and identify as white. The movie premiered at Sundance earlier this year, and marks the directorial debut of actress Rebecca Hall. And it's already gaining some awards season heat.
Netflix's The Harder They Fall is the latest modern take on the movie western, with nods to real-life Black cowboys and cowgirls. In it, an outlaw and his gang seek revenge for a horrific crime committed many years ago. Gunfights and showdowns ensue, of course. The film boasts an impressive cast, including Jonathan Majors, Regina King, Idris Elba, and LaKeith Stanfield. Does this revisionist tale live up to the incredible talent involved?
What if the story of Princess Diana wasn't a fairy tale, but instead a psychological horror movie? That's the premise of Pablo Larraín's intriguing new film Spencer, in which Kristen Stewart plays Diana. Here, Diana is trapped, frightened and sometimes uncertain of reality. It's a different perspective on the figure, but unlike other art about the royals, it has a clear point of view and a reason to revisit this tale.
Eternals, the latest film set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, is a sweeping saga about ten immortal aliens with super-powers. The cast includes Angelina Jolie, Kumail Nanjiani, Salma Hayek, Gemma Chan, Brian Tyree Henry, and Richard Madden. The film is directed by Chloé Zhao, the indie director behind small, intimate films like the Oscar-winning Nomadland. Eternals is unlike anything she's done before, but it's also unlike anything Marvel's done before.
So do you have a slow Saturday afternoon, and need something to watch while folding laundry? Perhaps check out Netflix's heist movie Army of Thieves. It's also a prequel to Zack Snyder's Army of the Dead, and it stars that film's squirrelly German safecracker, Ludwig Dieter, played by Matthias Schweighöfer, who also directed the film. Dieter joins a rag-tag crew of bank robbers that includes Game of Thrones' Nathalie Emmanuel.
Former NFL player Colin Kaepernick has been a prominent activist and a Rorschach test in the culture wars — and he's been widely reconsidered in the aftermath of the George Floyd protests. But he hasn't really gotten to tell his own story until now. He stars in the Netflix series Colin In Black & White, which he co-created with director Ava DuVernay. It's a dramatization of his life as the biracial son of white adoptive parents.
Judy Sheindlin has been one of the highest-paid people in TV for years, churning out episode after episode of Judge Judy. But after years of syndication, Sheindlin has shut down the CBS show and moved over to streaming service IMDB TV to make the almost identical new show, Judy Justice. Despite the new platform, the cases still revolve around dog bites, landlord-tenant conflicts, and people who fail to learn the most important lesson: never put anybody else on your cell phone plan.
Your calendar might say it's November, but among movie buffs, this month is also known as Noirvember. It's a time to settle in and enjoy an old movie that features a washed up detective, a sultry femme fatale, or hardened criminals. And whether you're familiar with the genre or looking for great places to start, we're here to help by recommending a few great noirs.
Last Night in Soho is a psychological horror film about a young, naïve fashion student in London named Eloise, played by Thomasin McKenzie. Eloise is so obsessed with the Swinging London of the 1960s that she begins dream of and (sort of) inhabit the body of a glamorous aspiring singer played by Anya Taylor-Joy. The more this happens, the more the wall separating her dreams and her waking life begins to crumble. The film is directed and co-written by Edgar Wright and features the late Diana Rigg in her final film role.
If you like secret relationships, morning television melodrama, men singing Neil Diamond unexpectedly and a rom-com set against the backdrop of COVID, you're going to love the kooky, uneven and profoundly strange second season of the Apple TV+ series The Morning Show. Reese Witherspoon, Jennifer Aniston, Steve Carell and Billy Crudup still lead the show, whose first season examined the aftermath of a sexual harassment scandal. Now, it's another wild ride, where hair color, allegiances and the year 2020 can all change in the blink of an eye.
Foundation is set in the far future, when humanity has expanded into a vast galactic empire. A mathematician comes forward to announce that he's crunched the numbers — and found that the empire is on the verge of collapse, and humanity is about to enter a 30,000 year dark age. The Apple TV+ series is based on a series of books by Isaac Asimov that was once awarded a Hugo Award for best science-fiction series of all time.
Wes Anderson's The French Dispatch is a love letter to classic French cinema and The New Yorker magazine. Like all of his films, it's highly stylized — this one adopts the format of a magazine. It's an anthology of sorts, featuring three different main stories. The film's actors Bill Murray, Tilda Swinton, Benicio del Toro, Timothée Chalamet, and Jeffrey Wright.
A lot of us are about to have the experience of opening our front doors to find witches, goblins, ghosts, and those guards from Squid Game standing on our porches. Why? Because it's almost Halloween. We decided this would be a good time to talk about what kinds of entertainment scared us when we were kids, and maybe even whether they still scare us now.
Dune is a sweeping epic set way into the future, where various groups are vying for control of a planet's highly coveted substance. Timothée Chalamet plays a duke's son who comes of age and exhibits messianic tendencies. The cast also includes Oscar Isaac, Zendaya, Rebecca Ferguson, and Jason Momoa. Sci-fi fans have been waiting years for director Denis Villeneuve's adaptation of Frank Herbert's novel to arrive, and it's finally arrived in theaters and on HBO Max. But was it worth the wait?
NPR Music has song recommendations for every occasion, from major life events to tidying up the house. As we enter the fall season, it doesn't hurt to spruce up and start afresh with a new playlist. Today, we're recommending three songs to play while dance-cleaning the bathroom.
This fall, a number of auteurs are directing major blockbusters: Cary Joji Fukunaga took on the James Bond movie No Time To Die; Chloe Zhao joins the Marvel Cinematic Universe with Eternals; and Denis Villeneuve hopes to launch a film franchise with Dune. So we thought it would be a good time to revisit our conversation about how auteur directors shape genre films. In this encore episode recorded on stage in Los Angeles, we're talking about auteurs and film franchises — and dream up some great artists taking on unexpected genres.
FX's Impeachment: American Crime Story is less about President Bill Clinton's 1998 impeachment and more about three women who played central roles in the saga, including Linda Tripp and Monica Lewinsky. Lewinsky was a consultant on the series, which examines how a young intern not only began a sexual relationship with the president, but also became the subject of ridicule and even the threat of prosecution. The series stars Beanie Feldstein as Monica Lewinsky, Sarah Paulson as Linda Tripp, and Clive Owen as President Clinton.
When the Netflix thriller series You premiered three years ago, it started a lot of conversations. The show was told largely from the point of view of a charismatic serial killer named Joe, played by Penn Badgley, and it followed his obsession with and stalking of a young woman. Now in its third season, Joe hasn't changed much as a person, even though his circumstances have. He has a wife now, and a baby, although he's hardly living the typical suburban dad life.
It's been more than 20 years since Ben Affleck and Matt Damon wrote their Oscar-winning screenplay Good Will Hunting, but that changes with Ridley Scott's bloody epic The Last Duel. Co-written by Oscar nominee Nicole Holofcener, the film features performances by Damon, Affleck, Adam Driver and Jodie Comer. Together, they play out a tale of anger, vengeance and the fine points of 14th century property ownership.
The Korean drama Squid Game is a worldwide sensation. According to Netflix, it's topped their rankings in more than 90 countries. Written and directed by the filmmaker Hwang Dong-Hyuk, it's a violent and artful horror miniseries, a survival drama, and a commentary on debt and capitalism. With a plot that's both simple and ambitious, the series is fast-paced but character-driven, and unbelievably addictive to watch.
Based on Stephanie Land's memoir, the Netflix series Maid stars Margaret Qualley as a single mom who must learn to survive on public assistance. While the series takes a hard look at the logistics of poverty, it's also a riveting personal story that will keep you guessing until the very end of its tenth episode.
The FX on Hulu drama Y: The Last Man is the latest in a long line of post-apocalyptic narratives of TV, but this one comes with a novel twist: A mysterious event wipes out every mammal on Earth with a Y chromosome, except for two: an aimless would-be escape artist named Yorick, and his companion monkey, Ampersand. In a world overrun by militias and fueled by paranoid conspiracy theories, a beleaguered government attempts to rebuild — and keep certain secrets from getting out.
When Soul Train was first nationally syndicated in October of 1971, there was nothing else like it on TV. It became an iconic Black music and dance show — a party every weekend that anyone could join from their living room. In this episode of It's Been A Minute With Sam Sanders, we break down the lasting influence of Soul Train on our culture, with Hanif Abdurraqib, author of A Little Devil in America.
No Time To Die is Daniel Craig's final outing as James Bond. This time, he's dealing with the skeletons of his past while trying to build himself a future. That future may or may not include Léa Seydoux, who returns as Madeleine Swann — she's nursing a secret involving Rami Malek's Safin, who's a kind of classic Bond villain, factory-installed with a master plan, a secret headquarters and access to a terrible bioweapon. The film is directed by Cary Joji Fukunaga, and add newcomers Lashana Lynch and Ana de Armas to join in on the action.
Venom: Let There Be Carnage is not your standard superhero action flick. With more human-on-goo romance and symbiote-on-symbiote violence, the sequel to 2018's Venom already posted the biggest box-office opening weekend of the pandemic. Tom Hardy returns as reporter Eddie Brock and voices Venom, and he's joined by Michelle Williams, Woody Harrelson, Naomie Harris and Reid Scott in a film that makes up for lack of plot with plenty of action, passion and utter chaos.
Director Antoine Fuqua is no stranger to compromised cops — he famously put Denzel Washington and Ethan Hawke through their paces in Training Day. Now, he's back with The Guilty, a Netflix thriller that stars Jake Gyllenhaal as a suspended police officer temporarily assigned to 911 dispatch. A call comes in from a woman in terrible trouble, and for the rest of the film, we follow his efforts to rescue her without leaving his desk.
Two years ago, Beyoncé unleashed two major projects called Homecoming. On Netflix, a documentary captured the process of putting on headlining appearances at the Coachella Music Festival. She also surprise-released a double-length live album containing just some of the highlights from Beyoncé's Coachella performances. In this encore episode we're revisiting our conversation about Beyoncé's Homecoming.
Star Wars: Visions is a new animated anthology series on Disney+ that brings together seven anime studios to tell nine stand-alone Star Wars stories. There's some recurring elements — Padawans and Masters, Lightsaber duels — but the choice to view the Star Wars universe through an anime lens isn't merely cosmetic. There's a wholly different sensibility at work in the animation, the imagery, and especially, the storytelling.
If you've been waiting for more of Tony Sopranos's universe, you're in luck. The Many Saints Of Newark isn't a sequel but a prequel to the influential HBO series The Sopranos. Co-written by Sopranos creator David Chase, the film examines how the man we knew on television as mafia boss Tony Soprano was made from the kid and then the teenager we see here, portrayed by the late James Gandolfini's son, Michael.
The Sopranos changed television. The HBO series was centered on mobster Tony Soprano — a deeply flawed male antihero played by James Gandolfini. But the thing that really set The Sopranos apart was the fact that Tony was in therapy, a genius touch that granted viewers special access to his inner conflicts. Today, we're taking your questions about the influential series — and delving into how it ended.
The original Scenes From A Marriage was an influential 1973 Swedish miniseries written and directed by Ingmar Bergman. Updated for a modern audience, HBO's remake is written and directed by Hagai Levi, who takes many elements from the original, while making some important shifts. In this version, the five-part limited series stars Oscar Isaac and Jessica Chastain in an intimate story about a dissolving relationship with a constantly shifting dynamic.
The Tony Awards came back last night, after being gone for over two years. It was an unusual ceremony — a mix of performances and award presentations that aired on two different platforms. It was all a coordinated, tuneful effort to lure audiences back to Broadway. And, it was a big night for Moulin Rouge! and The Inheritance.
Isabel Allende and Sandra Cisneros loom large over the literary landscape. In fact, their respective careers have a lot of parallels. They both published their first novels around the same time: Isabel Allende's The House of the Spirits was published in 1982, and Sandra Cisneros published The House on Mango Street in 1983. Today, we're teaming up with our pals at the fantastic Alt.Latino podcast to bring you interviews with both writers.
The stage musical Dear Evan Hansen debuted on Broadway five years ago. It won six Tony Awards, including one for its star, Ben Platt. It's now a movie, and Platt, who's now 27, is back to play Evan, a deeply troubled high school student who tangles himself in a lie. There's still singing, there's still dancing, and there are still a lot of questions to struggle with in this story. Plus, we remember the work of filmmaker Melvin Van Peebles.
In just two short years, Lil Nas X has proven he's much more than "Old Town Road." He's taken a successful novelty song and parlayed it into a budding and influential music career. He's come out as gay and arguably become pop's biggest out star. He's a master of performance art and marketing, and his eponymous debut studio album Montero easily became one of the year's most anticipated projects.
Everybody's Talking About Jamie is a coming-out story with some familiar contours, but it doesn't have your typical splashy musical pedigree. Adapted from a successful West End production, the Amazon Prime film follows Jamie, a teenage boy in England, who's determined to become a drag queen. Max Harwood stars as Jamie, and he's met with barriers and supporters along the way, including Sharon Horgan to the great Richard E. Grant.
Curling up with a good book is a pleasure with which we're all familiar. But when you find just the right narrator to bring characters to life, a novel can be even better. The right voice, or the right cast of voices, has pleasures all its own, beyond the printed page. Today, we're bringing you three favorite fiction audiobook recommendations worth a listen.
It was a really good night for three very popular TV shows, and a groundbreaking night for Netflix. Yes, it was time again for the Emmys, which saw Ted Lasso, Mare of Easttown, and The Crown win big. There were also a few real surprises, genuinely touching moments, and memorable speeches — some memorable for perhaps all the wrong reasons.
The Toronto International Film Festival traditionally helps launch awards season. This year has been a little different, with pandemic restrictions leading to a hybrid remote and in-person festival. After watching a batch of entries from home, we've seen some things you'll want to know about — some of which you might be hearing about for the first time.
The comedy series What We Do In The Shadows imagines what a slacker reality show might look like if all the roommates were vampires. The show is based on a 2014 film of the same name, which was co-directed and co-written Jemaine Clement and Taika Waititi. A new cast of vampires inhabits the FX series, which is now in its third season. On this encore episode we revisit our conversation about the series' first season.
Kacey Musgraves's 2018 album Golden Hour was a huge breakthrough. It's a soft but spangly celebration full of love songs that helped cement Musgraves as both a country star and a pop star. Now, she's released her follow-up. Star-Crossed is a breakup record, written in the aftermath of the singer's divorce. Plus we remember the work of comedian Norm Macdonald, who died at 61.
A strong first season and a huge haul of Emmy nominations gave Ted Lasso all kinds of momentum going into its second run this summer. It's the story of American football coach, Ted Lasso, who gets a job coaching AFC Richmond, an English soccer team. Or, you know, football team. And today we're going all the way to London to catch up with some fresh perspectives on the series.
This week, the police comedy Brooklyn Nine-Nine will end its eight-season run. Starring Andy Samberg and Andre Braugher, among many other gifted comic actors, the show has enjoyed a devoted following and strong reviews. It's also survived shaky ratings and a change in networks, and its last season is airing against a backdrop of more intense conversations around real-life police violence that can't be laughed off or swept aside.
We're here to bring you some of the things we're most interested to check out and talk about this fall. Whether you read it, watch it, or listen to it, we want to make sure you know about it.
In the Netflix animated action-comedy series Q-Force, a rag-tag team of queer spies who've been relegated to working out of a West Hollywood garage finally get their shot at the big leagues. Starring Sean Hayes, Wanda Sykes, Patti Harrison, Laurie Metcalf and many more, Q-Force tackles international terrorism, smuggling, brainwashing and homophobia. There's action, intrigue, suspense, sex, plenty of queer inside jokes and pop-culture references and, yes, stereotypes.
Hulu's fun mystery-comedy series Only Murders in the Building stars Steve Martin, Martin Short and Selena Gomez as a trio of true-crime podcast fans who live in the same ritzy building on New York's Upper West Side. When a mysterious death occurs in their building, they band together to make a true-crime podcast about it. And as their amateur murder investigation goes on, long-buried secrets come to light, the plot gets twistier and and the stakes get higher. Plus, we remember the many iconic roles of actor Michael K. Williams.
On Friday, Drake dropped his long-awaited sixth album: Certified Lover Boy. The album contains 21 songs in 86 minutes, and it's generated conversation around everything from its many guest stars (including Jay-Z, Travis Scott, Future, and Lil Wayne) to its cover art, which features a diverse array of... emoji pregnancies.
The Marvel Cinematic Universe opens a new chapter with the release of Shang-Chi And The Legend Of The Ten Rings. Directed by Destin Daniel Cretton, the movie is ambitiously packed with dizzyingly choreographed battle scenes and complex family dynamics. It's also a compelling origin story for a hero, who is played by Simu Liu. He must battle his superpowered father, played by Tony Leung, to prevent the release of an apocalyptic evil force.
Heading back to school is always a stressful but exciting time of year, whether you're doing it at home or in a classroom full of people. And we are always up to talk about books. Summer reading lists, class syllabi, there's no shortage of pages turned in the average school career. We're here to talk about them in this encore episode all about high school required reading.
In the film Pig, Nicolas Cage plays a once-famous Portland chef who's now a recluse, living in a cabin in the woods with his beloved truffle-hunting pig. When some nefarious types kidnap said pig, Cage comes out of seclusion to hunt down those who did it. It's at once a critique of bougie food culture, a melancholy character study, and a showcase for what Nicolas Cage can do when he's not dialed up to 11.
The Disney+ animated series What If...? mixes and matches major and minor characters and events from the Marvel Cinematic Universe to explore what might have happened if things shook out differently than they did in the films. Many of those films' actors return to voice their animated, alternate universe selves, and there's cameos, Easter eggs and sly references galore. But who's this series for?
The early-2010s sitcom Happy Endings was a show about six best friends in Chicago. Created by David Caspe, the series was sharp, hijinks-filled and altogether fun. The show aired on ABC for three seasons before its cancellation, but it's now available to stream on Hulu, Netflix and HBO Max. Today, we're taking your questions and talking about the glory days of Happy Endings.
Legend has it that if you say "Candyman" in front of a mirror five times, you'll summon the spirit of a terrifying killer with a hook for a hand, who's constantly surrounded by a swarm of bees. That's the premise of the 1992 horror movie Candyman, about a white Chicago grad student who becomes obsessed with an urban myth haunting Black residents of the notorious Cabrini-Green housing projects. Now there's a sequel, directed by Nia DaCosta and co-written with Jordan Peele, that brings back the villain for a modern audience, and it stars Yahya Abdul-Mateen II and Teyonah Parris as a couple living in a now-gentrified Cabrini-Green.
The worlds of science fiction and fantasy can be almost anything — a distant planet, an alternate timeline, a land of magic and mystery, or our own familiar world, just tweaked a bit. Whether you're a longtime science fiction/fantasy reader, just getting your feet wet — or maybe you've stepped away, only to realize how much these genres are changing, in recent years — we've got you covered with some basic background, some things to look for, and some solid recommendations from experts.
It's been 20 years since the untimely passing of Aaliyah in a plane crash when she was just 22. In that time, her influence has been felt everywhere in music and pop culture, even though the bulk of her catalog has been notably inaccessible to fans — until now. Aaliyah's second studio album One In A Million finally became available on Spotify for the first time, and more of her discography will be released in the coming weeks. And today, we're looking back at some of Aaliyah's essential tracks.
In the Netflix show The Chair, Ji-Yoon Kim (played by Sandra Oh) has just become the first woman to chair the English department at the fictional Pembroke University. Ji-Yoon is determined to usher in a new era, but is immediately saddled with unexpected challenges, most notably the tensions between an older, whiter faculty and a younger, multicultural student body.
The new series Reservation Dogs follows four Indigenous teenagers who live in Oklahoma, but are scheming and saving to get to California. It's a loose and dry-witted comedy that has notes of countless teenager hangout stories. And it's made by an entirely Indigenous group of writers, directors, and actors, who bring a level of detail and specificity to these kids and their experience that American television has practically never had.
Lorde became a pop superstar at 16 with her hit single "Royals" — winning two Grammy Awards and following up with her second album, Melodrama. The New Zealand singer's third album Solar Power finds the artist reflecting on stardom, boredom and the aftermath of a youth filled with debauchery. Reunited with Melodrama producer Jack Antonoff, Lorde brings a more subdued sound, positioning her as a worldly 24-year-old who's found peace with herself, while wondering what's next.
The new Netflix series Brand New Cherry Flavor is weird. It starts off pretty straightforward: A student filmmaker played by Rosa Salazar heads to Hollywood, hoping to direct her first feature, and gets screwed over by a sleazy producer. But when she enlists a witch played by the fabulous Catherine Keener to place a curse on that producer, things get creepy. And slimy. And bloody. And trippy. And kinda funny. It's not for everyone — but is it for you?
In the Netflix film Beckett, John David Washington plays an American tourist who gets in way over his head in an action thriller that skips over the mountains and through the streets of Greece.
Great songs often come around more than once. They're re-interpreted, reimagined, reconsidered. In fact, sometimes cover versions bring out new qualities even in songs we think we know well. Today we bring you an encore episode all about cover songs.
The family film CODA tells the story of Ruby, a high school senior who wants to leave home to study music, but doesn't know how to separate herself from her family. Her parents and her brother are deaf, and she's spent years as their interpreter and a key employee on the family fishing boat. CODA cleaned up at the Sundance Film Festival in January, winning the Grand Jury Prize as well as the Audience Award, and it was bought by Apple in a record-breaking deal.
There has never been anybody like Aretha Franklin. A legendary singer, an activist, a pianist, Franklin is the subject of the new film Respect. She's played by Oscar winner Jennifer Hudson. Directed by Liesl Tommy, Respect is focused on Franklin's childhood and the first 10 years or so of her career. It spends much of its energy on her relationships with men, especially her father, played by Forest Whitaker, and her first husband, played by Marlon Wayans.
The Apple TV+ musical comedy series Schmigadoon! stars Keegan-Michael Key and Cecily Strong as a couple that stumbles on a small village. But it's not just any village — it's a village out of 1940s musicals. The people sing and dance, and the original music sounds very reminiscent of everything from Oklahoma to The Music Man to Seven Brides for Seven Brothers. And how can this couple escape? By finding true love, of course.
Sometimes you want someone to tell you a story. Sometimes, you want it to be a true story. Today, we're bringing you three nonfiction audiobook recommendations, from memoirs to deep histories of special places.
When the ambitious musical Annette opened the Cannes Film Festival earlier this summer, all anyone seemed to be talking about was a certain scene involving its stars Adam Driver and Marion Cotillard, singing a ballad during an intimate moment. But there's a whole lot more than that going on in Annette, which is directed by Leos Carax. It's a contemporary rock opera! About a famous comedian and his famous opera singer wife! And their daughter is played by a puppet!
A resort should be relaxing. But the HBO series The White Lotus, which takes place at a resort of the same name, is instead uncomfortable, even painful. Boasting a cast that includes Connie Britton, Jennifer Coolidge, and Natasha Rothwell, the show is about the way self-involved rich guests interact with a staff that has no choice but to tolerate them.
The Suicide Squad is about a team of super-villains do black-ops missions for the government in exchange for lighter sentences. It brings back several characters, including Margot Robbie's Harley Quinn and Viola Davis' Amanda Waller, and adds a slew more, played by people like John Cena and Idris Elba. The tone is a lot jokier, the violence more visceral — literally — and the stakes are higher, thanks to a giant alien starfish bent on world domination.
The Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics are taking place in a swirl of controversies, some chronic and some acute. COVID, mental health, support for athletes with disabilities, racism, doping, and sexual violence have all become intertwined with this year's games. At the same time, the competition has, as always, provided moments to be excited for athletes, impressed by the skills they've spent so much time building, and thrilled for their successes.
Billie Eilish's first album, When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?, was a sensation in 2019 — it swept the major categories at the Grammys and established the singer as a huge pop star. Eilish is back with a follow-up called Happier Than Ever. It's a quieter, subtler collection that examines the singer's relationships, reputation, and place in the world.
Back in 1971, Richard Nixon was president, the Beatles were newly broken up. But also, a new network called National Public Radio broadcast for the first time. In honor of the anniversary of NPR's first broadcast, this special edition of What's Making Us Happy This Week offers recommendations from 50 years ago.
The Green Knight is a lushly epic fantasy film full of striking visuals and strangely moody adventures. Directed and written by David Lowery, the film stars Dev Patel as King Arthur's nephew Gawain, who sets off on a quest to earn a knighthood. Along the way, he attempts to resist giving into various temptations, including the temptation to turn back and live out a comfortable life.
What do you get when you take one part The African Queen, one part Raiders of the Lost Ark, two parts Pirates of the Caribbean, a pinch of the Fast and Furious series, and every Disney movie trope ever? You've got Jungle Cruise. Emily Blunt and Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson team up to play a researcher and a riverboat skipper on a quest to track down a highly coveted object in the Amazon. But of course, they must face some adversaries along the way, including a scenery-chewing villain played by Jesse Plemons.
Shrek is many things: a pop culture canvas, an Academy Award winner and a recent entry into the National Film Registry. And it all started with the story of a crabby green ogre who just wants a bunch of fairy tale characters to stay out of his swamp. Today, Shrek has spawned a multibillion-dollar franchise, become a cultural milestone and above all, remained relevant — even 20 years later.
The young adult genre features protagonists who are often still figuring things out about the world and themselves. Today, we're teaming up with Life Kit to bring you recommendations and criteria to look for as you wade into the inviting, but turbulent waters of young adult fiction.
The very funny mockumentary series Wellington Paranormal follows a pair of New Zealand police officers as they investigate strange occurrences in and around that nation's capital city. It's technically a spinoff of the 2014 film What We Do In The Shadows from Jemaine Clement and Taika Waititi. It shares the film's bone-dry, deadpan mix of horror and humor. But what sets Wellington Paranormal apart is how seamlessly it channels that sensibility into the very familiar format of the TV show COPS.
We're having a summer of carefully and safely going out into the world again. And what happens when you go out into the world is that more things tend to happen to you. The good and the bad, the amazing and the mortifying. In this encore episode, we share some of our favorite — and most embarrassing — summer stories.
The psychological horror thriller Old comes with the kind of twist we've come to expect from writer-director M. Night Shyamalan. That twist is right there in the title: A bunch of tourists find themselves trapped on a secluded beach where they all age at an alarming rate.
On Netflix's new dating competition show Sexy Beasts, contestants go on blind dates where everyone involved is wearing Oscar-worthy prosthetic makeup. It begs the question: are people so desperate to find a mate that they would do so on TV, and without knowing whether their date is hot or not? According to Sexy Beasts, the answer is a resounding yes.
What would life as a sitcom wife really be like? That's the premise of the AMC series Kevin Can Fk Himself. Annie Murphy plays a woman who exists in a sitcom when she's with her husband, but lives in a moody drama whenever he's not around.
Naomi Osaka is one of the best tennis players in the world. She's a four-time Grand Slam singles champion, and she's about to represent Japan in the Olympics. And in a new Netflix documentary series, directed by Garrett Bradley, it's clear that these pressures and others have taken a toll on the 23-year-old. What you see in these three episodes also sheds light on her recent decision to withdraw from Wimbledon to prioritize her mental health.
Boy bands have been a staple of pop music for generations. They've won over millions of fans and provided gateways to fandom and pop-cultural obsession. From New Edition and New Kids On The Block in the '80s to BTS today — with a whole lot of acts like *NSYNC and The Backstreet Boys in the middle — there've been countless boy bands to choose from. Today we're offering up a brief modern history of boy bands.
Twenty-five years ago, the movie Space Jam paired Bugs Bunny and Michael Jordan. Now, Space Jam: A New Legacy brings together Bugs Bunny and LeBron James. It's now in theaters and streaming on HBO Max.
In 2018, Blindspotting was one of the buzziest movies to come out of the Sundance Film Festival. Now, it's has been spun off into a series on Starz, offering a fresh and more expansive take on the movie's themes around incarceration and race. Jasmine Cephas Jones plays Ashely. She had a supporting role in the film, but now she is story's central focus. And there's a colorful cast of new characters and musical set-pieces to boot.
For more than 13 years, Britney Spears has been under a conservatorship. Her assets and career have been kept under the control of her father, Jamie Spears, as well as an attorney. A movement called #FreeBritney has pushed for that conservatorship to be lifted — and Spears herself recently gave a speech in court asking for autonomy over her own life. Today, another court hearing will help determine where she stands. So we're breaking down everything you need to know about Britney Spears' conservatorship.
This year's Emmy Award nominations brought some expected triumphs (Ted Lasso, The Queen's Gambit)and welcomed surprises (WandaVision, Pose). The Crown and The Mandalorian tied for the most nominations for a drama, and Saturday Night Live earned the most nominations for a comedy. HBO and HBO Max came away with the most nominations for a network. We recap this year's nominations: the highlights, the shockers, the snubs and the headscratchers.
Two years ago, the first season of the Netflix sketch comedy series I Think You Should Leave introduced viewers to Tim Robinson's distinctive comic voice: It's male, it's often loud, and it varies in tone from belligerent to outraged to defensive to performatively wounded. But because Robinson and his fellow comedians are so good at exposing the deep wells of insecurity and vulnerability beneath that bluff, masculine, angry-doofus surface, the show is also hilarious. Now it's back for a second season.
When Scarlett Johansson started playing Natasha Romanoff, she was the only female Avenger. And despite multiple appearances in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Black Widow never got her own movie. That changes with the release of Black Widow, which looks back on a previously unexplored part of the character's history.
Every summer gets its own unique soundtrack — a fresh batch of hit songs, all vying for an unofficial title: Song Of The Summer. Often these songs are on the wind, everywhere, dominating not just the airwaves, but also the cultural conversation. And sometimes, a song of the summer is just a great new music discovery. So we gathered together a bunch of NPR Music contributors and asked them to name their Song Of The Summer.
It might sound like fun to date a glamorous movie star, but in reality, it would probably get very messy. That's the premise of HBO Max's Starstruck, created by and starring New Zealand comedian Rose Matafeo. Over six episodes, the romantic comedy series is complicated, funny and charming — treating fame as the isolating pain in the neck it often can be.
The immersive HBO series Betty follows an eclectic bunch of young women skateboarders navigating adulthood while fostering community within a bro-dominated environment. Based on Crystal Moselle's 2018 film Skate Kitchen, the show returned for a second season, and we think it's worth a look if you haven't checked it out.
The Pop Culture Happy Hour team is off today, so we thought you might like to check out the latest episode of New Music Friday from the All Songs Considered podcast. It highlights the biggest album releases of the week, across many genres, and it's full of music by big stars and new discoveries. Hosted by Robin Hilton, it's a great way to get caught up on the week in music — and maybe even find your new favorite band.
In the summer of 1969, hundreds of thousands of fans flooded Harlem's Mount Morris Park to attend the Harlem Cultural Festival, which hosted the likes of Stevie Wonder, Nina Simone, Mahalia Jackson, and Sly And The Family Stone. Now, some of that footage is unearthed in a new documentary, directed by Questlove from The Roots, titled Summer of Soul (...Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised).
It's summer time after a long stretch indoors, and many of us are returning to the world outside, including amusement parks. We thought it was a good time to bring you an encore episode about our favorite amusement park experiences: the rides, the attractions, the deep-fried snacks and the rigged games of chance.
Over the years, Hollywood has built movie narratives out of unusual source material, but the dark comedy Zola is one of the first to originate via Twitter. The Sundance hit was inspired by A'Ziah 'Zola' King's series of viral tweets in 2015, detailing her first-person account of a truly bizarre road trip involving exotic dancers, a pimp and a hapless boyfriend. Director Janicza Bravo and her co-writer Jeremy O. Harris have inventively translated much of that thread onto the screen, and it features crackling performances from Taylour Paige, Riley Keough and Colman Domingo.
In the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Tom Hiddleston's Loki has faced off against Thor and the other Avengers. And now in the new series Loki on Disney+, he gets roped into working with the MCU's time cops, the Time Variance Authority. Alongside TVA agent Mobius, played by Owen Wilson, Loki hunts down another Loki variant (played by Sophia di Martino) seeking to overthrow the TVA. Along the way, it's developing into something the superhero genre usually doesn't have time for — an honest-to-the-gods character study.
In 2001, The Fast and the Furious debuted as a scruffy car-culture movie, and it was a hit. it was followed by two sequels that didn't quite satisfy, so they regrouped. Since then, it's become the blockbuster machine some love, some hate, some love to hate, and some hate to love. When you do this much business for this many years, it's hard not to have an impact.
What better way to kick off a summer of movies than with F9, the ninth installment of the main Fast & Furious franchise. Directed by Justin Lin, and starring Vin Diesel, Michelle Rodriguez, and the rest of the beloved Fast family, the movie's got cars, it's got bad guys, and it's even got John Cena. And in case you're wondering whether there's anywhere to boldly go where no one has gone before, there sure is. Join our very own Glen Weldon for a virtual launch party to discuss the new book NPR's Podcast Startup Guide on Tuesday, June 29th at 8 p.m. ET, 5 p.m. PT. RSVP now at podstartup.nprpresents.org.
In the new Apple TV+ series Physical, Rose Byrne plays a woman whose early '80s journey from miserable wife to powerhouse businesswoman goes directly through the fitness industry. Created by Annie Weisman, who used to write for Desperate Housewives, the show centers around Sheila Rubin, who despite being very beautiful, has a profoundly miserable relationship with her body, from bulimic behavior to an unrelentingly abusive interior monologue.
You have to love a love story: the meeting, the flirting, the falling, the struggling, and ultimately, the happily ever after. Maybe you're an experienced romance reader, or maybe you're just getting your feet wet. Either way, it's always good to get some recommendations, some basic background, and a few things to look for when you choose love stories for yourself.
The Peacock series We Are Lady Parts is a bold, bracing and very funny comedy series about an up-and-coming London punk band called Lady Parts, and the young, awkward and extremely anxious microbiology PhD student who reluctantly becomes their lead guitarist. The members of Lady Parts, and its manager, are all young Muslim women, from various racial and ethnic backgrounds.
The animated series Tuca & Bertie stars two best friends in the classic odd couple tradition: Tiffany Haddish voices free-spirited Tuca and Ali Wong plays anxious Bertie. That setup may sound familiar, but the setting isn't: Tuca and Bertie are birds, and they live in a surreal world pulsing with color, drugs and plant-people. When it debuted back in 2019, Tuca & Bertie developed a rabid fanbase, but Netflix canceled it after one season. Now, it's found a new home on Adult Swim.
Luca, the latest movie from Disney and Pixar, whisks us across the globe and into a fictional coastal Italian town in the 1950s. There, the titular young hero and his new friend Alberto get into adventures and dream of buying their very own Vespa. But, there's a catch: In a quite literal take on the fish-out-of-water story, Luca and Alberto are humans on land and — unbeknownst to the rest of the townspeople — sea monsters when wet. Hijinks ensue as they attempt to keep their identities a secret from their new friends and foes.
It's good to be a star. In the world of the comedy Friends, that meant being Rachel or Ross, Monica or Chandler, Phoebe or Joey. But it takes more than just stars to make a hit.
The recent Friends reunion on HBO Max set off a new wave of nostalgia. So we put the most important question to you: Who's the best friend? Who's the worst friend? Thousands of you voted, and the results are in.
If you're thinking about taking a road trip, you're gonna need road-trip music. You might need a pick-me-up, or a distraction, or something for when you need a break from podcasts. So if you're headed out on the road soon, we're here to help.
The Netflix series Sweet Tooth is a strange mix. It's a dystopian tale of societal collapse in the wake of a deadly virus and the rise of human-animal hybrids. It's also a warm, humane, lushly shot fable of hope and humanity. Which is to say, it is itself a kind of strange hybrid — think The Road meets Paddington 2; The Walking Dead meets Pushing Daisies.
Before Hamilton made him a household name, Lin-Manuel Miranda wrote the music and lyrics for the musical In The Heights. The Broadway production won four Tony Awards, including Best Musical. The film adaptation, directed by Jon M. Chu, stars Anthony Ramos as Usnavi. He hopes to return to the Dominican Republic, where he can live out the dream of his late parents. In fact, just about everyone in this story has big dreams and mountains to climb.
The 2013 horror film The Conjuring made more than $300 million and spawned a blockbuster cinematic universe. The main Conjuring movies center on the heavily fictionalized accounts of two real-life demon-hunters, played by Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga, who solve paranormal mysteries. In the new, third film in the series, The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It, our heroes try to figure out what compelled a young man to brutally kill his landlord.
After 20 seasons, multiple marriages, babies and scandals, Keeping Up With the Kardashians is finally coming to a close. The E! reality series is leaving behind quite a legacy (or wreckage) in its wake. It's the end of a reality-TV era, but whatever your tolerance for the brand, the Kardashians won't be disappearing from American culture any time soon.
The new Hulu movie Plan B is about best friends Sunny and Lupe (played by Kuhoo Verma and Victoria Moroles), who go on an emergency road trip. They're not on the run from criminals or some terrible misunderstanding. They're trying to get to a Planned Parenthood office to get a morning-after pill for Sunny. The girls have a long night of crazy adventures and heartfelt conversations. Directed by Natalie Morales, the film is a really good mix of silly and honest and unexpected.
Bo Burnham's new Netflix special Inside is not stand-up comedy. It's one-man isolation theater, shot in one enclosed space and bursting with musical performances and video sendups of genres from sad-dude acoustic guitar songs to '80s synth pop. Filmed over more than a year of pandemic disruption, it's whimsical, biting, empathetic and full of earworms.
Movie theaters are opening, and new TV shows and music are on the horizon. We've got you covered on what's coming this summer to entertain you.
On the HBO Max series Hacks, the great Jean Smart plays a legendary stand-up comic whose longtime Las Vegas residency is threatened by a casino owner looking for some fresh blood. Hannah Einbinder plays a promising young comedy writer who's fallen on hard times. Grudgingly, the two women start working together, arguing incessantly. But somewhere in among the barbs they're always trading, something like mutual respect begins to emerge.
When Pose burst onto the scene in 2018, there had never been anything quite like it before: Here was a scripted TV series on a major network centering trans and queer black and brown people, and the New York City ballroom culture they cultivated in the 1980s and '90s. Now, after three seasons, it's time to say goodbye to the beloved Pose family.
A Quiet Place told the story of a world overrun by monsters who kill anything that makes a sound. Starring Emily Blunt and the film's director John Krasinski, it was a blockbuster in 2018. Now, after a long delay, A Quiet Place Part II is finally hitting theaters, and picking up where the last movie left off.
Patti Harrison is known for bringing her absurd, caustic, yet charming comedy to supporting roles on shows like Search Party, Broad City and Shrill. But now she's in a starring role in the romantic comedy Together Together. In it, Harrison plays a young single woman who agrees to be a gestational surrogate for a single man in his 40s, played by Ed Helms. It's Been A Minute host Sam Sanders talks to Patti about what it was like to play a role different from everything she's done before, why Together Together is even billed as a rom-com, and the quandary of representation as a trans woman.
One of the biggest, baddest and certainly most stylish of Disney villains is getting an origin story. In the new film Cruella, Emma Stone plays young Estella, an orphan on the streets of London in the 1970s. She's a thief with an eye for fashion, whose life fatefully intertwines with imperious fashion designer the Baroness, played with icy hauteur by Emma Thompson.
Last year, the South Korean pop group BTS topped the U.S. charts with the blockbuster earworm "Dynamite." Now, they've got a new hit, called "Butter." But the story of K-pop extends well beyond BTS. And it goes back decades with a huge array of styles and sounds.
For the last four years over at NPR Music, Stephen Thompson has compiled a ranking of the best and worst musical guests from the latest season of Saturday Night Live. Season 46 just wrapped up with Lil Nas X, who joins the ranks of this season's best performances, which includes Megan Thee Stallion, Justin Bieber, Bruce Springsteen, Miley Cyrus and many others.
The Netflix show Master Of Nonehas finally returned following a four-year hiatus. This time around the focus is on Lena Waithe's character Denise and her partner (played by Naomi Ackie) as they wrestle with their relationship and trying to conceive. Noticeably absent on screen for most of the season is Aziz Ansari's Dev, the central character of the first two seasons. The result is an installment that feels less like a narrative continuation of the series and more like a spin-off. But is this standalone season worth your time?
When this year began, Olivia Rodrigo hadn't even released a single as a recording artist. But by mid-January, she was setting streaming records and sitting atop the Billboard Hot 100. "Drivers License" was an instant sensation and one of this year's biggest songs. And now, Olivia Rodrigo has her first full-length album, called Sour.
Zack Snyder's Army of the Dead is a zombie heist film that follows a team of mercenaries led by Dave Bautista. This rag-tag bunch faces wave after wave of zombies in an abandoned, cordoned-off Las Vegas as they attempt to steal millions of dollars from a casino swarming with the undead.
In the HBO series Mare of Easttown, Kate Winslet plays a detective in a small town just outside of Philadelphia. Her character Mare is conducting a murder investigation, and there's a missing girl who may or may not be connected to that case. Meanwhile, Mare's family is falling apart on the heels of a recent tragedy. Plus, there's the accents — we'll talk about the accents.
Eighteen seasons of Top Chef, and we still get a thrill every time we hear "hands up, utensils down." The show has traveled to classic food cities like New York, Los Angeles and Chicago, but this season, Top Chef filmed within a COVID-19 bubble in Portland, Oregon. Controversial winners, heartbreaking losses, food that looks good enough to eat and the foolishness of even attempting risotto — they've all been backbones of the Top Chef franchise over its many, many years.
In Netflix's adaptation of The Woman In The Window, Amy Adams plays a psychologist named Anna, who is agoraphobic and entirely confined to her house. A family moves in across the street and she meets a couple of them, but then she sees something potentially dreadful. The police are skeptical, and even Anna isn't confident of her grasp on reality. Originally scheduled to be released in 2019, the long-awaited, claustrophobic film has remnants of past female-led thrillers such as Gone Girl and The Girl On The Train.
The new Amazon series The Underground Railroad is the latest project from Barry Jenkins, who directed Moonlight and If Beale Street Could Talk. It's the story of Cora, a runaway slave in the antebellum South, who escapes a vicious Georgia plantation and sets off on a journey toward freedom aboard the mysterious and entirely literal underground railroad. It's many contradictory things at once: lyrical yet brutal, luminous yet horrifying.
The new movie Those Who Wish Me Dead is a lot of things at once. It's the story of a smokejumper, played by Angelina Jolie, who battles terrifying forest fires. It's the story of a young kid chased by killers. And it's the story of a pregnant woman forced to defend herself. The film is directed by Taylor Sheridan, who wrote 2016's Hell Or High Water, and is now streaming on HBO Max.
In the grand tradition of movies like This is Spinal Tap and Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping, the new Peacock series Girls5eva is a silly parody of the music industry. In it, four down-on-their-luck members of a fictional late-90s girl group reunite to stage a comeback 20 years later, and find that the music industry has changed a lot since then. The show features a stacked cast of musical and comedic talent, including Sara Bareilles, Renee Elise Goldsberry, Busy Philipps, and Paula Pell. And the music's pretty catchy, too. Take our survey at NPR.org/SpringSurvey
Sometimes, we dive deep into a new piece of pop culture to grapple with its themes, its relevance and its meaning. But sometimes, you just want us to recommend stuff to watch, read or play. Today, we're recommending three great video games you can pick up and play on the Nintendo Switch and other consoles.
Fran Fine was working at a bridal shop in Flushing, Queens, and now she's on HBO Max. The Nanny, starring Fran Drescher as Fran Fine, nanny to the wealthy Sheffield family, originally ran from 1993 to 1999. More than 20 years after it ended, the show has made it to a major streaming service: HBO Max. And what that means is that a comedy that spent years a little under the radar has roared back into the public conversation.
Selena Quintanilla was known as the "Queen Of Tejano Music," a major Latin star who was crossing over into the mainstream U.S. pop world when she was shot and killed in 1995. She was 23 years old. Her story spawned a 1997 movie starring Jennifer Lopez, as well as an 18-episode series streaming now on Netflix called Selena: The Series. Maria Garcia, the host and creator of the Anything For Selena podcast, joins us to talk about the legacy of Selena, who would have turned 50 years old this year.
In the new animated film The Mitchells Vs. The Machines, a family road trip turns into a wild adventure and a battle against an actual robot uprising. And while some of the themes are familiar, the inventive execution and the high energy make it one of the summer's first real crowd-pleasers.
The Peacock sitcom Rutherford Falls, which follows a conflict over a historical statue in a small town, is notable for a few reasons, besides its timely topic. It's the latest project from Mike Schur and it marks Ed Helms' return to TV. But it also centers several Native American characters (played by Jana Schmieding and Michael Greyeyes), boasts what NBCUniversal claims is "one of the largest Indigenous writer's rooms on television," and is led by co-creator Sierra Teller Ornelas, who is the first Native American showrunner of a television comedy.
The 2021 Turner Classic Movies Film Festival is taking place in your local living room. Beginning this Thursday, a special lineup of curated programming will be airing on TCM and streaming on HBO Max. Today, we highlight some of the films and extras you should be sure to check out.
Today is May the 4th, also known as Star Wars Day. The first Star Wars film spawned many sequels, TV series, videogames and a multi-billion dollar merchandise industry. So we thought it would be a good time to revisit our conversation about movie merchandise. In this encore episode, we talk about everything from Jar Jar Binks lollipops and E.T. dolls to Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle cereal, and more.
Shadow and Bone is the latest Netflix fantasy series based on a successful set of novels. There's a lot to take in — at least six main characters, people who can wield wind and shadow and light, a Chosen One who is prophesied to defeat a great wall of darkness, and charming rogues who are out for themselves. That may sound familiar, but there's enough here that's novel to make this series worth your consideration.
Michael B. Jordan has played a range of characters, from sympathetic figures like Wallace on The Wire, to an underdog in Creed and a swaggering antagonist in Black Panther. But Without Remorse marks a new era for Jordan as an action star. Based on Tom Clancy's best-selling 1993 novel of the same name, Without Remorse serves as the origin story for John Clark, an ex-Navy SEAL turned CIA operative.
If you want an example of the TV cop whose supposed integrity is maintained in spite of procedural, ethical, and moral lapses, consider Elliot Stabler. For 12 seasons of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, Elliot raged and threatened and caught bad guys, and he still got to be drawn as the good guy. In Law & Order: Organized Crime, Stabler is battling a wealthy shadowy criminal, and also recovering from a personal tragedy that's left him more angry than ever.
Netflix's Stowaway stars Toni Collette, Daniel Dae Kim and Anna Kendrick as a three-person crew on a mission to Mars. When they discover a fourth person aboard, played by Shamier Anderson, his unexpected presence places them all in jeopardy. Absent of sinister aliens, there's plenty of calculus (both mathematical and moral) as the crew tries to puzzle their way out of their rapidly worsening situation.
The Mortal Kombat franchise began in 1992 with an arcade fighting game featuring grisly pixelated deaths. It spawned many sequels and spinoffs, comics, television shows and films. The latest entry, a film called Mortal Kombat, introduces Cole Young, played by Lewis Tan, who is tapped to save the Earthrealm with classic character like Liu Kang, Sonya Blade and Jax.
We are wrapping up this year's Oscars. It was a big night for Nomadland, which took best picture, best actress for Frances McDormand, and a historic best director win for Chloé Zhao. But there were also huge upsets, most notably in best actor, where Anthony Hopkins won over Chadwick Boseman. And the telecast took some big risks that didn't always pay off.
There are always two big questions as we approach the Oscars: Who will win, and who should win. We're diving into both, so you can win your Oscar pool and see some fine movies at the same time.
What do Will Ferrell and Leslie Odom, Jr. have in common? They both play a part in the Academy Awards' Best Original Song category. This year's five nominated songs are stacked with star power and grand themes of fighting for justice, as well as a sweeping power ballad about mountains singing "through the screams of seagulls."
Wolves, aliens and the afterlife all show up in this year's Oscar-nominated animated features. From stop-motion to hand-drawn art, these five films exhibit and celebrate different styles of animation and storytelling. Disney and Pixar appear, but the category also showcases films a little farther off the beaten path, proving that animated features are a lot more than cute cartoons.
Corruption, loneliness, family, activism, and the adventures that take place in the ocean. The Oscar-nominated documentary features are about all these things, but not just these things. These films are shot in black and white and vivid underwater colors. Some trace long histories and some closely examine particular inflection points in time. And you can stream all the films on Netflix, Hulu, or Amazon.
This year's Oscar nominees for best international feature film tackle a variety of issues, from school bullying to mass slaughter, from government corruption to alcohol abuse — one nominee even grapples with the nature and purpose of art itself. But even though these films reveal some darker truths about the human condition, they each manage to do so with a vivid sense of style and a deep sense of empathy that's as enlivening as it is enlightening.
Twenty years ago, Legally Blonde opened in theaters, and now it's available on Netflix. Reese Witherspoon plays a first-year law student named Elle Woods. She heads to Harvard Law School to win back Warner, who broke up with her for not being serious enough. But she learned that she was cut out for the courtroom, and she changed what it means to be a "serious" woman.
The HBO Max series Made For Love follows Hazel (played by Cristin Milioti), whose husband wants to get inside her head — literally. He's a tech genius who's already made both of them recluses, but he's now working on a chip that, once implanted in her brain, will allow him to know and see everything she does.
NPR Music has song recommendations for every occasion, from major life events to moments when all you want to do is stare blankly into the middle distance. Right now, so many of us feel stuck in a holding pattern, as we wait for our lives to resume. Maybe we're passing time until our vaccinations kick in, or maybe we're daydreaming about the possibility of safe summer travel. Today, we're recommending three songs to help cope with pent-up, restless boredom.
Queen Sugar is a sprawling melodrama following the Bordelons, a tight-knit, multi-generational black family in rural Louisiana. Created by Ava DuVernay, the series has been politically topical from the beginning, and its fifth season is timelier than ever, dealing with the coronavirus pandemic and the death of George Floyd.
Viola Davis' name is rarely far from awards season chatter, and this year is no different — the highly decorated performer received her fourth Oscar nomination for her role in Ma Rainey's Black Bottom, and could become the first Black woman to nab two acting Oscars. As awards season kicks off, Pop Culture Happy Hour revisits great performers and a few of their essential performances. Today, we're spotlighting Viola Davis, from her first Oscar-nominated role in Doubt to her standing as a powerful force of nature in Hollywood.
The Great Pottery Throw Down is one of the gentlest, kindest and warmest competitive reality shows you will ever see (even when things literally explode). The UK series is now streaming on HBO Max. The dishes, the bowls, the handles, the crying — it's all right there to help you relax at the end of even the longest day. Plus, we take a moment to remember rapper DMX, who died today at 50.
In the Netflix movie Bad Trip, Eric Andre and Lil Rel Howery play best friends who take a road trip from Florida to New York City. The twist in Bad Trip is that each scene is also an elaborate prank, blending fiction and reality - with the mayhem taking place as real unsuspecting strangers look on.
Over the course of her long, varied and distinguished career, actor Frances McDormand has won two Oscars - and her performance in Nomadland this year could win her a third. Pop Culture Happy Hour explores some of the great work she's done.
Chadwick Boseman is nominated for an Oscar this year for his performance in Ma Rainey's Black Bottom. It's his final onscreen role — he died of colon cancer in August. Before that, Boseman played historical figures including Thurgood Marshall, Jackie Robinson and James Brown. And of course, he joined the Marvel Cinematic Universe as Black Panther. And today we're talking about some of those essential performances.
In The Father, Anthony Hopkins plays a character whose fierce independence is complicated by his worsening dementia. Olivia Colman plays his daughter Anne, who keeps trying to hire carers to help look after him. But the structure of the film is more complicated than that, as director Florian Zeller finds ways to keep viewers guessing. The Father is nominated for six Academy Awards, including Best Actor, Best Supporting Actress and Best Picture.
When we asked our listeners to tell us which Muppets were their favorites, we knew you'd all come through. More than 6,000 people cast over 18,000 votes, and those votes have been tallied. This is the PCHH audience's definitive ranking of the best Muppets.
When The Muppet Show arrived on Disney Plus in February, it got us talking: who are our favorite Muppets? And which Muppet do we most identify with? Today, we're discussing all things Muppets and finding out where we fit in Jim Henson's felt universe.
Godzilla Vs. Kong is a collision of two classic film franchises. As the sequel to 2017's Kong: Skull Island and 2019's Godzilla: King Of The Monsters, the film's excessive plot largely serves as window dressing for a heightened epic battle. However, its action-packed story also neglects to properly acknowledge the complicated layers of these two cinematic monsters.
As the Marvel Cinematic Universe continues its march across Disney Plus, it needs a buddy show, specifically The Falcon And The Winter Soldier. Both old allies of Captain America, the two find themselves up against villains, a therapist and sometimes each other.
There's no wrong time to talk about an influential Hollywood classic. So that's why we are talking about Die Hard. We will never get tired of Hans Gruber versus John McClane — Alan Rickman versus Bruce Willis — the real clash of the titans. So that's why we are bringing you this encore episode.
Legendary children's author Beverly Cleary died last week at the age of 104. Cleary wrote more than 40 books over about 50 years. Her characters, like Ramona Quimby and Henry Huggins, entertained kids for decades. So we decided to talk about some of Cleary's essential books.
Sound Of Metal tells the story of a heavy-metal drummer, played by Riz Ahmed, who experiences sudden hearing loss that changes every facet of his life. The film is nominated for six Academy Awards - including Best Picture, Best Actor and Best Supporting Actor.
If you're looking for the next show to binge, we've got a great suggestion for you. The animated sitcom King Of The Hill ran on FOX from 1997 to 2010, and all 13 seasons are now streaming on Hulu. The show, created by Mike Judge and Greg Daniels pokes gentle fun at its characters without mocking them.
For a year, many of us have found ourselves planted at home, with a lot more time on our hands for movies and television. Maybe you've already finished the umpteenth binge-watch of your favorite show, or you're just in a very different headspace than you were a few months ago. Today, we're teaming up with the hosts of the Movie Therapy podcast to help a few listeners out with some personal recommendations.
Every year, NPR brings together some of the best books of the year in a searchable, explorable guide called the Book Concierge. Today, All Things Considered host Ari Shapiro gives us his recommendations for your next book club.
It's been more than a year since live concerts were a safe way to experience music. We miss the roar of a blissed-out crowd and experiencing art at the moment of its creation. Therefore, it feels like a good time to talk about some of our favorite concert films from Beyoncé, Lady Gaga, Bruce Springsteen, and Aretha Franklin.
The 2017 film Justice League had a famously rocky road to the big screen and premiered to polarized reactions. Following an extended online campaign by Zack Snyder's hardcore fanbase, the director has gone back and recreated his original vision for the film, now called Zack Snyder's Justice League.
Raya And The Last Dragon is an animated Disney movie without musical numbers, without romantic intrigue and with a largely Asian cast. It's about the pursuit of peace, the need for trust and a young warrior who assembles a ragtag team of misfit heroes to save the world.
Steven Yeun's filmography reveals a remarkably varied career. From his breakout role as Glenn Rhee in The Walking Dead to his work with directors like Bong Joon-ho and Boots Riley, Yeun can easily jump between playing enigmatic cosmopolitan characters and endearing supportive boyfriend characters. As awards season kicks off, Pop Culture Happy Hour revisits great performers and a few of their essential performances. Today, we're spotlighting Yeun, whose role in Minari makes him the first Asian-American nominee for a lead actor Oscar.
The Oscar nominations are out, and in the lead is Mank. The David Fincher-directed film about the writing of Citizen Kane picked up the most nominations with 10, while other films including Nomadland, The Trial of the Chicago 7, Minari, and Judas and the Black Messiah performed well, too. We'll get into what surprised us and what disappointed us. And this year, more than ever, you can check out the eligible movies from the comfort of your own home.
After a six week delay due to COVID-19, we did finally have a Grammys ceremony, hosted by Trevor Noah, with loads of socially distanced performances and big wins for Beyoncé, Taylor Swift, Megan Thee Stallion, and Billie Eilish.
RuPaul's Drag Race began in 2009 as a raggedy spoof of reality competition shows, with hilariously low-rent production values on Logo. After 13 seasons and a move to VH1, it has transformed and distilled the once-underground and defiantly transgressive culture of drag into a formula perfectly suited to mainstream viewing.
For over twenty years, PBS has ensured that one of the hottest places in American television is your attic. And if you want to know what all that old stuff is worth, you can take yourself right to the people at Antiques Roadshow. Sometimes, you'll find that you're sitting on buried treasure--and sometimes, you won't. In this encore episode, we revisit our discussion of Antiques Roadshow.
Netflix's Ginny & Georgia follows a young single mom, her teenage daughter, and their efforts to create a life for themselves in the suburbs of Massachusetts. It's got high school standbys like new friendships and first sexual experiences, but it's also got adult soap standbys like secret pasts and shady figures. To say it has a lot going on is a wild understatement.
Delroy Lindo is one of those performers you probably recognize as "that dude." Even if he's only on screen for a few scenes, he tends to stand out. He gave one of last year's most critically acclaimed onscreen performances as a troubled Vietnam war vet in Spike Lee's Da Five Bloods. As awards season ramps up, we revisit some of Delroy Lindo's essential performances.
After nine episodes, several battles, big reveals and a lot of different hairstyles, WandaVision has come to an end on Disney Plus. What happened to Wanda, what happened to Vision, and is it really safe to say it was Agatha all along? We've got a lot to talk about. (Warning: this episode contains spoilers.)
Coming To America was a huge hit when it was released in 1988, eventually grossing well over $100 million at the box office. It captured Eddie Murphy at the peak of his career, helped catapult Arsenio Hall into a new level of stardom, and has since inspired countless homages. Now, 33 years later, the sequel Coming 2 America has arrived on Amazon Prime, reuniting most of the original cast and adding some new faces. Can Prince Akeem and friends recapture the magic of the original?
Very few actors will ever put together a run like Regina King. Among other things, she's won four Emmys in the last 10 years - all for different roles. She won an Oscar for her role in If Beale Street Could Talk, and this year, she might win an Oscar nomination for her directorial debut, One Night In Miami. As awards season kicks off, Pop Culture Happy Hour revisits great performers and a few of their essential performances, and there isn't a better place to start than with Regina King.
If you dig into the archives of any streaming service, you're gonna find loads of documentaries — tales of true crime, plucky dreamers, obsessive eccentrics, or just about any other subject you could name. We figured this would be a good time to recommend a few of our favorites from the last few years that we think you'll love.
The United States v. Billie Holiday is the latest dramatization of the singer's tumultuous personal life. Directed by Lee Daniels and starring Andra Day, it focuses on the government surveillance Billie Holiday endured for her drug addiction and her song "Strange Fruit."
This year's Golden Globes ceremony took place under a cloud, following fresh reporting on accusations that the Hollywood Foreign Press Association is too small, too secretive, and not remotely diverse enough. Still, even during the pandemic, a hybrid part-live, part-remote telecast went on. It honored actors like Chadwick Boseman, Jason Sudeikis and Catherine O'Hara, films including Nomadland and Borat Subsequent Moviefilm, and television projects like The Crown and The Queen's Gambit. And it even managed a couple of genuinely memorable moments.
Written and directed by Lee Isaac Chung, Minari follows a Korean-American family who moves to Arkansas in the 1980s to follow their father's dream of becoming a farmer. The grind of trying to make the farm a success strains the parents' marriage and often confounds the kids, but it's a story about the choices families make and the ways they stay together.
There are many versions of Cinderella, but few are as beloved as Disney's production of the Rodgers & Hammerstein musical, starring Brandy as the titular character and Whitney Houston as her fairy godmother.
In the new Netflix comedy-thriller I Care A Lot, Rosamund Pike plays a slick grifter named Marla who tricks her way into becoming the legal guardian of elderly people, then drains their bank accounts. It's a well-oiled scheme, until she chooses a woman with a dangerous background as her new target.
Every year, NPR brings together some of the best books of the year in a searchable, explorable guide called the Book Concierge. Today, we're talking about some of the best nonfiction picks that show up in this year's guide.
It's A Sin chronicles the AIDS epidemic as experienced by a group of friends in London in the early 1980s. They come from different backgrounds, and deal with the dawning realization that a virus is ravaging their community in different ways. None of them will get through it unchanged, and some of them won't get through it at all.
The new film Nomadland is about a woman named Fern who's lost her husband, her home and her entire community: a company town that collapsed when the company did. She's played by Frances McDormand, and in Chloé Zhao's film, she falls into a new community of people who live on the road, out of vans and RVs.
In 2018, To All The Boys I've Loved Before was a breakout hit for Netflix. Based on Jenny Han's novel, it followed Lara Jean Covey through the adventure of falling in love with one Peter Kavinsky. A sequel followed in 2020 and now, it's time for the finale, which finds Lara Jean and Peter dealing with the complication of graduating and heading off to college.
On Shark Tank, a group of wealthy investors like Mark Cuban and "Queen of QVC" Lori Greiner listen to pitches from people who have invented something. Might be an app, might be a toy, might be a belt that can hold a beer can. Then the investors decide whether to invest in the business, and they negotiate with the entrepreneur — sometimes competing with each other to get the deal. In this encore episode, we revisit our conversation about the hit ABC show.
In Supernova, Colin Firth and Stanley Tucci play a gay couple coming to terms with the fact that Tucci's character is experiencing early onset dementia. They take one last trip together around the British Lake District and try to enjoy these moments together, even though their shared knowledge of what's to come exposes their fears and secrets.
A special bonus episode from NPR's It's Been A Minute With Sam Sanders. Desus Nice and The Kid Mero went from calling up "anyone in their phone book" in the early days of their podcast Bodega Boys, to booking big names in politics like Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and President Barack Obama on Desus & Mero, their late-night show airing on Showtime.
Fred Hampton, the charismatic chairman of the Black Panther Party's Illinois chapter, was just 21 years old when he was killed during a police raid in 1969. In Judas And The Black Messiah, he's given the cinematic treatment via a stirring performance by Daniel Kaluuya. The new film directed by Shaka King focuses on Hampton's activism and how it made him the target of the federal government. The Judas in this story is the FBI informant who played a crucial role in Hampton's death: William O'Neal, portrayed deftly by LaKeith Stanfield.
Every year, NPR brings together some of the best books in a searchable, explorable guide called the Book Concierge. It can help you find exactly the read you're looking for. Today we're talking about some of the best books for music lovers that show up in this year's guide.
For six seasons, the NBC comedy Superstore has told the story of a fictional big-box store in St. Louis. Until the last handful of episodes, the show starred America Ferrera, and found humor in serious topics like income inequality, health insurance, unionization, and corporate greed. Its final season is airing now, with storylines about COVID-19 and racial justice. Superstore is also a big, broad, goodhearted workplace comedy in the spirit of The Office, full of wacky oddballs and slow-burning romantic intrigue.
Television production changed practically overnight when COVID-19 began to spread in the United States in March 2020. One corner of TV that's carried on is the late-night talk show. There have been no live audiences — and in some cases, no studios in use — but projects like Showtime's Desus & Mero have carried on nonetheless. Comedian and writer/producer Josh Gondelman sits down to talk about creating a talk show remotely during a pandemic.
It has been a truly bizarre NFL season, as the pandemic threatened players' health and compelled teams to play in empty or near-empty stadiums all season long. But it all ended in familiar fashion: with Tom Brady winning a Super Bowl championship, this time with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers defeating the Kansas City Chiefs. We couldn't have a Super Bowl party this year, but we did gather around our TVs to watch the game, the halftime show with The Weeknd, and lots of commercials. Plus, we take a moment to remember actor Christopher Plummer.
After production of HBO's Euphoria was shut down in March 2020, creator Sam Levinson turned to the show's star Zendaya and filmed Malcolm & Marie. The sleek Netflix feature follows a couple who spends a turbulent evening dissecting every contour of their fraught relationship. John David Washington and Zendaya play the troubled pair who spiral into madness as this intense, dialogue-heavy film goes on.
One of the most anticipated moments of any year in movies is the Sundance Film Festival. This is not a year for gathering in crowds, so the Sundance Film Festival in 2021 went virtual. More than 70 feature films, including both narrative films and documentaries, were at Sundance this year. Today we round up some highlights, including two big winners, CODA and Summer Of Soul.
Reality television has long had a fascination with some factions of the extremely rich. Bling Empire shifts the focus a little bit, to a group of Asian-Americans in and around Los Angeles. Executive produced by Jeff Jenkins, who also worked on Keeping Up with the Kardashians, Bling Empire definitely shares a lot of that DNA while asking where the show falls on the scale of Asian-American representation.
The actress Cicely Tyson died last week at the age of 96. Over a career that spanned seven decades, she brought grace, grit and gravitas to any role she played. She'd just released a memoir, Just As I Am, and had been making the rounds, doing a slew of interviews in which her intelligence, wisdom and dignity shone through. Today we're looking back at a few favorite performances by Cicely Tyson and what set them apart.
The off-Broadway show In & Of Itself, performed by Derek DelGaudio, was a one-man show, a magic act and a piece of interactive theater. The show is now available on Hulu and it showcases a series of storytelling vignettes that are punctuated by different illusions. One has card magic, a couple have interactions with the audience, but the focus is really on identity.
Lupin is a smart and twisty French series that's new to Netflix. It's about a young Parisian man named Assane, played by Omar Sy, who molds his life on classic French tales about a fictional gentleman thief and master of disguise named Arsène Lupin.
The writer and veterinarian James Herriot wrote a series of beloved books about his adventures as a vet in Yorkshire beginning in the 1930s. They were adapted with great success into a series called All Creatures Great And Small, which ran on the BBC and PBS. Now, there's a new take airing on PBS with a whole new cast.
The film Almost Famous recently turned 20. Writer and director Cameron Crowe looks at the ecosystem surrounding a rising rock band in the early '70s. Starring Patrick Fugit, Kate Hudson, Billy Crudup, Frances McDormand, and so many more, it's a coming-of-age story that touches on journalism, sex, rock and roll, parenthood, and the perils of trying to be cool.
In the dark comedy Search Party, four narcissistic millennials become amateur sleuths following the disappearance of a former classmate. Alia Shawkat plays Dory, the ringleader whose growing obsession with solving the mystery eventually entwines them all in a murder investigation. The fourth season has found new ways to dial up the absurdity while bringing in new guest stars like Busy Phillips and Susan Sarandon.
Every year, NPR brings together some of the best books of the year in a searchable, explorable guide called the Book Concierge. Today, we're highlighting three great 2020 books about families from year's guide.
Disney Plus has big plans for the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and the first show to arrive from its slate of Phase Four projects is WandaVision. Wanda's got magic powers, Vision's a synthetic android and together, they're trapped in a series of simulations of comedies from decades past. However, slowly but surely, the superhero world you know and love begins to creep back in.
In Locked Down — a movie to be filmed and released during the pandemic — Chiwetel Ejiofor and Anne Hathaway play a couple sheltering in London together. The film takes them on an adventure that might not have been possible in normal circumstances, answering the question: What do bored and frustrated people do during a pandemic?
When The Karate Kid ended with a crane kick in 1984, it seemed like it was all over. But then came sequels. Then came a remake. And now we have Cobra Kai, a surprisingly good series that catches up with the film's hero Daniel and villain Johnny many years later. In this encore episode, we revisit our conversation about Cobra Kai fromback in 2018 when it premiered on YouTube Red. The show just dropped its third season earlier this month Netflix.
Promising Young Woman is a revenge thriller, and a dark comedy, and a few other things, too. It stars Carey Mulligan as a woman who spends her evenings in bars being picked up by men who misunderstand who they're dealing with. Directed by Emerald Fennell, the film has been billed as a #MeToo tale, but its perspective feels timeless, and there are surprises each step of the way.
Regina King has won an Oscar and a collection of Emmys as an actor. Now, she's making her debut as a feature film director with One Night In Miami. The film imagines what might have happened in a real night in 1964 when Malcolm X, Sam Cooke and Jim Brown hung out with Cassius Clay. The men talk about success, celebrity, responsibility and history.
Every year, NPR brings together some of the best books of the year in a searchable, explorable guide called the Book Concierge. Today, we're highlighting books about the United States from this year's guide.
Despite its preponderance of bustles and bonnets, the Apple TV+ series Dickinson is not some fusty old biopic. It casts Hailee Steinfeld as a young Emily Dickinson: a feminist free-thinker and iconoclast, chafing against the rigid social and sexual mores of her time.
The cheerleading film Bring It On recently turned 20. It spawned direct-to-video sequels and a Broadway musical. And with an all-star cast of Kirsten Dunst, Eliza Dushku, and Gabrielle Union, the movie remains a quotable classic. But a lot has happened in the past 20 years that might make it feel very timely, or very dated.
Sylvie's Love follows a relationship that blossoms in the late 1950s between a spirited young woman who loves television and a gifted saxophone player. Written and directed by Eugene Ashe, Sylvie's Love has all the swoon and the style of old Hollywood but this time, it places a Black couple at its center.
We spent a lot of time watching movies in 2020. Plenty of our favorites ended up on this show, but with release schedules scrambled and publicity scattered, there are still things that manage to slip through the cracks. Today we are recommending a few of the films we really think you should see.
In 1995, critics howled and self-appointed guardians of good taste were horrified at the release of Showgirls. Directed by Paul Verhoeven with a screenplay by Joe Eszterhas, the NC-17 film was a notorious flop at the time but is now considered a camp classic and a window into a moment of moral panic.
What if you took Gossip Girl and set it in Regency-era London, where members of the aristocracy plot to find love, sex and spouses? You'd have Bridgerton. Created by Chris Van Dusen, Bridgerton is the first project to emerge from Shonda Rhimes' production company under a lucrative Netflix deal.
The game show Card Sharks has lived many lives: It's been on NBC, on CBS, in syndication, and now it's on ABC, in prime time, hosted by Joel McHale. The game seems simple — you're guessing whether a card will be higher or lower than the one before it. But it's also complicated. And now, in its latest iteration, there's big money involved.
Every year, NPR brings together some of the best books of the year in a searchable, explorable guide called the Book Concierge. Today we're talking about some of the love stories that show up in this year's guide.
It's the end of 2020 and the beginning of 2021, as much as it seemed like we might never get here. That means we're looking back, and we're looking ahead. What did we resolve to do in 2020, did we accomplish them and what do we want to do in the year ahead? We've still got goals, plans and the willingness to look back at our ambitious plans and wonder what in the world happened to all of them.
To say we could not have predicted the course of 2020 is a ridiculous understatement. But nevertheless, we press on. We'll check in on last year's predictions, while turning our eyes to the future to try and figure out what the next year will bring, even when that seems nearly impossible.
The 2017 movie Coco is about a Mexican boy named Miguel who has an adventure on Día de los Muertos, a holiday dedicated to remembering the dead. He finds himself in the Land of the Dead, where he learns about the importance of memory and how we tell the stories of our families. In this encore episode, we revisit our conversation about the excellent Disney-Pixar film.
In Disney and Pixar's Soul, a jazz musician voiced by Jamie Foxx falls down a manhole and finds himself teetering between life and the afterlife. He winds up on a New York adventure with a wandering soul, voiced by Tina Fey, who needs help getting ready to be reborn on Earth.
Wonder Woman 1984 arrives as one of the biggest films yet to stream at home at the same time it hits theaters. Like its successful predecessor, 2017's Wonder Woman, it's directed by Patty Jenkins and stars Gal Gadot as our heroine. Chris Pine is back as Steve Trevor, and new cast members include Kristen Wiig and Pedro Pascal.
The new George Clooney movie The Midnight Sky takes place in two very lonely, post-apocalyptic settings: the Arctic, and outer space. Clooney plays a scientist at an Arctic research station who tries to tell the crew of a NASA mission that Earth is no longer any kind of a place to return to.
Director Christopher Nolan's latest film, Tenet, is a riff on spy movies — featuring globe-trotting CIA agents, Russian arms dealers and big set pieces — but with a decidedly Nolan-esque time-travel twist. Is it brilliant blockbuster filmmaking or an emotionally empty miss?
At the end of the year, we like to look back on some of our favorite things from the last 12 months of pop culture. We revisit some of the TV, film and music that helped us make it through.
The excellent new film Ma Rainey's Black Bottom is a story about art. It's a story about anger, and it's a story about respect. Directed by George C. Wolfe and adapted from August Wilson's play, the film is inspired by the life of real blues singer Ma Rainey, and includes performances from Viola Davis, Glynn Turman, and the late Chadwick Boseman.
A tense courtroom, an intimate house party, a stifling police academy. These are just a few of the environments depicted in Small Axe, the ambitious anthology film series from director Steve McQueen. The result is a collection of poignant stories buoyed by excellent performances from stars like John Boyega and Letitia Wright; as well as searing imagery, and a scene that could arguably be called the best movie moment of the year.
A woman wakes up after a night of partying and realizes something is very, very wrong. That's the premise of the HBO Max series The Flight Attendant. It's a taut, darkly funny thriller starring Kaley Cuoco as a woman in search of some answers about the present that also might shed light on the past.
On Friday, Dec. 11, just four and a half months after she released the heavily Grammy-nominated Folklore, Taylor Swift released her ninth album, Evermore. Swift describes Evermore as a "sister" album to Folklore, and once again, she's crafting moody and autumnal folk songs with Aaron Dessner of The National, Jack Antonoff and Bon Iver.
Every year, NPR brings together some of the best books in a searchable, explorable guide called the Book Concierge. It can help you find exactly the read you're looking for. Today we're talking about some of the best realistic fiction picks that show up in this year's guide.
Based on a sudsy, splashy 2018 Broadway musical, The Prom has been adapted for Netflix with big stars like Meryl Streep, Nicole Kidman, Keegan Michael-Key and James Corden. But will the theater-people in-jokes land in your living room the way they did on Broadway?
Singer and rapper Bad Bunny started releasing songs on SoundCloud in 2016. He has released three albums in 2020 and his latest, El Último Tour Del Mundo, is the first entirely Spanish-language record ever to hit No. 1 on the Billboard albums chart. On Spotify, Bad Bunny is the most-streamed artist of 2020.
Peacock has made a reboot of Saved By The Bell, which aired Saturday mornings from 1989 to 1993. With a mix of the old cast — including Mario Lopez as Slater and Elizabeth Berkley as Jessie — and new students at Bayside High, the show walks a fine line between earnestness and self-parody. You can support NPR by donating to your local member station at donate.npr.org/happy
In 1990, a young woman with a big voice and equally big hair stepped onto the pop scene with her self-titled debut album, Mariah Carey. Thirty years later, she's as omnipresent as ever, thanks to a perennial holiday hit, a devoted fanbase, and recent memoir The Meaning Of Mariah Carey. What is it about Mimi that's made her one of our most enduring pop stars?
Being stalked by a tormentor you can't see is scary enough on its own. But the film The Invisible Man suggests that the worst part might just be the fact that no one would believe you. In writer and director Leigh Whannell's new adaptation of the classic H.G. Wells novel, Elisabeth Moss plays Cecilia, a woman who finally escapes an abusive partner. But soon, she senses that he's everywhere, following her.
Tom Holland and Chris Pratt have already worked together as pals of the Avengers. And now they provide the voices of two elves in the latest film from Disney and Pixar, Onward. These two elves are brothers, and they go on a classic quest to find a magic jewel. They just need a van, a map, and their mom.
The Netflix plan to take over television has extended to dating shows for a while. But perhaps they've never made one so weird, so baffling, so cringe-inducingly embarrassing for everyone involved as Love Is Blind. And you probably know someone who's watching it. In this series they insist on calling an experiment, couples sit in separate cells that they call pods, where they can hear each other but not see each other. And once they've had a conversation or two, if they're getting along, they get engaged. And only then do they meet. Will any of them make it to the altar?
Portrait Of A Lady On Fire begins with a woman named Marianne assigned to paint a woman named Heloise. It's the second half of the 18th century, and the portrait is the best way to present Heloise to a man who might marry her. In writer and director Céline Sciamma's film, it's relationships between women that are at the center of the story — a story about art, sex and navigating limited choices.
The new movie Sonic the Hedgehog is about this hedgehog — who runs fast. Ben Schwartz voices the Hedgehog, Jim Carrey is the evil Dr. Robotnik, and James Marsden is also in there somewhere.
In 2018, Netflix had a big hit with its adaptation of Jenny Han's YA novel To All The Boys I've Loved Before, a high-school rom-com with a big heart. Stars Lana Condor and Noah Centineo are now back in the sequel To All The Boys: P.S. I Still Love You. Before you check that one out, we wanted to revisit our conversation about the first film. (This episode originally aired on September 5, 2018.)
Margot Robbie played Harley Quinn in Suicide Squad in 2016. Now, she's back in Birds of Prey. It finds Harley crossing paths with characters played by Jurnee Smollett-Bell, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Rosie Perez, and a very bad villain played by Ewan McGregor. The film provides the backstory for the team that will become the Birds of Prey, and it develops the character of Harley beyond her relationship with the Joker.
We are wrapping up the 92nd Academy Awards. Parasite took home the Oscar for best picture--the first time a film not in the English language has one the prize. Parasite also took home awards for best director, international feature, and original screenplay. Acting awards went to Brad Pitt, Laura Dern, Joaquin Phoenix, and Renee Zellweger.
The Oscars are Sunday night, and while some of the races have clear front-runners, plenty still seem to be up in the air. As always, we're ready to help you put together your watch list, and prepare for your Oscar pool by giving you some of our own guesses.
On Sunday night, the Kansas City Chiefs came from behind to beat the San Francisco 49ers 31-20 in Super Bowl LIV. But of course there was more than football — there was also an exuberant, hip-shaking halftime show from Jennifer Lopez and Shakira.
In 1995, while Will Smith was on The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air and Martin Lawrence was on Martin, the two teamed up for the cop buddy movie Bad Boys. They reunited in 2003 for Bad Boys II, and now, almost 17 years later, they're back in Bad Boys For Life. Bad Boys For Life comes to theaters in a very different atmosphere around policing than existed in 1995. And the cops in the film have changed, too: There are still car chases and guns and bad guys, but there are also grandkids and deteriorating vision, and there's even Vanessa Hudgens.
We've just gotten done watching the 62nd Grammy Awards. Billie Eilish swept the night's four biggest categories and won five Grammys overall. But two major news events cast shadows over the ceremony: the death of NBA legend Kobe Bryant, and a scandal inside the Recording Academy which includes allegations of vote rigging and sexual misconduct.
Competitive cheerleading is on a pop culture roll. Netflix recently dropped the documentary series Cheer, about a highly successful Texas squad. And USA is midway through the series Dare Me. Based on Megan Abbott's book of the same name, Dare Me is a moody thriller about a charismatic cheer coach and the best friends who are at odds over her influence.
Cars that are going very fast have been cinema staples for decades. In the Oscar best picture nominee Ford v Ferrari, we find out a little about what it can take to make them go that fast. Starring Matt Damon and Christian Bale, the film indeed tells the tale of an epic battle of Ford versus Ferrari in the 24 Hours of Le Mans race in 1966.
From 2004 to 2009, the Showtime TV drama The L Word examined the lives of a group of queer women in L.A. The show was uneven, but it also marked an important milestone for queer representation on television. Now, the series has a sequel called The L Word: Generation Q. It's moved to a different L.A. neighborhood, it's added a diverse cast of new young stars, and it catches us up on the lives of Bette, Alice, and Shane, among others.
The war epic 1917 startled a lot of awards watchers Sunday night when it won the Golden Globe for best dramatic film. That's in part because it's just now going into wide release. 1917 is directed by Sam Mendes and follows two young World War I soldiers who are sent on a dangerous mission to deliver a crucial message. And just to increase the level of difficulty a little, the whole movie is crafted to look like one continuous shot.
We've just gotten done watching the Golden Globes. In TV, Succession, Fleabag, and Chernobyl won multiple awards. As for the movies, big winners included 1917, Once Upon A Time In Hollywood, Joaquin Phoenix, Renée Zellweger, Awkwafina, and Taron Egerton. We saw big speeches, a few surprises, and lifetime achievement prizes for Ellen DeGeneres and Tom Hanks.
Created by Marta Kauffman and David Crane, Friends was little more than a bunch of pals who hung out, dated and broke up with each other and a variety of guest stars, and had unrealistically large apartments. But 25 years later, it's still popular in endless reruns and on Netflix.
It's New Year's Day, so it's time to make some resolutions for 2020. We'll talk about what we want to change, how we hope to improve our lives, and what we plan to do. We'll also check in on last year's resolutions just to keep ourselves honest. We'll also make some predictions for the new year, and we'll undertake the often painful job of seeing whether we got anything right 12 months ago when we did the same thing.
Greta Gerwig was nominated for an Oscar for directing 2017's Lady Bird. She's following it up with an adaptation of Little Women that features two of her Lady Bird stars, Saoirse Ronan and Timothée Chalamet. Ronan plays Jo, the free-spirited March sister. She's joined by Emma Watson, Florence Pugh, and Eliza Scanlen, Laura Dern and Meryl Streep. Gerwig also wrote the script, which makes some changes to the story and the structure of Louisa May Alcott's book.
What has ears, tails, Andrew Lloyd Webber music, and the Idris Elba/Taylor Swift duet you've been waiting for all your life? That's right, it's Cats, the new film adaptation of the musical that became a surprise smash in the 1980's. The movie directed by Tom Hooper, who also made the Les Miserables adaptation that won Anne Hathaway an Oscar. Cats wrestles with how to present a variety of cat characters, dance numbers, and even a drug-induced catnap.
It's time to say goodbye to a story that began in 1977 with a movie then known as Star Wars. Nine films later, this branch of the saga concludes with Star Wars: The Rise Of Skywalker. In this chapter, director J.J. Abrams attempts the almost impossible by trying to bring all this in for a landing. Scavenger Rey, her friends Finn and Poe, and the mysterious Kylo Ren are all back for one last lap, and so are brief glimpses of many faces from movies past.
We loved a lot of things in 2019. And now, as the year comes to a close, it's time to give you just a taste of some of our favorite things of the year. We've got movies, music, television, and theater. (Support your local station at donate.npr.org/happy)
The Mandalorian is the highest profile and most expensive original series to debut on the Disney+ streaming service. Set in the Star Wars universe soon after the fall of the Galactic Empire, it follows a be-helmeted, be-armored bounty hunter played by Pedro Pascal. He goes rogue to protect the most memeable thing to hit the Star Wars universe since Han shot first.
What's the opposite of a love story? It might be the new Noah Baumbach film Marriage Story, starring Adam Driver and Scarlett Johansson as a couple we meet when they're just starting their divorce. For the next two hours, we watch them argue and negotiate over how to separate and how to co-parent their young son. Marriage Story also stars Laura Dern and Ray Liotta as aggressive divorce lawyers and Alan Alda as a gentler hand who tries to give less combative representation. Baumbach both wrote and directed the film, which is now streaming on Netflix. And the film recently picked up six Golden Globe nominations.
The movies and the mob have made a winning combination for decades. The Godfather, Goodfellas, The Departed — and that's on top of television projects like The Sopranos. Now, Oscar-winning director Martin Scorsese brings you The Irishman, and he's put together quite a cast. Robert DeNiro plays a hit man, Joe Pesci is his boss, Al Pacino is Jimmy Hoffa, and that's before you even get to Harvey Keitel, Bobby Cannavale, Ray Romano and others. In a sign of some of the changes shaking up the industry, The Irishman comes to you via Netflix, and is available to stream now. (Donate to a local station at donate.npr.org/happy)
Who can possibly play Fred Rogers? That's a question that the new film A Beautiful Day In The Neighborhoodtries to answer with a performance from Tom Hanks as the beloved TV host. In the movie a journalist played by Matthew Rhys has a transformative experience with Rogers that reshapes his relationship with his troubled father. A Beautiful Day In The Neighborhoodis directed by Marielle Heller, who most recently made the Melissa McCarthy film Can You Ever Forgive Me? It uses unconventional techniques to place the journalist's story within Rogers' land of make believe.
Whodunit? Was it Jamie Lee Curtis? Chris Evans? Michael Shannon? Don Johnson? Toni Collette? This is the question at the center of the marvelous new comedy Knives Out. The film is directed and written by Rian Johnson, of films like Looper and Brick as well as Star Wars: The Last Jedi. The stellar cast goes on and on to include Ana de Armas, Daniel Craig, LaKeith Stanfield, and, playing the man in the whodunit to whom it was done, Christopher Plummer.
Summer is turning to fall where we are, and that means it's time for a couch, a blanket, and a book. Fiction and nonfiction, essays and memoirs, we've got some ideas for things you can read this fall. And we're bringing in a couple of our favorite book lovers to help us out.
In the new Todd Phillips film Joker, Joaquin Phoenix plays Arthur Fleck, an aspiring comic. Neglected by the world and beaten down everywhere he turns, Fleck does what any discouraged clown would do: he becomes a menace.
The Netflix series Unbelievable brings together a group of actresses including Kaitlyn Dever, Toni Collette, Merritt Wever, Dale Dickey and Danielle MacDonald. It's based on a true story about a young woman named Marie who was sexually assaulted and pressured by the police into recanting her story. Based on reporting from ProPublica and the Marshall Project, the series follows Marie, but also the two detectives who, much later, gave her case a chance to be solved.
In our fall movie preview, we will cover the ones we're excited about, the ones you'll be hearing more about, and the ones that might be picking up awards in a few months. Whether you like comedies or dramas, and whether you like to see your films in a theater or in the comfort of your own home, we're here to give you the scoop.
It was a huge night for Fleabag and a coronation for Game Of Thrones, and there were a few surprises and big moments along the way. The awards got spread out quite a bit this year, including a historic acting win for Billy Porter, several awards for The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel and Ozark.
If you thought the end of the series Downton Abbey would be the end of the Crawley family's adventures, a new film has arrived to prove you wrong. The movie continues the story of this very wealthy group and their loyal staff. The large cast is reunited, from sharp-tongued dowagers to scheming butlers. And this time, the King and Queen are coming for a visit.
Donna Tartt's 2013 book The Goldfinch won a Pulitzer Prize for its story of a boy whose mother dies in a bombing. It's an epic tale of grief, abandonment, friendship, drugs, and a stolen painting of a goldfinch. Now, The Goldfinch has been adapted into a movie starring Ansel Elgort, Oakes Fegley, Nicole Kidman, Luke Wilson, Jeffrey Wright, Finn Wolfhard and Sarah Paulsen.
The animated show Steven Universe has told the story of a human-alien hybrid boy and the race of alien women called Gems who've helped raise him on Earth. The show has told lighthearted stories of life in the fictional Beach City — and headed to space for a more epic saga about a group of intergalactic leaders, a past rebellion, and a plot to destroy the world. Creator Rebecca Sugar has said that there will be more episodes, but for now, Steven Universe: The Movie has just premiered on the Cartoon Network.
The 2017 movie It was a massive blockbuster, and became the highest-grossing R-rated horror film of all time. Adapting the Stephen King novel of the same name, it tells the story of seven misfit kids in the late 1980s, and a supernatural being that preys on children in a small town in Maine. The sequel revisits the kids 27 years later — they're now played by the likes of Jessica Chastain, James McAvoy, and Bill Hader.
Just about every week, we talk about what we're watching or reading or listening to right now. Today, we're doing something different. We're going back 20 years to talk about some of the movies of 1999, including Drop Dead Gorgeous, Office Space, and The Talented Mr. Ripley. We'll talk about what holds up, what looks really different, and what we miss the most.
We just spent three hours watching the 2019 MTV Video Music Awards, which are never really about awards so much as moments: big performances and the memes and soundbites we may or may not remember for years to come. This year's show brought lots of Taylor Swift, and Missy Elliott, not to mention Lizzo, Normani, Lil Nas X, Rosalía and more.
The panel discusses Netflix's new wrestling comedy GLOW with NPR's Code Switch Kat Chow. (This episode originally aired on June 23, 2017.)
In Maria Semple's novel Where'd You Go, Bernadette, Bernadette Fox is a wife and mother who mysteriously vanishes from her ordinary life in the middle of a personal crisis. Her daughter is left to piece together what happened. The new film adaptation is directed by Richard Linklater and stars Cate Blanchett as Bernadette.
Back in 2004, Veronica Mars was a high school student working for her private-eye father on the side. After three seasons on the air and a crowdfunded movie in 2014, Veronica is back. Now an adult and still a detective, Veronica tackles a fresh mystery in a set of new episodes available on Hulu. She still works with her father, she's still in love with reformed bad boy Logan Echolls, and she still has a one-liner for nearly every occasion.
The new film Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw stars Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson and Jason Statham. The two play their characters from the Fast & Furious franchise, spun off into a fresh adventure. They race a mechanically enhanced super soldier played by Idris Elba to recover a deadly virus before it can melt the entire population of the planet into a series of small puddles.
In The Farewell, Akwafina plays Billi, a young woman whose beloved grandmother back in China is diagnosed with lung cancer. The family decides not to tell the grandmother that she's got only months to live — a decision that Billi strongly disagrees with. The Farewell was written and directed by Lulu Wang based on a piece she did on This American Life.
Once Upon A Time In... Hollywood is writer-director Quentin Tarantino's ninth film. It stars Leonardo DiCaprio as a fading western actor named Rick Dalton and Brad Pitt as his loyal stuntman Cliff Booth. It's set in the changing Hollywood of 1969, and in many ways, it's a breezy romp through studio backlots and makeup trailers — but hanging over every frame is the threat of violence, in the form of a very real historical tragedy — the brutal Manson family murders in the Hollywood Hills. It's glossy L.A. nostalgia laced with grisly violence — it's peak Tarantino, but does it work?
For the last few years, Disney has been turning its beloved animated films into live-action revamps . But this revamp isn't live-action — even though it looks like it is. The digital animation is ridiculously advanced, bringing Simba, Mufasa, Scar, Nala, Timon and Pumbaa to eerie, ultra-realistic life. The voice cast is full of ringers — Chiwetel Ejiofor, John Oliver, Billy Eichner, Seth Rogen, Donald Glover and Beyoncé. But do the changes they make to the story — and the songs — improve on the original?
What has music, neon signs, classic cars, and Vegas gangsters in a dramatic story of love and death? Believe it or not, it's the Metropolitan Opera's production of Rigoletto, which we recently checked out in New York. Not only did we see the show, but we went backstage to see how they make the show happen.
Los Espookys is a very odd HBO comedy series about a group of horror-loving friends who start up a business that provides scary experiences for their clients.The six-episode series, which is now four episodes into its run, is co-written by two of its stars — comedians Julio Torres and Ana Fabrega. Its biggest-name co-star, Fred Armisen, also co-wrote the pilot.
In the film Midsommar, writer-director Ari Aster follows up his cult horror hit Hereditary with a film about a literal cult. Florence Pugh plays a young woman who tags along with her awful boyfriend and his pals to a remote Swedish village as they enact their bloody rituals. We discuss the sun-drenched Scandanavian creepiness.
In Spider-Man: Far From Home, Tom Holland's Peter Parker deals with the aftermath of Avengers: Endgame by not dealing with it — he takes a class trip to Europe, attempting to leave his great power, and his great responsibility, behind.
It's our second annual songs of summer spectacular! Every year at NPR Music we debate which hits might be remembered as "the song of the summer" — sometimes it's a frothy pop song, or a star-packed hip-hop banger, or simply a song that gets played on the radio over and over again until we're beaten into submission. This week we're bringing in a revolving cast of my colleagues from NPR Music, each of whom will play us one song — one nominee to be the unofficial Song Of The Summer for 2019.
In Yesterday, Himesh Patel plays Jack Malik, an English singer whose career is going nowhere. His parents don't understand him, but he's got the support of his friends — especially Ellie, his manager, played by Lily James. One night, Jack gets hit by a bus at the precise moment of a worldwide power outage. When he wakes up, he learns that he's in a world where the Beatles never existed. So he starts playing their songs — the world soon hears them for the first time, and Jack finds his entire life upended.
When Avengers: Endgame came out in late April, it got good reviews and it did huge business. As with everything we talk about, we didn't want to spoil it for you, so some of its biggest developments went un-analyzed. But no more. We thought this one deserved a second look before we bid this chapter of the Marvel Universe farewell. So today, we're discussing and revealing with abandon.
The Toy Story movies have been skittering around the closets of our hearts for almost 25 years. Anchored by Woody the sheriff, voiced by Tom Hanks, they're central to the story of Pixar. Now we're up to Toy Story 4. This time, Woody has to protect a homemade toy named Forky, voiced by Tony Hale. Forky may just be a spork with a face, but he's special to Bonnie, the little girl Woody lives with.
When Big Little Lies came to HBO, it boasted a cast full of stars: Reese Witherspoon, Nicole Kidman, Shailene Woodley, Zoë Kravitz and Laura Dern. For season two, they upped their game by adding Meryl Streep. The end of season one solved a mystery the show had been circling, and season two is about the aftermath.
In the movie Late Night, Mindy Kaling plays Molly Patel, a woman who gets her big break in the writers' room of late night host Katherine Newbury. Newbury, played by Emma Thompson, is on thin ice with the network and wants to add Molly as a way of diversifying her very white and very male writing staff. But once Molly gets there, she finds that being considered a diversity hire comes with challenges of its own. Late Night also features John Lithgow, Denis O'Hare, and Reid Scott.
A few weeks ago we talked about the wonderful new teen comedy Booksmart. the film is directed by Olivia Wilde, who is also an actress known for her roles on House, The O.C., and Tron: Legacy. In this bonus episode, you'll hear Wilde's recent appearance on Wait Wait Don't Tell Me. She played 'Not My Job' where she was quizzed about Buffalo Wild Wings.
We are recapping this year's Tony Awards. James Corden was back as the host, and it was a big night for the musical Hadestown and the Irish play The Ferryman. The musicals Tootsie and Oklahoma! also picked up multiple awards.
In 2016, Phoebe Waller-Bridge presented the world with Fleabag. She not only writes the show, but she stars in it too. She plays a young woman only referred to as Fleabag who is bruised by external and internal struggles. And in 2019, the show came back for a wonderful second and, we're told, final season.
Rocketman is a new biopic about queer rock icon Elton John. It is in many ways a typical rise-and-fall, dangers of fame kind of rock star biopic. But there is a difference: this is a full-on jukebox musical on film. And star Taron Egerton doesn't just lip-sync — he actually sings.
In the new movie Booksmart, two young women about to graduate from high school spend one last night trying to catch up on everything they missed. Starring Beanie Feldstein and Kaitlyn Dever, it's the directing debut of actress Olivia Wilde. The cast also includes Jessica Williams, Billie Lourd, Jason Sudeikis, Lisa Kudrow and many more. And we really, really like it.
We recently packed up and road-tripped to New York to check out some selections from the current Broadway theater season. We went to musicals and plays, revivals and new works, and we have a lot of thoughts.
Aladdin is the latest Disney live-action remake of an animated classic. The 1992 original starred Robin Williams as the genie, and this time it's Will Smith.
After eight seasons, 73 episodes, and way too many characters busting out the phrase "bend the knee" all the time, HBO's Game of Thrones has come to an end. And there's a lot to unpack.
Once upon a time, a man named John Wick retired from his successful career as an assassin. But then he returned to it. And across what's now a three-film series, he's been having a heck of a week ever since.
The Pokémon universe has brought the world television cartoons, trading cards, video games, plush toys, the mobile-game sensation Pokemon GO, and a string of animated movies. Now, the franchise makes the leap into live action with a big-budget summer blockbuster called Pokemon Detective Pikachu.
Everyone needs inspiration. And we need it too. So from time to time, we pause just to single out some of the people whose work we're appreciating. People from whom we want more. We call this segment People We're Pulling For.
While summer is a time of spectacles and sequels, there is always time for love. The new romantic comedy Long Shot stars Charlize Theron as a beautiful and sophisticated presidential candidate and Seth Rogen as the grubby speechwriter with her on the campaign trail.
We revisit our 2016 discussion of the film Popstar. We The also look at back at other films that find humor in the foibles of musicians.
Nothing fascinates the world like a meteoric rise. Except, of course, for a spectacular fall. The story of the Silicon Valley startup Theranos and its young founder Elizabeth Holmes has both. And the coverage it's received has been huge. There's the book Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup, the podcast The Dropout, and the HBO documentary The Inventor: Out for Blood in Silicon Valley. Today we look at three ways of telling the same story.
The Marvel Cinematic Universe has brought us Iron Man movies, Thor movies, Captain America movies, Avengers movies, and many other superhero franchises over the last decade, and they all feed into one epic that ties up many of the loose ends. Today we're talking the juggernaut to end all juggernauts, Avengers: Endgame.
It's time again for our summer movie preview. We'll take a shot at guessing hits and misses, and we'll tell you what we can't wait to see.
Today we open up the vault to finally bring you a segment we recorded back in 2016 with our pal Audie Cornish. You'll hear us live in Seattle offering advice on some classic pop culture problems.
It's been 60 years since The Twilight Zone first aired, with the voice and eventually the face of its creator, Rod Serling. Now, CBS All Access has brought the anthology series back in a new incarnation. This time, the host is Jordan Peele. He is also an executive producer, and the big cast includes Adam Scott, Kumail Nanjiani, Steven Yeun, Chris O'Dowd, Tracy Morgan, Sanaa Lathan, and a whole lot more.
For the last four seasons, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend has followed Rebecca Bunch as she pursued love, dreaded her mother, and tried to address her mental health. The show stars Rachel Bloom as Bunch, who created the show with Aline Brosh Mckenna. Now, it's all over, and we're going to talk about it.
"Shazam!" is what young Billy Batson says to morph into a big red superhero. It's also the name of the new movie about him. Starring Zachary Levi as the big lug in the suit, Shazam! makes for a lighter DC Comics movie.
Spring is here, but it's been a long winter. And we're a little overwhelmed by the news of the world, so we're taking a moment to share some of the things that lift our spirits in a segment we call Pop Culture Serotonin.
The comedy series What We Do In The Shadows imagines what a slacker reality show might look like if all the roommates were vampires. The show is based on a 2014 film of the same name, which was helmed by Jemaine Clement and Taika Waititi. A new cast of vampires inhabits the FX show.
The new Hulu series Shrill follows Annie, a young writer. She's trying to get her career moving, figure out what's up with her sort-of boyfriend, and learn to feel good about her body. Annie is played by Saturday Night Live's Aidy Bryant, who developed Shrill with TV writer Ali Rushfield and with Lindy West. West wrote the 2016 book of the same name that forms the backbone of the show.
Us isJordan Peele's follow up to his 2017 film Get Out. The film stars Lupita Nyong'o as a mother whose whole family is confronted by their own doppelgängers.
The South by Southwest music festival brings together artists from around the world to perform in big venues and small ones, on sidewalks and sprawling stages. Every year, we bring back some musical discoveries that just might be your next favorites.
The much-praised Hulu series PEN15 is about two middle-school girls who feel like they might never figure out how to grow into adults. The show was created by Maya Erskine, Anna Konkle and Sam Zvibelman. And the hook is that Erskine and Konkle play versions of themselves as kids, awkwardly surrounded by actual tween actors.
Comedy Central's very funny new show The Other Two is about the older siblings of a newly minted YouTube star. His fame makes them feel overshadowed in some of the ways you might expect. But it's also a chance for them to look out for him, and to learn a lot about the broad outlines of fleeting fame.
NPR Music is heading to South By Southwest in Austin, Texas. It's a huge feast of musical discovery that brings together bands and fans from around the world. All Songs Considered convened a panel to preview some of the new discoveries we're most excited to see and hear.
Captain Marvel is the latest entry in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and the first movie to give a woman the lead role. Brie Larson stars as a badass space-warrior fighting in an intergalactic war between two alien races. Samuel L. Jackson is back as Nick Fury, albeit digitally de-aged, because Captain Marvel is set in the '90s.
If you came of age in the 1990s, you might know Luke Perry as the rebellious teenage fantasy boyfriend Dylan McKay on Beverly Hills, 90210. But you also might know him from the original movie version of Buffy The Vampire Slayer. Or as Archie's dad on Riverdale. Perry was only 52 when he died on Monday. We take a moment to celebrate Perry's contributions to pop culture.
Today we're diving into the complicated and tangled world of Netflix's Russian Doll, a seriesanchored by a dynamic performance from Natasha Lyonne. She co-created the series with Leslye Headland and Amy Poehler.
Green Book is your best picture, and Bohemian Rhapsody and Roma took a bunch of the top prizes, too. And it all got done in a ceremony without a host. We're breaking it all down: the winners, the speeches, the songs, why we're mad, and why we're glad.
Where will you find rock bands going up against jazz pianists, superheroes, and scheming women in beautiful dresses? At this year's Oscars. We're going to talk actors, directors, and much more. We'll also make some predictions, so we might help you win your Oscars pool.
Pop Culture Happy Hour is in its ninth year, so Linda decided to write a quiz about the ninth seasons of television shows. Stephen and Glen faced off against one of our favorite podcast teams, Brittany Luse and Eric Eddings of The Nod. This episode was recorded live at the Bell House in Brooklyn.
We're diving into the Oscar-nominated documentaries and foreign language films. We'll tell you which ones to watch and where to find them, which might make you the star of your Oscar party.
This year's awards were a big night for Childish Gambino and Kacey Musgraves. It was also a night of strong performances from artists like Janelle Monae and Cardi B. And don't forget Diana Ross, who wished herself a happy birthday a month and a half early.
The Lego Movie was a surprise commercial and critical hit. It starred Chris Pratt as an every-man construction worker named Emmet and Elizabeth Banks as a rugged bad ass called Wyldstyle. Together, they saved the Lego world. Now, five years later, Emmet is back — and so is the fusillade of cameos, both surprising and not so surprising — to take on a new threat to the extruded plastic world.
Another year, another Patriots Super Bowl win. But was it a high scoring game? It was not. In fact, no one had even scored a touchdown when Maroon 5 came out to headline the halftime show. We recap the game, the halftime show, and the commercials.
What doBohemian Rhapsody, Vice, and Green Book have in common? Two things: one, they're nominated for Best Picture at the Oscars; and two, they're based on events in the lives of real people. Today, awards season leads us to a wide-reaching conversation on some very different movies.
If you've noticed your friends have been a little more "tidy" than usual, or your thrift store a bit better stocked, it might be because of Netflix. The streaming series Tidying Up With Marie Kondo has spurred an organizational renaissance. Or at least a conversation about one.
Alfonso Cuarón directed the award-winning film Gravityin 2013, and won an Oscar for it. Now he's back with a movie that's equally ambitious, and much more personal. Roma is inspired by Alfonso Cuarón's childhood, and the movie tells the story of Cleo, a nanny and housekeeper in 1970's Mexico City.
Despite how firm our opinions often seem when we first declare them, there have been times when they've changed. During our recent live show at the Brooklyn Podcast Festival, we took a moment to talk about some things we have different feelings on now then we once did.
In 2000, director M. Night Shyamalan presented Unbreakable, the story of two men whose epic tales of good and evil collided. Then came 2016's Split, a stealth sequel. Now, Shyamalan wraps up the trilogy with Glass.
The Masked Singerisn't your everyday singing competition. Based on a South Korean format, each week we learn the identity of the elaborately costumed "celebrity" who gets voted off. So far, we've unmasked football player Antonio Brown, and comedian Tommy Chong.
After winning an Oscar in 2017 for Moonlight, director Barry Jenkins is back with If Beale Street Could Talk. This time, he adapts a James Baldwin novel for the screen.
Green Book and Bohemian Rhapsody unexpectedly won big. So did thanking your parents and going on just a little too long. It's the wee hours of Monday morning, and we are wrapping up this year's big winners and big surprises.
The sci-fi series Black Mirror has always been about changing technology and its usually dark implications for the future. Its latest episode, Bandersnatch, is itself the result of new technology developed at Netflix. As you watch it, you make your own on-screen choices that determine which of several possible endings you reach.
Today, we look back on our 2018 resolutions to see how we fared, and make some new ones for the year to come. We also make our fearless pop culture predictions for the next 12 months, and see how last year's predictions panned out.
The animated Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse focuses on one of the Spider-People who has come along in the years since the world first met Peter Parker, in 1962. In the film, Miles Morales is a Brooklyn teenager who acquires spider-powers at the same time he discovers that there are other versions of himself across alternate dimensions.
It's the end of the year, and that makes it the perfect time to talk about the things we loved the most in 2018. From Black Panther, to Crazy Rich Asians, to the viral moments you might have missed, we are rounding up our fifteen favorites of the year. So get ready for a whole lot of recommending.
In 1964, the original Mary Poppins made Julie Andrews a movie star and introduced a generation to Dick Van Dyke's regrettable Cockney accent. Now, Emily Blunt and Lin-Manuel Miranda head up Mary Poppins Returns.
The Favourite, set in the early 1700s, tells the story of Britain's Queen Anne and two women who are jostling for her favor. Rachel Weisz plays the Queen's close adviser Sarah, and Emma Stone plays an ambitious servant named Abigail who has her eye on a bigger prize.
Comedian Guy Branum joins NPR's Sam Sanders to talk about his new book My Life As A Goddess and the many challenges presented by a mostly white, hetero-normative comedy scene.
What's warm and fuzzy, emotionally manipulative, and desperate for attention almost every hour of every day? Linda's dog, sure. But also the Hallmark Channel's endless supply of holiday movies and the competitors nipping at their heels.
You can't have an abundance of Christmas songs without also having an abundance of opinions about Christmas songs — songs we love, songs we hate, songs we love when they're sung by one person, but hate when they're sung by another. This week on Pop Culture Happy Hour, we've convened a special panel to tackle our favorite songs for the season.
Wreck It Ralph was a hit when it came out in 2012. Ralph Breaks the Internetpicks up where that film left off, and is even more ambitious than its predecessor. This time, Ralphtravels to the Internet — which gives the movie a lot of material to work with.
It's been three years since the Rocky movies were reborn with Creed, starring Michael B. Jordan as Apollo Creed's son, Adonis. Now, in Creed 2, Adonis is up against the son of Ivan Drago, the man who killed his father in the ring in 1985.
Widows is not your average heist movie — director Steve McQueen and co-screenwriter Gillian Fylnn have created something far more interesting. The film also has a star-studded cast that includes Viola Davis, Daniel Kaluuya, Michelle Rodriguez, Brian Tyree Henry, and Liam Neeson.
In the Amazon thriller Homecoming, Julia Roberts plays a caseworker at a facility that helps soldiers re-adjust to civilian life. Or at least that's what she thinks it does. But calls from a mysterious boss and sessions with a young soldier make her question everything.
Stan Lee helped create some of the most indelible comic book characters in American popular culture, including Spider-Man, the X-Men, the Fantastic Four, Iron Man, and Black Panther. He died Monday. He was 95.
There are a bunch of new shows to pay attention to this season, and today we're talking about two of our favorite talk entries — Patriot Act With Hasan Minhaj and Busy Tonight.
Nobody's Foolis a Tyler Perry movie, but maybe more important at the moment, it's a Tiffany Haddish movie. Haddish plays Tanya, who fears her sister is being catfished in an online relationship.
The Netflix series The Haunting of Hill House tells what is, in many ways, an old-fashioned ghost story. Moving between the past and the present, the series traces the effects of trauma on a family that once chose to spend a summer living in a house that is up to no good.
Wildlife,starring Jake Gyllenhaal and Carey Mulligan, tells the story of a marriage in crisis in 1960's Montana. Based on a novel by Richard Ford and directed by actor Paul Dano, it's told from the point of view of a young teenager watching his family fall to pieces.
Beautiful Boy is a story of addiction starring two Oscar-nominated actors. Timothée Chalamet plays Nic Sheff, who's addicted to crystal meth. Steve Carell plays David Sheff, his journalist father who's struggling to help him get well.
It's been forty years since the release of the classic horror film, Halloween. Since then, the franchise has wandered through its own house of horrors in the form of sequels and reboots. The newest Halloween throws all of those additions out, and assumes that only the 1978 original ever happened.
If you've been longing for a cartoon that covers the really important questions — like how to manage lust, and how to avoid your embarrassing parents — you are in luck. Big Mouth, Netflix's animated comedy series about the horrors of puberty, is back for a second season.
In Venom, Tom Hardy plays Eddie Brock, an investigative journalist who's trying to rebound from a major setback in his career. But Eddie's plans are halted when he's overtaken by a violent — and gooey — alien symbiote.
First Man tells the story of Neil Armstrong's life in the decade leading up to his walk on the moon. Ryan Gosling stars as Armstrong, and it's directed by Damien Chazelle. It's the second time they're teaming up after the huge commercial and critical success of La La Land.
The Hate U Give finds teenager Starr Carter caught between two worlds — her mostly black neighborhood and a white prep school. When her friend Khalil is killed by a police officer, she's forced to reconcile these two very different parts of her identity. We're joined by Brittany Luse and Eric Eddings, hosts of The Nod podcast.
Lady Gaga stars opposite Bradley Cooper in the latest retelling of A Star Is Born. It's also Cooper's directing debut, with a cast that includes Sam Elliott, Andrew Dice Clay, and Dave Chappelle. We're joined by Ari Shapiro to break down the singing, the glamour, the tears, and the wonder of Sam Elliott's voice.
What has Anna Kendrick, Blake Lively, menswear looks, mysteries, and YouTube's most cheerful mom? It's the stylish, mischievous, and sometimes darkly funny thriller A Simple Favor.
We recommended a lot of stuff during our 'All-Books' episode. So please enjoy this second volume (see what we did there?) of the All-Books Edition of Pop Culture Happy Hour, again led by our extra special panel.
Maya Rudolph and Fred Armisen star in the new Amazon series Forever. The two of them play a middle-aged married couple named Oscar and June, who are in a bit of a rut. Along the way, they find themselves in an unexpected situation that challenges their thinking about the permanence of marriage. Today, we dive into this very curious relationship comedy. Guest: Aisha Harris
We're here to fill you in on everything you need to know about the 2018 Emmys. On a night we were constantly reminded how diverse this year's nominations were — the winners were mostly white. The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel and Game of Thrones won the top awards. Guest: NPR TV Critic Eric Deggans.
Today, we take a break from TV and movies to talk about some of our favorite books we've read — and what books we're most looking forward to this fall.
NPR Music's ambitious Turning the Tables series re-imagines the popular music canon by putting women and non-binary musicians at the center. All Songs Considered recently had a great conversation about the project, and today we bring that conversation to your Pop Culture Happy Hour feed.
Not every day can be Friday, not every bit of weather can be sunny and not every plate can have cookies on it. That's why we love our pop culture serotonin — the stuff we watch, read and listen to that boosts our mood and makes us feel better. Today, we share some of our favorites.
The Netflix young adult romance To All The Boys I've Loved Before tells the story of a high school pair who may or may not — but come on, they will — end up together. You've probably seen it on your Twitter feed, and today we assemble a very special panel to talk about it.
It's almost the end of the summer, which means it's time for Pop Culture Happy Hour's fall TV preview. We're telling you what new shows we're excited about, and which ones we think are built to last. Guest: NPR TV Critic Eric Deggans.
Ryan Coogler's Marvel film, set largely in the richly imagined Afro-futurist utopia of Wakanda, is by turns intimate, immediate and — most importantly — original. Guest: Code Switch's Gene Demby. (This episode originally aired on February 16, 2018.)
BlacKkKlansmantells the story Ron Stallworth — a black police detective who infiltrated the local chapter of the Ku Klux Klan. On today's Pop Culture Happy Hour, we dive into the most talked about Spike Lee movie in years. Guest: Code Switch's Gene Demby
Last night the VMAs honored some top songs and artists including Camila Cabello, Jennifer Lopez, Ariana Grande and Nicki Minaj. The show also recognized Aretha Franklin—sort of. And trotted out Aerosmith—again. New York Times editor Aisha Harris joins us for a recap.
This week, we talk about the charming romantic comedy Crazy Rich Asians, which has been lauded as groundbreaking for its all Asian and Asian-American cast. Guests: NPR's Mallory Yu and Code Switch's Kat Chow.
The "Queen of Soul" died today at age 76. She was a gifted pop singer, gospel singer, R&B singer, and even opera singer. We talk with All Things Considered's Audie Cornish about the unforgettable Aretha Franklin, and the utter abundance of music she left us.
Most of this summer's blockbusters are already out. That makes it a great time to catch up on a couple of surprisingly well-reviewed comedies. In this episode of Pop Culture Happy Hour, we talk about Blockers and Game Night.
Every once in a while, we decide to defend the seemingly indefensible pieces of pop culture that everyone loves to hate. Today, we put on our boxing gloves to defend the honor of some of pop culture's most notorious punching bags. Guests: Audie Cornish and Guy Branum.
The indie movie Sorry to Bother You is a summer hit. Lakeith Stanfield stars as Cassius Green, a telemarketer whose world spirals into chaos. Code Switch's Gene Demby and Shereen Meraji have some very different views on the film.
This week, we're talking about Bo Burnam's breakout festival hit Eighth Grade. Kayla Day, played by Elsie Fisher, is a middle-schooler who gives pep talks on YouTube and yearns for friends she can talk to. Guest: New York Times editor Aisha Harris.
Video game The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild drops you into a world of sweeping vistas and challenging weapons, and it gives you a vast area to explore. It's an adventure and a challenge, and there are lots of different ways to play. Guest: Code Switch's Gene Demby.
We're taking to the streets, the skies, the water and the glitzy high-class nightclubs to talk about Mission: Impossible - Fallout on this episode of Pop Culture Happy Hour. Guest: Chris Klimek.
Under the blue skies of summer, what could be more welcome than ABBA songs? That's right, eight years after a big cast whooped it up in the film adaptation of the jukebox musical Mamma Mia!, there's a sequel. Today, we're talking about the all-singing, all-dancing, all-silly extravaganza that is Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again.
Dwayne Johnson, AKA The Rock, has fought all kinds of things in the movies. Earthquakes, criminals, zoo animals. And now, he's up against a building. On today's Pop Culture Happy Hour, we're defying gravity and saving our families.
Hannah Gadsby's Netflix special arrived in late June and has become a genuine phenomenon. It's an hour that starts as standup and morphs into something else entirely. Guest: Comedian, actor, and Oscar-nominated screenwriter Kumail Nanjiani.
Before Gillian Flynn wrote Gone Girl, she wrote Sharp Objects. Now, HBO has produced an adaptation starring Amy Adams, Patricia Clarkson, and Chris Messina. Guest: NPR Weekend Edition books editor, Barrie Hardymon.
Jeopardy! — the juggernaut, the pop culture monster, the game show to shave your mustache to and then grow it back again. Guest: NPR Music's Marissa Lorusso.
The sequel to 2015's Ant-Man is just as light and inconsequential, but a forgettable villain and an over-complicated plot means it has to work harder — and it shows. Guest: writer Chris Klimek.
Using archival footage and new interviews, Morgan Neville's film explores what how Rogers' unusual children's show came to be and what his legacy is for tens of millions of kids who are now tens of millions of grownups. Guest: Daisy Rosario of NPR member station WAMU.
Stephen Thompson and our pals at NPR Music road-test the songs the songs of the summer.
The panel chats about some of their favorite cooking shows including Top Chef, Chopped and Chef's Table. Guests: Weekend Edition editor Barrie Hardymon and Code Switch's Kat Chow. (This segment originally aired on September 9, 2016.)
Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom takes a bizarre but not unwelcome left turn. How does it compare to 2015's mediocre but hugely successful revival and the original 1993 film? Guest: Chris Klimek.
You can find new stand-up specials just about every week. In fact, you can find so many that it's hard to keep track of them all. So we spent this episode recommending eight standout specials. Guest: Pop Culture Happy Hour producer emeritus and Ask Me Another producer Mike Katzif.
The action of this animated sequel, which picks up where The Incredibles ended 14 years ago, is fresh and inventive, but the laughs aren't. Guest: NPR Code Switch host Gene Demby.
The Tony Awards paid off for The Band's Visit, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, the Angels in America revival and a scrappy theater kid named Bruce Springsteen. Also we remember chef and television host Anthony Bourdain, who died last week.
Ocean's 8 great cast and some clever commentary about women and Hollywood make it a whole lot of fun. Guest: Bim Adewunmi, senior culture writer at Buzzfeed and co-host of the Thirst Aid Kit podcast.
At last, we take a deep, overdue dive into the sweet, tangy jars of emotional marmalade that are the Paddington films. Guests: writer Chris Klimek and librarian Margaret Willison.
We talk about one of the most durable franchises in television history. Guests: Librarian Margaret H. Willison and Sarah D. Bunting, the East Coast Editor of Previously.TV
Johnny Lawrence and Daniel LaRusso are still at it in Cobra Kai, a surprisingly interesting look at what happens later to people who peak — or crash — in high school. Guests: All Things Considered Host Audie Cornish and NPR TV Critic Eric Deggans.
The odds of successfully telling the origin story of the Star Wars trilogy's lovable rogue are approximately 3,720 to 1. After a sluggish start, Solo: A Star Wars Story beats those odds. Guest: NPR Music's Daoud Tyler-Ameen.
Normally, royal weddings are like the Oscars: a lot of pomp, but no real surprises. But when Prince Harry married Meghan Markle, the audience sat up and took notice. Guests: Weekend Edition Editor Barrie Hardymon and Librarian Margaret Willison.
Ryan Reynolds once again assumes the role of a deadly mercenary who makes many references to various pop culture properties while disemboweling folk a lot. Guests: Writer Chris Klimek and Daisy Rosario of NPR Member Station WAMU.
The new Starz half-hour drama tells the story of two young women who learn a lot about their mother when they go home to deal with the consequences of her death. Guest: Daisy Rosario of NPR Member Station WAMU.
Written by Diablo Cody and directed by Jason Reitman,the film stars Charlize Theron in an often brutal look at the emotional and physical tolls of parenthood. Guest: Weekend Edition Editor Barrie Hardymon.
BBC America's cat-and-mouse spy show is a classic genre piece executed very well. We talk about its tension and its great lead performance from Sandra Oh on this week's episode. Guest: Code Switch's Kat Chow
The shush-iest film to become a hit in quite some time gets some overdue attention from the panel on this episode. Guest: Writer Meryl Williams.
Broadway's original Aaron Burr sits down with host Linda Holmes to talk about his new book, how it feels to hear ugly things about your career, and what he wants to do now that he couldn't before.
The Avengers try to keep a space-tyrant from performing cosmic genocide. The film doubles down on character interactions both familiar and unfamiliar. Guest: Code Switch co-host Gene Demby.
After seven seasons, Shonda Rhimes' roller-coaster of a drama screeches to a final halt as Olivia Pope and the team try to get out of one last scrape and Olivia tries to make it to Vermont. Guests: All Things Considered host Audie Cornish, NPR TV Critic Eric Deggans, and NPR Music's Sidney Madden.
The panel predicsts the hits and flops, tell you what they're looking forward to, and help you spend that ticket money wisely. Guest: Aisha Harris, host of Slate's Represent podcast.
Star Trek vs. Star Wars? The Beatles vs. The Rolling Stones? Gale vs. Peeta? Batman vs. Superman? The gang breaks down their favorite pop culture dichotomies. Guest: NPR Books editor Petra Mayer. (This segment originally aired on November 14, 2014.)
To talk about the PBS institution that celebrates used stuff and how much it may or may not be worth. Guest: Jesse Thorn, host of NPR's Bullseye and the head honcho of the Maximum Fun podcast network.
Bill Hader stars as a depressed hit man who wants a fresh start in acting but can't seem to get one. And the HBO comedy-drama asks questions most antihero shows won't. Guest: NPR TV Critic Eric Deggans.
The panel chats about the Roseanne revival and how the show's politics intersects with the politics of Roseanne Barr. Plus, what's making us happy this week. Guest: Hanna Rosin, Co-Host of Invisibilia.
The panel chats about Love, Simon; the first big American studio film to give a gay teenager the kind of story that John Hughes gave straight kids in the 1980s. Guest: Dave Holmes, Editor at Large for Esquire.com.
Spielberg returns to his cinema-as-thrill-ride roots in this adaptation of Ernest Cline's YA novel. Guest: The Verge's Tasha Robinson.
The panel chats about the new Wes Anderson film Isle of Dogs, a stop-motion-animated film about loyal dogs exiled to a lonely island. Guest: Film critic Chris Klimek.
The panels shares some of their favorite new music discoveries from this year's SXSW Music Festival. Guests: NPR Music's Rodney Carmichael and music writer Katie Presley.
The panel High Maintenance, HBO's anthology series about a marijuana dealer and his clients in New York City. Guests: Weekend Edition editor Barrie Hardymon and All Things Considered host Audie Cornish.
The panel chats about some of their favorite talk show guests and what makes an ideal host-guest dynamic. Guest: Comedian Guy Branum, the host and creator of TruTV's Talk Show the Game Show.
Donald Glover's Emmy-winning comedy returns for second season that includes sharply drawn characters and an appreciation for the problems with success. Guests: Code Switch co-host Gene Demby and It's Been a Minute host Sam Sanders.
Director Ava DuVernay's adaptation of the classic Madeleine L'Engle novel is devoid of cynicism, filled with beautiful images and deeply moving. Guest: Daisy Rosario of NPR member station WAMU.
Last year's Oscars were wildly unpredictable. This year's were very predictable, with big wins for The Shape Of Water, all the actors who were expected to win all along, and Jordan Peele.
The team takes a moment to consider the upcoming Oscars in categories big and small. They probably won't end with anyone handing over the wrong envelope. But wouldn't it be surprising if they did? Guest: NPR Film Critic Bob Mondello
The panel tries to stump each other with clips from the weirdest TV they could find. Guest: All Things Considered host Audie Cornish.
Alex Garland's new sci-fi thriller is very weird, and we loved it. Guests: Writer Chris Klimek and Daisy Rosario of NPR member station WAMU.
The Netflix series "Queer Eye" is a reboot of the 2003 phenomenon, not a retread. They've dropped "For the Straight Guy" from the title, reflecting the retooled makeover series' updated, and slightly broadened, mission. Guests: Tobin Low and Kathy Tu, co-hosts of Nancy, a podcast from WNYC studios.
Ryan Coogler's Marvel film, set largely in the richly imagined Afro-futurist utopia of Wakanda, is by turns intimate, immediate and — most importantly — new. Guest: Code Switch's Gene Demby.
Sam Sanders joins the panel to talk about his memories of the Sochi Olympics, the way young athletes handle attention and athleticism itself, what we love watching during this year's games in Pyeongchang.
The panel discusses the Oscar-nominated film Darkest Hour, which stars Gary Oldman as Winston Churchill. Guest: Aisha Harris, host of Slate's Represent Podcast.
The Eagles won a thrilling victory in the Super Bowl on Sunday night, to the delight of Philadelphians everywhere. Tom Brady of the Patriots proved fallible, while Justin Timberlake was ... just fine. Guests: Code Switch's Gene Demby and writer Katie Presley.
Roxane Gay latest book is the memoir Hunger. It's about her relationship with her body, with trauma, and with her own history. In September 2017, host Linda Holmes and Gay sat down at the National Book Festival in Washington D.C. They talked about writing, about bodies, about the closeness people feel with her when they've read her work.
We recap the highlights of this year's Grammy Awards, including a sweep by Bruno Mars and memorable performances from Kendrick Lamar and Kesha. Guests: NPR Music's Rodney Carmichael and Sidney Madden.
We chat about The Good Doctor, ABC's hit medical drama in which Freddie Highmore plays a surgical resident with autism and savant syndrome. Guest: Uproxx TV Critic Alan Sepinwall.
The gang discusses Paul Thomas Anderson's latest film, Phantom Thread. The story about the twisted relationship between a dressmaker (Daniel Day-Lewis) and his muse (Vicky Krieps) just earned six Oscar nominations. Guest: KJZZ Senior Producer and Daniel Day-Lewis super fan Sarah Ventre.
The gang takes a look at Amy Sherman-Palladino's award-winning comedy, starring Rachel Brosnahan as a '50s housewife-turned-comedian. And, as always, What's Making Us Happy this week. Guests: Writer Katie Presley and Weekend Edition Books Editor Barrie Hardymon.
The panel talks about the Florida Project, Sean Baker's small-scale but memorable film set at a motel near Disney World. Then, we take a moment to remember Dolores O'Riodan, the lead singer of the Cranberries, who died suddenly at age 46. Guest: Code Switch's Gene Demby.
This week's show takes a look at an emerging awards contender in the acting categories: I, Tonya, the semi-mockumentary retelling of the life of Tonya Harding, controversial figure skater. Guest: Librarian Margaret H. Willison.
Recent stories of sexual harassment and abuse in Hollywood inspired black dresses and unexpected guests at the Golden Globes. Plus, Oprah Winfrey became the first black woman to win the Cecil B. DeMille Award, and she spent nearly all her time talking about the long struggle for justice for women. In the actual awards races, Three Billboards, Ladybird, and Amazon scored.
Code Switch's Kat Chow joins the panel as they say goodbye to 2017 by revisiting their resolutions and predictions from last year and making new ones for 2018.
Host Linda Holmes talks with actor John Cho (Harold and Kumar Go To White Castle, Star Trek) about why he misses doing broad comedies, his decision to join The Exorcist, what it's like being the subject of internet fandom, and his new film Columbus.
The panel chats about Black Mirror, Netflix's sci-fi anthology series. The fourth season premiers today. Guests: film and theater critic Chris Klimek and Brittany Luse, co-host of The Nod.
The panel runs down their 15 favorite TV shows, movies, books, video games, and trends of 2017.
The panel chats about the Post, Steven Spielberg's latest film which follows the Washington Post's decision to publish the Pentagon Papers. The movie stars Tom Hanks and Meryl Streep. Guest: All Things Considered Film Critic Bob Mondello.
While you may have wrapped up your Hanukkah celebrations, we wanted to share a conversation about the role that Hanukkah plays for kids and adults, and some of the pop culture that surrounds it. Guests: Weekend Edition Editor Barrie Hardymon and KJZZ Senior Producer Sarah Ventre.
Writer/director Rian Johnson joins the Star Wars franchise to deliver a chapter that's fast, fun and freewheeling, even as it introduces surprising nuance to the classic Dark Side vs. Light Side beef. Guest: NPR White House Correspondent Tamara Keith.
The panel talks about the Guillermo del Toro film about a woman racing to save her not-quite-human true love from the bad guys. Guest: NPR Arts Desk Correspondent Neda Ulaby.
James Franco's The Disaster Artist tells the story of the making of The Room, one of the most famous awful movies of all time. The panel sits down to talk about Franco's vision and his muse. Guest: NPR Music's Marissa Lorusso.
Luca Guadagnino's lush adaptation of Andre Aciman's novel stars Timothee Chalamet as a teenage prodigy who falls in love with a visiting grad student played by Armie Hammer. Guest: All Things Considered Film Critic Bob Mondello.
The panel reviews Martin McDonagh's polarizing new film, which stars Frances McDormand, Woody Harrelson, and Sam Rockwell. Guest: Code Switch co-host Gene Demby.
The panel checks in with the ABC sitcom Black-ish, then share what's making them happy this week. Guests: Brittany Luse and Eric Eddings, co-hosts of The Nod.
The panel chats about why they love Lady Bird, the coming-of-age film written and directed by Greta Gerwig and starring Saoirse Ronan.
The gang discusses DC Comics' latest movie, featuring Batman, Wonder Woman, The Flash, and Cyborg. That, plus What's Making Us Happy this week. Guests: NPR Music
The panel tackles Kenneth Branagh's new Agatha Christie remake — and picks a few recommendations for when you just want to snuggle under blankets and watch a murder get solved. Guests: Weekend Edition Editor Barrie Hardymon and Librarian Margaret H. Willison.
All Things Considered host Ari Shapiro joins the panel to disuss This Is Us, NBC's hit family drama. Then, All Things Considered Host Audie Cornish tags in for a chat about ABC's new sitcom Speechless. Plus, what's making us happy this week. (This episode originally aired on December 6, 2016.)
The Pop Culture Happy Hour gang answer some pop culture advice questions, including balancing recaps with television consumption and if you should try to expand your girlfriend's pop culture tastes.
The panel takes on the latest from the Marvel Cinematic Universe, with help from Code Switch co-host and established Taika Waititi fan Shereen Marisol Meraji.
After a highly successful first season, the Netflix monster mystery returns. But does it overcome the challenges that have plagued sequels for decades? Guest: TV Critic Eric Deggans.
The panel discusses American Vandal, the Netflix mockumentary series that's a hilariously precise dissection of our cultural fascination with true crime narratives. Guest: Mallory Ortberg of Slate's Dear Prudence.
Author, comedian, and fake internet judge John Hodgman talks about his new book Vacationland, mediating internet disputes, writing a serious book after a lot of fake facts, and lots more.
NPR White House correspondent Tamara Keith joins the panel to talk about the oddly successful and often bizarre ABC series that brings entrepreneurs to beg for money from rich people.
Actor Tom Hanks talks to host Linda Holmes about his new short story collection Uncommon Type, the cosmos, David S. Pumpkins, Nora Ephron, men dancing in shrimp costumes, and how the film industry is changing.
NBC's Will & Grace is backfor at least two revival seasons, more than 10 years after it went off the air the first time. But is the sitcom still relevant in 2017? Guests: Tobin Low and Kathy Tu, Co-Hosts of Nancy from WNYC Studios.
A discussion of the NBC comedy The Good Place, which stars Kristen Bell and Ted Danson. We're big fans of the show, and it's from one of the creators of Parks and Recreation and Brooklyn Nine-Nine. It's funny and weird and packed with jokes, and it's all about the afterlife. Guest: Producer Emeritus and Music Director Mike Katzif.
Writer Chris Klimek joins Stephen Thompson and Glen Weldon to discuss Denis Villeneuve's sequel to the Ridley Scott cult classic Blade Runner.
This year The Princess Bride turns 30, so we decided to discuss the film and its enduring legacy. Plus, we take a moment to remember rock legend Tom Petty, who died Monday at the age of 66. Guest: Code Switch's Kat Chow.
The new film, starring Emma Stone as Billie Jean King and Steve Carell as Bobby Riggs, the players facing off in one of the most famous tennis matches in history. Plus, what's making us happy this week. Guest: Writer Katie Presley.
Linda Holmes, Stephen Thompson, and Glen Weldon discuss three recent releases then look back at their summer box office predictions.
As summer gives way to fall, blockbusters give way to award contenders. Critics Linda Holmes, Bob Mondello, Tasha Robinson, and Bilal Quershi share some of the best, buzziest and otherwise noteworthy films coming to theaters.
NPR's TV critic joins the gang for a look at this year's Emmy Awards. The Handmaid's Tale, Big Little Lies, Saturday Night Live, Veep and Atlanta all won multiple awards in major categories, on a night that rarely strayed far from current events. Also, we take a moment to remember actor Harry Dean Stanton.
The gang tackles David Simon's new HBO drama about the rise of the adult-film industry in New York's Times Square. And, as always, What's Making Us Happy this week. Guests: Weekend Edition Books Editor Barrie Hardymon and Writer Katie Presley.
It's Been a Minute host Sam Sanders and writer Katie Presley join Glen Weldon and Stephen Thompson for an old favorite: People We're Pulling For. The panel explains why props to a comedian, a TV mogul, a wonderfully eccentric author and a deeply dry character actor all get our stamp of approval.
Weekend Edition Book Editor Barrie Hardymon and librarian Margaret Willison chat with Linda about Outlander, a sexy time-travel fantasy series currently airing on Starz. The series is based on a popular series of romance novels by Diana Gabaldon.
Nancy Meyers is the filmmaker behind comedies like Something's Gotta Give and It's Complicated. Now her daughter, Hallie Meyers-Shyer, is joining the family business with her debut film Home Again, which stars Reese Witherspoon. Host Linda Holmes talks to the mother-daughter team about working together, the challenges of making an indie rom-com, and building worlds through beautiful homes.
Director, writer, and actor Lake Bell talks about the making of her new film I Do... Until I Don't, the way her British friends hang up the phone, and her fascination with unseen voices.
Game of Thrones just wrapped its penultimate season, so we sit down for a spoiler-packed discussion with our pals Gene Demby, Barrie Hardymon, and Tasha Robinson.
Music writers Sarah Ventre and Marissa Lorusso join us to discuss Taylor Swift's new single and a disjointed MTV Video Music Awards hosted by Katy Perry.
The broadcast, cable and streaming networks have a lot on tap for the remainder of 2017. We talk about what we are excited to watch and what we think we survive cancellation
Steven Soderbergh's racetrack heist film opened small for a big director, but its strong cast (Channing Tatum, Adam Driver, and Daniel Craig) and unusual release strategy make it a lot of fun to talk about. Guests: Culture writers Chris Klimek and Danielle Henderson.
Sam Sanders (NPR's It's Been A Minute) joins the panel for the Regrettable Television Pop Quiz, in which the gang shares their knowledge about trashy television of the past and present.
Actress Judith Light talks to host Linda Holmes her roles as Shelly Pfefferman on Transparent, Angela Bower on Who's The Boss?, and Karen Wolek on One Life To Live.
Dark Tower is a snooze, so instead we talk about some of our favorite Stephen King books and film adaptations. Guests: Weekend Edition Books Editor Barrie Hardymon and The Verge's TV and Film Editor Tasha Robinson.
We discuss Kathryn Bigelow's new film Detroit. Its intense and unsettling depictions of police brutality in the summer of 1967, Detroit got under the panel's skin in different ways. Guests: Gene Demby (NPR's Code Switch) and Aisha Harris (Slate).
Film critic Chris Klimek joins us to talk Atomic Blonde, a stylish and visceral spy thriller set in 1989 Berlin. It co-stars Charlize Theron and a really impressive wig.
We review the bonkers space opera Valerian, a passion project of director Luc Besson. Guest: Aisha Harris, host of Slate's Represent podcast.
The "surprising" success of the raunch-com Girls Trip didn't particularly surprise us; we talk about precisely where this "out-of-nowhere" hit came from. Guests: Code Switch's Gene Demby and Slate's Aisha Harris.
NPR Music's Daoud Tyler-Ameen joins the panel for a discussion of the new film Dunkirk, Christopher Nolan's World War II epic.
We sort out the adventures of Dale Cooper and the other residents of Twin Peaks: what works, what doesn't, and whether there's such a thing as "understanding." Plus, we remember George Romero, Martin Landau, and celebrate a new Doctor. Guests: NPR TV critic Eric Deggans and The Verge's TV and Film Editor Tasha Robinson.
All Things Considered host Audie Cornish joins the panel for discussions about Marvel's Spider-Man: Homecoming and Andy Samberg's HBO special Tour de Pharmacy.
First, a discussion of Baby Driver, Edgar Wright's fun new action film with Code Switch co-host Gene Demby and It's Been a Minute host Sam Sanders. Then, Code Switch co-host Shereen Marisol Meraji and the panel dive into what happens when auteur directors helm big film franchises. Plus, what's making us happy this week.
This week, All Things Considered host Audie Cornish joins the panel to chat about how they spent their summers growing up. Plus, a conversation with best friends Jessica St. Clair and Lennon Parham of USA's Playing House.
This week, the panel discusses Netflix's new wrestling comedy GLOW with NPR's Code Switch Kat Chow. Then, we bring you a conversation we recently had in Los Angeles with Master of None actress and writer Lena Waithe.
This week, the panel talks about Wonder Woman — or Diana, Princess of Themyscira — with NPR Books Editor Petra Mayer. Then, they shift the spotlight to the stage to talk about the Tony Awards with critics Trey Graham and Chris Klimek.
This week, we bring you two unaired segments from our fall tour. First, All Things Considered host Audie Cornish helps us figure out when to quit a television show — and when to stick it out to the bitter end. Then, Mallory Ortberg (Slate's Dear Prudence) answers some pop culture advice questions.
This week the panel is prepping for a few live shows, so we decided to revisit one of our favorite episodes from 2015. Code Switch's Kat Chow joins us for a chat about the Netflix series Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt and and the line between inspired and derivative when it comes to culture.
Film critic Chris Klimek joins the panel for a chat about the new Ridley Scott film Alien: Covenant and HBO's Veep.
On this week's show, Gene Demby from NPR's Code Switch and NPR TV critic Eric Deggans join us for a conversation about the second season of Master Of None and the very silly film Snatched.
The panel talks about the harrowing TV adaptation of Margaret Atwood's dystopian novel, then switches gears to check in on the NBC comedy Great News, from – among others – executive producer Tina Fey. Guests: Code Switch's Leah Donnella and Weekend Edition Books Editor Barrie Hardymon
This week we discuss Marvel's space action-comedy Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 2. Plus, a conversation we recently had in Chicago with comedian and writer W. Kamau Bell.
All Things Considered Host Audie Cornish joins us for our annual summer movie preview. We break down what we are excited to watch, what we think will smash box office records, and what we think will lose millions of dollars.
Code Switch's Gene Demby and critic Chris Klimek join the gang for a discussion of latest installment of the Fast and the Furious franchise. Then, it's time for a discussion of clapbacks and feuds recorded live in Chicago with our NPR's Sam Sanders.
The panel is on the road this week, so we are bringing you two special treats. First, you'll hear an episode of Code Switch that explores how comics are used as spaces for mapping race and identity. Then, we revisit our conversation about RuPaul's Drag Race which first aired in 2014.
The panel dissects the new podcast S-Town, the latest project from the team behind Serial and This American life. Then, they'll chat about Chewing Gum, a british sex comedy that's now streaming on Netflix. Guest: Librarian Margaret H. Willison.
First we review Dave Chappelle's new Netflix stand-up specials with Code Switch's Gene Demby and For Colored Nerds co-host Brittany Luse. Then, we discuss the action comedy CHiPs with Morning Edition host David Greene. Plus, what's making us happy.
The panel discusses a tale as old as time, Disney's remake of Beauty and the Beast. Then, they share what bands and films they saw at SXSW. Guest: Katie Presley, Bitch Media's music editor.
Comedian Guy Branum joins the panel for a discussion about why some fads and memes endure and others fade away. Then, the panel offer some pop culture advice to listeners. Plus, NPR Books Editor Petra Mayer talks to Neil Gaiman about his new book Norse Mythology.
This week, we'll get very unsettled by the very successful film, Get Out, and we'll catch up with the intrigue of The Americans as it returns for its fifth season. Plus, what's making us happy this week. Guests: Code Switch's Kat Chow and Gene Demby.
This week, we'll drop in on the volatile suburban surroundings of HBO's Big Little Lies, and we'll consider Ryan Murphy's high-drama look at Hollywood legends in Feud. Guest: NPR Editor Barrie Hardymon.
It wasn't a terribly exciting or unusual Academy Awards telecast — until all of a sudden, it made all kinds of history.
NPR film critic Bob Mondello joins us for our annual Oscars Omnibus: We talk the nominees for Best Picture, some of the hottest races, and make some predictions we may regret later. Plus, what's making us happy this week.
Morning Edition Host David Greene talks with singer and actor Justin Timberlake about how it feels to be an Oscar nominee, his boy band past, and progress on his upcoming album. (A shorter version of this interview aired on Morning Edition on February 10, 2017.)
Television critic Alan Sepinwall joins us for a discussion of the new FX series Legion, which is based on an obscure X-Men character and adapted by Fargo's Noah Hawley. Then, they'll chat about Planet Earth II, the BBC nature documentary series that is now airing in the United States.
Glen Weldon talks to author Philip Pullman about his return to the world of Lyra Belacqua, who we first met in The Golden Compass. The first volume of the new trilogy will be published in October.
NPR Music's Jacob Ganz and Stephen Thompson join Linda Holmes for a discussion of Beyoncé, Adele, Chance the Rapper, Bruno Mars, and much more.
NPR Politics Podcast alum Sam Sanders joins the panel for The LEGO Batman Movie. Then, Code Switch's Kat Chow sits in for a chat about MasterChef Junior and other kids reality competition shows. Plus, what's making us happy this week.
Code Switch's Gene Demby joins Stephen Thompson and Linda Holmes for a look at Super Bowl LI. The New England Patriots won with a huge fourth-quarter push, and also featured a high-flying halftime show from Lady Gaga, who mixed traditional Americana with doing her own thing.
NPR film critic Bob Mondello joins the panel for a roundup of all the films nominated for the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature: I Am Not Your Negro, OJ: Made in America, Fire at Sea, 13th, and Life, Animated. Then they'll discuss The Salesman, Iran's entry into the best Foreign Language Film category. Plus, what's making us happy this week.
Sarah D. Bunting of Previously.TV and the Extra Hot Great podcast joins the panel for a review of Riverdale, the CW's dark and sexy reimagining of Archie Comics (yes, really). Then it's onto other teen soaps from Dawson's Creek, Beverley Hills 90210, and The OC. Plus, what's making us happy this week.
Mary Tyler Moore died Wednesday at 80 years old. Host Linda Holmes talks to Crazy Ex-Girlfriend star and co-creator Rachel Bloom about how one very funny woman of television influenced many others.
Stephen Thompson and Glen Weldon round up this year's Oscar nominations. As widely predicted, La La Land racked up the most nominations, while Moonlight made a strong showing, as did Hell or High Water.
Code Switch Co-Host Gene Demby joins the panel for a discussion of the nutty new HBO series The Young Pope, which stars Jude Law. Then, the panel reviews the wonderful western Hell or High Water, which is the second-best reviewed film on Rotten Tomatoes of 2016.
Morning Edition host David Greene talks with musician and Snapchat star DJ Khaled about the keys to his success, getting lost in a jet ski, and the importance of comfy pillows.
Brittany Luse, host at Gimlet and co-host of For Colored Nerds, joins NPR's Linda Holmes, Stephen Thompson, and Glen Weldon for a chat about Hidden Figures, the new historical drama starring Taraji P. Henson, Octavia Spencer, and Janelle Monae. Then, the panel reviews Netflix's One Day a Time, a well-reviewed remake of the classic Norman Lear sitcom.
Linda Holmes, Glen Weldon, and Stephen Thompson wrap up the 2017 Golden Globe awards, including La La Land's sweep, the surprising wins in television, and Meryl Streep's political acceptance speech.
Weekend Edition Books Editor Barrie Hardymon joins the panel for a discussion of mystery series Sherlock, which stars Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman. Then the panel takes a few moments to remember some of the people who passed away recently, including Carrie Fisher, George Michael, and Debbie Reynolds. Plus, what's making us happy.
Code Switch's Kat Chow joins the panel as they say goodbye to 2016 by revisiting their resolutions and predictions from last year and making new ones for 2017. Plus, what's making us happy.
Sam Sanders of NPR's Politics Podcast joins the panel for a roundup of their favorite movies, songs, TV shows, and writing of the year. Then, they revisit some of the things they covered earlier in 2016—big blockbusters and box office flips, TV shows that might survive cancellation, and a Broadway phenomenon that continues to dominate the culture.
Lauren Ober, the host of The Big Listen, joins Linda Holmes, Glen Weldon, and Stephen Thompson for a roundup of their favorite podcast episodes of the year.
NPR Music's Daoud Tyler-Ameen joins the panel for a discussion of Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. Then, the panel discusses the romantic musical La La Land, which stars Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling. Plus, what's making us happy this week.
All Things Considered host Ari Shapiro joins the panel to disuss This Is Us, NBC's hit family drama. Then, All Things Considered Host Audie Cornish tags in for a chat about ABC's new sitcom Speechless. Plus, what's making us happy this week.
Glen Weldon and All Things Considered host Audie Cornish discuss the first season of HBO's densely plotted science fiction series.
Margaret H. Willison and Daisy Rosario join the panel for a discussion of the return of Gilmore Girls that's now streaming on Netflix. Then, they chat about Moana, the new Disney film starring Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson that features music from Lin-Manuel Miranda. Plus, what's making us happy.
Comedian and actor Kumail Nanjiani joins the gang for our live show recorded at the Regent Theater in Los Angeles. First, they discuss romantic comedies, a favorite subject of Kumail and Linda. Then, it's time for a quiz all about disguises. Plus, what's making us happy.
Critic Chris Klimek joins the panel for a chat about the inventive sci-fi film Arrival. Then, the gang shares some of their picks for pop culture serotonin: music, movies, and comedy albums that will boost your mood. Plus, what's making us happy.
Code Switch's Gene Demby and Kat Chow join Stephen Thompson and Glen Weldon for a discussion of the trippy Marvel blockbuster Doctor Strange. Then, they chat about the critically acclaimed indie Moonlight. Plus, what's making us happy this week.
Tomorrow is Election Day, so Stephen Thompson and Glen Weldon guide us through the state of political comedy. Topics include Saturday Night Live, Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, and Full Frontal with Samantha Bee.
The Pop Culture Happy Hour team is recovering from our west coast tour, so we decided to bring you one of our favorite episodes of the year: Look around, look around at how lucky we are to be alive right now: We didn't want to throw away our shot at talking about Lin-Manuel Miranda's acclaimed musical Hamilton. We decided OK, so we're doing this. But we had to wait for it. Then, a few weeks ago, Code Switch's Gene Demby joined us in the greatest city of the world so we could finally be in the room where it happens. Just you wait, just you wait...
It's a Halloween Spooktacular! We bring you two Halloween-themed segments from our west coast tour: Mallory Ortberg (Dear Prudence, The Toast.) joins us for a Halloween candy debate, and All Things Considered Host Audie Cornish sits down for our super-difficult Halloween quiz. And as always, we close with what's making us happy this week.
The Pop Culture Happy Hour team is traveling this week, so we bring you two of our favorite segments. First, NPR Editor Barrie Hardymon joins the panel for a discussion about Jane the Virgin. Then, Code Switch's Kat Chow and the gang discuss Crazy Ex-Girlfriend.
All Things Considered host Ari Shapiro talks with Lupita Nyong'o and Madina Nalwanga, the stars of Queen of Katwe. Then, television critics Matt Zoller Seitz and Alan Sepinwall chat with Linda Holmes about TV (The Book): Two Experts Pick the Greatest American Shows of All Time. Then, Ari Shapiro interviews comedians Cameron Esposito and Rhea Butcher about their show Take My Wife, which is now streaming on Seeso.
NPR Film Critic Bob Mondello joins the panel for a fall television and movie preview. Plus, what's making us happy this week.
Writer Chris Klimek and NPR Editor Tanya Ballard join Stephen Thompson and Glen Weldon to review the remake of The Magnificent Seven. Then, they chat about Fleabag, a dark British comedy currently streaming on Amazon. Plus, What's Making Us Happy.
Stephen Thompson and Glen Weldon reflect on this year's Emmy Awards. Then, Morning Edition host David Greene interviews comedian Hari Kondabolu. We close the show with NPR Books Editor Petra Mayer's conversation with writer and comics legend Alan Moore.
Sam Sanders, Co-Host of NPR's Politics Podcast, joins the panel for a discussion of Documentary Now!, the mockumentary series from Fred Armisen, Bill Hader, and Seth Meyers. Then, the panel rounds up some interesting docs streaming online. Plus, what's making us happy.
Code Switch's Kat Chow and Weekend Edition Editor Barrie Hardymon join Linda Holmes and Glen Weldon for a discussion of home improvement shows, real estate shows, and cooking shows. Plus, What's Making Us Happy.
WEST COAST TOUR! WOOHOO!We are so excited to announce that Pop Culture Happy Hour is coming to the west coast in October. Tickets go on sale Tuesday, September 6th at NPRpresents.org. Here are the dates: Monday, October 17, Neptune Theatre, Seattle, WA. Guest: Audie Cornish. Wednesday, October 19: Revolution Hall, Portland, OR. Guest: Audie Cornish. Friday, October 21: Marines' Memorial Theatre, San Francisco, CA. Guest: Mallory Ortberg. Sunday, October 23: The Regent Theater, Los Angeles, CA. Guest: Kumail Nanjiani. WOOHOO!
Linda Holmes and Stephen Thompson discuss this year's MTV Video Music Awards. This year's VMAs featured Rihanna, Beyonce, Britney Spears, and several minutes of Kanye West doing whatever he wants — all vying for social-media dominance in the hours, days and weeks ahead.
NPR Music's Daoud Tyler-Ameen joins Linda Holmes, Stephen Thompson, and Glen Weldon for a discussion of the critically acclaimed Disney film Pete's Dragon. Then its onto kids and their monsters, both real and imaginary. And, as always, we close with What's Making Us Happy this week.
All Things Considered Host Ari Shapiro talks with Matt and Ross Duffer, the creators of the Netflix summer hit Stranger Things. (A shorter version of this interview aired on All Things Considered on August 19, 2016.)