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PODCAST

Pop Culture Happy Hour

Get obsessed with us. Four 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

tv & film film reviews

All Episodes

25:51

Joy Ride and What's Making Us Happy

Pop Culture Happy Hour ·

2023/07/07

The new film Joy Ride follows four 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

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17:54

Platonic

Pop Culture Happy Hour ·

2023/07/06

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+.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

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19:27

Nimona

Pop Culture Happy Hour ·

2023/07/05

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.Subscribe to Pop Culture Happy Hour Plus at plus.npr.org/happyhourLearn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

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21:40

Trans Representation In TV And Film

Pop Culture Happy Hour ·

2023/07/04

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.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

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19:41

Indiana Jones And What's Making Us Happy

Pop Culture Happy Hour ·

2023/06/30

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.Learn more about sponsor message choices:

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7:49

Books We Love: Mysteries And Thrillers

Pop Culture Happy Hour ·

2023/06/29

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.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

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17:55

I'm A Virgo

Pop Culture Happy Hour ·

2023/06/28

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.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

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16:47

No Hard Feelings

Pop Culture Happy Hour ·

2023/06/27

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.Subscribe to Pop Culture Happy Hour Plus at plus.npr.org/happyhourLearn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy

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18:50

Asteroid City and What's Making Us Happy

Pop Culture Happy Hour ·

2023/06/23

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.Learn more about sponsor message choices:

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24:06

Black Mirror

Pop Culture Happy Hour ·

2023/06/22

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, and more.Subscribe to Pop Culture Happy Hour Plus at plus.npr.org/happyhourLearn more about sponsor message choices:

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21:28

Elemental

Pop Culture Happy Hour ·

2023/06/21

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.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

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20:55

The Bear

Pop Culture Happy Hour ·

2023/06/20

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.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

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22:18

The Flash and What's Making us Happy

Pop Culture Happy Hour ·

2023/06/16

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.Learn more about sponsor message choices:

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16:14

The Blackening

Pop Culture Happy Hour ·

2023/06/15

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.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

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27:12

Vanderpump Rules

Pop Culture Happy Hour ·

2023/06/14

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?Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

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13:14

Transformers: Rise Of The Beasts

Pop Culture Happy Hour ·

2023/06/13

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.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

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24:57

Never Have I Ever And What's Making Us Happy

Pop Culture Happy Hour ·

2023/06/09

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.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

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7:08

Three Great Songs For Your Next Road Trip

Pop Culture Happy Hour ·

2023/06/08

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.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

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23:10

Past Lives

Pop Culture Happy Hour ·

2023/06/07

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.Subscribe to Pop Culture Happy Hour Plus at plus.npr.org/happyhourLearn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

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7:49

Books We Love: Love Stories

Pop Culture Happy Hour ·

2023/06/06

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.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

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