x

75% of people globally want unbiased news (Pew Research) but are concerned they're not getting that.

Get balanced coverage with Symby. See how stories are covered across diverse outlets and spot when one side covers a story the other skips.

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

21:21

Severance

Pop Culture Happy Hour ·

2025/03/24

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.To access bonus episodes and sponsor-free listening for Pop Culture Happy Hour, subscribe to Pop Culture Happy Hour+ at plus.npr.org/happy. Learn more about sponsor message choices:

en

24:16

Snow White And What's Making Us Happy

Pop Culture Happy Hour ·

2025/03/21

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.Follow Pop Culture Happy Hour on Letterboxd at letterboxd.com/nprpopculture.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

en

12:14

Novocaine

Pop Culture Happy Hour ·

2025/03/19

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.To access bonus episodes and sponsor-free listening for Pop Culture Happy Hour, subscribe to Pop Culture Happy Hour+ at plus.npr.org/happy. Follow Pop

en

16:54

Oscar-Winner Anora Is Now Streaming

Pop Culture Happy Hour ·

2025/03/18

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

en

17:48

Ayo Edebiri's New Movie Opus

Pop Culture Happy Hour ·

2025/03/17

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.To access bonus episodes and sponsor-free listening for Pop Culture Happy Hour, subscribe to Pop Culture Happy Hour+ at plus.npr.org/happy. Follow Pop Culture Happy Hour on Letterboxd at letterboxd.com/nprpopculture.Learn more about sponsor message choices:

en

15:41

Black Bag And What's Making Us Happy

Pop Culture Happy Hour ·

2025/03/14

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.Follow Pop Culture Happy Hour on Letterboxd at letterboxd.com/nprpopculture.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

en

24:39

Mickey 17 And What's Making Us Happy

Pop Culture Happy Hour ·

2025/03/07

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.Follow Pop Culture Happy Hour on Letterboxd at letterboxd.com/nprpopculture.To access bonus episodes and sponsor-free listening for Pop

en

23:07

Terrible But Bingeable TV shows

Pop Culture Happy Hour ·

2025/03/06

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

en

18:55

Favorite SNL Musical Moments

Pop Culture Happy Hour ·

2025/03/05

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

en

51:30

2025 Oscars Guide And What's Making Us Happy

Pop Culture Happy Hour ·

2025/02/28

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.To access bonus episodes and sponsor-free listening for Pop Culture Happy Hour, subscribe to Pop Culture Happy Hour+ at plus.npr.org/happy. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

en

19:51

Paradise

Pop Culture Happy Hour ·

2025/02/27

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

en

14:58

Zero Day

Pop Culture Happy Hour ·

2025/02/25

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

en

22:40

Actors Who've Never Been Nominated For An Oscar, But...

Pop Culture Happy Hour ·

2025/02/24

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

en

21:57

The Monkey And What's Making Us Happy

Pop Culture Happy Hour ·

2025/02/21

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.Follow Pop Culture Happy Hour on Letterboxd at letterboxd.com/nprpopcultureLearn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

en

22:27

We Fantasy Cast The Traitors

Pop Culture Happy Hour ·

2025/02/18

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.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

en

18:15

Paddington In Peru

Pop Culture Happy Hour ·

2025/02/17

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

en

26:01

Captain America: Brave New World And What's Making Us...

Pop Culture Happy Hour ·

2025/02/14

Anthony Mackie is the new Captain America, and he's finally got his own movie. In Captain America: Brave New World, Cap finds himself battling President Thaddeus Ross (Harrison Ford) who is hiding quite a few secrets.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.Learn more about sponsor message choices:

en

21:16

Love Hurts And What's Making Us Happy

Pop Culture Happy Hour ·

2025/02/07

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.Follow Pop Culture Happy Hour on Letterboxd at letterboxd.com/nprpopculture Learn more about sponsor message choices:

en

20:42

2025 Sundance Film Festival: Best Movies

Pop Culture Happy Hour ·

2025/02/04

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.For a complete list of the movies we loved at Sundance, Pop Culture Happy Hour on LetterboxdLearn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

en

25:53

2025 Grammys Recap

Pop Culture Happy Hour ·

2025/02/03

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

en

547 results

Similar Podcasts

Scoop Viewfinder

Gene Viewfinder

IGN Movie Reviews

IGN

The Adam Friedland Show

The Adam Friedland Show

BEHIND THE VELVET ROPE

David Yontef

Love Island: The Morning After

Lifted Entertainment part of ITV Studios