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PODCAST

It"s Been a Minute

Has it been a minute since you heard a thought-provoking conversation about culture? Brittany Luse wants to help. Each week, she takes the things everyone"s talking about and, in conversation with her favorite creators, tastemakers, and experts, gives you new ways to think about them. Beyond the obvious takes. Because culture doesn"t happen by accident.If you can"t get enough, try It"s Been a Minute Plus. Your subscription supports the show and unlocks a sponsor-free feed. Learn more at

society & culture news commentary

All Episodes

21:49

Rosalía & the evolving definition of Latinidad

It"s Been a Minute ·

2025/11/07

Spanish artist and musical chameleon Rosalía released her latest album, Lux, today. The single, "Berghain," seems like a return to form. Operatic vocals, grand instrumentals, beautiful visuals -- the album is primed for critical praise. But for those who are hyperaware of Rosalia’s transformations -- from flamenco songstress to Afro-Caribbean queen -- they have other questions about this evolution. Brittany is joined by writer-critics Bilal Qureshi and Michelle Santiago Cortés to unpack Rosalía’s

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17:51

Should we all start locking up our phones?

It"s Been a Minute ·

2025/11/05

Does your phone feel like a blessing or a burden? Either way, there's probably a lot you can learn from new phone bans. Many K-12 students are going phone-free - but not by choice. In over half the country, there are now restrictions on cellphone possession and use in class. The goal is to increase student focus and enhance learning...but when you think about school shootings, phones have been a big part of parents' safety plans for their kids. So are phone bans the best solution? And what do these

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17:08

How 'Socialism' got sexy

It"s Been a Minute ·

2025/11/03

What does ‘socialism’ mean to a generation that grew up with COVID… not the Cold War? How have the compounding effects of college protests, financial insecurity, and student loan debt shaped a culture? This is… The ABCs of the Culture Wars. For the next few weeks, Brittany breaks down the history, subtext, and evolving meanings of the buzzwords you hear all over the news and social media. Today we're talking about the S-word: Socialism. And why the word has gained new meaning for a younger

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22:06

The politics of hunger

It"s Been a Minute ·

2025/10/31

Is hunger in America a choice?This week, over 40 million people worried about losing their SNAP benefits due to the government shutdown. But with Thanksgiving just around the corner, who's hurt most by hunger? And why do some believe that if you’re hungry, it’s your fault? Brittany gets into it with Poonam Gupta, research associate at the Urban Institute, and Maggie Dickinson, associate professor at Queens College and author of Feeding the Crisis: Care and Abandonment and America's Food Safety

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47:21

Brittany meets Sam Sanders, and things get spooky

It"s Been a Minute ·

2025/10/30

For longtime fans of this show, here's a name you know: Sam Sanders. Before Brittany, Sam was the host of It's Been A Minute, and recently Brittany ran into Sam at an event. The two got to talking and came up with an an idea...what if Brittany came on Sam's new show, KCRW's The Sam Sanders Show? And then...what if they brought all of you longtime IBAM fans the podcast multiverse event of the season to this feed?!That's how we got here. In this special bonus episode, Sam, Brittany, and Tre'vell

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20:27

These men tried to be bros...and failed.

It"s Been a Minute ·

2025/10/29

What can we all learn from stories of men trying to find friends...and failing?Men in real life - and in the movies - are trying to figure out how to be friends. There's been a lot of talk alleging lonely men are the cause of cultural tensions, and Hollywood has caught on (despite a similar number of women saying they are lonely, too!). Several films this year depict how society leads men into fraught, messy friendships. So, what can we all learn from toxic (or good!) friendships between

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19:25

How 'Capitalism' became a dirty word

It"s Been a Minute ·

2025/10/27

Is it a bad thing to be a "capitalist?" Why is the word being used as a diss?And how do Americans' shifting attitudes towards it show up in your discourse and your favorite movies?This is… The ABCs of the Culture Wars. For the next few weeks, Brittany breaks down the history, subtext, and evolving meanings of the buzzwords you hear all over the news and social media. Today we're talking about the C-word: Capitalism. And why the word is increasingly divisive in politics and culture.Brittany is joined

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22:53

Nazism has entered the group chat

It"s Been a Minute ·

2025/10/24

Why is there so much Nazism in the news? And when does a "joke" become hate speech?Politico broke a story last week featuring what it said were leaks from a Telegram group chat that included Young Republican National Federation leaders. These chats made headlines for reportedly racist and pro-Nazi messaging. But this is not the only story in the news about people in politics engaging with Nazi rhetoric. Is it happening more often? And is this kind of thing just a “joke”? Brittany is joined by Odette

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19:17

How to make friends & get good gossip

It"s Been a Minute ·

2025/10/22

Do you want to know the secret to making deeper friendships? Throw a dinner party.You'll feel less lonely, take care of people you love, and find out what's really going on in your community. Dinner parties are sort of a lost art, and our notions of what makes a worthy dinner party are being warped by social media. We're here with tips on how to throw one without feeling self-conscious.Brittany is joined by two dinner party experts: architecture & design journalist Carly Olson and chef &

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21:11

Why the internet sucks (and keeps getting worse)

It"s Been a Minute ·

2025/10/20

Do you ever feel like the internet just doesn't work as well as it used to? Or maybe you wish you could go back to the old internet? Where your search queries actually served you what you wanted, and your feeds weren't overrun by ads? Well, it's not just you - the internet IS getting worse, and platforms are getting harder to leave. But how did we get here? Journalist and tech activist Cory Doctorow joins Brittany to lay out why in his new book, Enshittification: Why Everything Suddenly Got Worse

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20:20

Is Taylor Swift exploiting her fans? Yes, but there's...

It"s Been a Minute ·

2025/10/17

Love it or hate it, your favorite pop star is a person and a product. How much are you willing to pay?Taylor Swift’s latest album, The Life of a Showgirl, smashed records for first week album sales. This was in part due to all the different limited-edition variants that went on sale; some for only 24 hours. Talk about pressuring your fans! Is this business strategy fan service, or fan exploitation? Where’s the line? Brittany sits down with Stephen Thompson, host for NPR Music and Pop Culture Happy

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18:40

Art, faith, & your tendency to overthink it.

It"s Been a Minute ·

2025/10/15

Sometimes the harshest critic is the one in your head. What if instead you had faith in yourself, and what you're making?It's a familiar, paralyzing fear that not only keeps you from creating your best work, but can also make you question your own worth. Novelist Brandon Taylor knows this fear intimately. And in his new book, 'Minor Black Figures,' his characters - maybe just like you - are tortured by harsh online criticism from random keyboard warriors, and their own inner saboteurs. In this

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19:09

Brittany pops off on Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson

It"s Been a Minute ·

2025/10/14

NPR's Pop Culture Happy Hour asked Brittany to go to the movies and bring them her thoughts on The Rock's new movie, The Smashing Machine. She fulfilled the assignment and more.In this special bonus episode, Brittany, Pop Culture Happy Hour's Aisha Harris, Code Switch's Gene Demby, and NPR contributor Reanna Cruz get into The Rock's attempt at capital-A acting. Is Dwayne Johnson going to get an Oscar, or is the movie an all-around skip? You can listen to more episodes of NPR's Pop Culture Happy Hour

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21:36

TikTok, Censorship, & Algospeak

It"s Been a Minute ·

2025/10/13

There's his trend on social media of using code words for different topics so you can trick the algorithm from categorizing your content in a certain way. What do you think? Is this a form of censorship? Or...are algorithm categorizations a way of protecting users from seeing too much violent or aggressive content? Well, whatever side of the debate you fall on, Code Switch's B.A. Parker and Gene Demby are going to show you how this so-called ALGO-speak or algorithm-speak shapes your beliefs in

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20:44

People say college doesn't matter. They're right and...

It"s Been a Minute ·

2025/10/10

Does a college degree get you anything these days? Some people say no, but the reality is far more complicated. About 19 million people are going to college right now. But one recent poll from Gallup shows that the percentage of Americans who view college as very important is at an all time low, dropping from 75% in 2010 to 35% now. Those who say it's not very important increased from 4% to 24% in the same time period. This is a pretty dramatic change that goes beyond ballooning costs.Brittany chats

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19:10

Is the economy slowing? Ask Black women.

It"s Been a Minute ·

2025/10/08

Black women’s unemployment rate is hovering at 6.7% — higher than the rate for white workers. Is it a sign the broader economy could sour? These economists say yes.Black women are the 'canary in the economic coal mine,' says Anna Gifty Opoku-Agyeman. She's the author of The Double Tax: How Women of Color are Overcharged and Underpaid. Brittany speaks to Anna and Ofranama Biu, chief economist and senior research director at the Maven Collaborative, about why Black women's unemployment is on the rise

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18:03

If American films are meh...are China’s better?

It"s Been a Minute ·

2025/10/06

Hollywood isn't performing as well at home or abroad. Is it losing its cultural dominance to China's burgeoning film industry? ‘Survive until 2025’ was the mantra that got Hollywood through the past five years of lockdown, streaming wars, and franchise fatigue. And while summer films like Lilo & Stitch, Superman, and Mission Impossible: Final Reckoning made critical and box office impact… on the whole, it still doesn't compare to pre-2020 levels. And even more curious, the international box office -

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19:22

Why do people use ketamine to party?

It"s Been a Minute ·

2025/10/03

Recreational ketamine use is on the rise. But why are some people using it to dissociate in the club? Ketamine – a dissociative anesthetic – is illegal without a prescription and can potentially be harmful. Yet, it has had a massive rise in recreational use over the past decade. One study found that use increased by 81.8% from 2015 to 2019 and rose another 40% from 2021 to 2022. What is driving the illicit drug's sudden popularity? And is it's dissociative properties indicative of our times

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22:34

Should teens have political opinions?

It"s Been a Minute ·

2025/10/01

At what age did you have a fully formed political perspective? Did tens of thousands of people listen to you? Well, teens today are more influential than ever.From Charlie Kirk to Greta Thunberg, teenagers and children have long had political influence. But what’s new is that teenagers are creating their own media ecosystem for teenagers, by teenagers. And they’re doing it through highly popular podcasts, like: MD Foodie Boyz or The LOL Podcast. Brittany, NPR’s Jordan-Marie Smith, and The Cut’s EJ

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20:00

How AI impacts the environment (and your energy bill)

It"s Been a Minute ·

2025/09/29

AI is the future, but how is its infrastructure impacting your air, water, and utilities bills today? You asked, and Brittany delivered. Many of you wrote in asking about artificial intelligence’s environmental impact. Brittany and Evan Halper, a business and energy reporter for The Washington Post, answer your questions and so much more. Like, is AI causing your energy bills to go up? Are tech companies tricking communities into building data centers? And how do you ethically use AI when you know

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938 results

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