Why We Can't Resist 'Best Of' Lists
Celine Dion at the 2019 Met Gala. Fans of the singer were outraged over her omission from Rolling Stone magazine's list of the '200 Best Singers of All Time'. Angela Weiss/AFP/Getty Images hide caption
Celine Dion at the 2019 Met Gala. Fans of the singer were outraged over her omission from Rolling Stone magazine's list of the '200 Best Singers of All Time'.
Angela Weiss/AFP/Getty Images'Tis the season for lists! Best films of the year, best albums, best podcasts. Lists can provoke strong emotions- from spirited debate to outrage - over who or what made the cut or ranked higher.
This week, Rolling Stone faced considerable backlash over their list of the 200 greatest singers of all time, which omitted some big names (Celine Dion! Nat King Cole!)
Lists! We love to hate them. Yet still, we click on them. Do they serve some a higher purpose beyond?
NPR's Andrew Limbong talks to Aisha Harris and Stephen Thompson, co-hosts of Pop Culture Happy Hour. In participating regions, you'll also hear a local news segment to help you make sense of what's going on in your community.
Email us at considerthis@npr.org.
This episode was produced by Marc Rivers. It was edited by Jeanette Woods. Our executive producer is Natalie Winston.