Accessibility links
Lennon Sherburne
Stories By

Lennon Sherburne

Thursday

Pop culture that changed our minds

Regina King in Watchmen. Mark Hill/HBO hide caption

toggle caption
Mark Hill/HBO

Pop Culture Happy Hour

Pop culture that changed our minds

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.

Pop culture that changed our minds

Listen · 22:38
Transcript
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1243870140/1269037497" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Monday

'The White Lotus' season 3 ends with several bangs

Walton Goggins in The White Lotus. Fabio Lovino/HBO hide caption

toggle caption
Fabio Lovino/HBO

Review

Pop Culture Happy Hour

'The White Lotus' season 3 ends with several bangs

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.

'The White Lotus' season 3 ends with several bangs

Listen · 23:36
Transcript
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1243384815/1268996407" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Monday

Seth Rogen and a fabulous cast highlight the satire 'The Studio'

Seth Rogen in The Studio. Apple TV+ hide caption

toggle caption
Apple TV+

Review

Pop Culture Happy Hour

Seth Rogen and a fabulous cast highlight the satire 'The Studio'

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.

Seth Rogen and a fabulous cast highlight the satire 'The Studio'

Listen · 22:00
Transcript
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1242489333/1268586894" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Friday

Space

NASA's Curiosity Rover finds intriguing molecules in ancient Mars mud

A science experiment aboard NASA's Curiosity rover has found tantalizing traces of possible past life on Mars. But there could be other explanations for where these compounds came from.

NASA's Curiosity Rover finds intriguing molecules in ancient Mars mud

Listen · 2:54
Transcript
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/nx-s1-5341448/nx-s1-5403990-1" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Wednesday

Murder comes to the White House in 'The Residence'

Uzo Aduba in The Residence. Jessica Brooks/Netflix hide caption

toggle caption
Jessica Brooks/Netflix

Review

Pop Culture Happy Hour

Murder comes to the White House in 'The Residence'

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.

Murder comes to the White House in 'The Residence'

Listen · 19:47
Transcript
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1240892107/1268403109" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Monday

Science

Scientists look to a rat-like creature to better understand the kangaroo's hop

Scientists have been curious about how kangaroos evolved to hop with such efficiency. To investigate that, researchers turned to a sort of evolutionary second-cousin of the kangaroo, the musky rat-kangaroo.

Scientists look to a rat-like creature to better understand the kangaroo's hop

Listen · 2:38
Transcript
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/nx-s1-5334540/nx-s1-5398358-1" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Friday

Mirror, mirror on the wall, is 'Snow White' the dopiest Disney remake of all?

Rachel Zegler in Snow White. Disney hide caption

toggle caption
Disney

Review

Pop Culture Happy Hour

Mirror, mirror on the wall, is 'Snow White' the dopiest Disney remake of all?

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.

Mirror, mirror on the wall, is 'Snow White' the dopiest Disney remake of all?

Listen · 24:16
Transcript
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1239865411/1268212599" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Monday

Author Interviews

Colm Toibin's novel 'Long Island' follows a woman grappling with her husband's betrayal

NPR's Mary Louise Kelly speaks with author Colm Toibin about his new novel Long Island, which centers around a woman dealing with the fallout of a pregnancy caused by her husband's betrayal.

Long Island by Colm Toibin

Listen · 8:14
Transcript
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/nx-s1-4819107/nx-s1-5393235-1" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Friday

Education

Why a Department of Education closure is concern for students with disabilities

NPR's Ailsa Chang talks with Kristy Hedler, mother of a son with Down syndrome, about what eliminating the Department of Education would mean for kids who receive special education services.

DEPT. OF ED SHUTDOWN & SPECIAL ED

Listen · 5:02
Transcript
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/nx-s1-5320051/nx-s1-5383342-1" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
'Mickey 17' sends Robert Pattinson to the printer, but is the toner low?

Robert Pattinson in Mickey 17. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. hide caption

toggle caption
Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc.

Review

Pop Culture Happy Hour

'Mickey 17' sends Robert Pattinson to the printer, but is the toner low?

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.

'Mickey 17' sends Robert Pattinson to the printer, but is the toner low?

Listen · 24:39
Transcript
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1236538085/1267511726" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Thursday

'Paradise' gives us Sterling K. Brown, action hero

Sterling K. Brown in Paradise. Brian Roedel/Hulu hide caption

toggle caption
Brian Roedel/Hulu

Review

Pop Culture Happy Hour

'Paradise' gives us Sterling K. Brown, action hero

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.

'Paradise' gives us Sterling K. Brown, action hero

Listen · 19:51
Transcript
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1234145478/1267101624" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Friday

In 'The Monkey' the goring is never boring

Theo James in The Monkey. Neon hide caption

toggle caption
Neon

Review

Pop Culture Happy Hour

In 'The Monkey' the goring is never boring

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.

In 'The Monkey' the goring is never boring

Listen · 21:57
Transcript
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1232862558/1266780281" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Wednesday

Need a laugh in these trying times? 'One of Them Days' is the comedy for you

Keke Palmer and SZA. Getty Images hide caption

toggle caption
Getty Images

Review

It's Been a Minute

Need a laugh in these trying times? 'One of Them Days' is the comedy for you

Keke Palmer and SZA play two down on their luck friends who run into a series of hilarious unfortunate events in One of Them Days.

Need a laugh in these trying times? 'One of Them Days' is the comedy for you

Listen · 17:24
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1263527045/1266637172" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">

Monday

'Paddington in Peru' puts a mild bear in the wild jungle

Ben Whishaw voices the titular bear in Paddington in Peru. Sony Pictures Entertainment Inc. hide caption

toggle caption
Sony Pictures Entertainment Inc.

Review

Pop Culture Happy Hour

'Paddington in Peru' puts a mild bear in the wild jungle

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.

'Paddington in Peru' puts a mild bear in the wild jungle

Listen · 18:15
Transcript
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1232637577/1266472410" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Friday

'Captain America: Brave New World' is a major misfire

Anthony Mackie in Captain America: Brave New World. Eli Adé/Marvel Studios hide caption

toggle caption
Eli Adé/Marvel Studios

Review

Pop Culture Happy Hour

'Captain America: Brave New World' is a major misfire

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.

'Captain America: Brave New World' is a major misfire

Listen · 26:01
Transcript
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1231335536/1266509885" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript