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Secrets and lies and 'Conversations with Friends'

Alison Oliver and Joe Alwyn play Frances and Nick in Conversations with Friends. Enda Bowe/ Hulu hide caption

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Enda Bowe/ Hulu

Review

Pop Culture Happy Hour

Secrets and lies and 'Conversations with Friends'

Irish writer Sally Rooney's book Normal People was adapted into a Hulu series in 2020. Now, her first novel Conversations with Friends gets its own Hulu adaptation. It tells the story of two college friends and exes (Alison Oliver and Sasha Lane) who meet a married couple (Joe Alwyn and Jemima Kirke) and get very deeply entangled with them, which makes everything very complicated.

Secrets and lies and 'Conversations with Friends'

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'Station Eleven': A Home At The End Of The World

Jeevan (Himesh Patel) and Kirsten (Matilda Lawler) brace for a looming pandemic in Station Eleven. Parrish Lewis/HBO Max hide caption

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Parrish Lewis/HBO Max

Short Wave

'Station Eleven': A Home At The End Of The World

Today we're bringing you an episode from our friends at NPR's Pop Culture Happy Hour.

'Station Eleven': A Home At The End Of The World

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Friends Forever: 'The Baby-Sitters Club'

Shay Rudolph, Momona Tamada, Malia Baker, and Sophie Grace star in the Netflix series, The Baby-Sitters Club. Kailey Schwerman/Netflix hide caption

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Kailey Schwerman/Netflix

Review

Pop Culture Happy Hour

Friends Forever: 'The Baby-Sitters Club'

Kristy, Claudia, Mary-Anne and Stacey are back. Netflix has adapted the book series The Baby-Sitters Club, and hopes to reintroduce it to young viewers, nostalgic millennials, and anyone else who longs for days spent with friends when worries aren't too worrisome. Starring a cast of fresh young actors, and a few familiar faces among the adults, the show is getting solid reviews and might be just the thing for summer viewing.

Friends Forever: 'The Baby-Sitters Club'

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Why You Should Stream 'Booksmart'

Beanie Feldstein and Kaitlyn Dever, star in the 2019 comedy Booksmart. Courtesy of Annapurna Pictures hide caption

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Courtesy of Annapurna Pictures

Review

Pop Culture Happy Hour

Why You Should Stream 'Booksmart'

Last year we talked about the movie Booksmart, and we really, really liked it. It's about two young women about to graduate from high school who spend one last night trying to catch up on everything they missed. Starring Beanie Feldstein and Kaitlyn Dever, it's the directing debut of actress Olivia Wilde. The comedy came out last summer — and it's currently streaming on Hulu and available to rent on demand. And because so many students are wrapping up their school year and graduating, we thought, what better time to look back at this terrific movie? (This episode originally aired on May 31, 2019.)

Why You Should Stream 'Booksmart'

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A Hit Novel Comes To The Screen With 'Normal People'

The new adaptation of Sally Rooney's novel Normal People, stars Daisy Edgar-Jones as Marianne, and Paul Mescal as Connell. Hulu hide caption

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Hulu

Review

Pop Culture Happy Hour

A Hit Novel Comes To The Screen With 'Normal People'

When a popular book becomes a television series, the stakes are high. Sally Rooney's novel Normal People is no exception, and the very good Hulu adaptation has finally arrived. The new series tells the story of Marianne and Connell, who go to high school together in Ireland. We follow the couple for a few years as they drift toward adulthood, sometimes apart and sometimes together. And while the show features other characters like their mothers and friends, it's mostly a study of Marianne and Connell and how their relationship shifts.

A Hit Novel Comes To The Screen With 'Normal People'

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Books To Make Your Isolation Feel A Little Less Lonely

Curling up with a good book can help pass the time when you're stuck at home. Sirinapa Wannapat/Getty Images/EyeEm hide caption

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Sirinapa Wannapat/Getty Images/EyeEm

Review

Pop Culture Happy Hour

Books To Make Your Isolation Feel A Little Less Lonely

There's no wrong time for a good book. But as we tape this, many people are stuck at home more than usual, which makes it an exceptionally right time. So we're here to pass on some book recommendations we hope will make your isolation feel a little less isolated.

Books To Make Your Isolation Feel A Little Less Lonely

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The Fine Brushstrokes Of 'Portrait Of A Lady On Fire'

Directed by Céline Sciamma, Portrait of a Lady on Fire stars Noémie Merlant and Adèle Haenel. Neon hide caption

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Neon

Review

Pop Culture Happy Hour

The Fine Brushstrokes Of 'Portrait Of A Lady On Fire'

Portrait Of A Lady On Fire begins with a woman named Marianne assigned to paint a woman named Heloise. It's the second half of the 18th century, and the portrait is the best way to present Heloise to a man who might marry her. In writer and director Céline Sciamma's film, it's relationships between women that are at the center of the story — a story about art, sex and navigating limited choices.

The Fine Brushstrokes Of 'Portrait Of A Lady On Fire'

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Talking, Laughing, Loving, Breathing: On The Return Of 'The L Word'

Katherine Moennig reprises the role of Shane McCutcheon in The L Word: Generation Q. Hilary Bronwyn Gayle/Showtime hide caption

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Hilary Bronwyn Gayle/Showtime

Review

Pop Culture Happy Hour

Talking, Laughing, Loving, Breathing: On The Return Of 'The L Word'

From 2004 to 2009, the Showtime TV drama The L Word examined the lives of a group of queer women in L.A. The show was uneven, but it also marked an important milestone for queer representation on television. Now, the series has a sequel called The L Word: Generation Q. It's moved to a different L.A. neighborhood, it's added a diverse cast of new young stars, and it catches us up on the lives of Bette, Alice, and Shane, among others.

Talking, Laughing, Loving, Breathing: On The Return Of 'The L Word'

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A New Podcast Explores 'Dolly Parton's America'

Dolly Parton arrives at the 53rd annual CMA Awards Evan Agostini/Invision/AP hide caption

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Evan Agostini/Invision/AP

Pop Culture Happy Hour

A New Podcast Explores 'Dolly Parton's America'

Dolly Parton might be one of the most famous women in the United States. She's one of our great country singers, she produces television including an upcoming Netflix series, and she has her own theme park. And now, inevitably, she's the subject of a podcast. The nine-episode series, Dolly Parton's America, from Jad Abumrad of Radiolab, talks about Parton's life, her music, her home, and what she means to other people.

A New Podcast Explores 'Dolly Parton's America'

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'The Goldfinch' Turns A Long Book Into An Overstuffed Movie

Ansel Elgort plays Theo Decker in The Goldfinch. Warner Bros. Pictures hide caption

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Warner Bros. Pictures

Review

Pop Culture Happy Hour

'The Goldfinch' Turns A Long Book Into An Overstuffed Movie

Donna Tartt's 2013 book The Goldfinch won a Pulitzer Prize for its story of a boy whose mother dies in a bombing. It's an epic tale of grief, abandonment, friendship, drugs, and a stolen painting of a goldfinch. Now, The Goldfinch has been adapted into a movie starring Ansel Elgort, Oakes Fegley, Nicole Kidman, Luke Wilson, Jeffrey Wright, Finn Wolfhard and Sarah Paulsen.

'The Goldfinch' Turns A Long Book Into An Overstuffed Movie

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We Get Up In Our Feelings With 'Steven Universe: The Movie'

Garnet (Estelle) and Steven Universe (Zach Callison) return for Steven Universe: The Movie. Cartoon Network hide caption

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Cartoon Network

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Pop Culture Happy Hour

We Get Up In Our Feelings With 'Steven Universe: The Movie'

The animated show Steven Universe has told the story of a human-alien hybrid boy and the race of alien women called Gems who've helped raise him on Earth. The show has told lighthearted stories of life in the fictional Beach City — and headed to space for a more epic saga about a group of intergalactic leaders, a past rebellion, and a plot to destroy the world. Creator Rebecca Sugar has said that there will be more episodes, but for now, Steven Universe: The Movie has just premiered on the Cartoon Network.

We Get Up In Our Feelings With 'Steven Universe: The Movie'

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'Where'd You Go, Bernadette' Doesn't Live Up To The Book

Cate Blanchett stars as Bernadette Fox in Richard Linklater's adaptation of Where'd You Go, Bernadette. Wilson Webb/Annapurna Pictures hide caption

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Pop Culture Happy Hour

'Where'd You Go, Bernadette' Doesn't Live Up To The Book

In Maria Semple's novel Where'd You Go, Bernadette, Bernadette Fox is a wife and mother who mysteriously vanishes from her ordinary life in the middle of a personal crisis. Her daughter is left to piece together what happened. The new film adaptation is directed by Richard Linklater and stars Cate Blanchett as Bernadette.

'Where'd You Go, Bernadette' Doesn't Live Up To The Book

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'The Lion King' Is Like A Nature Documentary With A Backbeat

James Earl Jones returns as Mufasa, and JD McCrary plays Young Simba in Disney's remake of The Lion King. Disney Enterprises hide caption

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Disney Enterprises

Review

Pop Culture Happy Hour

'The Lion King' Is Like A Nature Documentary With A Backbeat

For the last few years, Disney has been turning its beloved animated films into live-action revamps . But this revamp isn't live-action — even though it looks like it is. The digital animation is ridiculously advanced, bringing Simba, Mufasa, Scar, Nala, Timon and Pumbaa to eerie, ultra-realistic life. The voice cast is full of ringers — Chiwetel Ejiofor, John Oliver, Billy Eichner, Seth Rogen, Donald Glover and Beyoncé. But do the changes they make to the story — and the songs — improve on the original?

'The Lion King' Is Like A Nature Documentary With A Backbeat

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A Wild Night With 'Booksmart'

Beanie Feldstein and Kaitlyn Dever play Molly and Amy in Olivia Wilde's directorial feature debute Booksmart. Annapurna Pictures hide caption

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Annapurna Pictures

Review

Pop Culture Happy Hour

A Wild Night With 'Booksmart'

In the new movie Booksmart, two young women about to graduate from high school spend one last night trying to catch up on everything they missed. Starring Beanie Feldstein and Kaitlyn Dever, it's the directing debut of actress Olivia Wilde. The cast also includes Jessica Williams, Billie Lourd, Jason Sudeikis, Lisa Kudrow and many more. And we really, really like it.

A Wild Night With 'Booksmart'

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