Accessibility links
Stephen Thompson Stephen Thompson is a host, writer and reviewer for NPR Music and Pop Culture Happy Hour. He appears frequently on All Songs Considered and NPR newsmagazines.
Washington, DC - May 03, 2016: Stephen Thompson CREDIT: Matt Roth
Stories By

Stephen Thompson

Monday

NPR Music's No. 1 Albums And Songs Of November

Clockwise from top row: Kali Uchis, Tierra Whack, Salaam Remi, Jucifer. Courtesy of the artists hide caption

toggle caption
Courtesy of the artists

All Songs Considered

NPR Music's No. 1 Albums And Songs Of November

We pick our favorite music released in November 2020, featuring Kali Uchis' heart-struck devotionals, Tierra Whack's playful pop, metal duo Jucifer's tribute to Arabic music and Salaam Remi's star-studded soundtrack of the Black experience.

NPR Music's No. 1 Albums And Songs Of November

Listen · 25:40
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/938870131/939881017" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">

Saturday

Music News

Music Review: Secretary Of State Pick Antony Blinken

The Biden administration's pick for Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, is a musician who's released two songs on Spotify under the name "ABlinken."

Music Review: Secretary Of State Pick Antony Blinken

Listen · 2:55
Transcript
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/939737441/939737442" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Wednesday

Twenty Years Later, Is 'The Emperor's New Groove'... A Classic?
Angela Hsieh/NPR

Review

Pop Culture Happy Hour

Twenty Years Later, Is 'The Emperor's New Groove'... A Classic?

The Emperor's New Groove came out 20 years ago, during a time when Disney's animation department was going through an identity crisis. The plot is simple: David Spade is a bratty emperor. Eartha Kitt and Patrick Warburton turn him into a llama. And John Goodman is the peasant who helps make things right. It was originally gonna be an epic musical, but then it became a comedy, a box-office disappointment, and now, we would argue, a beloved classic.

Twenty Years Later, Is 'The Emperor's New Groove'... A Classic?

Listen · 20:59
Transcript
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/937948440/938579444" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Monday

Megan Thee Stallion Completes Her World Domination With 'Good News'

Megan Thee Stallion performs at Red Rocks Amphitheatre on September 02, 2020 in Morrison, Colorado. Rich Fury/Getty Images for Visible hide caption

toggle caption
Rich Fury/Getty Images for Visible

Review

Pop Culture Happy Hour

Megan Thee Stallion Completes Her World Domination With 'Good News'

Rapper Megan Thee Stallion has had a massive year. Her song with Cardi B, "WAP," topped the Billboard Hot 100 — as did, of course, her remix of "Savage" with Beyoncé. On Friday, Megan Thee Stallion dropped her first official full-length album, called Good News. It's stuffed with explicit sex and raunchy confidence, with features from fellow stars like SZA, Young Thug, 2 Chainz and Da Baby. But it also opens with "Shots Fired," in which Meg bluntly addresses the July shooting that led to bullet wounds in her feet and the arrest of rapper Tory Lanez.

Megan Thee Stallion Completes Her World Domination With 'Good News'

Listen · 21:01
Transcript
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/937149971/937316837" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Thursday

We're (Walking And) Talking About 'The West Wing'

The cast of The West Wing, circa season three: (l-r) Dulé Hill, Rob Lowe, Allison Janney, Martin Sheen, Richard Schiff, Stockard Channing, John Spencer, Janel Moloney, Bradley Whitford. David Rose/NBCUniversal via Getty Images hide caption

toggle caption
David Rose/NBCUniversal via Getty Images

Review

Pop Culture Happy Hour

We're (Walking And) Talking About 'The West Wing'

The West Wing chronicles the inner workings of a fictional presidential administration. The president is Democrat Jed Bartlet, played by Martin Sheen, and his staff includes heavy hitters played by folks like Allison Janney, Rob Lowe, Bradley Whitford, John Spencer, and Richard Schiff. For the first four seasons, most episodes were written by Aaron Sorkin, who created the show and gave it many of its signature flourishes — the snappy banter, the walking and talking, and, of course, the big speech that solves everything.

We're (Walking And) Talking About 'The West Wing'

Listen · 19:45
Transcript
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/935428959/936184323" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Tuesday

Leslie Jones Reinvigorates 'Supermarket Sweep'

Leslie Jones is the host of ABC's Supermarket Sweep. Eric McCandless/ABC hide caption

toggle caption
Eric McCandless/ABC

Review

Pop Culture Happy Hour

Leslie Jones Reinvigorates 'Supermarket Sweep'

The game show Supermarket Sweep has run in the '60s, the '90s and the aughts. This fall, it's been revived for a fourth iteration — this time in primetime on ABC. While the previous two versions of the show were hosted by the affable David Ruprecht, the new Supermarket Sweep is hosted by the delightfully amped-up Leslie Jones. She helps a new generation of shoppers as they run around a fake grocery store and attempt to fill their shopping carts with high-priced hams, fancy olives and anything else that adds up to big money.

Leslie Jones Reinvigorates 'Supermarket Sweep'

Listen · 15:23
Transcript
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/935405856/935406003" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Sunday

Friday

How 'Ted' Lassoed His Way Into Our Hearts

Brendan Hunt as Coach Beard and Jason Sudeikis as Ted Lasso in the Apple TV+ series Ted Lasso. Apple TV+ hide caption

toggle caption
Apple TV+

Review

Pop Culture Happy Hour

How 'Ted' Lassoed His Way Into Our Hearts

Ted Lasso knows football, but not, you know, football. He is an American football coach who finds himself in the U.K. coaching soccer in the Premier League. Jason Sudeikis originated the character in a promotional campaign for NBC's soccer coverage back in 2013. Now, Apple has given Ted his own ten-episode underdog sports series, called Ted Lasso. The show follows Ted's first season of play, which begins as a doomed campaign masterminded by an embittered team owner who's trying to tank her own team. But as the story continues, Ted turns out to have a surprisingly warm heart, and maybe even some valuable insights.

How 'Ted' Lassoed His Way Into Our Hearts

Listen · 22:52
Transcript
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/933599086/934122973" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Sunday

Remembering 'Jeopardy!' Host Alex Trebek

Jeopardy! host Alex Trebek at a press conference on January 13, 2011. Ben Hider/Getty Images hide caption

toggle caption
Ben Hider/Getty Images

Pop Culture Happy Hour

Remembering 'Jeopardy!' Host Alex Trebek

The game show host Alex Trebek died Sunday following a battle with pancreatic cancer. Trebek hosted Jeopardy! for 36 years — his last episode airs on Christmas Day. Trebek hosted a number of game shows dating back to the early '70s. But he'll be forever known for his work on Jeopardy! — both for his steady demeanor and for moments when he couldn't bring himself to suffer fools gladly.

Remembering 'Jeopardy!' Host Alex Trebek

Listen · 10:03
Transcript
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/932834872/932888543" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Wednesday

Tuesday

Monday

Ariana Grande Returns With 'Positions'

Ariana Grande released Positions on Friday. This is the singer's sixth album. Republic Records hide caption

toggle caption
Republic Records

Review

Pop Culture Happy Hour

Ariana Grande Returns With 'Positions'

Ariana Grande is one of the world's biggest pop stars, and on Friday, she released her sixth album, Positions. The singer's follow-up to Thank U, Next finds her celebrating hard-won happiness in a string of poppy, sexually frank R&B songs.

Ariana Grande Returns With 'Positions'

Listen · 16:58
Transcript
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/929601654/929740421" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Friday

'The Great British Baking Show': Still Scrummy Or A Little Soggy?

The Great British Baking Show is currently airing on Netflix with co-host Noel Fielding and judges Paul Hollywood and Prue Leith, seen here in 2018. Netflix hide caption

toggle caption
Netflix

Review

Pop Culture Happy Hour

'The Great British Baking Show': Still Scrummy Or A Little Soggy?

Whether you like an éclair or a bagel, a biscuit or a Bakewell tart, The Great British Baking Show will bring all your feelings about baked goods to the surface. The hosts have changed, and the challenges have evolved, but it's still about getting that perfect bake. The current season is airing on Netflix, and was filmed in a so-called bubble to protect everyone from the pandemic. It also comes at a time when a lot of viewers at home have been taking out their sourdough starters and their cake pans.

'The Great British Baking Show': Still Scrummy Or A Little Soggy?

Listen · 24:08
Transcript
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/929077733/929169882" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Thursday

'Borat 2': Giuliani Made Headlines, But Is The Film Any Good?

Borat returns in the pithily titled sequel, Borat Subsequent Moviefilm: Delivery of Prodigious Bribe to American Regime for Make Benefit Once Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan. Amazon Studios hide caption

toggle caption
Amazon Studios

Review

Pop Culture Happy Hour

'Borat 2': Giuliani Made Headlines, But Is The Film Any Good?

In 2006, Sacha Baron Cohen's movie Borat was an unlikely blockbuster. It starred Cohen as a fictional reporter from Kazakhstan who journeys across the U.S. and interacts with Americans who don't know they're part of a comedy. Borat made hundreds of millions of dollars. It spawned catchphrases, and became a pop-culture phenomenon. Now, 14 years later, that unlikely blockbuster has an equally unlikely sequel. The new movie Borat Subsequent Moviefilm grabbed headlines last week because of a controversial scene involving President Trump's lawyer, Rudy Giuliani. But is the film itself any good?

'Borat 2': Giuliani Made Headlines, But Is The Film Any Good?

Listen · 20:21
Transcript
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/927066691/928654518" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Tuesday

3 Great Horror Movies For Scaredy Cats

Peter Lorre stars in the 1931 film M, which is a great horror entry point for scaredy cats. Herbert Dorfman/Corbis via Getty Images hide caption

toggle caption
Herbert Dorfman/Corbis via Getty Images

Review

Pop Culture Happy Hour

3 Great Horror Movies For Scaredy Cats

We are deep into the Halloween season, and many of us are cooped up at home with our streaming services, scrolling through movie after movie full of monsters, murderers, jump scares, and rivers of blood. But what about those of us who are scaredy cats? Maybe we're into the idea of horror movies, but aren't looking to be grossed out by gore or freaked out by jump scares? Well, this is the discussion for you.

3 Great Horror Movies For Scaredy Cats

Listen · 10:48
Transcript
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/927788487/927806211" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript