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

Thursday

Tuesday

Three Great Songs For Your Next Road Trip

If you're hitting the road this summer, you're gonna want the right tunes. Bun Lee/Getty Images hide caption

toggle caption
Bun Lee/Getty Images

Pop Culture Happy Hour

Three Great Songs For Your Next Road Trip

If you're thinking about taking a road trip, you're gonna need road-trip music. You might need a pick-me-up, or a distraction, or something for when you need a break from podcasts. So if you're headed out on the road soon, we're here to help.

Three Great Songs For Your Next Road Trip

Listen · 8:29
Transcript
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1005548551/1005596488" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Friday

New Music Friday: The Top 6 Albums Out On June 11

Singer and rapper Jesse Markin. His new album, Noir, is on our shortlist for the best releases out on June 11. Tero Ahonen/Courtesy of the artist hide caption

toggle caption
Tero Ahonen/Courtesy of the artist

All Songs Considered

New Music Friday: The Top 6 Albums Out On June 11

Sleater-Kinney's Path of Wellness, the thundering pop of Marina, Brooklyn rapper Skyzoo and the blood-slowing sounds of Dustin O'Halloran are among NPR Music's picks for the best music out on June 11.

New Music Friday: The Top 6 Albums Out On June 11

Listen · 28:19
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1004425994/1199263143" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
'In the Heights' Explodes With Joy

Anthony Ramos stars in Jon M. Chu's film adaptation of In The Heights. Macall Polay/Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. hide caption

toggle caption
Macall Polay/Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc.

Review

Pop Culture Happy Hour

'In the Heights' Explodes With Joy

Before Hamilton made him a household name, Lin-Manuel Miranda wrote the music and lyrics for the musical In The Heights. The Broadway production won four Tony Awards, including Best Musical. The film adaptation, directed by Jon M. Chu, stars Anthony Ramos as Usnavi. He hopes to return to the Dominican Republic, where he can live out the dream of his late parents. In fact, just about everyone in this story has big dreams and mountains to climb.

'In the Heights' Explodes With Joy

Listen · 22:42
Transcript
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1005135306/1005252436" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Thursday

Is 'The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It' An Occult Classic?

Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson return as paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren in The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It. Warner Bros. hide caption

toggle caption
Warner Bros.

Review

Pop Culture Happy Hour

Is 'The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It' An Occult Classic?

The 2013 horror film The Conjuring made more than $300 million and spawned a blockbuster cinematic universe. The main Conjuring movies center on the heavily fictionalized accounts of two real-life demon-hunters, played by Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga, who solve paranormal mysteries. In the new, third film in the series, The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It, our heroes try to figure out what compelled a young man to brutally kill his landlord.

Tuesday

Monday

'Bo Burnham: Inside' Is A Surprising, Toe-Tapping Peek At Despair

Bo Burnham, pictured here at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival, wrote, directed and performed the entirety of his new Netflix special, Inside, by himself. Rich Polk/Getty Images hide caption

toggle caption
Rich Polk/Getty Images

Review

Pop Culture Happy Hour

'Bo Burnham: Inside' Is A Surprising, Toe-Tapping Peek At Despair

Bo Burnham's new Netflix special Inside is not stand-up comedy. It's one-man isolation theater, shot in one enclosed space and bursting with musical performances and video sendups of genres from sad-dude acoustic guitar songs to '80s synth pop. Filmed over more than a year of pandemic disruption, it's whimsical, biting, empathetic and full of earworms.

'Bo Burnham: Inside' Is A Surprising, Toe-Tapping Peek At Despair

Listen · 15:11
Transcript
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1002974637/1003018062" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Friday

Summer Guide: Movies, TV and Music We Can't Wait For

Tom Hiddleston returns as the title role in Loki, which starts streaming on Disney Plus on June 9. Marvel Studios hide caption

toggle caption
Marvel Studios

Pop Culture Happy Hour

Summer Guide: Movies, TV and Music We Can't Wait For

Movie theaters are opening, and new TV shows and music are on the horizon. We've got you covered on what's coming this summer to entertain you.

Summer Guide: Movies, TV and Music We Can't Wait For

Listen · 25:50
Transcript
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1002468817/1002840121" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Tuesday

'A Quiet Place Part II' Amps Up The Action

Millicent Simmonds, Noah Jupe and Emily Blunt star in A Quiet Place Part II. Jonny Cournoyer/Paramount Pictures hide caption

toggle caption
Jonny Cournoyer/Paramount Pictures

Review

Pop Culture Happy Hour

'A Quiet Place Part II' Amps Up The Action

A Quiet Place told the story of a world overrun by monsters who kill anything that makes a sound. Starring Emily Blunt and the film's director John Krasinski, it was a blockbuster in 2018. Now, after a long delay, A Quiet Place Part II is finally hitting theaters, and picking up where the last movie left off.

'A Quiet Place Part II' Amps Up The Action

Listen · 13:56
Transcript
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1000485071/1001240872" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Friday

New Music Friday: The Top 6 Albums Out On May 28

Mereba's new EP, Azeb, is out now. Breyona Holt/Courtesy of the artist hide caption

toggle caption
Breyona Holt/Courtesy of the artist

All Songs Considered

New Music Friday: The Top 6 Albums Out On May 28

NPR Music picks the best new albums out this week, including new releases by DMX, Bachelor, Mustafa, Natalia Lafourcade and more.

New Music Friday: The Top 6 Albums Out On May 28

Listen · 28:20
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1000935587/1199263159" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">

Thursday

BTS And Beyond: A Guide To K-Pop

BTS performs onstage during the KIIS FM's iHeartRadio Jingle Ball at in 2019. Frederic J. Brown/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

toggle caption
Frederic J. Brown/AFP via Getty Images

Pop Culture Happy Hour

BTS And Beyond: A Guide To K-Pop

Last year, the South Korean pop group BTS topped the U.S. charts with the blockbuster earworm "Dynamite." Now, they've got a new hit, called "Butter." But the story of K-pop extends well beyond BTS. And it goes back decades with a huge array of styles and sounds.

BTS And Beyond: A Guide To K-Pop

Listen · 22:44
Transcript
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1000502447/1000568073" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Wednesday

Ranking 'SNL' Musical Guests From Megan Thee Stallion To Morgan Wallen

Lil Nas X performs on the Season 46 finale of Saturday Night Live. Will Heath/NBC hide caption

toggle caption
Will Heath/NBC

Review

Pop Culture Happy Hour

Ranking 'SNL' Musical Guests From Megan Thee Stallion To Morgan Wallen

For the last four years over at NPR Music, Stephen Thompson has compiled a ranking of the best and worst musical guests from the latest season of Saturday Night Live. Season 46 just wrapped up with Lil Nas X, who joins the ranks of this season's best performances, which includes Megan Thee Stallion, Justin Bieber, Bruce Springsteen, Miley Cyrus and many others.

Ranking 'SNL' Musical Guests From Megan Thee Stallion To Morgan Wallen

Listen · 13:11
Transcript
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1000129867/1000167197" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Monday

Olivia Rodrigo's 'Sour' Is Pretty Sweet

Olivia Rodrigo's debut album Sour is a follow-up to her singles "drivers license" and "deja vu." Grant Spanier/Geffen Records hide caption

toggle caption
Grant Spanier/Geffen Records

Review

Pop Culture Happy Hour

Olivia Rodrigo's 'Sour' Is Pretty Sweet

When this year began, Olivia Rodrigo hadn't even released a single as a recording artist. But by mid-January, she was setting streaming records and sitting atop the Billboard Hot 100. "Drivers License" was an instant sensation and one of this year's biggest songs. And now, Olivia Rodrigo has her first full-length album, called Sour.

Olivia Rodrigo's 'Sour' Is Pretty Sweet

Listen · 17:42
Transcript
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/999109249/999116739" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Friday

New Music Friday: The Top 6 Albums Out On May 21

Allison Russell's new album is called Outside Child. Francesca Cepero/Courtesy of the artist hide caption

toggle caption
Francesca Cepero/Courtesy of the artist

All Songs Considered

New Music Friday: The Top 6 Albums Out On May 21

NPR Music picks the best new albums out this week, including new releases by Olivia Rodrigo, Allison Russell, Audrey Nuna and more.

New Music Friday: The Top 6 Albums Out On May 21

Listen · 31:27
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/998709385/1199263167" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">