Accessibility links
Pop Culture Happy Hour Get obsessed with us. Five days a week, Pop Culture Happy Hour serves you recommendations and commentary on the buzziest movies, TV, music, books, videogames and more. Join arts journalists Linda Holmes, Glen Weldon, Stephen Thompson, and Aisha Harris - plus a rotating cast of guest pop culture aficionados. The Happy Hour team leaves room at the table for exploring a range of reactions and opinions on every bit of the pop universe. From lowbrow to highbrow to the stuff in between, they take it all with a shot of cheer.
Pop Culture Happy Hour

Podcast Directory
PCHH
NPR

Pop Culture Happy Hour

From NPR

Get obsessed with us. Five days a week, Pop Culture Happy Hour serves you recommendations and commentary on the buzziest movies, TV, music, books, videogames and more. Join arts journalists Linda Holmes, Glen Weldon, Stephen Thompson, and Aisha Harris - plus a rotating cast of guest pop culture aficionados. The Happy Hour team leaves room at the table for exploring a range of reactions and opinions on every bit of the pop universe. From lowbrow to highbrow to the stuff in between, they take it all with a shot of cheer.

Most Recent Episodes

You May Or May Not Care For 'I Care A Lot'

Rosamund Pike stars in the new Netflix film I Care A Lot. Seacia Pavao/Netflix hide caption

toggle caption
Seacia Pavao/Netflix

You May Or May Not Care For 'I Care A Lot'

In the new Netflix comedy-thriller I Care A Lot, Rosamund Pike plays a slick grifter named Marla who tricks her way into becoming the legal guardian of elderly people, then drains their bank accounts. It's a well-oiled scheme, until she chooses a woman with a dangerous background as her new target.

You May Or May Not Care For 'I Care A Lot'

  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/970512063/970549813" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
Book Concierge: Nonfiction Recommendations
Becky Harlan/NPR

Book Concierge: Nonfiction Recommendations

Every year, NPR brings together some of the best books of the year in a searchable, explorable guide called the Book Concierge. Today, we're talking about some of the best nonfiction picks that show up in this year's guide.

Book Concierge: Nonfiction Recommendations

Listen · 11:57
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/969459069/970151638" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
'It's A Sin' Chronicles The Plague Years

Olly Alexander and Lydia West star as Ritchie Tozer and Jill Baxter in It's A Sin. Russ Ferguson/HBO Max hide caption

toggle caption
Russ Ferguson/HBO Max

'It's A Sin' Chronicles The Plague Years

It's A Sin chronicles the AIDS epidemic as experienced by a group of friends in London in the early 1980s. They come from different backgrounds, and deal with the dawning realization that a virus is ravaging their community in different ways. None of them will get through it unchanged, and some of them won't get through it at all.

'It's A Sin' Chronicles The Plague Years

Listen · 18:02
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/969440175/969445688" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
'Nomadland' Is An Empathetic, Immersive Journey

Frances McDormand stars as Fern in Nomadland. Courtesy of Searchlight Pictures hide caption

toggle caption
Courtesy of Searchlight Pictures

'Nomadland' Is An Empathetic, Immersive Journey

The new film Nomadland is about a woman named Fern who's lost her husband, her home and her entire community: a company town that collapsed when the company did. She's played by Frances McDormand, and in Chloé Zhao's film, she falls into a new community of people who live on the road, out of vans and RVs.

'Nomadland' Is An Empathetic, Immersive Journey

Listen · 22:48
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/969082690/969114012" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
Lara Jean Says Goodbye In 'To All The Boys: Always And Forever'

Lana Condor and Noah Centineo star in To All The Boys: Always And Forever. Katie Yu/Netflix hide caption

toggle caption
Katie Yu/Netflix

Lara Jean Says Goodbye In 'To All The Boys: Always And Forever'

In 2018, To All The Boys I've Loved Before was a breakout hit for Netflix. Based on Jenny Han's novel, it followed Lara Jean Covey through the adventure of falling in love with one Peter Kavinsky. A sequel followed in 2020 and now, it's time for the finale, which finds Lara Jean and Peter dealing with the complication of graduating and heading off to college.

Lara Jean Says Goodbye In 'To All The Boys: Always And Forever'

Listen · 13:49
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/968752435/968761514" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
Diving Into 'Shark Tank'

Mark Cuban fields pitches from aspiring entrepreneurs on an episode of ABC's Shark Tank. ABC hide caption

toggle caption
ABC

Diving Into 'Shark Tank'

On Shark Tank, a group of wealthy investors like Mark Cuban and "Queen of QVC" Lori Greiner listen to pitches from people who have invented something. Might be an app, might be a toy, might be a belt that can hold a beer can. Then the investors decide whether to invest in the business, and they negotiate with the entrepreneur — sometimes competing with each other to get the deal. In this encore episode, we revisit our conversation about the hit ABC show.

Diving Into 'Shark Tank'

Listen · 22:52
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/967089928/967362603" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
In 'Supernova', Stanley Tucci And Colin Firth Play A Couple Facing Dementia

Stanley Tucci and Colin Firth star in Supernova. Courtesy of Bleecker Street hide caption

toggle caption
Courtesy of Bleecker Street

In 'Supernova', Stanley Tucci And Colin Firth Play A Couple Facing Dementia

In Supernova, Colin Firth and Stanley Tucci play a gay couple coming to terms with the fact that Tucci's character is experiencing early onset dementia. They take one last trip together around the British Lake District and try to enjoy these moments together, even though their shared knowledge of what's to come exposes their fears and secrets.

In 'Supernova', Stanley Tucci And Colin Firth Play A Couple Facing Dementia

Listen · 12:01
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/965788908/967333269" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
Desus And Mero On Politics, Fame And Life In The Pandemic

Desus Nice and The Kid Mero in the second season of Desus & Mero. Greg Endries/Showtime hide caption

toggle caption
Greg Endries/Showtime

Desus And Mero On Politics, Fame And Life In The Pandemic

A special bonus episode from NPR's It's Been A Minute With Sam Sanders. Desus Nice and The Kid Mero went from calling up "anyone in their phone book" in the early days of their podcast Bodega Boys, to booking big names in politics like Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and President Barack Obama on Desus & Mero, their late-night show airing on Showtime.

Desus And Mero On Politics, Fame And Life In The Pandemic

Listen · 29:46
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/966890642/967357634" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
'Judas And The Black Messiah' Melds The Personal And Political

Daniel Kaluuya portrays Fred Hampton in new film Judas And The Black Messiah. Courtesy of Warner Bros. Inc. hide caption

toggle caption
Courtesy of Warner Bros. Inc.

'Judas And The Black Messiah' Melds The Personal And Political

Fred Hampton, the charismatic chairman of the Black Panther Party's Illinois chapter, was just 21 years old when he was killed during a police raid in 1969. In Judas And The Black Messiah, he's given the cinematic treatment via a stirring performance by Daniel Kaluuya. The new film directed by Shaka King focuses on Hampton's activism and how it made him the target of the federal government. The Judas in this story is the FBI informant who played a crucial role in Hampton's death: William O'Neal, portrayed deftly by LaKeith Stanfield.

'Judas And The Black Messiah' Melds The Personal And Political

Listen · 27:01
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/966890640/967024605" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
Book Concierge: Music Book Recommendations
Becky Harlan/NPR

Book Concierge: Music Book Recommendations

Every year, NPR brings together some of the best books in a searchable, explorable guide called the Book Concierge. It can help you find exactly the read you're looking for. Today we're talking about some of the best books for music lovers that show up in this year's guide.

Book Concierge: Music Book Recommendations

Listen · 12:32
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/954855165/965894293" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Related Podcasts

Pop Culture Happy Hour

Podcast Directory
Back To Top
or search npr.org