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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.

Make your happy hour even happier with Pop Culture Happy Hour Plus! Your subscription supports the podcast and unlocks a sponsor-free feed. Learn more at plus.npr.org/happyhour
Pop Culture Happy Hour

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PCHH 2021
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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.

Make your happy hour even happier with Pop Culture Happy Hour Plus! Your subscription supports the podcast and unlocks a sponsor-free feed. Learn more at plus.npr.org/happyhour

Most Recent Episodes

'P-Valley' shines a spotlight on strip club culture

The Starz drama P-Valley recently returned for a second season. Erika Doss/Starz hide caption

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Erika Doss/Starz

'P-Valley' shines a spotlight on strip club culture

The Starz drama P-Valley is set in a Black strip club in the Mississippi Delta. The dancers are acrobatic, artistic and independent. The show is about their labor, but also about a wide variety of stories about power, money, and a community's identity. It recently returned for a second season, so in this encore episode, we revisit our discussion about the show's first season.

'P-Valley' shines a spotlight on strip club culture

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In the Pixar prequel 'Lightyear,' Buzz gets his own swashbuckling space epic

Sox (voiced by Pete Sohn) and Buzz Lightyear (voiced by Chris Evans) star in the film Lightyear. Pixar hide caption

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Pixar

In the Pixar prequel 'Lightyear,' Buzz gets his own swashbuckling space epic

If you've seen any of the Toy Story movies, you know about Buzz Lightyear, the heroic space ranger immortalized in a line of action figures. Now, the character is getting a Disney and Pixar prequel — an origin story starring Chris Evans as the space ranger who started it all. (Take our annual survey at npr.org/podcastsurvey)

In the Pixar prequel 'Lightyear,' Buzz gets his own swashbuckling space epic

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Emma Thompson finds herself, and pleasure, in 'Good Luck To You, Leo Grande'

Daryl McCormack and Emma Thompson star in Good Luck To You, Leo Grande. Nick Wall/Searchlight Pictures hide caption

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Nick Wall/Searchlight Pictures

Emma Thompson finds herself, and pleasure, in 'Good Luck To You, Leo Grande'

In Good Luck to You, Leo Grande, Emma Thompson plays a widow yearning to fulfill a desire that's somehow eluded her her entire life: an orgasm. She sets about achieving her goal by hiring a much younger, highly attractive sex worker (Daryl McCormack). But their time spent together turns out to be much more than transactional. Good Luck To You, Leo Grande will stream on Hulu starting June 17th.

Emma Thompson finds herself, and pleasure, in 'Good Luck To You, Leo Grande'

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50 years of Watergate in pop culture

Robert Redford and Dustin Hoffman play Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein in 1976's All The President's Men. Snap/Shutterstock hide caption

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Snap/Shutterstock

50 years of Watergate in pop culture

This summer marks the 50th anniversary of the break-in at the Watergate Hotel that eventually led to the resignation of President Richard Nixon. Watergate not only had profound impacts on how Americans see the government and the press, but it has influenced decades of film and TV, books and podcasts.

50 years of Watergate in pop culture

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Our 2022 Tony Awards Recap

Ariana DeBose performs onstage at the 75th Annual Tony Awards. Theo Wargo/Getty Images for Tony Awards Pro hide caption

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Theo Wargo/Getty Images for Tony Awards Pro

Our 2022 Tony Awards Recap

The big winners of the 75th Tony Awards included the play The Lehman Trilogy, and the Pulitzer Prize-winning musical A Strange Loop. The evening was hosted by the charming and completely committed Oscar winner Ariana DeBose, and filled with musical performances, emotional acceptance speeches, and a tribute to Stephen Sondheim.

Our 2022 Tony Awards Recap

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Is 'Obi-Wan Kenobi' the show you're looking for?

Ewan McGregor in Obi-Wan Kenobi on Disney+. Lucasfilm Ltd./Disney hide caption

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Lucasfilm Ltd./Disney

Is 'Obi-Wan Kenobi' the show you're looking for?

In the Star Wars Disney+ series Obi-Wan Kenobi, Ewan McGregor returns as one of the last remaining Jedi Knights as he's hiding out on Tatooine. When young Princess Leia is kidnapped, Obi-Wan is convinced to come out of retirement and pull "one last job" to rescue her — even if that means crossing lightsabers with his former apprentice, the evil Darth Vader, played by Hayden Christensen. (Take our annual survey at npr.org/podcastsurvey)

Is 'Obi-Wan Kenobi' the show you're looking for?

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With 'Jurassic World Dominion,' a franchise roars to a close

Chris Pratt plays Owen Grady in Jurassic World Dominion. Universal Pictures hide caption

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Universal Pictures

With 'Jurassic World Dominion,' a franchise roars to a close

Jurassic World Dominion is the sixth and reportedly final film in the Jurassic film franchise, in which genetically engineered dinosaurs run dependably amok in the modern world. This film brings together Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard with Sam Neill, Jeff Goldblum and Laura Dern, the three leads of the film that started it all — 1993's Jurassic Park. (Take our annual survey at npr.org/podcastsurvey)

With 'Jurassic World Dominion,' a franchise roars to a close

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'Crimes of the Future' is a gut check

Kristen Stewart and Léa Seydoux star in David Cronenberg's Crimes of the Future. Nikos Nikolopoulos/Neon hide caption

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Nikos Nikolopoulos/Neon

'Crimes of the Future' is a gut check

Crimes of the Future marks director David Cronenberg's return to the body horror genre. The film is set in a dystopian future where humans no longer feel pain, as they are evolving to adapt to a world riddled with synthetic chemicals. Viggo Mortensen stars as a man who spontaneously grows new organs. Together with his partner, played by Léa Seydoux, he turns the tattooing, surgical removal and display of these organs into performance art.

'Crimes of the Future' is a gut check

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'This Is Going To Hurt' will fix what ails you

Ambika Mod and Ben Whishaw in This Is Going To Hurt. AMC Networks hide caption

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AMC Networks

'This Is Going To Hurt' will fix what ails you

This is Going to Hurt is by turns a caustically funny and gut-wrenching series about a young doctor of gynecology and obstetrics struggling to keep his mind, body, and soul intact. Ben Whishaw stars in the British series, which is based on the bestselling memoir of a doctor in Britain's National Health Service. It's streaming on AMC+ and Sundance Now.

'This Is Going To Hurt' will fix what ails you

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Celebrating Judy Garland, beyond the 'Rainbow'

Judy Garland in the 1954 film A Star Is Born. Hulton Archive/Getty Images hide caption

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Hulton Archive/Getty Images

Celebrating Judy Garland, beyond the 'Rainbow'

This Friday would have been Judy Garland's 100th birthday. Everyone of course knows her iconic portrayal of Dorothy Gale in the Wizard of Oz, but Garland delivered a variety of unforgettable performances over her variously triumphant, troubled and ultimately tragic life. If you're not familiar with her non-Oz-related work, here is a guide that speaks to her unique and enduring appeal. (Take our annual survey at npr.org/podcastsurvey)

Celebrating Judy Garland, beyond the 'Rainbow'

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