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.

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

Podcast Directory
PCHH 2021
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.

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

'The Kids In The Hall' mount a Canadian comeback

Dave Foley, Bruce McCulloch, Kevin McDonald, Mark McKinney and Scott Thompson return with new episodes of The Kids In The Hall. Amazon hide caption

toggle caption
Amazon

'The Kids In The Hall' mount a Canadian comeback

The hugely influential Canadian sketch comedy troupe The Kids in the Hall is back in a new Amazon show that marks their first return to writing and performing original sketches on television. These 8 episodes look and feel like another season of their first show, though of course the kids aren't kids anymore – something the new series has some fun with.

'The Kids In The Hall' mount a Canadian comeback

Listen · 16:06
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1098178891/1101046699" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
In 'Men,' the men are definitely not alright

Jessie Buckley stars in Men. A24 hide caption

toggle caption
A24

In 'Men,' the men are definitely not alright

In Men, Jessie Buckley plays Harper, whose estranged husband (Paapa Essiedu) has recently died in a horrific manner. To decompress, she rents out a quiet stately home in the English countryside from Geoffrey (Rory Kinnear). It doesn't take long before her trip is disturbed by increasingly strange and invasive occurrences. The film was written and directed by Alex Garland, whose previous features include Ex Machina and Annihilation.

In 'Men,' the men are definitely not alright

Listen · 25:09
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1099506418/1100827331" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
Books We Love: Great books about identity and culture
NPR

Books We Love: Great books about identity and culture

The latest edition of NPR's Books We Love project rounded up hundreds of book recommendations from critics, writers and NPR journalists to try to give you just the read you're looking for. Today, we're giving recommendations for our favorite books about identity and culture.

Books We Love: Great books about identity and culture

Listen · 9:12
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1100361343/1100370782" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
Is there tea left in the kettle for 'Downton Abbey: A New Era'?

Harry Hadden-Paton, Laura Carmichael, Tuppence Middleton and Allen Leech star in Downton Abbey: A New Era. Focus Features hide caption

toggle caption
Focus Features

Is there tea left in the kettle for 'Downton Abbey: A New Era'?

Downton Abbey is back again. Three years after the 2019 movie that extended the popular TV series, the Crawleys are once again dealing with the clash of the old ways and the new ways. This time, the interloper is early Hollywood. While a director, a crew, and a bunch of actors descend upon the estate for filming, the story also travels to the south of France for a story that might reveal secrets from the Dowager Countess' past.

Is there tea left in the kettle for 'Downton Abbey: A New Era'?

Listen · 17:56
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1099118197/1100076146" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
Kendrick Lamar looks inward on 'Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers'

Kendrick Lamar returns with his latest album, Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers. Courtesy of the artist hide caption

toggle caption
Courtesy of the artist

Kendrick Lamar looks inward on 'Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers'

It's been five years since Kendrick Lamar released his last album, DAMN. Since then, he's won a Pulitzer Prize, been nominated for an Oscar, and become a parent. His new double-length album, Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers, is anything but a breezy victory lap. Lamar examines generational trauma, sexual politics, and his own attempts to grow amid high expectations and heavy introspection.

Kendrick Lamar looks inward on 'Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers'

Listen · 22:16
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1099275718/1099844400" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
Secrets and lies and 'Conversations with Friends'

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

toggle caption
Hulu

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'

Listen · 18:44
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1097581585/1099467569" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
'The Flight Attendant' takes off once again

Kaley Cuoco in the first season of The Flight Attendant. HBO Max hide caption

toggle caption
HBO Max

'The Flight Attendant' takes off once again

A woman wakes up after a night of partying and realizes something is very, very wrong. That's the premise of the HBO Max series The Flight Attendant. It's a taut, darkly funny thriller starring Kaley Cuoco of The Big Bang Theory as a woman in search of some answers about the present that also might shed light on the past. In this encore episode, we're revisiting our conversation about The Flight Attendant, which recently returned for a second season.

'The Flight Attendant' takes off once again

Listen · 15:23
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1098766447/1099116191" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
Eurovision serves up lavish spectacle — and a big win for Ukraine

Members of the band Kalush Orchestra perform on behalf of Ukraine during the final of the 2022 Eurovision Song Contest. AFP via Getty Images hide caption

toggle caption
AFP via Getty Images

Eurovision serves up lavish spectacle — and a big win for Ukraine

The 66th Eurovision Song Contest took place in Italy over the weekend. Every year, dozens of countries face off in a competition full of pageantry, strobe lights, and sparkles. But Eurovision isn't just a talent search. It's also a lavish spectacle that attempts to unify the world in song. This year's winner was Kalush Orchestra, from Ukraine.

Eurovision serves up lavish spectacle — and a big win for Ukraine

Listen · 14:14
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1098170515/1099014892" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
'Heartstopper' is bursting with young queer love, cartoon hearts and fireworks

Kit Connor plays Nick in Netflix's Heartstopper. Netflix hide caption

toggle caption
Netflix

'Heartstopper' is bursting with young queer love, cartoon hearts and fireworks

The Netflix series Heartstopper is a new romcom for soft hearts everywhere. Based on Alice Oseman's graphic novels, the show follows Charlie and Nick, who are young and navigating the hallways of high school. When the two meet, they instantly take a shine to each other and go from rugby teammates to good friends to something more.

'Heartstopper' is bursting with young queer love, cartoon hearts and fireworks

Listen · 25:09
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1097170431/1098519068" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
Bad Bunny unleashes a genre-smashing summer blockbuster

Bad Bunny performs onstage in Miami during "The Last Tour Of The World" on April 1, 2022. AFP via Getty Images hide caption

toggle caption
AFP via Getty Images

Bad Bunny unleashes a genre-smashing summer blockbuster

Bad Bunny is one of the world's biggest pop stars and a multimedia superstar. Now, the Puerto Rican singer is back with a new record called Un Verano Sin Ti, or A Summer Without You. It's a 23-song, double-length album that sprawls across many genres, including pop, trap, reggaeton and much more — and features musical guests galore.

Bad Bunny unleashes a genre-smashing summer blockbuster

Listen · 16:52
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1098166279/1098220689" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
Pop Culture Happy Hour

Podcast Directory
or search npr.org