Accessibility links
It's Been a Minute Has it been a minute since you heard a thought-provoking conversation about culture? Brittany Luse wants to help. Each week, she takes the things everyone's talking about and, in conversation with her favorite creators, tastemakers, and experts, gives you new ways to think about them. Beyond the obvious takes. Because culture doesn't happen by accident.

If you can't get enough, try It's Been a Minute Plus. Your subscription supports the show and unlocks a sponsor-free feed. Learn more at plus.npr.org/itsbeenaminute
It's Been a Minute

Podcast Directory

It's Been a Minute

From NPR

Has it been a minute since you heard a thought-provoking conversation about culture? Brittany Luse wants to help. Each week, she takes the things everyone's talking about and, in conversation with her favorite creators, tastemakers, and experts, gives you new ways to think about them. Beyond the obvious takes. Because culture doesn't happen by accident.

If you can't get enough, try It's Been a Minute Plus. Your subscription supports the show and unlocks a sponsor-free feed. Learn more at plus.npr.org/itsbeenaminute

Most Recent Episodes

Surviving long COVID three years into the pandemic

Karla Monterroso and Fiona Lowenstein JJ Geiger; Katherine Sheehan; photo illustration by Jesse Brown hide caption

toggle caption
JJ Geiger; Katherine Sheehan; photo illustration by Jesse Brown

Surviving long COVID three years into the pandemic

It's been three years since the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a global pandemic. And according to the CDC, out of all the American adults who have had COVID — and that's a lot of us — one in five went on to develop long COVID symptoms. While so many are struggling with this new disease, it can be hard for people to know what to do to take care of themselves. The Long COVID Survival Guide aims to give people struggling with long COVID practical solutions and emotional support to manage their illness.

Surviving long COVID three years into the pandemic

Listen · 20:54
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1164311502/1164947141" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
Silicon Valley Bank and the sordid history of 'Palo Alto'

Author photo courtesy of Malcolm Harris; photo illustration by Jesse Brown David Madison/Getty Images/Rebecca Noble/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

toggle caption
David Madison/Getty Images/Rebecca Noble/AFP via Getty Images

Silicon Valley Bank and the sordid history of 'Palo Alto'

Even after Silicon Valley Bank crumbled and tech workers have been laid off in the thousands, Silicon Valley is still surrounded by a mythos of progress and futurity. Host Brittany Luse talks to author Malcolm Harris about his new book, Palo Alto: A History of California, Capitalism, and the World, to break down how that mythos was built, the dark underbelly underneath it, and why the tech industry is a microcosm of American capitalism.

Silicon Valley Bank and the sordid history of 'Palo Alto'

Listen · 25:09
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1164009866/1164369063" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
The key to EGOT-ing with John Legend
Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for The Recording Academy

The key to EGOT-ing with John Legend

John Legend has permeated the culture for over two decades. His music has racked up billions of plays and he and his wife regularly make headlines when they bring us into some of their happiest and most vulnerable moments as a family. Today, we're looking back on his rise to fame, his most creative project, and what keeps him coming back to the ivory keys. Brittany also brings on the fun with an EGOT game of trivia.

The key to EGOT-ing with John Legend

Listen · 21:43
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1163135956/1163546978" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
How Hollywood squeezed out women directors; plus, what's with the rich jerks on TV?
Angela Weiss / AFP; Michael Rowe/Getty Images

How Hollywood squeezed out women directors; plus, what's with the rich jerks on TV?

In nearly 100 years, the Oscar award for Best Director has only gone to three women. The film industry as a whole has been heavily dominated by men, but it wasn't always this way. Ahead of Academy Awards, Brittany chops it up with Maya Montañez Smukler, author of Liberating Hollywood: Women Directors and the Feminist Reform of 1970s American Cinema, to discuss the state of women directors and how the industry systematically shifted them out of the spotlight.

How Hollywood squeezed out women directors; plus, what's with the rich jerks on TV?

Listen · 32:20
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1162603068/1162610223" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
Marilyn Monroe was more than just 'Blonde'
Netflix and Keystone Features/Getty Images

Marilyn Monroe was more than just 'Blonde'

In the six decades since Marilyn Monroe passed away, Hollywood has not let her go. Actresses have portrayed her in countless films and there have been more than 15 biopics dedicated to the late icon. Ahead of the Academy Awards, Ana de Armas has been getting Oscar buzz for playing Marilyn 'Blonde.' However, one critic finds this role, this film, and these stereotypes deeply problematic. Host Brittany Luse is joined by culture critic Angelica Jade Bastién to talk about Marilyn's misinterpreted legacy and why the Hollywood impersonations never shine as bright as the real star.

Marilyn Monroe was more than just 'Blonde'

Listen · 21:43
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1161629864/1161715024" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
The molten center of 'The Real Housewives' multiverse
Santiago Felipe/John Lamparski/Jim Spellman/Getty Images

The molten center of 'The Real Housewives' multiverse

What makes The Real Housewives peak culture – as in the #1 topic in the group chat – for so many people? Host Brittany Luse and producer Liam McBain descend into the depths of Bravocon – the Bravo convention – to find out. They talk to fans, a producer, and the Housewives themselves to understand how the franchise became a cultural juggernaut.

The molten center of 'The Real Housewives' multiverse

Listen · 30:43
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1160697394/1161034974" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
Keyla Monterroso Mejia embraces cringe as comedy's newest star
Leah Huebner

Keyla Monterroso Mejia embraces cringe as comedy's newest star

Keyla Monterroso Mejia is a dramedy star on the rise. She made audiences cringe with laughter in Curb Your Enthusiasm playing Maria Sofia Estrada and then passed the vibe check as the chaotic teacher's aide Ashley Garcia on Abbott Elementary. And to top it all off, she's leading the new Netflix show, Freeridge. Host Brittany Luse sits down with Keyla to talk about her comedic characters, her new leading role, and betting on yourself.

Keyla Monterroso Mejia embraces cringe as comedy's newest star

Listen · 20:55
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1160051254/1160156998" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
Fear, Florida, and The 1619 Project
Kyle Mazza/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images; Maskot/Getty Images

Fear, Florida, and The 1619 Project

How should U.S history be told, and who gets to tell it? Debate over these questions has raged for years – but nowhere is it more pronounced right now than in Florida. This week, Brittany Luse chats with NPR's Giulia Heyward to get the download on Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis' recent efforts to ban AP African American studies in his state. Then, Brittany sits down with Dorothy Roberts, a legal scholar and sociologist at the University of Pennsylvania, and Leslie Alexander, a historian at Rutgers University. In line with their work on The 1619 Project – now a Hulu documentary series –they make the case that slavery led to some of our biggest political fissures today, and discuss why it's important for all Americans to understand those connections.

Fear, Florida, and The 1619 Project

Listen · 31:44
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1158724309/1159433593" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
Ross Gay on inciting joy while dining with sorrow
Roc Canals/Getty Images; Annika McFarlane/Getty Images

Ross Gay on inciting joy while dining with sorrow

Looking for joy? Then it might be worth exploring your sorrow, complications and mess. In his latest collection of essays, Inciting Joy, poet Ross Gay reconsiders the breadth of joy, arguing that it can be found – and even strengthened – in life's hardest moments, when we must rely on one another. This week, host Brittany Luse sits down with Gay to discuss the complexity of joy, the beauty of grace and creating meaning in life.

Ross Gay on inciting joy while dining with sorrow

Listen · 19:18
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1158481154/1158524666" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
Kelela's guide for breaking up with men

Kelela Joseph Okpako/Getty Images; Kyle Gustafson / For The Washington Post via Getty Images; Tim Mosenfelder/Getty Images; Rich Fury/Getty Images hide caption

toggle caption
Joseph Okpako/Getty Images; Kyle Gustafson / For The Washington Post via Getty Images; Tim Mosenfelder/Getty Images; Rich Fury/Getty Images

Kelela's guide for breaking up with men

If you haven't stepped into an underground club in the last decade, you might be forgiven if you don't know Kelela. But the Washington, D.C. native has had a seismic impact on dance music since she broke into the scene in 2013. Now, after a six-year hiatus, Kelela is out with her fourth and latest record, 'Raven' – and with it, she's remaking the future of dance music. This week, host Brittany Luse sits down with Kelela to discuss Black queer liberation, and how she hopes this record helps folks find freedom on the dance floor.

Kelela's guide for breaking up with men

Listen · 21:57
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1156583702/1157686246" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
It's Been a Minute

Podcast Directory
or search npr.org