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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
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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

2025 Predictions: social media is OUT & food politics are IN

Is TikTok in or out in 2025? Drew Angerer/Dan Kitwood/Getty Images hide caption

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Drew Angerer/Dan Kitwood/Getty Images

2025 Predictions: social media is OUT & food politics are IN

Brittany has some predictions for the big trends to watch for in 2025. First, social media is OUT. Not that people will stop using social platforms, but rather, Brittany thinks what they mean to us will continue shifting. Second, politicizing food is IN. Brittany thinks food will increasingly become a marker of political identity. You are what you eat? No, what you eat is a sign of what you believe.

2025 Predictions: social media is OUT & food politics are IN

Listen · 20:29
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All hail the queen of rom-coms

Nora Ephron, the queen of romantic comedies. Stephen Lovekin / Getty Images hide caption

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Stephen Lovekin / Getty Images

All hail the queen of rom-coms

Happy New Year! Pop champagne, kiss a loved one, and turn on the rom-com that made New Year's Eve a backdrop of your fall inspo Pinterest board: When Harry Met Sally. But don't stop there. Ilana Kaplan, author of Nora Ephron at the Movies, joins the show to put a spotlight on the woman that helped usher in the golden era of rom-coms and influenced the return of rom-coms.

All hail the queen of rom-coms

Listen · 17:09
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Kill your daddies? TV's obsession with patricide

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Kill your daddies? TV's obsession with patricide

From HBO's Industry to FX's The Bear, 2024 was full of TV characters working out their "daddy issues" the tough way...by committing patricide. This week Brittany is joined by Vulture's TV critic Roxana Hadadi and The New Yorker's Inkoo Kang to compare and contrast a new generation of daddy killers. Why do we enjoy seeing screen dads offed? And what does that say about our own anxieties about patriarchy?

Kill your daddies? TV's obsession with patricide

Listen · 17:40
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Ranking the best and worst of 2024: Moo Deng, Drake & Crashing Out

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Ranking the best and worst of 2024: Moo Deng, Drake & Crashing Out

To close out 2024, Brittany and friends are running through the best and worst pop culture moments of the past 365 days. Along with NPR's Weekend Edition host Ayesha Rascoe and Code Switch co-host B.A. Parker, the three declare winners and losers in the following categories:

Ranking the best and worst of 2024: Moo Deng, Drake & Crashing Out

Listen · 29:47
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2024's ACTUAL Sexiest Men Alive? We have thoughts.

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2024's ACTUAL Sexiest Men Alive? We have thoughts.

PEOPLE Magazine has done it again. Last month they revealed this year's "Sexiest Man Alive"...John Krasinski. And, Brittany and the hosts of the Who Weekly podcast, Bobby Finger and Lindsey Weber, are not satisfied.

2024's ACTUAL Sexiest Men Alive? We have thoughts.

Listen · 16:49
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Drones, TikTok & Luigi Mangione have us asking: who's watching us?

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Drones, TikTok & Luigi Mangione have us asking: who's watching us?

From the drones over New Jersey, to the surveillance cameras that captured Luigi Mangione, to even TikTok - our movements, our likeness, even our shopping habits can be tracked. But how did we get to this point? Host Brittany Luse sits down with NPR Cybersecurity Correspondent Jenna McLaughlin and the Brennan Center for Justice's Faiza Patel to get into just how much of our daily lives are up for grabs.

Drones, TikTok & Luigi Mangione have us asking: who's watching us?

Listen · 40:57
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Blocking your mom: why adult children are going no contact

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Peter Dazeley/Getty Images

Blocking your mom: why adult children are going no contact

It's the holiday season. The time of year when many of us go back home to see our families. But this year, a lot of people aren't going home, and maybe haven't been back in a long time. 27% of Americans are estranged from at least one family member, and the term "no contact" is increasingly being used to describe estrangement between adult children and their parents. But is estrangement happening more often, or are we just more open to talking about it? And is our culture around family shifting? Host Brittany Luse sits down with culture journalist Kui Mwai and Whitney Goodman, licensed marriage and family therapist and the host of the Calling Home podcast, to find out.

Blocking your mom: why adult children are going no contact

Listen · 21:09
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Luigi Mangione & America's pent up pain

Why is Luigi Mangione, an alleged gunman, being praised online? Pennsylvania State Police via AP / ASSOCIATED PRESS hide caption

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Pennsylvania State Police via AP / ASSOCIATED PRESS

Luigi Mangione & America's pent up pain

Luigi Mangione is alleged to have shot and killed United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson, and even before he was identified, the reaction to the shooter was far different than other instances of gun violence.

Luigi Mangione & America's pent up pain

Listen · 30:54
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Your date gave you 'The Ick?' That might be a YOU problem.

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Your date gave you 'The Ick?' That might be a YOU problem.

It's cuffing season: the time of year where the weather cools down and folks look for a warm body to cuddle up with. But we're getting into some of the less warm and fuzzy aspects of dating. For the next couple of weeks, we're kicking off cuffing season with some of the big questions about dating in our culture right now.

Your date gave you 'The Ick?' That might be a YOU problem.

Listen · 16:56
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Thin is back in, but did it ever leave us?

With the rise of shapewear and GLP-1s, is the end of the body positivity movement the beginning of "body fascism?" Getty Images hide caption

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Thin is back in, but did it ever leave us?

When TikTok user, Slim Kim, posted a video expressing how much she loves 'being skinny,' she set off a wave of internet discourse. What's the line between loving your body and dog-whistling fatphobia? This week, host Brittany Luse is joined by authors Emma Specter and Kate Manne to find out: what's so wrong with loving being skinny?

Thin is back in, but did it ever leave us?

Listen · 39:21
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