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

Why does flying suck so much?
JIM WATSON/AFP

Why does flying suck so much?

Flying can be a frustrating experience, but holiday travel tends to shift our stress levels into overdrive. Overbooking, delays, lost baggage, and long TSA lines are just the tip of the iceberg. Even pricey membership services can't promise a completely efficient or comfortable travel journey. With big price tags and the quality of service seemingly going down, host Brittany Luse wondered: How did we get here? To answer that question, aviation and travel journalist Benét J. Wilson joins the show to give us a birds eye view of the issues and why things may not be getting better anytime soon.

Why does flying suck so much?

Listen · 28:14
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1197954460/1221309587" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
2023: The year of the celebrity memoir
Hachette / Harper Collins / Macmillan / Penguin Randomhouse

2023: The year of the celebrity memoir

2023 has been huge for the celebrity memoir game: Britney Spears, Prince Harry and Jada Pinkett Smith are just a few of the many A-listers who dropped bestsellers. But which memoirs should you actually read? To help parse through the pages, Brittany Luse is joined - once again - by Celebrity Memoir Book Club hosts Ashley Hamilton and Claire Parker. They each share their favorite memoirs of the year and discuss what these books reveal about the machinations of fame.

2023: The year of the celebrity memoir

Listen · 23:22
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1197954468/1220491729" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
The IBAMmys: The It's Been A Minute 2023 Culture Awards Show
Andreas Rentz/Getty Images for GQ

The IBAMmys: The It's Been A Minute 2023 Culture Awards Show

Welcome to the first ever IBAMmys, the It's Been A Minute 2023 culture awards show! It's been a minute - a whole year - and we're looking back at the biggest cultural moments of the past 365 days. Host Brittany Luse, NPR's Ayesha Rascoe, and Vox's senior pop culture correspondent Alex Aband-Santos all made nominations for each category, and a select group of culture experts at NPR voted for who should take home the prize.

The IBAMmys: The It's Been A Minute 2023 Culture Awards Show

Listen · 35:26
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1197954437/1219775505" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
Music trends that took us by surprise in 2023

Sza, Caroline Polachek, Luke Combs, and Peso Pluma. Ser Baffo/Getty Images for BET/Rich Fury/Getty Images for Coachella/Kevin Winter/Getty Images for Stagecoach/Mike Coppola/Getty Images for MTV hide caption

toggle caption
Ser Baffo/Getty Images for BET/Rich Fury/Getty Images for Coachella/Kevin Winter/Getty Images for Stagecoach/Mike Coppola/Getty Images for MTV

Music trends that took us by surprise in 2023

It's been an eventful year for music; we saw the rise of Mexican Regional music on the charts, the emergence of AI artists, and the dominance of country music to boot. Host Brittany Luse chats with Nate Sloan and Charlie Harding, co-hosts of the podcast Switched on Pop, to break down what's behind the latest pop music trends — and to share some of their 2023 favorites.

Music trends that took us by surprise in 2023

Listen · 29:10
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1197954435/1218740935" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
Nicki Minaj's bars, Barbz and beefs; plus, why 2023 was the year of the cowboy

the Great Australian Cattle Drive, and Nicki Minaj Quinn Rooney/Getty Images, Frazer Harrison/Getty Images hide caption

toggle caption
Quinn Rooney/Getty Images, Frazer Harrison/Getty Images

Nicki Minaj's bars, Barbz and beefs; plus, why 2023 was the year of the cowboy

Nicki Minaj just released her first album in half a decade, Pink Friday 2. The self-proclaimed 'Queen of Rap' has an unparalleled career, but the rap game - and women's position within it - has changed dramatically during her hiatus. While Nicki helped shape rap today, the artist has also faced a slew of controversies and an erratic album rollout that all have us asking: is Nicki still the verified 'Queen of Rap'? Host Brittany Luse sits down with NPR Music Editor and Louder Than A Riot host Sidney Madden to discuss.

Nicki Minaj's bars, Barbz and beefs; plus, why 2023 was the year of the cowboy

Listen · 48:24
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1197954380/1218290264" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
The 'Renaissance' film and what we hear in Beyoncé's silence

Beyonce at the Renaissance World Tour Kevin Mazur/WireImage for Parkwood via Getty Images hide caption

toggle caption
Kevin Mazur/WireImage for Parkwood via Getty Images

The 'Renaissance' film and what we hear in Beyoncé's silence

In the credits for 'Renaissance: A Film By Beyoncé' the Queen Bee makes it clear who is in charge. Written by? Beyoncé. Directed by? Beyoncé. Produced by? Beyoncé. And of course, starring...Beyoncé. For someone who is so in control of their own image, what is spoken and what is unspoken are equally loud.

The 'Renaissance' film and what we hear in Beyoncé's silence

Listen · 17:57
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1197954389/1217424441" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
McCarthyism and queerness in 'Fellow Travelers'; plus, IBAM unplugged with Olivia Dean
Kurt Iswarienko/SHOWTIME; Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images

McCarthyism and queerness in 'Fellow Travelers'; plus, IBAM unplugged with Olivia Dean

This week, Brittany chats with New Yorker television critic Inkoo Kang about Showtime's historical romance, Fellow Travelers. The show follows the lives and love of two closeted men - Hawk and Tim. It starts in 1950s Washington DC, at the height of McCarthyism and the lavender scare and continues through the AIDS crisis in the 1980s. Brittany and Inkoo discuss how the politics of the time shape the characters and how survival isn't always pretty.

McCarthyism and queerness in 'Fellow Travelers'; plus, IBAM unplugged with Olivia Dean

Listen · 49:48
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1197954356/1216671481" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
All The Only Ones: I can't wait

Illustration by Sally Chen for NPR Sally Chen for NPR hide caption

toggle caption
Sally Chen for NPR

All The Only Ones: I can't wait

This week we're bringing you a special episode from the Embedded series 'All the Only Ones.' The series looks at the history of trans youth next to the realities experienced by trans youth today. In this episode, we meet Parker, a senior in high school in Columbus, Ohio. Parker is a top field hockey athlete, but as a trans person, he is faced with making a difficult decision: either pursuing his dreams as a D1 trans field hockey player in college next year, or pursuing his dreams of starting hormone replacement therapy, which could get him banned from playing. We also meet two historical trans youth of the 1960s, Vicky and Donna, both facing barriers to getting the care and treatment they need after repeatedly looking for help.

All The Only Ones: I can't wait

Listen · 45:17
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1197954370/1215656252" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
Defending the Disney Adult; plus, what it takes to stand up for Black trans people
Robyn Beck/AFP via Getty Images, Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images, Amazon

Defending the Disney Adult; plus, what it takes to stand up for Black trans people

Disney recently celebrated its 100th birthday, so we're exploring a fandom that's kept the magic alive while also generating lots of online hate: Disney Adults. To break the phenomenon down, Brittany Luse chats with Rolling Stone senior writer and self-proclaimed Disney Adult, E.J. Dickson. Their conversation looks at the rise of Disney Adults, why they're so maligned and what the public may misunderstand about these superfans.

Defending the Disney Adult; plus, what it takes to stand up for Black trans people

Listen · 38:40
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1197954325/1214888335" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
How gratitude improves your relationships and your future

How can gratitude help us help ourselves? Catherine Falls Commercial/Getty/Lavitt/Yale hide caption

toggle caption
Catherine Falls Commercial/Getty/Lavitt/Yale

How gratitude improves your relationships and your future

For the millions of Americans that celebrate Thanksgiving, it's a time when a lot of us reflect on the things and the people in our lives that we appreciate. But according to Dr. Laurie Santos, psychology professor at Yale and host of the podcast, The Happiness Lab, a practice of gratitude can improve our lives year-round. Host Brittany Luse chats with Dr. Santos about the surprising science of how gratitude can affect our brains — and how it leads us to be more generous with our future selves.

How gratitude improves your relationships and your future

Listen · 15:50
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1197954335/1214228134" 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