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It's Been a Minute Each week, It's Been a Minute features people in the culture who deserve your attention. Plus weekly wraps of the news with journalists in the know. Join us to make sense of the world through conversation.

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It's Been a Minute

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Each week, It's Been a Minute features people in the culture who deserve your attention. Plus weekly wraps of the news with journalists in the know. Join us to make sense of the world through conversation.

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

Staying grounded after Roe v. Wade; plus let's talk about fat liberation

Abortion rights activists hoist their signs outside the US Supreme Court in Washington, DC, on June 24, 2022. Olivier Douliery/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

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Olivier Douliery/AFP via Getty Images

Staying grounded after Roe v. Wade; plus let's talk about fat liberation

The Supreme Court gutted abortion rights by overturning Roe v. Wade. For those who have been in the trenches of the reproductive justice movement — people who saw this coming — is there anything left to feel hopeful about? Guest host B.A. Parker chats with four young organizers about their stories and their plans for the future.

Staying grounded after Roe v. Wade; plus let's talk about fat liberation

Listen · 31:25
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When parents say sorry on-screen
Allyson Riggs/A24

When parents say sorry on-screen

Family conflict is a cinema staple. But recently Hollywood has come out with a slew of stories about parents and children confronting gaps in culture, generation and identity — from animated films like Encanto and Turning Red, to the recent miniseries Ms. Marvel and the indie hit Everything Everywhere All at Once. Vox entertainment critic Emily St. James calls the subgenre the "millennial parent apology fantasy." She shares with guest host B.A. Parker how the form came to be, what its limits are and how it could pave the way for new perspectives about trauma and family.

When parents say sorry on-screen

Listen · 14:33
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Guess who's back in the house (music scene); plus 'Would it Kill You to Laugh'

DJ Frankie Knuckles plays at the Def Mix 20th Anniversary Weekender on May 6, 2007 in London, England. Frankie Knuckles was one of the earliest pioneers of house music, helping to popularize it in Chicago during the 1980's. Claire Greenway/Getty Images hide caption

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Claire Greenway/Getty Images

Guess who's back in the house (music scene); plus 'Would it Kill You to Laugh'

In a matter of days Beyoncé and Drake both released music that draws deeply on 90s era house music. Neither of them are queer, but the they're borrowing from a genre that has been liberating for Black & Latino queer people from the 70s to today. In this episode our June guest host B.A. Parker welcomes Back Issue's co-host Josh Gwynn to chat about house music's roots and the genre's resurgence. Also, comedians Kate Berlant & John Early talk about their new special Would it Kill You to Laugh. They're great friends, and they let us in on some of their inside jokes.

Guess who's back in the house (music scene); plus 'Would it Kill You to Laugh'

Listen · 33:14
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Fangirls rule the internet in 'Everything I Need, I Get From You'

Kaitlyn Tiffany, author of Everything I Need, I Get From You: How Fangirls Shaped the Internet as We Know It. Amelia Holowaty Krales/FSG Books hide caption

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Amelia Holowaty Krales/FSG Books

Fangirls rule the internet in 'Everything I Need, I Get From You'

Fangirls often don't get taken seriously in pop culture. But in her new book, Everything I Need, I Get From You: How Fangirls Created the Internet as We Know It, culture reporter Kaitlyn Tiffany explores just how much fangirls have shaped online life. She talks with guest host B.A. Parker about how fans used Tumblr to transform internet culture, how being a One Direction fan enriched her own life and why fandom is more complicated than we might think.

Fangirls rule the internet in 'Everything I Need, I Get From You'

Listen · 27:35
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Why old is new again in pop music; plus, 'Rutherford Falls'

English singer-songwriter and musician Kate Bush at her family's home in East Wickham, London, 26th September 1978. Chris Moorhouse/Evening Standard/Hulton Archive/Getty Images hide caption

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Chris Moorhouse/Evening Standard/Hulton Archive/Getty Images

Why old is new again in pop music; plus, 'Rutherford Falls'

When singer-songwriter Kate Bush released "Running Up That Hill" in 1985, it peaked at number 30 on the Hot 100. Now it's soared into the top ten, thanks to the newest season of Stranger Things. Guest host B.A. Parker talks to Stereogum writers Rachel Brodsky and Chris Deville about why old music seems to be getting more love than new music these days — and how even new music seems retro. Plus, actor and writer Jana Schmieding on the second season of Rutherford Falls, exploring physical comedy, and honoring aunties.

Why old is new again in pop music; plus, 'Rutherford Falls'

Listen · 33:19
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Joseph Han on U.S. imperialism, Korean ghosts and Guy Fieri
Huan He/Counter Point Press

Joseph Han on U.S. imperialism, Korean ghosts and Guy Fieri

We don't often think of Hawaii and the Korean peninsula as having any kind of shared history. But author Joseph Han disagrees — and he makes the case in his debut novel Nuclear Family. In this episode, Han and guest host B.A. Parker discuss the book and Han's experience as a Korean immigrant in Hawaii. And they unpack the long effects of U.S. imperialism and military presence in both places. Along the way, they get into ghosts, grandmas and Guy Fieri.

Joseph Han on U.S. imperialism, Korean ghosts and Guy Fieri

Listen · 17:07
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Even influencers are burning out; plus there's nothing boring about 'Normal Gossip'
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Even influencers are burning out; plus there's nothing boring about 'Normal Gossip'

These days, it seems everyone wants to be an influencer. But as content creators realize that it's a demanding, often short-lived career, they're forcing us to think hard about the future of an industry that's still on the rise. Guest host B.A. Parker speaks with Rebecca Jennings, senior correspondent at Vox, who reported on how influencer burnout is a microcosm of our changing relationship with work.

Even influencers are burning out; plus there's nothing boring about 'Normal Gossip'

Listen · 34:33
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Joel Kim Booster on making a queer, Asian American 'Pride and Prejudice'

Conrad Ricamora and Joel Kim Booster in the film Fire Island. Jeong Park/Searchlight Pictures hide caption

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Jeong Park/Searchlight Pictures

Joel Kim Booster on making a queer, Asian American 'Pride and Prejudice'

The first time Joel Kim Booster vacationed on New York's Fire Island with his friend, comedian Bowen Yang, he brought with him Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice as a beach read. Over the years, he'd often joke with friends about making a gay version of the novel. Today Booster is the writer and star of Hulu's Fire Island, a queer, Asian romcom based on Austen's classic, set in the titular gay vacation spot. Booster talks with guest host Elise Hu about how the film honors his queer friendships, subverts hetero romcom norms, and tells a personal story that feels universal.

Joel Kim Booster on making a queer, Asian American 'Pride and Prejudice'

Listen · 21:16
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Reframing guns on screen; plus, is it just us, or are movies getting longer?

A sign asking for a change hangs on a fence near Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, Friday, June 3, 2022. Jae C. Hong/AP hide caption

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Jae C. Hong/AP

Reframing guns on screen; plus, is it just us, or are movies getting longer?

Once again, Americans are asking how to end mass shootings. With consensus on gun laws unlikely, some are turning to Hollywood to help change the narrative. Can those who control the levers of culture shift the public's relationship with guns? Guest host Elise Hu speaks with former video game creative and now TV writer Nadra Widatalla about a world where on-screen heroes don't rely on guns.

Reframing guns on screen; plus, is it just us, or are movies getting longer?

Listen · 30:00
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Bruce Talamon on photographing Black excellence in the 1970s

The Jackson 5. Bruce Talamon/Taschen hide caption

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Bruce Talamon/Taschen

Bruce Talamon on photographing Black excellence in the 1970s

Name a Black musician from the 1970s and chances are Bruce Talamon has photographed them. The Jackson 5. Aretha Franklin. Marvin Gaye. Donna Summer. Bob Marley. The list goes on.

Bruce Talamon on photographing Black excellence in the 1970s

Listen · 21:09
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