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Batman received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on Sept. 26, 2024.

Batman received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on Sept. 26, 2024. Valerie Macon/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

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Valerie Macon/AFP via Getty Images

What's Making Us Happy: Recommendations From 'Pop Culture Happy Hour'

What's Making Us Happy: A guide to your weekend viewing and reading

Each week, guests and hosts on NPR's Pop Culture Happy Hour share what's bringing them joy. This week: The show How to Die Alone, the book You Gotta Eat, and Batman on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

'Megalopolis' is a sprawling megalopo-mess

Adam Driver in Megalopolis. Courtesy of Lionsgate hide caption

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Courtesy of Lionsgate

Review

Pop Culture Happy Hour

'Megalopolis' is a sprawling megalopo-mess

Francis Ford Coppola, the legendary filmmaker behind The Godfather trilogy and Apocalypse Now, is back with his first new film in over a decade. It reimagines the fall of Rome through a futuristic American city, and has a lot of big and messy ideas about time and the fate of humanity. It's also jam-packed with stars like Adam Driver, Giancarlo Esposito, and Aubrey Plaza. We try to make sense of it all.

'Megalopolis' is a sprawling megalopo-mess

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An identity crisis at the heart of the election; plus, disrupting biracial fantasies

a statue of a farmer and his daughter depicted from Grant Wood's American Gothic painting on the fairgrounds of the Iowa State Fair on August 6, 2014 in Des Moines, Iowa Scott Olson/Getty Images hide caption

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It's Been a Minute

An identity crisis at the heart of the election; plus, disrupting biracial fantasies

Following the false allegations against the Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio, the city received over 30 bomb threats, saw school closures and even the cancellation of a celebration for diversity in arts and culture. Host Brittany Luse talks to NPR Immigration correspondent Jasmine Garsd about what she's learned from her reporting in the region and how all this could tie into a larger Midwest identity crisis.

An identity crisis at the heart of the election; plus, disrupting biracial fantasies

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'His Three Daughters' puts three acting dynamos in one apartment

Natasha Lyonne in His Three Daughters. Netflix hide caption

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Netflix

Review

Pop Culture Happy Hour

'His Three Daughters' puts three acting dynamos in one apartment

Elizabeth Olsen, Carrie Coon, and Natasha Lyonne are often the best thing about their projects, and they're all together in the moving new Netflix film His Three Daughters. They play three sisters who are odds with one another, but must gather in their father's apartment when he's dying. As his illness progresses, their own sibling relationships are tested.

'His Three Daughters' puts three acting dynamos in one apartment

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The Miami SMACKDOWN: Serena Williams vs. Muhammad Ali vs. Trina

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The Miami SMACKDOWN: Serena Williams vs. Muhammad Ali vs. Trina

Who will win today's cage match?

The Miami SMACKDOWN: Serena Williams vs. Muhammad Ali vs. Trina

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'Colin From Accounts' deserves a raise

Harriet Dyer in the first season of Colin From Accounts. Lisa Tomasetti/Paramount+ hide caption

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Lisa Tomasetti/Paramount+

Review

Pop Culture Happy Hour

'Colin From Accounts' deserves a raise

The fun series Colin From Accounts is part raunchy comedy, part romantic comedy, part friendship story, and part very cute dog. It begins with a chance encounter between two strangers (played by Harriet Dyer and Patrick Brammall) who meet after accidentally injuring an adorable dog. They reluctantly decide to take joint responsibility for the pup, and form a strange bond. The show is about to return for a second season on Paramount+, so we are revisiting our conversation about the series.

'Colin From Accounts' deserves a raise

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André 3000

André 3000 at MaxFun HQ Daniel Huecias hide caption

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Daniel Huecias

Bullseye with Jesse Thorn

André 3000

André 3000 is one of the greatest rappers to ever grace a microphone. He is, of course, one half of the Grammy winning rap group Outkast. Between the years of 1995 and 2006, he and his partner Big Boi released some of the most iconic rap records of all time. Late last year André released an album called New Blue Sun. It's an ambient spiritual jazz record where André plays the flute. He just kicked off a Fall tour in support of the album. We are beyond thrilled to have André 3000 join us on the show to talk about his recent album. He also gets into where he currently stands on rapping. Plus, he shares with us what his time working in the fashion world was like.

Listen to this Epsiode

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Kim Yeji wears her shooting glasses and a white baseball cap facing backwards.

Kim Yeji of Korea, seen during the Paris Olympics in August, has been cast as an assassin in a "short-form series." Charles McQuillan/Getty Images hide caption

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Charles McQuillan/Getty Images

Sports

Stylish Olympic shooter Kim Yeji got an acting gig. She plays an assassin, of course

Kim Yeji, whose cool style and demeanor made her a "main character" of the Summer Olympics, has landed an acting gig and work with fashion brands. She says her athletic career remains her priority.

Demi Moore's 'The Substance' will get under your skin

Demi Moore in The Substance. Christine Tamalet/MUBI hide caption

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Christine Tamalet/MUBI

Review

Pop Culture Happy Hour

Demi Moore's 'The Substance' will get under your skin

The Substance is a bloody, campy, fiercely feminist body horror film. Demi Moore plays a TV aerobics instructor desperate to stay in the spotlight. She learns of a mysterious drug she can inject that causes another, younger, entirely separate version of herself (Margaret Qualley) to splurt out of her back and assume her consciousness. They must switch back and forth or very bad bloody things will happen.

Demi Moore's 'The Substance' will get under your skin

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Is Diddy hip-hop's Weinstein? Plus, Brittany gets rejected

Sean "Diddy" Combs in 2018. Dia Dipasupil/Getty Images hide caption

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Dia Dipasupil/Getty Images

It's Been a Minute

Is Diddy hip-hop's Weinstein? Plus, Brittany gets rejected

On Monday, the embattled rap mogul Sean 'Diddy' Combs was arrested and charged with sex trafficking and racketeering. He's been denied bail twice, and is facing a sentence of 15 years to life in prison. Host Brittany Luse is joined by NPR Music editor Sidney Madden and legal affairs reporter Meghann Cuniff to understand what this indictment means for Combs and if this could be the beginning of a #MeToo movement in hip-hop.

Is Diddy hip-hop's Weinstein? Plus, Brittany gets rejected

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'Transformers One' is an animated origin story with a light touch

Chris Hemsworth voices Orion Pax/Optimus Prime in Transformers One. Paramount Pictures hide caption

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Paramount Pictures

Review

Pop Culture Happy Hour

'Transformers One' is an animated origin story with a light touch

The Transformers franchise has been around for decades, and it's brought us many toys, TV shows and movies. Now, in the new animated film Transformers One, the origin story of Optimus Prime and Megatron finally gets told. With a voice cast that includes Chris Hemsworth and Brian Tyree Henry, the movie hopes to offer a fresh entry point for the long-running franchise.

'Transformers One' is an animated origin story with a light touch

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Screenshots from three TikTok videos about the Ultimate World Cruise: a volcano erupting in Iceland, a man wearing a Kamala Harris t-shirt and an announcement about another cruise.

TikToks by passengers on the Ultimate World Cruise — screenshot by NPR — capture the highs and lows of the nine-month journey, which ended last week. @drjennytravels/@anthonyantoine1021/@brooklyntravelstheworld hide caption

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@drjennytravels/@anthonyantoine1021/@brooklyntravelstheworld

A viral nine-month world cruise saw plenty of drama, but not the kind you'd expect

The "Ultimate World Cruise" consumed social media, with many comparing it to a reality show. But what was it really like? Passengers spoke with NPR, nine months and 60-plus countries later.

The delightful 'My Old Ass' seeks wisdom from hindsight

Maisy Stella as Elliott in My Old Ass. Marni Grossman/Amazon MGM Studios hide caption

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Marni Grossman/Amazon MGM Studios

Review

Pop Culture Happy Hour

The delightful 'My Old Ass' seeks wisdom from hindsight

What would you do if you met your future self, who's a couple of decades older and maybe a little wiser? Would you freak out? In the delightful new movie My Old Ass, a teenager named Elliott (Maisy Stella) faces this very scenario. Her older self is played by Aubrey Plaza, and she's got some advice to impart. But her younger self may or may not take it.

The delightful 'My Old Ass' seeks wisdom from hindsight

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Three of the

Hundreds of costumed "Helens" are cheerfully invading bars across the country this month in honor of Helen Roper, the character from the 1970s sitcom Three's Company. Above, three "founding Helens": Jen Lewis, left, Kerri Pepperman and Erin Morrison, at the Mrs. Roper Romp in Ypsilanti, Mich. Neda Ulaby/NPR hide caption

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Neda Ulaby/NPR

See a loopy landlady in a caftan? Mrs. Roper may be romping through your town

Hundreds of costumed "Helens" are cheerfully invading bars across the country in honor of Helen Roper, from the 1970s sitcom Three's Company.

MRS ROPER ROMP

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The movies, TV and music we're excited about this fall

Colin Farrell in The Penguin. Macall Polay/HBO hide caption

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Macall Polay/HBO

Review

Pop Culture Happy Hour

The movies, TV and music we're excited about this fall

Fall is beginning, and it's the perfect time to talk about all the great things we're excited to watch and listen to between now and the end of the year. Today, we're offering up a guide to spotlight some of the movies, TV, and music we are looking forward to this fall.

The movies, TV and music we're excited about this fall

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The New Orleans SMACKDOWN: Brunch vs. Twerking vs. Louis Armstrong

New Orleans, Louisiana. Louis Armstrong. A girl twerking. Brunch. Getty Images hide caption

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The New Orleans SMACKDOWN: Brunch vs. Twerking vs. Louis Armstrong

Who will win today's cage match?

The New Orleans SMACKDOWN: Brunch vs. Twerking vs. Louis Armstrong

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Eve
John Russo

Bullseye with Jesse Thorn

Eve

Eve is an icon in hip-hop, a west Philly rapper whose flow, style and production helped define the genre in the early 2000s. She's released three incredible albums–all of which reached either gold or platinum–and stands out as the first lady of rap collective The Ruff Ryders. Eve covers it all in her new memoir, Who's that Girl?. It's about Eve's journey in hip-hop, acting, motherhood, and mental health. We talk all about it and so much more on Bullseye.

Listen to this Episode

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Our 2024 Emmys Recap

Jean Smart won the Emmy for outstanding lead actress in a comedy series for her performance in Hacks. Frazer Harrison/Getty Images hide caption

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Frazer Harrison/Getty Images

Pop Culture Happy Hour

Our 2024 Emmys Recap

Last night's Primetime Emmy Awards included big wins for Hacks, The Bear, Shōgun, and Baby Reindeer. And if you're nostalgic for shows like Schitt's Creek or Happy Days, the telecast had you covered.

Our 2024 Emmys Recap

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