Accessibility links
Pop Culture News and commentary on popular culture trends. Download the Pop Culture podcast.

Pop Culture

Top 10 'Friends' Supporting Characters, Ranked

378315 01: 1998 Lisa Kudrow and Teri Garr in Year 4 of Friends Getty Images hide caption

toggle caption
Getty Images

Review

Pop Culture Happy Hour

Top 10 'Friends' Supporting Characters, Ranked

It's good to be a star. In the world of the comedy Friends, that meant being Rachel or Ross, Monica or Chandler, Phoebe or Joey. But it takes more than just stars to make a hit.

Top 10 'Friends' Supporting Characters, Ranked

Listen · 24:48
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1006931798/1007185290" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
The 'Friends,' Ranked, From Ross To Best

The cast of Friends. Warner Bros. Television/Getty Images hide caption

toggle caption
Warner Bros. Television/Getty Images

Review

Pop Culture Happy Hour

The 'Friends,' Ranked, From Ross To Best

The recent Friends reunion on HBO Max set off a new wave of nostalgia. So we put the most important question to you: Who's the best friend? Who's the worst friend? Thousands of you voted, and the results are in.

The 'Friends,' Ranked, From Ross To Best

Listen · 16:46
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1005610977/1006665033" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
The Limitations Of 'Latinidad': How Colorism Haunts 'In The Heights'

Singer and actor Leslie Grace stars as Nina Rosario (center), the beloved and brilliant neighborhood sweetheart in the film adaptation of the musical In the Heights. Macall Polay/Warner Brothers hide caption

toggle caption
Macall Polay/Warner Brothers

Movies

The Limitations Of 'Latinidad': How Colorism Haunts 'In The Heights'

Film critic Monica Castillo reflects on the glaring absence of Afro-Latino actors from the new screen adaptation of In the Heights and how colorism still affects Latino representation on screen.

Presenting 'Fresh Air': Actor John Boyega On Hollywood, Police And 'Star Wars'

John Boyega attends the EE British Academy Film Awards ceremony at the Royal Albert Hall on February 2, 2020 in London, England. NurPhoto via Getty Images hide caption

toggle caption
NurPhoto via Getty Images

It's Been a Minute with Sam Sanders

Presenting 'Fresh Air': Actor John Boyega On Hollywood, Police And 'Star Wars'

Sam sits in the Fresh Air host chair to talk to actor John Boyega. Since finishing his star-making role in the Star Wars franchise in 2019 and after the protests that followed the murder of George Floyd last year, Boyega has been outspoken about his treatment as a Black actor in Hollywood, and in the Star Wars franchise itself. He talked to Sam about why he was ready to talk about the "elephant in the room" that is racism in Hollywood and what he's doing to change things.

Presenting 'Fresh Air': Actor John Boyega On Hollywood, Police And 'Star Wars'

Listen · 35:14
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1004917692/1006408482" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
Three Great Songs For Your Next Road Trip

If you're hitting the road this summer, you're gonna want the right tunes. Bun Lee/Getty Images hide caption

toggle caption
Bun Lee/Getty Images

Pop Culture Happy Hour

Three Great Songs For Your Next Road Trip

If you're thinking about taking a road trip, you're gonna need road-trip music. You might need a pick-me-up, or a distraction, or something for when you need a break from podcasts. So if you're headed out on the road soon, we're here to help.

Three Great Songs For Your Next Road Trip

Listen · 8:29
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1005548551/1005596488" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
'Sweet Tooth' Is A Weird And Wonderful Hybrid

Christian Convery as Gus in Netflix's Sweet Tooth. Kirsty Griffin/Warner Bros./Netflix hide caption

toggle caption
Kirsty Griffin/Warner Bros./Netflix

Review

Pop Culture Happy Hour

'Sweet Tooth' Is A Weird And Wonderful Hybrid

The Netflix series Sweet Tooth is a strange mix. It's a dystopian tale of societal collapse in the wake of a deadly virus and the rise of human-animal hybrids. It's also a warm, humane, lushly shot fable of hope and humanity. Which is to say, it is itself a kind of strange hybrid — think The Road meets Paddington 2; The Walking Dead meets Pushing Daisies.

'Sweet Tooth' Is A Weird And Wonderful Hybrid

Listen · 16:01
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1004337854/1005546084" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
COMIC: Director Jon M. Chu's Long Journey From Home Videos To 'In The Heights'
Fred Chao for NPR

Extras: TED Radio Hour

COMIC: Director Jon M. Chu's Long Journey From Home Videos To 'In The Heights'

Hollywood director Jon M. Chu got his start splicing VHS tapes of home videos, but it took him two decades — and acceptance of his cultural identity — to realize what stories he really wanted to tell.

COMIC: Director Jon M. Chu's Long Journey From Home Videos To 'In The Heights'

Listen · 37:50
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1005099493/1005101138" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
'In the Heights' Explodes With Joy

Anthony Ramos stars in Jon M. Chu's film adaptation of In The Heights. Macall Polay/Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. hide caption

toggle caption
Macall Polay/Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc.

Review

Pop Culture Happy Hour

'In the Heights' Explodes With Joy

Before Hamilton made him a household name, Lin-Manuel Miranda wrote the music and lyrics for the musical In The Heights. The Broadway production won four Tony Awards, including Best Musical. The film adaptation, directed by Jon M. Chu, stars Anthony Ramos as Usnavi. He hopes to return to the Dominican Republic, where he can live out the dream of his late parents. In fact, just about everyone in this story has big dreams and mountains to climb.

'In the Heights' Explodes With Joy

Listen · 22:42
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1005135306/1005252436" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
The Kardashians Kiss Reality TV Goodbye — And Move On To Disney And Hulu

Khloe Kardashian, Kylie Jenner, Kris Kardashian, Kourtney Kardashian, Kim Kardashian, and Kendall Jenner in Hollywood at the Kardashian Kollection Launch Party in 2011. Jason Merritt/TERM/Getty Images hide caption

toggle caption
Jason Merritt/TERM/Getty Images

The Kardashians Kiss Reality TV Goodbye — And Move On To Disney And Hulu

E! series Keeping Up with the Kardashians, which chronicled many marriages, babies and scandals over 20 seasons, ends Thursday. But this isn't the last we'll see of the Kardashian-Jenner family.

Is 'The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It' An Occult Classic?

Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson return as paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren in The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It. Warner Bros. hide caption

toggle caption
Warner Bros.

Review

Pop Culture Happy Hour

Is 'The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It' An Occult Classic?

The 2013 horror film The Conjuring made more than $300 million and spawned a blockbuster cinematic universe. The main Conjuring movies center on the heavily fictionalized accounts of two real-life demon-hunters, played by Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga, who solve paranormal mysteries. In the new, third film in the series, The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It, our heroes try to figure out what compelled a young man to brutally kill his landlord.

Is 'The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It' An Occult Classic?

The Inescapable Kardashian Universe

Kim Kardashian (pictured here in 2020) and her family are ending Keeping Up With The Kardashians after 20 seasons. JEAN-BAPTISTE LACROIX/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

toggle caption
JEAN-BAPTISTE LACROIX/AFP via Getty Images

Review

Pop Culture Happy Hour

The Inescapable Kardashian Universe

After 20 seasons, multiple marriages, babies and scandals, Keeping Up With the Kardashians is finally coming to a close. The E! reality series is leaving behind quite a legacy (or wreckage) in its wake. It's the end of a reality-TV era, but whatever your tolerance for the brand, the Kardashians won't be disappearing from American culture any time soon.

The Inescapable Kardashian Universe

Listen · 36:06
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1004446586/1004504580" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
Springsteen, Foo Fighters, Strokes Rock Vaccinated New Yorkers In June

Dave Grohl of the Foo Fighters, seen here in the "Vax Live" fundraising concert held in May, performs at Madison Square Garden in June. VALERIE MACON/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

toggle caption
VALERIE MACON/AFP via Getty Images

Music News

Springsteen, Foo Fighters, Strokes Rock Vaccinated New Yorkers In June

Well ahead of a celebratory Central Park concert announced by Mayor Bill de Blasio for August, New York City's venues are coming back in June for vaccinated audiences.

Bonus Episode: Jon M. Chu
Courtesy of Jon M. Chu

TED Radio Hour

Bonus Episode: Jon M. Chu

Ever since he started shooting home movies with his family's bulky video camera, Jon M. Chu knew he wanted to be a filmmaker. But after directing several Hollywood blockbuster films like G.I. Joe: Retaliation and Now You See Me 2, Jon felt uninspired by the stories he was bringing to the silver screen. In 2018, he directed Crazy Rich Asians — the first Hollywood film with a majority Asian cast in 25 years — and in 2021, Lin Manuel Miranda's In the Heights. We featured Jon M. Chu in TED Radio Hour's recent episode The Artist's Voice.

Bonus Episode: Jon M. Chu

Listen · 37:50
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1004011513/1004043188" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
'Plan B' Is A Raunchy Road Trip Comedy With Heart

Victoria Moroles plays Lupe, and Kuhoo Verma plays Sunny in the film Plan B. Brett Roedel/Hulu hide caption

toggle caption
Brett Roedel/Hulu

Review

Pop Culture Happy Hour

'Plan B' Is A Raunchy Road Trip Comedy With Heart

The new Hulu movie Plan B is about best friends Sunny and Lupe (played by Kuhoo Verma and Victoria Moroles), who go on an emergency road trip. They're not on the run from criminals or some terrible misunderstanding. They're trying to get to a Planned Parenthood office to get a morning-after pill for Sunny. The girls have a long night of crazy adventures and heartfelt conversations. Directed by Natalie Morales, the film is a really good mix of silly and honest and unexpected.

'Plan B' Is A Raunchy Road Trip Comedy With Heart

Listen · 14:37
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1002617388/1003924915" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
'Bo Burnham: Inside' Is A Surprising, Toe-Tapping Peek At Despair

Bo Burnham, pictured here at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival, wrote, directed and performed the entirety of his new Netflix special, Inside, by himself. Rich Polk/Getty Images hide caption

toggle caption
Rich Polk/Getty Images

Review

Pop Culture Happy Hour

'Bo Burnham: Inside' Is A Surprising, Toe-Tapping Peek At Despair

Bo Burnham's new Netflix special Inside is not stand-up comedy. It's one-man isolation theater, shot in one enclosed space and bursting with musical performances and video sendups of genres from sad-dude acoustic guitar songs to '80s synth pop. Filmed over more than a year of pandemic disruption, it's whimsical, biting, empathetic and full of earworms.

'Bo Burnham: Inside' Is A Surprising, Toe-Tapping Peek At Despair

Listen · 15:11
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1002974637/1003018062" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
Farewell To 'Pose,' Which Fused Grief And Joy, Right Up To The Finale

Angel (Indya Moore) celebrates her upcoming nuptials with Elektra (Dominique Jackson), Lulu (Hailie Sahar), and Blanca (MJ Rodriguez) in Season 3 of Pose. Eric Liebowitz/FX hide caption

toggle caption
Eric Liebowitz/FX

Pop Culture Happy Hour

Farewell To 'Pose,' Which Fused Grief And Joy, Right Up To The Finale

Over the course of its run, Pose found a way to bring viewers both realness and hope. As the series finale approaches, the significance of its choices is sharper than ever.

This Year's Kennedy Center Honorees Have A 'Jolly Romp' At The White House

David Rubenstein, Chita Rivera, Garth Brooks, Debbie Allen, Trisha Yearwood, Dick Van Dyke, Joan Baez, Gloria Estefan, Midori, and Kennedy Center president Deborah F. Rutter pose for a group photo at the 43nd annual Kennedy Center Honors. Kevin Wolf/AP hide caption

toggle caption
Kevin Wolf/AP

Arts & Life

This Year's Kennedy Center Honorees Have A 'Jolly Romp' At The White House

President Biden has resumed the tradition of inviting Kennedy Center honorees to the White House. In a year of "profound loss and pain," Biden says, "the artist's vision is as important as ever."

Browse archive or search npr.org