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Pop Culture Happy HourPop Culture Happy Hour

Pop culture in high spirits
This romcom lets you pick the ending — that doesn't make it good

The idea that boundless customization is the way of the future misunderstands the relationship between creator and audience and the negotiation that goes on between the two. Above, Laura Marano as Cami and Jordi Webber as Jack in Choose Love. Netflix hide caption

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Netflix

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This romcom lets you pick the ending — that doesn't make it good

Turns out multiple choice options work better for SATs than for storytelling. Netflix's Choose Love makes the case against AI writing — ordering a movie like a pizza doesn't make for good movies.

Why 'Suits'? We dive into this summer's streaming hit

Meghan Markle and Patrick J. Adams in Suits. Cinematic / Alamy Stock Photo hide caption

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Cinematic / Alamy Stock Photo

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Pop Culture Happy Hour

Why 'Suits'? We dive into this summer's streaming hit

The long-running lawyer show Suits is this summer's streaming sensation, and riding high on Netflix's top ten. Starring Gabriel Macht and Patrick J. Adams, the series originally ran on the USA Network and ended its run four years ago. So why is it now so popular? Is it nostalgia for a different kind of television? Is it Meghan Markle? And how good is this show?

Why 'Suits'? We dive into this summer's streaming hit

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NewJeans is a new kind of K-pop juggernaut

NewJeans released a new EP titled Get Up earlier this summer. ADOR hide caption

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ADOR

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Pop Culture Happy Hour

NewJeans is a new kind of K-pop juggernaut

In a little more than a year, NewJeans has become huge in the world of K-pop, with a reputation for upending industry conventions. They've become the fastest K-Pop act ever to reach one billion streams on Spotify, and their new EP, Get Up, just hit number one on the Billboard charts. Plus, their single "OMG" went viral on TikTok, spawning dance challenges and memes.

NewJeans is a new kind of K-pop juggernaut

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HBO shines a light on scams in 'Telemarketers' and 'BS High'

Roy Johnson (right) with a Bishop Sycamore player in the HBO documentary, BS High. HBO hide caption

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HBO

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Pop Culture Happy Hour

HBO shines a light on scams in 'Telemarketers' and 'BS High'

HBO has two great new documentary projects about two very different scams. BS High is about a high school football team that came from what turned out to be a nonexistent high school. Telemarketers is about telemarketing scams, and how hard it is to stop them. Both stories are about not just the very colorful nitty-gritty details of a successful scam, but also the conditions and the systems that make scams possible.

HBO shines a light on scams in 'Telemarketers' and 'BS High'

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Into the raunchy, violent danger zone of 'Archer' one last time

Natalie Dew and H. Jon Benjamin voice the characters Zara Kahn and Sterling Archer on FX's Archer. FX hide caption

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FX

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Pop Culture Happy Hour

Into the raunchy, violent danger zone of 'Archer' one last time

The FX animated comedy Archer explores the raunchy exploits of Sterling Archer (H. Jon Benjamin), who is known from Berlin to Bangkok as the world's most dangerous spy. The show is violent, smutty, and packed with profanity, wordplay, and callbacks. The final season is about to premiere, so we thought now would be the perfect time to revisit our conversation about the series.

Into the raunchy, violent danger zone of 'Archer' one last time

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High school comedy 'Bottoms' is violent, bizarre, and a hoot

Ayo Edebiri stars as Josie and Rachel Sennott as PJ in Bottoms. Orion Pictures Inc. hide caption

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Orion Pictures Inc.

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Pop Culture Happy Hour

High school comedy 'Bottoms' is violent, bizarre, and a hoot

Hollywood loves a movie about horny teens desperate to lose their virginity, and the smart new comedy Bottoms is a welcome addition to the canon. Ayo Edebiri and Rachel Sennott star as unpopular best friends who start a fight club in hopes of seducing the cheerleaders of their dreams. Bottoms was co-written by Sennott and Emma Seligman, who also directs. They previously collaborated on the movie Shiva Baby.

High school comedy 'Bottoms' is violent, bizarre, and a hoot

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'Blue Beetle' is a true-blue surprise

Xolo Maridueña as Jaime Reyes in Blue Beetle. Warner Bros. hide caption

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Warner Bros.

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Pop Culture Happy Hour

'Blue Beetle' is a true-blue surprise

In the great new DC superhero film Blue Beetle, Xolo Maridueña plays Jaime Reyes, a young Mexican-American man who stumbles across a creepy bug-like alien artifact that bonds to him and gives him superpowers. It may seem like just another story about a reluctant hero, but in execution, centering the film on a Latino family changes the familiar formula in ways big and small.

'Blue Beetle' is a true-blue surprise

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Books We Love: Book Club Ideas

Books We Love: Book Club Ideas Chelsea Conrad/NPR hide caption

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Chelsea Conrad/NPR

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Pop Culture Happy Hour

Books We Love: Book Club Ideas

We know you read on your own. But we also know you read together. Today we're recommending some great books for your next book club.

Books We Love: Book Club Ideas

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'Strays' leads the pack for R-rated dog comedies

Reggie (Will Ferrell), Maggie (Isla Fisher), Hunter (Randall Park) and Bug (Jamie Foxx) in Strays. Chuck Zlotnick/Universal Pictures hide caption

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Chuck Zlotnick/Universal Pictures

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Pop Culture Happy Hour

'Strays' leads the pack for R-rated dog comedies

In the raunchy new comedy Strays, four talking dogs embark on an incredible journey. Reggie (voiced by Will Ferrell) doesn't realize his owner Doug (Will Forte) is desperate to abandon him on the streets. But when Doug's intentions become clear, Reggie's motivation shifts from a reunion to revenge. Strays' voice cast also features Jamie Foxx, Isla Fisher and Randall Park.

'Strays' leads the pack for R-rated dog comedies

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'The Afterparty' is a genre-generating whodunit

John Cho in season two of Apple+ series The Afterparty. Apple TV+ hide caption

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Apple TV+

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Pop Culture Happy Hour

'The Afterparty' is a genre-generating whodunit

The Apple TV+ murder mystery comedy series The Afterparty looks at the events around a murder and its investigation from a different character's point of view in each episode. Starring Sam Richardson, Zoë Chao, Tiffany Haddish, and many others, each installment is made in a different film style — like an erotic thriller, a midcentury melodrama, or a Wes Anderson sendup.

'The Afterparty' is a genre-generating whodunit

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Checking in on the World Cup

Salma Paralluelo of Spain during the Women's World Cup semi-final match versus Sweden. Phil Walter/Getty Images hide caption

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Phil Walter/Getty Images

Pop Culture Happy Hour

Checking in on the World Cup

On Sunday morning, England and Spain will face off in the Women's World Cup Final. Both countries are playing in the women's final for the first time. And whether you'll be watching for the first time or a diehard soccer fan, we've got you've covered. Plus, we'll talk about why the U.S. was knocked out in the round of 16, and the impact of the American team on the sport.

Checking in on the World Cup

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On 'Harley Quinn' love reigns, with a side of chaos

Kaley Cuoco and Lake Bell voice Harley and Poison Ivy on Harley Quinn. Max hide caption

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Max

Review

Pop Culture Happy Hour

On 'Harley Quinn' love reigns, with a side of chaos

The fantastic Max animated series Harley Quinn is set in its own separate version of the DC Universe where the violence is frequent and the raunchy jokes come at you fast. In the show, Harley (Kaley Cuoco) has ditched the Joker and started making her own brand of mayhem alongside her best friend and romantic partner Poison Ivy (Lake Bell). Harley Quinn recently returned for a new season, so we decided to revisit our conversation about the series.

On 'Harley Quinn' love reigns, with a side of chaos

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The hip-hop verse that changed my life

Big Boi and Andre 3000 of Outkast perform at the Firefly Music Festival in 2014. Theo Wargo/Getty Images for Firefly Music Festival hide caption

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Theo Wargo/Getty Images for Firefly Music Festival

Pop Culture Happy Hour

The hip-hop verse that changed my life

What makes for an unshakable rap verse — the kind that shifts your world view and sticks around years after the first time you encountered it? This month marks 50 years since the birth of hip-hop, so we reached out to some NPR colleagues and a few hip-hop luminaries and asked them what hip-hop verse changed their lives. You can hear all the tracks discussed in this episode in our Spotify playlist.

The hip-hop verse that changed my life

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