Podcast
Pop Culture Happy Hour
Hosted by NPR · EN
Trying to keep up with the latest in pop culture? We’ve got you covered. The Pop Culture Happy Hour podcast helps you find the best new binge-worthy tv shows, movies, music, and videogames.
Join hosts Linda Holmes, Aisha Harris, Stephen Thompson, and Glen Weldon four episodes a week - plus a rotating cast of guest pop culture enthusiasts. It’s your fix for reviews, recommendations, and recaps of the pop culture everyone is talking about. From lowbrow reality TV to Oscar-winning movies to the stuff in between, we take it all with a shot of cheer. On the Pop Culture Happy Hour podcast, we watch everything so that you never miss anything.
Support public media by joining NPR+ at plus.npr.org. You’ll get perks for over 25 NPR podcasts, including bonus episodes and sponsor-free listening for Pop Culture Happy Hour.
Join hosts Linda Holmes, Aisha Harris, Stephen Thompson, and Glen Weldon four episodes a week - plus a rotating cast of guest pop culture enthusiasts. It’s your fix for reviews, recommendations, and recaps of the pop culture everyone is talking about. From lowbrow reality TV to Oscar-winning movies to the stuff in between, we take it all with a shot of cheer. On the Pop Culture Happy Hour podcast, we watch everything so that you never miss anything.
Support public media by joining NPR+ at plus.npr.org. You’ll get perks for over 25 NPR podcasts, including bonus episodes and sponsor-free listening for Pop Culture Happy Hour.
356episodes
Episodes
Newest firstAll episodes
The End of Oak Street and What’s Making Us Happy
Yesterday00:22:48Summary readyIn the fun, entertaining new film, The End of Oak Street, Anne Hathaway and Ewan McGregor star as a married couple in the early 1980s. One night, their entire suburban neighborhood is transported to a time filled with a variety of large and dangerous dinosaurs. Written and directed by David Robert Mitchell (It Follows), it’s part action-adventure, part monster movie, part dark comedy. But after so many dino-packed blockbusters, does this movie offer a fresh take to the prehistoric creature feature?If you need a few more creature features, check out these episodes:'Minions & Monsters' is, oddly enough, a love letter to Old HollywoodOnly Guillermo del Toro could've made this 'Frankenstein'‘Jaws’ is still stuck in our teeth, 50 years laterConnect with Pop Culture Happy Hour:Letterboxd / FacebookOur weekly newsletterSupport public media with NPR+ and enjoy perks for over 25 podcasts like this one. This show’s perks include bonus episodes and sponsor-free listening. Learn more at plus.npr.org.See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.NPR Privacy Policy
Summary
Summer blockbusters we somehow missed
2d ago00:22:07Summary readySummer blockbusters are hugely popular and as a result, financially successful, and seen by lots of people. So with summer blockbuster season coming to a close, we decided to revisit our conversation about our own personal blockbuster gaps, and finally watch a movie that absolutely everyone saw – except for us — including Armageddon, Beverly Hills Cop II, Ghost, The Fast and the Furious.If you need a bit more summer magic, check out these episodes: What’s the best summer snack? The votes are in‘Jaws’ is still stuck in our teeth, 50 years laterWe debate the sweatiest movie of all timeConnect with Pop Culture Happy Hour:Letterboxd / FacebookOur weekly newsletterSupport public media with NPR+ and enjoy perks for over 25 podcasts like this one. This show’s perks include bonus episodes and sponsor-free listening. Learn more at plus.npr.org.See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.NPR Privacy Policy
Summary
Ted Lasso
4d ago00:21:05Summary readyTed Lasso is finally back. But is this new fourth season worth the wait, and does it have anything fresh to say? Ted (Jason Sudeikis) has returned to the U.K., only this time, he’s coaching a brand new women’s soccer team. The hit Apple TV series features familiar faces including Hannah Waddingham, Juno Temple, and Brett Goldstein, as well as newcomers Tanya Reynolds and Abbie Hern.Want more laughs from Apple TV? Check out these episodes: Getting therapeutic with 'Shrinking'Seth Rogen and a fabulous cast highlight the satire 'The Studio'Connect with Pop Culture Happy Hour:Letterboxd / FacebookOur weekly newsletterSupport public media with NPR+ and enjoy perks for over 25 podcasts like this one. This show’s perks include bonus episodes and sponsor-free listening. Learn more at plus.npr.org.See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.NPR Privacy Policy
Summary
Our dream TV workplaces
5d ago00:22:49Summary readyWe spend the majority of our adult lives at work. We also see so many depictions of working life on TV. So where’s the fictional place we’d like to work? We’ll talk about Ted Lasso, Game of Thrones, The Muppet Show and The West Wing.If you want more workplace shenanigans, check out these episodes: ‘Widow’s Bay’ is an island in the screamThe final course at ‘The Bear’ was both sweet and savory‘The Paper’ is an ‘Office’ spinoff where journalism takes the lede Connect with Pop Culture Happy Hour:Letterboxd / FacebookOur weekly newsletterSupport public media with NPR+ and enjoy perks for over 25 podcasts like this one. This show’s perks include bonus episodes and sponsor-free listening. Learn more at plus.npr.org.See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.NPR Privacy Policy
Summary
One Night Only and What’s Making Us Happy
1w ago00:26:43Summary readyOne Night Only is set in an alternate universe where premarital sex has been outlawed, except for one 12-hour window a year. The film stars Monica Barbaro and Callum Turner as two beautiful New Yorkers looking to have sex when the mandate is temporarily lifted. But does the film deliver on its sexy premise, or is it more chaste than it seems? Looking for other conversations about rom-coms? Try these episodes:‘Office Romance’ stars J.Lo as a CEO with a bad case of Brett Goldstein‘You, Me & Tuscany' has got us lost in the pasta sauceConnect with Pop Culture Happy Hour:Letterboxd / FacebookOur weekly newsletterSupport public media with NPR+ and enjoy perks for over 25 podcasts like this one. This show’s perks include bonus episodes and sponsor-free listening. Learn more at plus.npr.org.See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.NPR Privacy Policy
Summary
Ariana Grande’s album Petal
1w ago00:19:23Summary readyAriana Grande has been omnipresent the last few years. Discussions of her relationships and her weight have made Grande an internet fixture in recent years. She’s coming off a long run promoting and starring in the two Wicked films, and her hit song “Hate That I Made You Love Me” has been everywhere this summer. She’s also announced she’s taking a step back from public life after her current tour. So with the release of her new album, Petal, what do we make of Grande’s latest batch of songs, and do they successfully capture this moment in her life?Looking for more buzzy pop music conversations? Check out:Olivia Rodrigo seems pretty sad, but does she still generate bangers?On 'Arirang,' BTS nods to K-pop's past, present and futureConnect with Pop Culture Happy Hour:Letterboxd / FacebookOur weekly newsletterSupport public media with NPR+ and enjoy perks for over 25 podcasts like this one. This show’s perks include bonus episodes and sponsor-free listening. Learn more at plus.npr.org.See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.NPR Privacy Policy
Summary
We debate the sweatiest movie of all time
2w ago00:22:02Summary readyWhether they're lightly perspiring, gently glowing, or soaked through from sweltering, people in the movies sweat a lot. But what movie has had people sweat the very most? With another summer underway, we are revisiting our debate about what is the sweatiest movie of all time — including Do the Right Thing, Dog Day Afternoon, Y tu mamá también, and Body Heat.If you like need more summery suggestions, check out these episodes:The summer blockbusters we finally watched‘Jaws’ is still stuck in our teeth, 50 years later‘The Summer I Turned Pretty’ has drama, romance and the music of Taylor SwiftConnect with Pop Culture Happy Hour:Letterboxd / FacebookOur weekly newsletterSupport public media with NPR+ and enjoy perks for over 25 podcasts like this one. This show’s perks include bonus episodes and sponsor-free listening. Learn more at plus.npr.org.See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.NPR Privacy Policy
Summary
I Want Your Sex
2w ago00:19:02Summary readySex is back, baby! In the fun new movie I Want Your Sex, Olivia Wilde plays Erika, a mixed-media artist who enters into a very consensual, very kinky, but very unprofessional sub/dom relationship with her assistant Elliot (Cooper Hoffman). Elliot’s having the time of his life, but Erika is a lot, and soon his life starts to fall apart. I Want Your Sex is directed by Gregg Araki and the film doubles down on his brand of fun, in-your-face sexuality he’s known for.If you want more great films about sex, check out:‘The Invite’ is a marriage comedy with sex and heartIn ‘Pillion,’ submission is the missionWhat makes a good sex scene?Connect with Pop Culture Happy Hour:Letterboxd / FacebookOur weekly newsletterSupport public media with NPR+ and enjoy perks for over 25 podcasts like this one. This show’s perks include bonus episodes and sponsor-free listening. Learn more at plus.npr.org.See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.NPR Privacy Policy
Summary
Spider-Man: Brand New Day and What’s Making Us Happy
2w ago00:23:18Summary readyZendaya and Tom Holland are back in Spider-Man: Brand New Day, and the movie has a more grounded tone than we’ve seen from the franchise. But does it strike the right balance of fun and darkness? Directed by Daniel Destin Cretton, the film also features Jacob Batalon, Jon Bernthal, Tramell Tillman, and Sadie Sink.Looking for more spectacular Spider-episodes? Check out: 'Spider-Man: No Way Home' mixes fun and fan service'Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse' thrills in every dimensionConnect with Pop Culture Happy Hour:Letterboxd / FacebookOur weekly newsletterSupport Pop Culture Happy Hour+See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.NPR Privacy Policy
Summary
The Dink
2w ago00:18:22Summary readyThe Dink is pickleball’s very funny new entry into the classic genre of sports comedies. In the new film, Jake Johnson stars as a washed-up tennis underachiever whose loyalties become divided after befriending a pickleball player played by Mary Steenburgen. It’s got a contest with huge stakes and a surprising dose of heart, and the jokes make it over the net. If you want more breezy fun flicks, check out these episodes: In 'Power Ballad,' Paul Rudd and Nick Jonas hit all the right notesFun movies you may have missed Connect with Pop Culture Happy Hour:Letterboxd / FacebookOur weekly newsletterSupport Pop Culture Happy Hour+See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.NPR Privacy Policy
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