Captain America: Brave New World And What's Making Us Happy

Summary

Pop Culture Happy Hour: "Captain America: Brave New World And What's Making Us Happy"

Release Date: February 14, 2025

In this episode of NPR’s Pop Culture Happy Hour, hosts Linda Holmes, Glen Weldon, Stephen Thompson, and Aisha Harris, along with guests Gene Demby and Joelle Monique, delve into the latest installment of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), "Captain America: Brave New World", while also sharing what’s bringing them joy amidst the hustle of pop culture.

---

Review of "Captain America: Brave New World"

Introduction to the Film: The conversation begins with Linda Holmes introducing the new Captain America movie, highlighting Anthony Mackie’s role as Sam Wilson, who has taken up the mantle from Steve Rogers. Mackie’s Captain America faces off against President Thaddeus Ross, portrayed by Harrison Ford, in a plot involving mind control and political intrigue.

Critical Reception: Joelle Monique expresses disappointment with the film, stating, “I think the main storyline to the destructive, contentious president… he’s barely a person. He’s more of a title. And that’s deeply disappointing” (01:56). She criticizes the movie for lacking the depth and thrill expected from a political thriller, especially considering its release during Black History Month.

Glenn Weldon echoes this sentiment, describing the film as “a surprisingly thin gruel” and likening it to “watching a two-hour episode” of a Marvel TV show (04:13). He points out that while the TV series introduced significant themes, such as the treatment of black super soldiers akin to the Tuskegee experiments, the movie fails to adequately explore these elements, rendering them “toothless” and ineffective (06:11).

Gene Demby aligns with his co-hosts, adding, “I agree that it was aggressively mid” (06:24). He discusses how the film’s attempts at depth feel undercooked, partly due to last-minute reshoots that didn’t integrate seamlessly into the narrative. Demby reflects on the movie’s reliance on prior MCU knowledge, making it inaccessible to casual viewers and contributing to its overall lackluster impact (07:29).

Linda Holmes critiques the script, noting, “I think the overwhelming majority of the problems with this film are script problems” (09:09). She laments the absence of the wit and engaging dialogue that characterized earlier MCU films, suggesting that the film fails to balance fun with meaningful ideas, leaving it neither entertaining nor thought-provoking (17:33).

Character and Plot Analysis: Joelle Monique highlights issues with character development and narrative structure, particularly Sam Wilson’s portrayal. She remarks, “Some of the parts are not usually, especially in these last maybe two, three phases. Laid out in such a way that it both invites new people and continues to connect Marvel fans” (10:04). However, she notes that crucial backstory moments, like the introduction of Bucky Barnes, are poorly timed and executed, undermining their intended impact.

The hosts also discuss the film’s action sequences and special effects. While acknowledging some enjoyable moments, such as “a couple of stunts that work really well” and commendable CGI for the Hulk, they agree that these elements are not enough to salvage the film’s fundamental shortcomings (13:39, 16:12).

Humorous Interlude: In a lighter moment, the discussion shifts to the character Red Hulk, with Glenn Weldon humorously asserting, “Red Hulk is hot” (18:23), followed by playful banter about Harrison Ford’s portrayal and the unrealistic expectations placed on aging action stars. This segment provides a brief respite from the critical analysis, showcasing the hosts' camaraderie and humor.

Conclusion on the Film: The episode wraps up the film review with unanimous disappointment. Joelle Monique expresses concern over the MCU’s direction, fearing that without strong character arcs and meaningful narratives, future projects like Fantastic Four and Thunderbolts may also falter (17:21). Linda Holmes encapsulates the consensus by stating, “you can either be fun or you can have ideas. Ideally both, but not neither” (17:33), underscoring the film’s failure to achieve a balance.

---

What Is Making Us Happy This Week

Transitioning from critiques, the hosts share personal sources of happiness:

• Joelle Monique recommends "The One Recipe with Jesse Sparks", a food podcast that delves into the history and personal stories behind favorite recipes. She praises its engaging format and practical cooking tips, making it a delightful listen for food enthusiasts (21:39).

• Gene Demby shares his appreciation for the second season of the show "Mo", highlighting a particularly moving scene that blends bureaucracy with heartfelt moments. He praises the show’s ability to navigate complex emotions and situations (23:00).

• Glenn Weldon talks about the YouTube channel "No Rolls Barred", specifically their episodes of "Blood on the Clock Tower", a complex board game similar to Werewolf or Mafia. He enjoys the channel’s charming presentation and intricate gameplay, despite acknowledging it’s not something he could replicate in his own game nights (23:48).

• Linda Holmes recounts attending a benefit staged reading of "The Muppet Movie" script in LA. Featuring talented performers like Mark Evan Jackson and Paul F. Tompkins, the event was both entertaining and heartwarming, raising funds for fire relief. She describes it as “exactly what I wanted” and a perfect blend of humor and creativity (25:35).

The hosts conclude by inviting listeners to join NPR’s Movie Club newsletter for upcoming Oscar coverage and to continue exploring pop culture together.

---

Notable Quotes:

• Joelle Monique: “I think one was set up, but it falls apart in the second act. There's really no thrill or secrecy or guessing as the movie goes on.” (03:05)

• Glenn Weldon: “Superheroes are ideals. They are very flattering mirrors. They are us as we should be.” (14:44)

• Gene Demby: “It felt very much like, oh, we are deep, so deep into the Marvel Cinematic Universe… you kind of need to know a little bit about the Eternals to know, like, why there's a giant island in the middle Indian Ocean.” (09:09)

• Joelle Monique: “The coolest thing about this movie is that Sam, Captain America is like, I'm not taking this, like, toxic thing that would allow me to be almost indestructible.” (15:25)

---

Final Thoughts:

"Captain America: Brave New World" has sparked a robust discussion among the Pop Culture Happy Hour team, highlighting the challenges of evolving iconic characters within expansive cinematic universes. While the film attempts to address significant themes, its execution falls short, leaving both the hosts and their guests yearning for a more compelling and balanced narrative.

Meanwhile, the hosts find joy in discovering new podcasts, engaging television shows, charming YouTube channels, and heartwarming live events, reminding listeners that amidst the critiques, there are always sources of happiness to celebrate in the vast landscape of pop culture.

---

For more discussions and insights, tune into Pop Culture Happy Hour on NPR and join the conversation on their Facebook and Letterboxd pages.

Transcript

[Advertiser]

This message comes from Discover, accepted at 99% of places that take credit cards nationwide. If you don't think so, maybe it's time to face facts. You're stuck in the past. Based on the February 2024 Nielsen report, [e-mail] credit card.

[Linda Holmes]

In the Marvel Cinematic Universe, there's a new Captain America played by Anthony Mackie. And for the first time, he's got his own movie.

[Glenn Weldon]

Cap finds himself battling a literally monstrous president played by Harrison Ford, whose rages threaten to destabilize the whole world. I'm Glenn Weldon.

[Linda Holmes]

And I'm Linda Holmes. And today we're talking about Captain Brave New World, which is already a title of something, but that's fine on Pop Culture Happy hour from NPR. Joining us today is one of the hosts of NPR's Code Switch podcast, Gene Demby. Hey, Gene, what's good friends?

[Gene Demby]

How are you?

[Linda Holmes]

We are good. Also with us is filmmaker, pop culture critic and iHeartRadio producer Joelle Monique. Hello, Joelle.

[Joelle Monique]

Hi, Linda.

[Linda Holmes]

So Sam Wilson has been Captain America for a little while now in the mcu, having gotten the shield from Steve Rogers at the end of Avengers Endgame. His early history as Cap has been covered over on the Disney plus show the Falcon and the Winter Soldier. Captain America. Brave New World finds Sam still wondering whether he's really suited for the suit, particularly since, unlike Steve, he hasn't taken any serums that make him superhuman. He's just a guy who's got a lot of really good gear and of course, a pure and patriotic heart. In the movie, Sam tries to untangle a dastardly mind control plot that led to an attempt to assassinate the president Thaddeus Ross, played here by a presumably well compensated Harrison Ford. Ross is hiding quite a few secrets himself, and Sam has to figure out whether he's a good guy or a bad guy.

[Joelle Monique]

I represent all Americans now. Hell, half of them wouldn't even be here without the Avengers. The country needs this.

[Gene Demby]

And when we disagree on how to.

[Glenn Weldon]

Manage a situation, what happens then?

[Joelle Monique]

Figure it out together.

[Linda Holmes]

Oh, what a nice idea. He also needs to save Isaiah Bradley, a former super soldier who was unjustly imprisoned for years and now finds himself tied up in a new mess not of his own making. He's played by Carl Lumley. Danny Ramirez is back as Joaquin Torres. He's stepping up to help Sam as the new Falcon now that Sam, who used to be the Falcon, is now Captain America, if that makes sense. Also on hand for this adventure to make a lot of trouble are Giancarlo Esposito and Tim Blake Nelson. Captain Brave New World is in theaters now. I know I mentioned this already, but it's very funny to me that they called it Brave New World. Cause that's already a title of a sort of famous story. But that's fine. That's fine. We're here to talk about Captain Brave New World. I'm gonna start with you, Joelle. What'd you think?

[Joelle Monique]

I think I text my group chat afterwards. Aggressively mid. And to translate is just so average. So in the middle. There was not for me a scene I could take home to my father, who loves these movies. Like, can't wait for you to see this. So good. The more I think on the film, the more disappointed I am. They dumped it in the middle of Black History Month, I think for a reason. It's supposed to be a political thriller. It's not. I get very annoying people say it is. I think one was set up, but it falls apart in the second act. There's really no thrill or secrecy or guessing as the movie goes on. And they give the main storyline to the destructive, contentious president, as opposed to Sam, the lead character. He gets family in his TV show. None of them come back. He's barely a person. He's more of a title. And that's deeply disappointing. So I have a lot of frustrations. I have some good things to say, but we can talk about those later.

[Linda Holmes]

Yeah. All right. So, aggressively Mid Glenn, how about you? Where are you coming down on this one?

[Glenn Weldon]

I mean, this is a surprisingly thin gruel. Full disclosure, I didn't really like Falcon and the Winter Soldier because they built that around the Sam Bucky dynamic. And that just felt forced. I don't think those two actors chimed off each other. So everything about it felt small and kind of workmanlike. We went from the Marvel Cinematic Universe to kind of a Marvel tv. Township, unincorporated area, empty lot. This feels like I was watching a two hour episode of that TV show. It felt small, weirdly dull. So it was an extension, not an expansion. And the one interesting thing the TV series introduced you mentioned was Isaiah Bradley, played by Carl Lumley as a black super soldier who was disavowed by his government. And that got to in a big kind of broad superhero way. It at least addressed the notion of how the American government treats black men. It evoked the Tuskegee experiments. And this film retains those trappings but does nothing with them. It feels so toothless and so afraid of saying you're doing anything that it just doesn't register. It evaporates the minute you get out of your theater seat. Which is fascinating because this film dresses a black man up in an American flag and calls him Captain America. Even if you try to put the politics of that image aside and, you know, good luck with that, in terms of simple iconography. And superheroes are all about their iconography. That should resonate. You should feel something, that should feel charged. It should be subversive. It should feel dangerous, iconoclastic. It does in the comics, I would argue. But this film narratively keeps striving to do everything it can to dilute that impact. And, you know, the movie can't help the cultural moment it arrives in. But look, this film drops less than a week after Uncle Sam Jackson at the Super Bowl. Another black man dressed up in the American flag, Kendrick, forms black male bodies into an American flag that carried such a stronger charge, that felt fueled by history. This movie feels fueled by the need to, you know, preserve the ip. And it's frustrating.

[Linda Holmes]

Yeah, I would have liked for them to give that some power, like you're talking about. Anyway, Gene, I'm gonna go to you next. I somehow do not think you're gonna suddenly say, I loved this movie, but tell me what you thought.

[Gene Demby]

I wanna furiously co sign Glenn and Joelle. I agree that it was aggressively mid and to Glen's point, it seemed to be alluding to all this stuff. And I can't even tell if the allusions were so weak that I couldn't even tell if they were on purpose or just, like, coincidental because they weren't doing anything with them. Right. Years ago, I had a chance to interview Robert Morales, who was the person who co created the Isaiah Bradley character. And he talked explicitly about, like, setting it in the sort of Tuskegee experiment and how he was shocked that Marvel let him do it in the comics.

[Linda Holmes]

Yeah.

[Gene Demby]

And so when you're watching this movie, when Sam is like, but Isaiah, you have to let it go. And it's like, I'm sorry, if you just consider this in world biography of this dude, why would he want to rock with the President of the United States? It, like, didn't make a lot of sense. I saw this screening with my friend Marian, and about 10 minutes in, she was like, was this a finished script? Because all this stuff in it that feels really undercooked. And then we found out later that all the scenes with Giancarlo Esposito were from reshoots. They weren't actually in the movie originally. And it's like, oh, okay, that makes sense. The fact that a lot of this doesn't make sense makes sense.

[Linda Holmes]

Yeah. I think the overwhelming majority of the problems with this film are script problems. And it made me really remember how important what I found to be a really engaging witness was to the first stages of the MCU when I was first really enjoying it and really getting such a kick out of it. And even later, like in Ragnarok and some of the other ones, the humor of it is foregrounded, and that's not true in all of them as much as it is in some. But I really felt a lack of that wit in this film. I think there are a couple of sort of watery comebacks, I guess, and a little bit of a very low level wisecracking between Sam and Joaquin. Listen, those are both actors. I really like Anthony Mackie. I've liked Anthony Mackie in a whole bunch of things. I think this is just not as good of a role as he could have, should have had. I enjoyed Danny Ramirez as the new Falcon, right. I always will watch Harrison Ford, who I will say phoned this in much less than I expected when I went into the movie. I just, in the end thought it was boring. And there are things I would praise about it. I enjoyed some of the action sequences I thought were fun. I appreciate the fact that it's two hours long and they're trying to kind of get a handle on the bloat that these films grew to, you know, two and a half and then three hours, which they don't need to be. But on the whole, I just was bored.

[Gene Demby]

I had this sense when I was a kid and when I read comics all the time, you know, there used to be like these little asterisks. To understand what this conversation's about, go back and read some other comic that, you know, that I didn't pull or whatever, right? And this seems to be like the problem with the bloat of comic book universes all the time, right? It's like eventually there's too many characters, too many subplots, too much subtext for you to just pick up a book in the middle of it and be like, okay, I can understand what's going on. This felt very much like. And this is why in Comic Book Land they reboot the universes all the time, right? But it felt very much like, oh, we are deep, so deep into the Marvel Cinematic Universe, right? We got like, what, 25 plus movies. And this kind of like, he's like, you kind of need to know a Little bit about the Eternals to know, like, why there's a giant island in the middle Indian Ocean. Like, I wonder who a movie like this is for at this point. It's like, at this point, you kind of have to be kind of a Marvel completionist at this point to be like, this is something I need to see.

[Joelle Monique]

But, Gene, I feel like you shouldn't have to be.

[Gene Demby]

Right.

[Joelle Monique]

Some of the parts are not usually, especially in these last maybe two, three phases. Laid out in such a way that it both invites new people and continues to connect Marvel fans. Listen, I knew we had a problem with this film. In my theater, the most excited anyone got, or collectively as a theater we got, was when Bucky showed up.

[Gene Demby]

Yep.

[Joelle Monique]

He shows up for about five minutes. He recaps everything that happened in the TV show. So if you missed that, don't worry. Except that's placed way late into the film. So late that you're like, why are we doing this now? I've pretty much caught up already to the series, and I think it signals a really big problem. You know, we have that clip at the top of the episode where President Ross is asking Sam to relaunch the Avengers. Basically, if you have Sam and Bucky previously being in the same space, these are two support characters, secondary, who sort of uplift and add action and heart to the films. And then you give one of them a lead role, and the audience is more excited to see the other. That's a big issue for Marvel going forward, and I don't think it's Mackie's fault. I think this script really doesn't give you a chance to meet the Sam that a lot of Marvel fans love from the comic books. Sam in the comic books is a social worker. He's really a guy of his community. Sam here is a soldier, and we have so many soldiers in the MCU already. We've lost the diversity. And I'm talking about race or gender, anything. But I mean, like, individual character diversity. That really was driving Marvel forward. There's not that much difference between first cap and second cap and War Machine. Like, they're all essentially the same type of character. Even in taking the gig with Ross, it's so meh. He's like, well, he's president, so, yeah, I guess I have to. It's not really a strong choice for him.

[Linda Holmes]

Yeah. This movie seemed at times like it was preparing to do something. I knew intellectually it wasn't going to do this, but it seemed at times like it was setting up a potential story about what is the relationship between being Captain America, AKA pro, the country, defender of the country? B, adjacent to the military, which is a distinct thing. C, being adjacent to the President. Right. That is a potentially really interesting thing to talk about when he's sort of going back and forth about, I'm Captain America, does that mean I do whatever the President says? Hugely relevant. Interesting question. That's not what the movie's about. There is a story here that I think could have been more interesting, but they kind of walk away from it both for the opportunity for jokes, which is what lifted something like Guardians of the Galaxy for me, and the idea of, like, actually getting in there and doing kind of a political thing, which is maybe a little bit what I liked about Civil War and some of the other ones. So they're kind of like, well, we're not gonna do this, and we're also not gonna do that. We're just gonna kind of throw all this at the screen and hope that the fact that you like these people works. It's one thing that to really fully follow this, you kind of have to have watched the TV show on Disney, but they're going back all the way to, like, to really get everything, you gotta be familiar with 2008's the Incredible Hulk, starring Ed Norton, a movie I feel like no one saw. That's not true.

[Glenn Weldon]

That has been Memory Hulk. Yes, absolutely.

[Linda Holmes]

And unless you know that movie, you're just kind of taking it on. Yes. They say this happened, so it must have happened, but you don't necessarily remember it happening. I find the decision to go in that direction very strange. So when you get these references to, like, oh, you know, you remember the destruction of Harlem, and it's like. Well, it's like, I know about it. I know about it because I have Wikipedia. But I just. I think the decision to be so reliant on. Glenn talks about this all the time. The difference between an audience reaction, like clapping or laughing, that is genuinely enthusiasm for the material versus simply. I get that. Like, it's so funny to me that Captain America is the meme that says, I understood that reference. That's so funny because that's exactly what this movie is like. When my audience reacted to this movie, it was because, oh, I get that. I get that. I know who that is. I've seen that guy before. I get it. I'm in on this thing. And that was when they would clap.

[Glenn Weldon]

Yeah. I think this movie is landing differently because of the moment it's landing. I'm on record as saying, trying to make superheroes, you know, quote, unquote, relevant or grounded or realistic is always a mistake because people keep trying to do it because they think that's the only way anybody's gonna care about them. But that's why superheroes are so tough to write. This movie is a case in point. I mean, superheroes are ideals. They are very flattering mirrors. They are us as we should be. And whenever you try to have superheroes comment directly on our world, figuratively with a superhero metaphor, or literally, as in this movie, you don't bridge the distance between our world and theirs. You just remind us of this big yawning chasm that is separating us from them. It takes us out. It didn't want to say anything, so it didn't say anything.

[Linda Holmes]

Yeah, I think that's right.

[Joelle Monique]

I wish I had picked Elaine. The coolest thing about this movie is that Sam, Captain America is like, I'm not taking this, like, toxic thing that would allow me to be almost indestructible. I'm going to choose to do this in my natural human state. Cool. What Marvel has consistently been good at is storytelling through their fights. Every single fight should have felt like, my God, there's no way Sam is going to make it out of this. How in the hell is he going to do this? It's so hard to do this in your regular human body. Going up against these powerful beings, guns, whatever it is. There is a scene and it's in the trailer, so I don't think it's a problem to talk about it. But there's an aerial fight at one point. Sam is just launching his shield around, knocking missiles out of the sky. And you're like, so this feels superhuman.

[Gene Demby]

Yep.

[Joelle Monique]

And it completely derails this sort of thing that again, they start to set up in act one where it's like, man, he's got to train six times as hard as anybody. It's going to be so daunting. His life is really at risk. And I think without that level of, like, really stellar action, there's some. A cool couple of stunts that work really well. The Hulk looks good. Probably some of the best CG we've seen from Marvel on the movie theater screen, like in movies in a long time. But I think without having the charm and charisma and action packed, like, intensity that we're used to, and then also not leaning into a genre, the political thriller idea of it, they really left this film, like, just out to wash. And it's such a disappointment, especially given how much I think the majority of Marvel fans love Chris Evans, Captain America. It was gonna be hard no matter who put on the suit, coming after him, trying to fill that role, but to not give the sort of attention and detail necessary to relaunch that and especially to say, and he's gonna leave the Avengers. Knowing we have other teams coming up. We have Fantastic Four and Thunderbolts, both team movies coming up. I feel like it's gonna get shelved, and that makes me really sad.

[Linda Holmes]

Well, and I also think there's an argument to be made that the other guy handed it to you is not the most inspiring origin story for a superhero. And people who love superheroes love their origin stories.

[Joelle Monique]

Sure do.

[Linda Holmes]

And to the degree there is more of a story because Sam was conflicted about doing it or whatever, most of that happened over on a TV show that a lot of people did not see. So you haven't given him the development of the character. As much as everybody gets tired of the Spider man thing, where he discovers his powers and all that, there's a reason why people include it. You need it. It makes it feel like it matters. My feeling about this movie is you can either be fun or you can have ideas. Ideally both, but not neither. That's kind of where I ended up with this movie. And sadly, this is kind of what has killed a lot of the DC movies for me, is it's not fun and it's not about anything. So I don't care.

[Glenn Weldon]

Last thing I'd like to pick from what Joelle mentioned about the cgi. And I think this point has been missing from the critical discourse that thus far, which is that Red Hulk is hot.

[Joelle Monique]

Oh, he's super sexy. I'm with you, Glenn.

[Glenn Weldon]

I think we ignore that at our peril.

[Joelle Monique]

I'm with you.

[Glenn Weldon]

Those traps are on point. And I can fix him. I mean, he gets a bit brusque. Everybody gets hangry. I can fix him.

[Linda Holmes]

Everybody gets hangry.

[Gene Demby]

That was exactly the comment that my friend who came with me to the screening said. She's like, hear me out, Red Hulk.

[Glenn Weldon]

Yeah, right. I'm telling you, I do have a point here, which is that Harrison Ford is the greatest action movie star of all time. Arguably, he's always been fit. Even in Temple of Doom, he was muscular. But he missed the era when movie stars had to adopt these wildly unrealistic superhero bodies. Arnold accepted. But in this film, he got there through cgi, which just goes to show you that this Hollywood machine and its expectations are coming for you and will chew you up, even if they have to do it retroactively. We're gonna get a Jack cgi Buster Keaton.

[Linda Holmes]

Oh, no.

[Glenn Weldon]

Spencer Tracy.

[Joelle Monique]

Oh, God.

[Glenn Weldon]

I mean, how much better would Takara, Kill a Mockingbird have been if Garden Pack were swole? You know what I mean? Swole and shirtless.

[Linda Holmes]

Oh, Glenn. Oh, Glenn. Yeah, Red Hulk's pretty hot. I mean, Harrison Ford's pretty hot. Always has been. Although, if you want to see Harrison Ford having a good time, don't watch this. Watch shrinking. That is my from me. Good point to you. All right, well, tell us what you think about Captain Brave New World. Find us on Facebook at facebook.com PCHH and on [e-mail] NPRpopculture or we'll have a link in our episode description. Up next, what's making us happy this week?

[Advertiser]

This message comes from Midi Health. Women in midlife face a healthcare desert, but MIDI is here to fill the gap, offering expert care for perimenopause and menopause covered by insurance. Hot flashes, insomnia, brain fog, weight gain and moodiness don't have to be accepted as just another part of aging. MIDI clinicians understand how these symptoms can connect to menopause and prescribe a wide range of solutions. Book your visit [e-mail] that's joinmidi.com this message comes from Bluehost making it easy to create a website fast. Their AI tools can help you customize, optimize and launch in minutes and with 24.7security so you can focus on business, not hackers. Get your site [e-mail] this message comes from Midi Health. If you're a woman over 40 dealing with hot flashes, insomnia, weight gain or brain fog, you don't have to accept it as just enough. The clinicians at Midi Health understand what you're experiencing and know how to help. MIDI Health provides specialized care for perimenopause and menopause covered by insurance. Book your visit today@join Midi.com that's join M I-I.com this message comes from Spectrum Business. Small business owners put in unlimited hours, unlimited effort and unlimited passion. Why? Because only you know that your business has unlimited potential. That's why Spectrum Business provides fast, reliable Internet, advanced WI fi with security shield and an unlimited mobile line, all for one low price. Built to work for a small business budget. Connect your business to unlimited possibilities. Learn [e-mail] business now it is time.

[Linda Holmes]

For our favorite segment of this week and every week. What is making us happy this week? Joelle what is making you happy this week?

[Joelle Monique]

Okay, guys, I have been scrolling through podcasts. I'm always looking for, like, something new, something that's gonna spark my interest. I've been talking about food podcasts a lot with my friends, and it's hard to get a food podcast right. You can't see the food. How are you gonna talk about it? Are we tasting it? What's really going on? Jesse Sparks, senior editor at Eater, has a podcast called the One Recipe with Jesse Sparks. You guys, it's so good. Each week, he invites on a guest who talks about a favorite recipe. But it's not just about the recipe. It's the history of the recipe. Who handed it to them? Where did they discover it? It's how often do you make it and why do you make it? What are you feeling when you make it? And then they walk you through the steps of how to make it. So you're getting, like, every possible angle of, like, a great cookbook in an audio segment with people who really know about food. It is delightful. They're 20 minutes, like, really tight, easy for your commute. And then you have a whole bunch of recipes that you're really excited to try that sound like they're gonna taste really good, which is exciting for me. So I highly recommend checking out the one recipe if you're into the foodie stuff, and especially if you're somebody who's in the process of learning how to cook or just wants to cook better, they give you such great, like, detailed instructions on how to prepare the food so that you could do it real easy. So, yeah, check out the One Recipe with Jesse Sparks.

[Linda Holmes]

Fabulous. I love it. Thank you very much, Joelle. Gene Demby, what is making you happy this week, buddy?

[Gene Demby]

So I know you guys recently revisited Mo, but I had the opportunity to mainline the second season recently, and the world in which Mo has to navigate is obviously fraught.

[Glenn Weldon]

Right?

[Gene Demby]

There's all this sort of bureaucracy he has to deal with, is like, you know these people behind desks who are just like, you're getting on my nerves. And his life is hanging in the balance. But there's a scene in the very last episode of the show that is one of the most beautifully rendered moments of praise, of worship. And it's maybe more moving because Noah's not especially a spiritual person. Anyway, I cannot recommend Mo enough, even with all his flaws. I think it's just a really fascinating piece of television to sort of try to wrap your mind around and sit with.

[Linda Holmes]

Love it. Thank you very much, Gene Demby Mo, which is on Netflix. I think we agree. All right, Glen Weldon, what is making you happy this week?

[Glenn Weldon]

I've Talked about the YouTube channel Norols barred before R O L L S. They're a bunch of British folks. They play board games. They are charming af. I've devoured pretty much everything on that channel. I've always held off watching them play one game, which is called Blood on the Clock Tower, which is kind of like Werewolf or Mafia, but if you pumped it up with performance enhancing drugs. I watch no Rolls Barred to learn about games that I can add to our regular game nights. And I know that this particular game, which is, among other things, an incredibly complicated logic puzzle, plus lying. I know for a fact that if I tried to play this game with our friends, it would destroy us. It would tear us apart, it would end 20 plus years of friendships. There's also the fact that our game nights tend to feature a glass or six of wine, so there's no way could keep up with the kind of mental gymnastics this game requires. So I will never play this game. But watching these very funny, very charming Brits utterly annihilate each other and work out the incredibly complicated algorithm of lies and deceit and logic, my God, it is addicting. And these games last like two, three hours and I cannot stop watching them. Sometimes they play in person on this elaborate set, sometimes they play online, but I am all in. That is Blood on the Clock Tower, as played by the folks on the no rolls barred YouTube channel.

[Linda Holmes]

Thank you very much, Glenn Weldon. I am always happy to end a friendship over a game with you anytime you ask. So what is making me happy this week? I was wandering through Instagram the other day and discovered that there had been in the LA area a benefit staged reading of the Muppet Movie script, complete with doing all the songs.

[Gene Demby]

Let's go.

[Linda Holmes]

And it was to raise money for fire relief. And it was essentially populated with people who are from the comedy improv, some musical improv, some podcasting kind of stuff. So Mark Evan Jackson, one of our most beloved character actors, played Kermit the Frog, Paul F. Tompkins, because he's in everything, played Fozzie perfectly. Does that include a hell of a rendition of America the Beautiful? Oh, yes, it does. Of course it does. And Nina west, who you may know from Drag Race, played Miss Piggy and is the best Miss Piggy I have ever seen, who is not Frank Oz. I loved this. It was exactly what I wanted. It is warm, it is funny. It is a bunch of people's explosively lovely work. This was a good time for me to immerse myself deeply in other people's creative work. I think that this thing is only available to continue to buy a ticket to watch the stream for maybe a few more days as we tape this. So it is a little bit ephemeral, but if you Google the Muppet script, which is what they called it, the Muppet script Dynasty typewriter, which is the place where it happened, you may be able to squeeze in and watch it for yourself. Boy, was it the epitome of what's making me happy this week lifted my spirits and, you know, for a great cause as well. So that is what is making me happy this week, week. And one more thing before we go in the run up to the Oscars, we are watching all 10 best picture nominees, of course, and you're invited to watch along with us. Sign up for the special NPR Movie club [e-mail] movieclub. You'll hear our thoughts about each Best Picture nominee, plus we'll share some links to NPR's other coverage of the films you might have missed. Again, you can sign [e-mail] movie club. That brings us to the end of our show. John Joelle, Monique, Gene Demby, Glenn Weldon, thank you so much for being here to talk about this extraordinarily perfect movie that we all loved so much.

[Joelle Monique]

Thank you, Linda. Thank you.

[Gene Demby]

Appreciate you.

[Linda Holmes]

This episode was produced by Hafsa Fathoma, Mike Katsif and Lennon Sherburne and edited by Jessica Reedy. Hello. Come in. Provides our theme music. Thank you for listening to Pop Culture Happy Hour from npr. I'm Linda Holmes and we'll see you all next.

[Gene Demby]

Foreign.

[Advertiser]

This message comes from Charles Schwab. When it comes to managing your wealth, Schwab gives you more choices like full service, wealth management and advice when you need it. You can also invest on your own and trade on Think or swim. Visit schwab.com to learn more. Support for NPR and the following message come from Boll and Branch. Change your sleep with the softness of Bole and Branch's 100% organic cotton sheets. Feel the difference with 15% off your first set of [e-mail] with code NPR exclusions apply. See site for details. Support for NPR and the following message come from Rosetta Stone. The perfect app to achieve your language learning goals. No matter how busy your schedule gets, it's designed to maximize study time with immersive 10 minute lessons and audio practice for your commute. Plus tailor your learning plan. For specific objectives like travel, get Rosetta Stone's lifetime membership for 50% off and unlimited access to 25 language courses. Learn more at RosettaStone.com NPR.